Atonement of Jesus Christ

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

 "...the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind-us, all of us- would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, hopelessly alone. But Jesus held on...divine compassion is never absent, God is always faithful, He never flees of fails us."

Story of Amanda Smith by President James E. Faust: The Shield of Faith

 Faith intensifies and magnifies our gifts and abilities. There is no greater source of knowledge than the inspiration that comes from the Godhead, who have all understanding and knowledge of that which has been, is now, and will be in the future.

At Haun’s Mill, a heroic pioneer woman, Amanda Smith, learned by faith how to do something beyond her abilities and the scientific knowledge of her time. On that terrible day in 1838, as the firing ceased and the mobsters left, she returned to the mill and saw her eldest son, Willard, carrying his seven-year-old brother, Alma. She cried, “Oh! my Alma is dead!”

“No, mother,” he said, “I think Alma is not dead. But father and brother Sardius are [dead]!” But there was no time for tears now. Alma’s entire hipbone was shot away. Amanda later recalled:

“Flesh, hip bone, joint and all had been ploughed out. … We laid little Alma on a bed in our tent and I examined the wound. It was a ghastly sight. I knew not what to do. … Yet was I there, all that long, dreadful night, with my dead and my wounded, and none but God as our physician and help. ‘Oh my Heavenly Father,’ I cried, ‘what shall I do? Thou seest my poor wounded boy and knowest my inexperience. Oh, Heavenly Father, direct me what to do!’ And then I was directed as by a voice speaking to me.

“… Our fire was still smouldering. … I was directed to take … ashes and make a lye and put a cloth saturated with it right into the wound. … Again and again I saturated the cloth and put it into the hole … , and each time mashed flesh and splinters of bone came away with the cloth; and the wound became as white as chicken’s flesh.

“Having done as directed I again prayed to the Lord and was again instructed as distinctly as though a physician had been standing by speaking to me. Near by was a slippery-elm tree. From this I was told to make a … poultice and fill the wound with it. … The poultice was made, and the wound, which took fully a quarter of a yard of linen to cover, … was properly dressed. …

“I removed the wounded boy to a house … and dressed his hip; the Lord directing me as before. I was reminded that in my husband’s trunk there was a bottle of balsam. This I poured into the wound, greatly soothing Alma’s pain.

“‘Alma my child,’ I said, ‘you believe that the Lord made your hip?’

“‘Yes, mother.’

“‘Well, the Lord can make something there in the place of your hip, don’t you believe he can, Alma?’

“‘Do you think that the Lord can, mother?’ inquired the child, in his simplicity.

“‘Yes, my son,’ I replied, ‘he has showed it all to me in a vision.’

“Then I laid him comfortably on his face, and said: ‘Now you lay like that, and don’t move, and the Lord will make you another hip.’

“So Alma laid on his face for five weeks, until he was entirely recovered—a flexible gristle having grown in place of the missing joint and socket, which remains to this day a marvel to physicians. …

“It is now nearly forty years ago, but Alma has never been the least crippled during his life, and he has traveled quite a long period of the time as a missionary of the gospel and [is] a living miracle of the power of God.”¹²

Trust God and Let Him Prevail

 I found two very powerful phrases in the teachings of Elder Renlund, Trust God and Let Him Prevail.

“All sin causes suffering, but not all suffering is caused by sin.” Because all sinful actions do not have immediate negative consequences for the wrongdoer (see Malachi 3:13–18), we may be fooled and mistakenly believe that we can willfully sin and that the consequences can be avoided. They cannot.

While repentance is joyful for us and it brings joy to the Savior and our Heavenly Father, our sins did cause the Savior to innocently suffer. He paid the price so that we do not have to endure the requisite suffering as punishment if we repent. But make no mistake: all sin causes suffering.

Eventually, God spoke to Job from a whirlwind. God did not defend Himself, explain Job’s suffering, or respond to Job’s claims of innocence. Rather, God criticized the lengthy discussions of Job and his friends, saying, “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2). To highlight their ignorance, God posed at least 66 questions, demanding that Job answer them. Job could not. (See Job 38–42.)

It was as if God had patiently and kindly said to Job, “If you cannot answer even one of my questions about the earth that I have created, is it possible that eternal laws exist that you do not understand? Are there assumptions you have made that are invalid? Do you understand my motives and how my plan of salvation and exaltation works? And can you foresee your future destiny?”

Boat Building

Good Timber by Douglas Malloch

Good Timber

By Douglas Malloch 

The tree that never had to fight
     For sun and sky and air and light,
But stood out in the open plain
     And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
     But lived and died a scrubby thing.

The man who never had to toil
     To gain and farm his patch of soil,
Who never had to win his share
     Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
     But lived and died as he began.

Good timber does not grow with ease,
     The stronger wind, the stronger trees,
The further sky, the greater length,
     The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
     In trees and men good timbers grow.

Where thickest lies the forest growth
     We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars
     Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
     This is the common law of life.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/good-timber-by-douglas-malloch 

Institute Notes 2-24-22

Hospitality is taking care of someone, nurturing after a long journey. Examples: Dad waking up with Mom after her shoulder surgery. Grandpa joining in blessing despite being in pain. "This is who I am. This is what I do."

Trials are part of this mortal experience. We may not fully understand why.

Many Esau's give up things of things of eternal value for the pleasures of the world.

Wrestle with the Lord over my challenges and difficulties.

God could make Enoch's weaknesses strengths. Maybe He can do that for me too.

Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail

 

Dear Bro. Richards:

In the last number of the News, the history of Joseph Smith is brought down to Nov. 2nd, 1838.  It leaves him, myself, and others as prisoners in the hands of the enemy, encamped on crooked river, on the way to Independence, Jackson county, Mo., under a strong guard, commanded by Generals Lucas and Wilson.

Those scenes bring to my mind, a few incidents in the life of our illustrious Prophet and martyr, or which I was a personal witness, and which perhaps, have not yet found their way into the public history, or records of the Church.

As we arose and commenced our march on the morning of the 3rd Nov., Joseph Smith spoke to me and the other prisoners, in a low, but cheerful and confidential tone; said he, “be of good cheer, brethren; the word of the Lord came to me last night, that our lives should be given us; and that whatever we may suffer during this captivity, not one of our lives should be taken.  Of this prophesy I testify in the name of the Lord, and though spoken in secret, its public fulfillment, and the miraculous escape of each one of us, is too notorious to need my testimony.

After our removal from Independence to Richmond, Ray county, and our being delivered to Gen. Clark, we were placed by that General in charge of Col. Sterling Price, now Governor of the State of Missouri, if I mistake not.

This said Col. Price placed us in a room without beds, chairs, or any other convenience, and chained seven of us all together, with a kind of trace chain, extending from one man’s ankle to another, and fastened round one ankle of each with a padlock.  In this situation we were guarded night and day by about ten men at a time, who stood over us with loaded pistols in hand.  At night we were all stretched on the floor in a row upon our backs, and tried to sleep, but the hard floor, the cold, and the inability to change our position because of our chains, and the noise of the guards effectually prevented sleep.

In one of those tedious nights we had lain as if in sleep, till the hour of midnight has passed, and our ears and hearts had been pained, while we had listened for hours to the obscene jests, the horrid oaths, the dreadful blasphemies, and filthy language of our guards, Col. Price at their head, as they recounted to each other their deeds of rapine, murder, robbery, etc., which they had committed among the “Mormons,” while at Far West, and vicinity.  They even boasted of defiling by force, wives, daughters, and virgins, and of shooting or dashing out the brains of men, women, and children.

I had listened till I became so disgusted, shocked, horrified, and so filled with the spirit of indignant justice, that I could scarcely refrain from rising upon my feet and rebuking the guards, but had said nothing to Joseph, or any one else, although I lay next to him and knew he was awake.  On a sudden he arose to his feet, and spoke in a voice of thunder, or as the roaring lion, uttering, as near as I can recollect, the following words:

“SILENCE—Ye fiends of the infernal pit.  In the name of Jesus Christ I rebuke you, and command you to be still; I will not live another minute, and hear such language.  Cease such talk, or you or I die THIS MINUTE.”

He ceased to speak.  He stood erect in terrible majesty.  Chained, and without a weapon,–calm, unruffled and dignified as an angel, he looked down upon the quailing guards, whose weapons were lowed or dropped to the ground; whose knees smote together, and who, shrinking into a corner, or crouching at his feet, begged his pardon, and remained quiet till a change of guards.

I have seen the ministers of justice, clothed in magisterial robes, and criminals arraigned before them, while life was suspended upon a breath, in the courts of England; I have witnessed a Congress in solemn session to give laws to nations;  I have tried to conceive of kings, of royal courts, of thrones, and crowns; and of emperors assembled to decide the fate of kingdoms, but dignity and majesty have I seen but once, as it stood in chains at midnight, in a dungeon, in an obscure village of Missouri.

Your brother,
P.P. Pratt

[Deseret News, Nov. 12, 1853]
[Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nov. 7, 1853, 1]

He Heals the Heavy Laden