A Gift.

Brothers and sisters, today I speak very plainly and precisely on a subject that is very near to my heart. Over the past few months I have grown to gain one of the strongest testimonies I possess on this subject. The biggest and most influential act of service ever done is that of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

            I want to start my talk by sharing what James E. Faust said about the atonement in his talk given in October 2001. “I wish to speak about the greatest event in all history. That singular event was the incomparable Atonement of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. This was the most transcendent act that has ever taken place, yet it is the most difficult to understand.” I hope that today I am able to clear up some misunderstandings or just naivetés of the Atonement our Lord has given to us. But I will only be able to hit on a few key points of the Atonement as it will and does take a lifetime to fully comprehend this miraculous gift.

            I am attending school at BYU-Idaho and was in a time of great turmoil and grief.  Searching for answers, I attended the Tuesday devotional with a heavy heart.  I began to feel peace as I partook of the spirit there in the devotional.  The speaker was Brother Reed Stoddard, the head of the Counseling Center there at BYU-Idaho. He shared the poem, “The Road is Rough” which helped me to gain some of the insights into the road I was currently on:

                     “The road is rough I said, dear Lord,
                                        There's stones that hurt me so;
                                   And he said, dear child I understand,
                                               I walked it long ago...
                                    But there is a cool green path I said,
                                         Let me walk there for a time;
                                     No child He gently answered me,
                                       The green road does not climb.

                         My burden I said is far too great,
                                               How can I bear it so?
                                  My child, said he, I remember its weight,
                                         I carried my cross you know.
        But, I said, I wish there were friends with who would make my way their own,
                         Oh yes, he said, Gethsemane was hard to face alone.

                         And so I walked that stony path
                                                 Content to know,
                                   That where my master had not gone,
                                            I would not need to go...

                    And strangely then I found my friends,
                                           The burden grew less sore,
                                  As I remembered long ago, that He had
                                           Walked that way before…

After hearing this poem I was struck by the unfathomable love our Father in Heaven has for us, each individual is known and loved by our creator.

To show His love, Heavenly Father sent—with a willing heart—His son Jesus Christ to bring to pass the ultimate act of love ever performed by any being to ever be live on this eart—that act being the Atonement. One insight I have gained this semester is that Christ, while on the cross, while in agonizing torment, had the antidote of His distress right in front of Him.  The misery, and heartache He was being put through was all a choice. He chose to do this for His Father, and for His brothers and sisters - Christ chose to go through all of that for you and for me.

In Alma 7:12 it reads, “And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” Brother Stoddard went on to say there is very little mention of Christ suffering for our sin, but that Christ came to suffer adversity, to be able to relate to our lives and lift us up if we but turn to Him and ask for His help.

Another amazing insight I have attained from the last three months of studying is that of the truthfulness of Christ truly suffering our adversity so that he might be able to lift us up. In Alma 62:41 it reads, “But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility.” This verse talks about those who understand and use the atonement and those who do not. I have been able to experience this principle in my life first hand:

My second week of attending BYU-Idaho, after meeting many new people, and experiencing the excitement of living on my own, I was sitting in my Book of Mormon class and received a phone call from my father. I hadn’t talked to my family nearly as much as I should’ve since being at school, but I had an overwhelming feeling to take the call. My dad informed me of an accident my brother Joe had been in.  He had inadvertently overdosed on some illicit drugs and was in the hospital in critical condition. A couple of weeks later my brother passed from this life. In the midst of this event the Atonement was very prevalent in my life – even though I did not notice it at the time.  I did not comprehend everything I was going through - the feelings I felt, all the tender mercies I was receiving at the hand of my Father in Heaven, the blessings of my brother Tanner who was currently serving a mission, my friends, my parents, my little sister and many more -- I didn’t truly grasp that what I was seeing was the Atonement in action.

I do remember, however, talking to my dad about the event, and hearing him say, “Chelsea, don’t let this harden you.” My dad had always seen me as a light-hearted, happy girl. I had never truly agreed with him, but on reflection of his words and hearing these words in Alma I knew that at that point I could become hardened because “of the length of the war” or I could be come softened because of my afflictions.  It was then I understood a little more fully the effects of the Atonement and what it has meant in my life, especially in my times of trouble.

Normally when we think of The Atonement our first thoughts are that of sins and the wiping clean of our souls.  While this is very true, there is so much more to the Atonement then just an “easer of sin”. Although Christ did go through all so that we might live with Him and our Father again, He also took on the Atonement because He wanted us to be able to be happy along the way. In a talk given by Elder Jeffery R. Holland to mission presidents he said that through our struggles, if we but stand strong in our faith and be true, we will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best life has ever known and the only pure and perfect missionary that ever lived. We have every reason to stand tall brothers and sisters, the Atonement has given us that reason, that hope and faith, it has given us everything.

In Mosiah 14:11 it reads, “He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” These words of Isaiah follow that of verses talking about the crucifixion and the ghastly afflictions inflicted upon Christ. I love that it says that Christ’s knowledge will only justify “many”.  I believe this is Isaiah telling us of the importance of our true faith in Christ, that His pure Atonement will only save you if you but let Him. I, Chelsea Applegate, can with full intent in Jesus Christ say that I am going to try with all my heart, might, mind and strength to fulfill my destiny upon this earth.  I know with all confidence that I will accomplish this task through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and that I need it everyday, all day. I know that my afflictions and adversities were already felt and conquered and that I am very capable of overcoming any obstacle put in my path because of the sacrifice. I am deeply grateful that I do not have to walk a path that my brother, Jesus Christ, hasn’t already walked.

Brothers and sisters, Tad R. Callister in The Infinite Atonement put it very well when he said, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ outweighs, surpasses, and transcends every other mortal event, every new discovery, and every acquisition of knowledge, for without the Atonement all else in life is meaningless.” I know this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is true. I know that without my Father in Heaven sending the most beloved brother I had, down to this earth I wouldn’t know anything of this earth. I am grateful for my struggles because without them I would never be able to attain the presence of my Father, and I would never be able to see Christ face to face, fall at His feet and thank him mercilessly for the act of the Atonement for me and my family. I say these things humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, my ultimate example and friend, Amen.