Category: Atonement

Our redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to pay a debt He didn’t owe, because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.

November 26, 2022

In 1741, George Frideric Handel composed “Messiah.” Handel had all the proceeds for the performances go to releasing people who couldn’t pay their debts from debtor’s prison.  Because of his donation, one hundred and forty people were released from debtor’s prison.  An appropriate use of funds for a song about the Messiah, wouldn’t you say? … More Our redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to pay a debt He didn’t owe, because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.

“Choosing repentance is choosing change.”

January 26, 2022

I was cutting multiple onions yesterday with a blunt knife and pretty much immediately started crying on onion number one. I tried to blink through it—but it was stinging so bad that I briefly contemplated how much the recipe actually needed onions. In a moment of desperation, inspiration hit: I moved the cutting board to … More “Choosing repentance is choosing change.”

“We need women who have the courage and vision of Our Mother Eve.”

January 7, 2022

I am ok if Eve had everything planned out in her mind before eating the fruit, and I am also ok if she didn’t. I feel that either way you look at it, you have to do some mental gymnastics. Conference quotes and even the actual scriptural accounts of the fall just don’t all perfectly … More “We need women who have the courage and vision of Our Mother Eve.”

“You have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love”

November 21, 2021

I was going to the temple last week and took a wrong turn. My phone said “recalculating” and then it said something along the lines of “unable to recalculate.” I tried again. And again. Still, no connection. I finally hit my steering wheel and thought in my head “THIS IS NOT HOW THE TEMPLE WORKS! … More “You have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love”

“Let us fully mirror His love, and love each other so openly and completely that no one feels abandoned, alone, or helpless.”

October 30, 2021

Michael Monsoor was a navy SEAL serving as part of a sniper overwatch team in Iraq. He was in the room with two of his SEAL friends when a grenade hit his chest and fell to the ground. Being positioned by both the grenade about to go off and the exit, he had two options: … More “Let us fully mirror His love, and love each other so openly and completely that no one feels abandoned, alone, or helpless.”

“The Savior loves to restore what you cannot restore; He loves to heal wounds you cannot heal; He loves to fix what has been irreparably broken.”

October 23, 2021

Guest post by Taylor Ricks On the days I feel the smallest, I can know He has felt smaller. In the moments I feel most weak, I believe He has felt weaker. In the times I feel most alone, I know He has felt more lonely. When pain of body, mind, or spirit course through … More “The Savior loves to restore what you cannot restore; He loves to heal wounds you cannot heal; He loves to fix what has been irreparably broken.”

“Everyone loses their way at some point, to some degree …”

August 27, 2021

A seven-year-old girl found an abandoned baby gosling in her driveway one day. When night fell and the gosling was still wandering her yard, the family brought the gosling to the safety of their back porch. After a few days, it became clear that the gosling considered them family. The family felt the same. They … More “Everyone loses their way at some point, to some degree …”

“When you understand the atonement, then you understand the joy of being rescued.”

April 19, 2021

A young father was swimming a short distance across a lake with his daughter on his back when he suddenly panicked. He could feel the water pulling him down to the bottom of the lake. He knew he didn’t have much longer left. He cried for help, but no one heard him or was close … More “When you understand the atonement, then you understand the joy of being rescued.”

What spills out?

April 1, 2021

Christ wanted the bitter cup to pass..But it didn’t.  It has left me thinking about the “cups” in our lives… And this quote came to mind: Say you are holding a cup of coffee and someone bumps into you, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee? You spilled it because that … More What spills out?

“Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.”

March 25, 2021

A seminary teacher came to his class of 35 students with a box full of donuts.  He asked a student named Steve to stand up. He explained the deal he’d made with Steve the day before. If Steve did 10 pushups per student, each student could have a donut. The teacher went to the first … More “Because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.”

It all works out in the end. So if it hasn’t worked out, it isn’t the end. Have faith in God, not results.

March 1, 2021

Martin Harris was asked to mortgage his farm to print the Book of Mormon. They needed $3,000 up front to print five thousand copies, and no one else had it but him. [Sidenote: Isn’t it beautiful that the person who lost part of the scriptures was given the opportunity to help the world “find” the … More It all works out in the end. So if it hasn’t worked out, it isn’t the end. Have faith in God, not results.

“Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it.”

February 28, 2021

Have you ever heard the parable of the long spoons? A man visited Hell and was surprised by what he found. Men and women were sitting at a table of delicious food. They were holding long spoons in their hands, but their arms were tied to their sides, so they couldn’t bring the food to … More “Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it.”

“God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but we are not.”

February 12, 2021

God said similar phrases toOliver (section 6),Hyrum (section 11),Joseph Knight (section 12),And David Whitmer (section 14). But should that really surprise us? This isn’t necessarily a lesson on repetition—it wasn’t a repeat to these men who received the revelations like it is for us reading the revelations. This is a lesson on God. God, Who … More “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, but we are not.”

“As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we will have the Christmas spirit”

December 25, 2020

“You will find the babe lying in a manger.” This angelic sign to the shepherds is powerful.Because we will find Jesus in our mangers, too. Our daily tasks. Our menial efforts. He is there in those moments if we look, and He will provide sustenance and strength. That is perhaps the greatest lesson I learned … More “As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we will have the Christmas spirit”