LIKE A BROKEN VESSEL

I taught the Relief Society lesson today based on Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk entitled 'Like a Broken Vessel'. It is refreshing to have the General Authorities share the things they have suffered in their lives as Elder Holland did with a bout of serious depression, so serious that it made it difficult for him to function. The depression he talks of is 'a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibly suggest it would surely go away if those victims would just square their shoulders and think more positively'.  This kind of depression is usually born from some serious trials that we are subject to in this fallen world: death, divorce, prolonged unemployment, transgression, post natal blues, abusive marriage, work stress etc.  Sometimes physical reasons come into the equation as well such as food allergies, prolonged sickness, disability, diet deficiency, drug dependency.  I realise there are many degrees of depression and many different ways of handling it. The purpose of this blog is always to view things from the spiritual perspective and so I offer my thoughts in this vein.

Among other suggestions for coping with this malady,  Elder Holland suggests to 'faithfully pursue the time-tested devotional practices that bring the Spirit of the Lord into your life'.  We all know what these practices are: prayer, scriptures, fasting, temple, Church attendance.  I can attest that bringing the spirit into your life is the best course to pursue in relation to depression because I have benefited from it myself.  I recognise how incredibly hard it is to do anything positive when you are depressed.  Even though I have not had debilitating depression, I had experienced prolonged bouts of it for many years leading to my marriage.  This only got worse during my marriage.  Following my divorce I was hanging by a thread in the Church not knowing which way I was gonna go.  I finally resolved that I could not leave the Church not only because of myself but mostly because of my children.  However, I did not just stay active, I did something that would bring me amazing benefits which I did not know at the time.  I immersed myself in the scriptures and started studying about the Atonement.  After about a year or more I realised one day I had not been depressed for a very long time.  In fact, I realised that I had not been depressed since I had started studying the scriptures.  I gave it some serious reflection and came to understand that studying the scriptures brought the spirit into my life more than anything else I was doing and that the spirit healed me of the depression.  That was 18 years ago and I have not been depressed since.  This is not to say that life doesn't get me down from time to time but an occasional down day does not depression make.  I feel mentally healthy and spiritually well.

I believe the reason Elder Holland suggests the devotional practices first and foremost is because not only does the spirit help us cope from day to day but because in the end it heals us.  It might not happen overnight but I truly believe that over time the spirit of God heals all spiritual wounds and corrects all spiritual and emotional defects.

My spiritually sensitive daughter suffered from severe depression for 5 years during her teenagehood.  It was the most difficult time of her life and mine too.  The depression was so great that it derailed her from the Church as she searched for other ways to free herself from the prison she felt she was in.  This only compounded the problem as it produced a huge amount of guilt and remorse in her.  I feel this ride to hell and subsequent emergence from it will somehow be a force for good if she now remains faithful.  Just like Alma and the sons of Mosiah, I too believe that she will make something good come out of something so bad.  A year after my daughter came back to the Church she served a full time mission.  Her reactivation was the beginning of her spiritual and emotional healing.  Her journey of wellness has really only just begun. It's like an onion that she is peeling off one layer at a time but already she has helped so many people with her understanding of their trials.  She is not a broken vessel anymore, only slight cracks remain but a vessel with cracks can still do much good as is demonstrated in the following story.

'A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck.  One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water, at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house the cracked pot arrived only half full.  For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.  But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.  After two years, of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house.  Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts", the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said:
"As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path".

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.  But at the end of the trial, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot:
"Did you notice that there were flowers only on you side of your path, but not on  the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it.  I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.  For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table.  Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Each of us has our own unique flaws.  We are all cracked pots.  But if we will allow it, our flaws are used to grace life's table.  In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste.  Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them and you too can be the case of beauty.  Know that in our weakness we find our strength.  May we look for one another's strengths to build up one another and in doing so build the kingdom of God.'

My daughter informed me the other day that she is helping one of her converts from her mission who had gone inactive and is now suffering from severe depression.  I thank God that my daughter is a cracked pot. May she water the flower bed every day of her life and thereby serve God who gave her life.

If you are in the darkest abyss and "though you may feel 'like a broken vessel'....you must remember, that vessel is in the hands of the divine potter......Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee" (Jeffrey R. Holland).  Trust in it, believe in it, hope for it.

KNEE DEEP

 

Last Sunday our Sunday School lesson was entitled "Zion - The Pure In Heart".  I thought as I studied the lesson how much becoming a Zion person is at the other end of the spectrum of someone who is an inactive member of the Church.  Somewhere between being a Zion member and an inactive member we encounter all sorts of members.  Ones who sit on the fence and come to Church because they know they should and do little else about their membership, ones who consider the Church to be a social club and somewhere to belong, ones who choose what commandments they will live and live the gospel as it suits them.  Some members have barely wet feet and others are knee deep in the Church and strive with all their might to live the Gospel.  These members are Zion people.

  

In D&C 6:6, we are admonished to 'seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion'.  This should make every member feel the need and urgency to put their life into order and strive to become a Zion person.  One only needs to consider the condition of this world to be convinced that the time of the Saviour's coming is near, even at hand.  "For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is soon at hand that I shall come in a cloud with power and great glory" (D&C 34:7)   When the Saviour comes we will not stand to experience the Millenium if we are not a Zion people. I've reflected a lot on my own worthiness during the past week and have sadly concluded that after nearly 40 years of Church membership I should be much further ahead than what I am.  Thank goodness for repentance and hopefully enough time for improvement before the Saviour makes an appearance because right now I am not sure I am yet a Zion person.

 

The Saviour's call for the Church to rise in strength of Zion is found in D&C 82:14: "For Zion must increase in beauty and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments".  President Franklin D. Richards explained: "What are these beautiful garments?  These beautiful garments are the clothing upon with the authority and power of the Holy Priesthood.  It is that which makes people beautiful; it is that which makes people useful...." (Journal of Discourses, 21:195).   President Eyring made clear the purpose and destiny of those who have the holy priesthood upon them in this dispensation:  "The destiny of the rising generation of priesthood holders is far more than to be ready to bring God's power down to heal the sick.  The preparation is to be ready to go and do whatever the Lord wants done as the world is preparing for His coming".  (Eyring, "Be Ready", Ensign, Nov. 2009, 59)  I don't know all things the Lord will ask of us before He comes but I know we need to be so knee deep in the Gospel and so committed that we will do anything.

 

 

 

To be Zion people, we cannot sit at the door of the chapel hoping the holiness will rub off on us, but need to be so far into the Church that its' principles and teachings dictate our every action.  We need to be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost to have him purify our hearts and sanctify us and form us into the image of God.  Our hearts need to become pure and free of any malice and selfishness and full of love for our fellowman.  If we do not become like this we will not be able to abide the Zion community and the Zion way of life in the Millenium.  Here's what President Spencer W. Kimball had to say about this: 

 

"Zion can be built up only among those who are the pure in heart, not a people torn by covetousness or greed, but a pure and selfless people.  Not a people who are pure in appearance, rather a people who are pure in heart.  Zion is to be in the world and not of the world, not dulled by a sense of carnal security, nor paralyzed by materialism.  No, Zion is not things of the lower, but of the higher order, things that exalt the mind and sanctify the heart". (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p 363)

 

I've concluded that there are three qualifications needed to belong to a Zion society: 

 

1.  Personal righteousness;

2.  Love of fellowman;

3.  Detachment from worldliness.

 

If we strive to obey the two greatest commandments on daily basis we can accomplish this . The Saviour made clear what these commandments are:

 

"37...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38.  This is the first and great commandment.

39.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

40.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."  (Matthew 22:37-40)

 

Why does everything depend on obedience of these two?  Because if we obey these two, we will be obeying all the rest too.

 

I've pondered on why some of us fail to make this preparation for Zion a priority in our lives and why we get so immersed and lost in the business of living in this telestial world rather than 'seeking for the things of a better' as Emma Smith was counselled to do (D&C 25:10).  The only answer that comes to my mind is that we give little thought to what life in Zion during the Millenium will really be like.  Imagine a society free of crime, war, pestilence and natural disasters;  a government with  a member of the Godhead  at the helm; where food is plentiful without hard labour, where there are no poor among us and people live in happiness.  Wouldn't you want that?  If anything, rather than being attached to this telestial world where there is so much suffering and evil and life is just plain hard, we should be wanting to let go of it and look forward to a better way of life a hundred times over.  We should heed Alma's admonition: "....come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things..."(Alma 5:57)

 

Zion starts in one's heart. You can be a Zion person here and now.  And you can exert so much righteous influence on those around you that you could have Zion anywhere: in your home, in your community, in your country, and eventually the world.  It all starts with a handful who are willing.  The Church was organised with just 6 members.  Now we number 15,000,000.  Without the work of those 6 members we would not be numbering into millions now.  According to the Parable of the Ten Virgins, half of us will not be invited to the wedding feast when the Saviour comes, remembering the 10 Virgins represent the Church members only.  This means a lot of us will miss out. With tongue in cheek,  I guess it all depends on whether you like weddings.

 



 

 

 

TO WORSHIP GOD

In Lectures on Faith, Lecture Third, Joseph Smith points out that three things are necessary 'in order that any rational being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation'.  They are:

1.  The idea that he actually exists;
2.  A correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes;
3.  An actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will. 

He continues to say that "without an acquaintance with these three important facts, the faith of every rational being must be imperfect and unproductive; but with this understanding it can become perfect and fruitful, abounding in righteousness, unto the praise and glory of God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ". (Lectures On Faith, Lecture Third)

Learning that I cannot have perfect faith in God if I do not know God, I resolved that I would endeavour to learn his true character through the scriptures and thereby increase my faith in Him experientially through yielding my heart to him in all matters of my life.  I started to look for his characteristics and attributes through the pages of the Book of Mormon and wrote my findings in the margins.  As I flip through my scriptures now I find in its' margins two attributes that are more prominent than all the others.  They are: 1. that He always fulfils His promises and 2. that He is merciful.  It seems that there is evidence of the second attribute on just about every page of the Book of Mormon. 

Whilst reading about Alma's mission to the Zoromites I found an amazing pattern of prayer that Alma gave to the Zoromites who had been cast out of the synagogues, by quoting Zenos.  He says in Alma 33:3: "Do ye remember to have read what Zenos, the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or worship?"  Clearly prayer and worship to Alma is one and the same.  He then quotes Zenos' pattern of prayer and in 5 of the 8 verses this prayer covers, Zenos calls the Lord merciful.  During the whole prayer Zenos never asks for anything but acknowledges God's mercy to him in all his doings.  Not only does he worship God by acknowledging his most prominent characteristic, that of mercy, he also acknowledges that God is merciful towards us because of His Son Jesus Christ.  Two things stand out to me in this pattern of prayer:

1. The verses are so poignant that it leaves no doubt that Zenos knew God and that he knew Him experientially.  He had seen God's hand in his life and he acknowledged it with great zeal. 

2. I am rather convinced that there was nothing that Zenos needed that he didn't receive from God  because he acknowledged His Son in all things.  Praying in the name of Jesus Christ takes on a new meaning here.  By acknowledging the Saviour, we have more of a right to receive what we pray for in His name.  "......Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you". (John 16:23)   There is tremendous power in this.  It means God can through our asking empower us to overcome anything, to become anything, to survive anything. Becoming being always greater than having. Nevertheless, He can and will honour our righteous desires a hundred fold (D&C 78:17-19).

I wondered as I read Zenos' prayer, if the Father feels worshiped through my prayers.  I can tell you right now, probably not.  I am sure if we worshipped God through prayer by acknowledging His perfect attributes and His mercy towards us, our faith in Him would grow at an accelerated rate and our prayers would become a more meaningful experience.  Expressing such words of praise would make the Father more real to us and the foot of our bed would become the foot of His throne as we kneel there in the attitude of prayer.

Christ's humility in praying to the Father has always amazed me.  He who proclaimed himself to be the life of the world, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (3 Nephi 9:18), a god in his own right, knelt upon the ground with the Nephites and prayed, but not just any prayer, for the scriptures record "....The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvellous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father" (3 Nephi 17:16)  What did He say? What words could He have possibly used to express such high regard and affection toward the Father He so loved?  I cannot imagine but I suspect they were words of utmost respect and devotion, of love and adoration, of submission and gratitude.  We too can hear such sublime words of worship.  We can hear them each time we bend our knees and come before Him who yearns to gather us into his bosom and bring us home. How?  "Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels?" (2 Nephi 32:2)  You have been blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost.  A prayer given by the power of the Holy Ghost is the true order of prayer.  Open with an appeal to have the Holy Ghost give you the words you should speak and then speak.  Speak with the tongue of angels.

DIVORCED IN A MARRIED CHURCH

This week's Sunday School lesson is entitled "The Family is Ordained of God".  Whereas the Church lesson manual focuses solely on the importance of family, I know there will be a lot of discussion brought into the lesson about the evils of divorce.  I know because I have sat through many such lessons in the 18 years I have been alone.  It used to wreck me back in the beginning. Even though divorce offered me much needed relief back then, I am and always was deeply passionate about the plan of salvation and the importance of family.  All I ever wanted in life was to be married and to have children.  And I did get that but I also lost it.  That loss of that dream was excruciating and forced me to re-define my whole standing in the Church and to evaluate the strength of my testimony. 

I agree with everything that is said about the evils of divorce. Why? Because I have lived through those evils.  The repercussions and consequences  of that one event of my life have been enormous and ongoing for more years than I care to admit.  My divorce has had a devastating effect on me as a woman. It has created a sense of inadequacy when around other Church couples to the point that I have largely refrained from Church social life.  I have gone to great lengths to make myself irrelevant as a woman to the opposite sex so I do not run the risk of being hurt again. Raising two children alone and providing security for them when I had none for myself was a challenge I struggled with every day.  It was not just the emotional and financial security that at times seemed overwhelming but the physical one as well.  When my children were still little our home was broken into 4 times.  The third time my daughter found the intruder in her bedroom upon our arrival home.  The fourth time they came through the front door.  It was the most unnerving incident that stayed fresh in my mind all these years because this single event of my life taught me how much women need the protection of men and what it means to be without a husband. It's not what was taken from our home but it was the fear of no security that came with that broken door that paralysed me.  I called the real estate agent who told me that because it was Friday the door would not be fixed until the following Monday.  I called my Bishop who was also our home teacher and left a message for him explaining what had happened but he never called me back.  I called my sister and asked if my brother-in-law who was a very capable handy man could come over and help but he refused.  I so desperately needed to feel the presence of a man in the house at that moment even if he could not fix the door but that man was not to be found.  I felt so alone, uncared for and worthless during that experience.  I was too scared to sleep that weekend fearing the intruders would come back during the night through a poorly secured door of my making and I would be unable to protect my children.  It was one of the lowest points of my divorced life and there were many more. 

My daughters too have suffered greatly from my choice to divorce.  The absence of the father in the home is devastating to children and I believe all the statistics that come from the broken home surveys. My children are now adults but they are still resolving issues they inherited from their childhoods and lack of their father's involvement in their lives which I was largely responsible for.  The guilt I carried all those years for taking their father out of our home led me to overcompensate in ways that have led to complications I never imagined.  The list is long and too personal to recount.

I worry that the years of my solitude have made me tough, not needing a husband anymore.  I worry that I have in the process discovered and developed strengths that only a husband should provide in a marital union.  I worry that I have to attract a man now that I am in my middle age.  I worry that might never happen and I will journey through this life a wanderer belonging to no one and having no home. But most of all I worry about all the mistakes I have made during my imperfect mothering, that I haven't empowered my daughters enough, that out of guilt I have overcompensated and done too much for them sabotaging their growth.  I worry that I have made the most common mistake of single mothers by turning my children into my best friends and making them privy to too many of my hardships.  I worry that even though I have worked very hard to come to love and respect their father as a human being and to be on good terms with him, I have somehow lessened him in their eyes. I worry that my children's every problem dates back to the divorce and that I am responsible for it all.

It appears as if I am worrying all the time but it is not quite true.  The thoughts of failure in all these areas come to me from time to time but I am more and more learning to forgive my humanity and to be kinder to myself.  My intentions and the intents of my heart were always in the right place, even if my behaviour wasn't.  I hope for the Saviour's mercy because of that.  I believe I did what I could with who I was at the time.  I was told in a priesthood blessing following my divorce that the Lord would not have asked any more of me than what I had given in my marriage.  This gives me hope.  I know He knows my limitations and how much I am capable of so He will not hold me accountable for more. 

Now that I am middle aged and my children are grown, I have found myself in a really undesirable place.  I need to change everything.  At the age that most married women are starting to wind down and enjoy their grandchildren, I find that I have to re-invent myself and create a whole new life. Up to now I was so heavily invested in my children that now I have to find myself all over again.  I have no career, no financial security, no home of my own, no marriage prospects.  The task to rise above my circumstances seems overwhelming at times but rise I must.  I still have so much to do.  My mission is not complete and I want no regrets when I return home.

I am a big believer that something good always comes out of something bad, if you look for it and are willing to learn the lessons the bad situation offers.  The greatest blessing that has come to me from my divorce is that I have come to know God.  This painful situation led me to study about the Atonement and test its' power to heal us.  Even at the height of my emotional pain following the divorce, I didn't want to be a toxic ex-wife.  I had a desire to be free from resentment and blame and anger.  I wanted to be accepting of my ex-husband's new life.  I didn't want to run away and dodge him for the rest of my life.  The Atonement made this possible for me.  As I called upon its' power, it truly healed my broken heart and it took away all my negative feelings and replaced them with the ability to be the person I wanted to become because of this experience.

If I could shout from the rooftops, my message would be one of warning to all married couples to do all they can to save their marriage.  But what if you have done all that you could possibly do or you are a victim of an abusive situation or you had no choice in the matter?  Then you are unfortunately a statistic in the Church. But even statistics belong.  You just have to believe it. It might take you a while to stop feeling fractured. This feeling is more prevalent when you have little children and the absence of a father and husband is insanely evident.

It is never easy to be alone in the Church. You just have to value yourself enough so that others will too.  I have carved a place for myself in the Church where I believe people see my strengths more than my cracks which are still in the process of healing.  I found that place one day on my visit to the temple.  I used to attend with trepidation after my divorce but this one day I noticed something very significant in the temple - men and women sit separately.  They do not sit together like they do at Church projecting a picture of marriage and family.  I understood then, the temple is as much about individual salvation as it is about marriage and eternity.  The Church is about the individual as much as it is about marriage and family.  The gospel is as much about being a disciple of Jesus Christ as it is about finding someone to share your eternal destiny. The Saviour values you because he has died for you personally, irrespective of your marital status.  When he visited the Americas, He invited the multitude to come to Him one by one to feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet. (3 Nephi 11:14) Why?  Because he wanted them and us to know that the Atonement is personal and that He had atoned for each one of us individually and not for the humanity collectively.  His sheep are numbered and there is not one that is overlooked. We all belong in the fold.  There is a pew at Church with your name on it. Visualise it and own it.  You have the right to sit in it.

TO PROVE US HEREWITH

I have always admired Father Abraham, not just for his infallible commitment to obedience but for his amazing righteousness.  I am terribly attracted to people who are strong enough to be righteous in this evil world.  I consider them people magnets.  My patriarchal blessing tells me that I am 'a true Israelite, being of the seed of Abraham'.  I therefore hope that in me lies Abraham's ability to follow God in whatever circumstances I find myself in this life. 

It is ironic to me that Abraham was the one who was shown the pre-existence with its' plan to "prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them". (Abraham 3:25)  Abraham was truly proved and tested and thus became the perfect example of this plan. Abraham longed for posterity and he longed for an heir to the blessings of the priesthood which he himself received.  This desire was foremost in his heart and it corresponded with a vision the Lord gave him of innumerable posterity that would be his.  Because he was so righteous and faithful and didn't give up on God's promises he was blessed with the desire of his heart in his old age.  The fulfilment of this desire was in and of itself a miracle since both Abraham and his wife were well stricken in years.  I always imagine that Abraham must have felt exceedingly loved by God because he gave him Isaac.  That feeling of love must have been questioned to a great degree when Abraham was asked to give up the son that all of his hopes rested upon and do that which he considered most heinous in his youth.  I cannot imagine with what heaviness of heart Abraham ascended Moriah's hill to offer his son as a human sacrifice.  Not only did the promise of posterity hang in balance but what Abraham was asked to do 'threatened to empty all the meaning from the story of his life'. (E. Douglas Clark, The Blessings of Abraham, Becoming A Zion People, p 210).   He had laboured exceedingly to bring about Zion and had converted many people who he brought into his circle to live with him. 

"What would happen to his followers and those who admired him if he slaughtered Isaac and the world learned that Abraham's teachings had been violated in the grossest manner by the teacher himself?  His entire lifetime of achievement would have been nullified.  He would have been despised, vilified, ridiculed". (Hayden, Love of Abraham and Sarah, 46)

Abraham stood to lose everything by sacrificing Isaac, even perhaps his undaunting faith in God.  Would he have felt the same towards God after the sacrifice was accomplished?  The story of Abraham astounds me.  It is the greatest lesson of power that can be received through faith in God.

I believe every true follower of Christ stands to be tried and tested in likewise manner with whatever is at the centre of their heart.  When the test comes, you will be the deciding factor between power and weakness.  You will either be lost or found.  You will either turn away from God or turn to Him.  If you turn away, you will most likely abandon the truth you now have and if you turn to God you will gain the riches of eternity.  God knows what our response would be to any trial so why test us so?  Apostle George Q. Cannon offered this explanation regarding Abraham:

"Why did the Lord ask such things of Abraham?  Because, knowing what his future would be and that he would be the father of an innumerable posterity, He was determined to test him.  God did not do this for His own sake for He knew by His foreknowledge what Abraham would do; but the purpose was to impress upon Abraham a lesson and to enable him to attain unto knowledge that he could not obtain in any other way.  That is why God tries all of us.  It is not for his own knowledge for He knows all things beforehand.  he knows all your lives and everything you will do.  But He tries us for our own good that we may know ourselves; for it is most important that a man should know himself". 

So God tested Abraham so that Abraham would know Abraham and his true commitment to God.  Herein lies a great lesson for us.  And why didn't God test Abraham in another way, why ask of Him something almost impossible to give?  Because the test of faith has to equal the stature of the man.  For instance, not just any trial would have done for Job.  Job was an incredibly righteous man and the test of his faith had to equal the measure of his faith and righteousness. 

Everybody's test of faith is the heaviest one for them to bear.  What might seem not so great to one person could just about break another.  My test of faith was without doubt my divorce.  I had joined the Church primarily because I wanted an eternal marriage and an eternal family.  I believed I was led to the person who I thought I would have that with.  Eleven years later I was a single mother reeling from the most intense emotional pain I had ever experienced and I was hanging by a thread in the Church.  I was angry, bitter, upset, resentful and through it all I lost all trust in God.  The only thing that saved me from turning away from Him was my faith that only He could deliver me from the pain I was in, that no other power on earth could do it.  That pain was an incredible blessing to me.  Not only did it help me see how much I loved the Church and believed it was true, but it led me to study about the Atonement and to come to know God.  The good that came out of this darkest time of my life helped me survive the following years of hardship and pain as I struggled with single parenting. 

Like Abraham, I had an Isaac in the centre of my heart.  I wanted an eternal family as much as he wanted Isaac and despite my best efforts in being a good member of the Church, it was taken away from me.  What followed the biggest test of my life was years of living without any security, a lot of effort to regain my self-esteem and a necessity to redefine my standing in the Church.  All you who have been unfortunate enough to get divorced will know what I am saying here, especially the women.  On top of these great challenges,  my beautiful, sensitive and spiritual daughter was terribly affected by my struggles and went through adolescent depression which derailed her from the Church and stretched me almost beyond my capacity to endure.  But even this horrendous experience and all the consequences and repercussions of divorce have proved to be a blessing to my growth as a disciple of Jesus Christ.  I could not have endured any of it had I not immersed myself into the scriptures and come to understand the power of the Atonement.  I came to know that nobody understood my life like the Saviour did because he experienced it for a few short moments in his greatest agony. 

It was during my study of the Atonement that I had my second dream of the Saviour.  This time I found myself in the Garden of Gethsemane and saw the Saviour writhing in excruciating pain on the ground.  Remembering my own pain and how severe it was, I knew the Saviour was experiencing the same, only multiplied by all the people who would ever live on this earth and I could not stand the thought of it.  I was beside myself and begged for someone to stop it.  Beside me was someone who was consoling me and reassuring me that it was needful for this to take place and that it would all end well.

 The Atonement became personal to me in two ways.  The first happened one Stake Conference when we were singing Redeemer of Israel and I had a vision of myself in pre-existence preaching the gospel to others less converted to the Saviour's plan.  The second came years later when during prayer one day as I expressed my remorse for all my weaknesses and struggles I remembered this vision. An instant understanding came to me that the Saviour had died for me because I was valiant in my testimony of Jesus in my pre-existence, that His Atonement was a gift to me because of my faith in Him before I was even born.  I understood that He knew I would struggle greatly in this life and that I would need His sacrifice and grace to get me home.  I am sure that this is true of all of us.  Our salvation was and is of utmost importance to Him who bled at every pore so we can have eternal life.

I believe this personal understanding of the Atonement would not have come to me had I turned my back on God during my test of faith.  I would not have come to know God like I now know Him.  I would not have been blessed with many personal revelations I have had and my testimony would not now be on firm ground.  The blessings I have received have far outweighed the trial of my faith.  It is all worth it. I have seen many blessings in my life as a result of my continued faithfulness.  Blessings that seem to be missing from the lives of those I have seen who did not continue to walk in paths of righteousness because of their trials.  My greatest blessing has been my daughter who was saved from the clutches of the adversary and brought back into the fold.  She is now a returned missionary and has fulfilled the promise in my patriarchal blessing that my children would grow up to bless and honour my name.

If you are hanging by a thread, I testify the Saviour is your only hope.  He has cried your tears, suffered your sorrows, walked in your shoes.  Only He knows what it is like to be you.  He has the power to heal you and He has the power to rescue you.  The Atonement is not something, it is everything.

 

 

 

 

THE POWER OF YOU

 

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies"

Proverbs 31:10

 

"The colour of rubies varies from vermilion to red. The most desired colour is pure red with a hint of blue.  If the colour is too pink, the stone is a pink sapphire.  The same is true if it is too violet - it is a violet sapphire.  The best rubies and star rubies are bright red....The Mogok Valley in Upper Burma  was for centuries the world's main source for rubies.  That region has produced some of the finest rubies ever mined, but in the recent years very few good rubies have been found there....."(Wikipedia)

 

A virtuous woman, as valued as a bright red ruby, is fast becoming a rare possession in today's world.  The glare of the telestial world has blinded so many of us to the inherent spiritual nature we as women are born with.  In his last conference talk, Elder D. Todd Christofferson pointed out that 'women bring with them into the world a certain virtue, a divine gift, that makes them adept at instilling such qualities as faith, courage, empathy and refinement in relationships and in cultures'.  This statement suggests that women have been gifted in this way because they have a particular responsibility in this life to lift others to higher ground.  The adversary knows this and he also knows that if he works on women to dull their spiritual natures, they will not accomplish this divine responsibility.  He uses the world and its ideals to weaken and eliminate our influence to the great detriment of our families and the society at large.  Elder Christofferson mentions three ways as a caution and a warning:

 

1.  The devaluation of marriage and of motherhood and homemaking as a career.  I remember some years ago I heard a woman of prominence discuss child care on the radio.  Her suggestion was that women use the cost of child care as an excuse to stay at home and 'do nothing'.  It saddened me greatly to hear a woman say such a thing.  The attitude that homemaking and rearing children is unimportant and demeaning to women is getting more and more prevalent in our society. 

 

 

 

2.  Sexual immorality which reinforces the lie that a woman's sexuality is what defines her worth.

I think that women have played a large part in the undermining of marriage by becoming sexually available to men.  Elder Christofferson says this:

 

"There has long been a cultural double standard that expected women to be sexually circumspect while excusing male immorality.  The unfairness of such a double standard is obvious, and it has been justifiably criticized and rejected.  In that rejection, one would have hoped that men would rise to the higher, single standard, but just the opposite has occurred - women and girls are now encouraged to be as promiscuous as the double standard expected men to be.  Where once women's higher standards demanded commitment and responsibility from men, we now have sexual relations without conscience, fatherless families, and growing poverty.  Equal-opportunity promiscuity simply robs women of their moral influence and degrades all of society.  In this hollow bargain, it is men who are 'liberated' and women and children who suffer most."

 

3.  Erasing of differences between the masculine and the feminine.  Lara Croft, as gorgeous, wealthy and adventurous as she is, has done much to push women to adopt more masculine traits.  Through the media's influence women are encouraged to be more aggressive, tough and confrontational.  It is so common now to see women in terribly violent roles, leaving dead bodies and mayhem in their wake.  Elder Christofferson goes on to say that it is "soul-numbing to see men in such roles and certainly no less when women are the ones perpetrating and suffering the violence".

 

 

Former Young Women general president Margaret D. Nadauld taught:  "The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender.  There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind.  There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined.  We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith.  We have enough greed; we need more goodness.  We have enough vanity; we need more virtue.  We have enough popularity; we need more purity".

 

 

 



The only source of our moral power is God the Father.  Elder Christofferson says that Jesus' power came through His single-minded devotion to the Father's will.  Submitting ourselves to Him in likewise manner can endow us with power also.  It is only through this relationship that we can continue to cultivate the spiritual divine nature we were born with.  The Father made us gentle, He made us kind and tender and loving.  These are all attributes that the Saviour possesses.  Nurturing our spiritual selves and putting aside the values of the telestial world will ensure that we sharpen these attributes and become powerful enough to lift others to higher ground.  This means our children, our spouses, our extended families, our friends, our co-workers, our communities.  We all know how to immerse ourselves in things of the spirit: prayer, scripture study, fasting, temple attendance, church attendance, service and living the commandments.  All this goes a long way towards enabling us to identify with our spiritual identities from day to day.  When we know who we are and don't allow the world to confuse us, we are being single minded, in other words, being at one with God.  Having our feet in two camps never works.  Being double minded often finds us sitting on the fence not being truly committed to either masters.  Know who you are and do everything you can to uphold that knowledge and you will be a power for good.


"Yet I will own them, and they shall be mine in that day when I shall come to make up my jewels".
(D&C 101:3)

 

(RS lesson taught in Mortdale Ward 24 November 2013)

HOW'S YOUR ARMOUR?

Elder Carlos E. Asay had the following dream concerning the Lord's armour:

"As a small boy in grammar school, I had a teacher who made King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table come alive.  She caused me to become so obsessed with stories of knights that I played and dreamed that I was one.  One evening I dreamed that I was a white knight on a white horse riding over the greens of England.  Suddenly, without warning, a knight dressed in black armour and mounted on a black horse appeared at the edge of the forest.  We measured each other carefully, lowered our lances, and charged at full gallop.  The lances struck target and both of us were knocked off our steeds.

"I scrambled to my feet knowing that swords would be drawn and that hand-to-hand combat was imminent.  Fear gripped my heart as I saw my opponent rushing toward me flashing a long, gleaming sword.  Instinctively, I reached to my side and drew forth from the scabbard my weapon.  That is when the dream turned into a nightmare!  For in my hand was a small, dinky dagger - not a long, gleaming sword.  I woke up in a cold sweat screaming for help. 

"Many times since that nightmarish experience, I have wondered about the serviceability of the Saints, particularly the young Latter-day Saints.  When God calls you to serve, are you positioned in the scabbard and ready to be drawn?  When the Lord draws you forth as his instrument in combating evil forces, what does he have in his hand - a long, gleaming sword or a dinky dagger?...The saving virtue of a sword is related to its strength, sharpness, cleanliness, and the hand which guides it.  Is it not the same with people?  I would pray that you would seek strength of character, sharpness of mind, and cleanliness of soul so as to become gleaming swords of righteousness.  By doing this, there will be no embarrassment, no disappointment, and no nightmare when He draws you out in battling the powers of darkness" (Elder Carlos E. Asay, "Instruments of Righteousness", New Era, June 1983)

"Wherefore lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armour, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand.

"Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you;

"Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen."
(D&C 27:15-18)

We are engaged in the mother of all battles.  Our enemy has been perfecting his craft for nearly 6,000 years.  He knows us both from our pre-mortal life and from observing us in our mortal state.  He knows what buttons to push when and he knows how to get into our cracks and inflict wounds that might never heal.  The message in the abovementioned scripture is that we take up the 'whole armour' of God upon us to prevent these wounds.  A section or two is not enough.  Almost all the armour will not do.  It needs to be complete armour for complete protection.

When Ahab, the king of Israel led his army against the forces of Syria, he took every precaution to avoid being injured, even disguising himself so that the Syrians would not recognise him and focus on his destruction.  The only thing he forgot was to wear enough armour.

"But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armour". (2K22:34, NIV) (Ted Gibbons, SS Lesson 43 - Take Upon You My Whole Armour)

The degree of protection we have from the adversary is directly proportional to the diligence and heed we give to the Lord's commandments.  How obedient we are here is an indication of how much we are willing to stand for the conviction that was ours in our pre-existence.  The extent of our armour is a good indication of how valiant in our testimony of Jesus we are being here and now.  We cannot afford to choose which commandment we will obey and which we will let slide.  This life is not a cafeteria. 

If you ever wanted to be a hero, this is the time and the place.  Examine the cracks in your armour and sharpen your sword of righteousness.  President Ezra Taft Benson said: "You will never have a better opportunity to be a greater hero in a more crucial battle than in the battle you will face today and in the immediate future. Be warned that some of the greatest battles you will face will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.  David's battles in the field against the foe were not as critical as David's battles in the palace against a lustful eye.  We will each find our own battlefield". (Ezra Taft Benson, "In His Steps", 1979, Devotional Speeches of the Year, 60).

When the war is over and the battle won, whose side will you be found on?

ALL THAT MATTERS

Some years ago I read an article by Dallin H. Oaks in the Ensign where he said something like 'it doesn't matter if you are single or married or what your circumstances are, as hard as they may be, all that matters is that you are on the path to eternal life'.  I was outraged by this comment.  At the time I was a single mother struggling terribly and it mattered to me very much whether I had a husband or not to lighten the burdens I was carrying.  I thought Elder Oaks was not in sync with reality and the people who were living with hardship on daily basis.  However, the more spiritually refined I became over the years, the more I realised the truth of this statement.  

Sometimes we become very blinded by this telestial world and find it difficult to focus on the overall picture.  I think this is where Elder Oaks' statement came from.  He had risen above the telestial and had the celestial kingdom in his horizon.  I also think that he had made peace with the hardships of this life and had submitted his will fully to God.  Acceptance is the ultimate panacea for coping in this fallen world.  It eliminates unrealistic expectations and the frustration which comes from expecting a perfect life. 

God's main concern is our spiritual welfare.  When our mortal experience is providing spiritual growth, we are on the path He would have us be on.  When the choices we make complicate our lives and place us in bondage to sin, we are obviously not living according to His will.  When our worldly pursuits take us away from Him and endanger the spiritual welfare of our families, we can be assured we are not on the same page. Anything that takes us away from God would not include His will.

Submitting our will to God is crucial if we want to accomplish His plan for us, the individualised plan for us to become as He is.  We do not remember this plan which we were so familiar with before we came here, but He does.  He knows what we wanted to become and how we wanted our earthly experience to contribute to that goal.  To stay on the path that we had chosen so long ago, we need to have trust that His will for us will get us there.  And what did we want back then?  Eternal life and godhood. Eternal life meaning life with God.  We cannot have either without the experience of this mortal life.  It is a perfect schooling ground where we can develop God like characteristics.  Without those traits we cannot live as gods.  The Saviour can forgive us our sins and rescue us from the sting of death but it is up to us to develop god like natures through yielding our hearts to God. 

Neal A. Maxwell said "it is only by yielding to God that we can begin to realise His will for us".  He went on to say:  "we need to break free of our old selves - the provincial, constraining, and complaining selves - and become susceptible to the shaping of the Lord.  But the old self goes neither gladly nor quickly.  Even so, this subjection to God is really emancipation". (Neal A. Maxwell, "Willing to Submit", Ensign May 1985)

Consider King Benjamin's advice:

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, for ever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father".  (Mosiah 3:19)

Even if we stood at the judgment bar, ready for our eternal reward, and had the Lord forgive us totally of all our sins, we would not qualify for Celestial Kingdom if we had not developed the God like nature spoken of in this scripture.  Can you image to yourself an impatient god, or an intolerant god, or a complaining god, or a god lacking in love?  Only yielding our hearts to God and making His Atonement active in our lives can create a god within us.

When Christ visited the Americas he spoke a lot about the Father and that He was sent to do His will.  In fact, he made 147 references to the Father during His visit with them. I counted them all a few years ago when I suddenly noticed how frequent the references were even though I had read the Book of Mormon countless times before.   The Saviour perfectly exemplified total obedience to the Father's will, no matter how hard the task that was asked of Him, and He had the hardest task to accomplish out of all of us.  The whole act of Atonement pivots on Christ's submission to the Father's will. "...Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done". (Luke 22:42) There is something very important about this.  If the Atonement was performed out of submission, it goes to say that the Atonement can empower us, his disciples, to submit our will to the Father too.  This means using the Atonement in our daily efforts to overcome the natural man and to accept the hardships and adversity we are required to go through which will in the end refine and polish us.  Once again, verbal invocation of the Atonement comes into play.  As already suggested in my post on How to Use The Power of the Atonement, the wording should reflect our faith in Jesus Christ and should invoke the power we need to overcome the natural man or to endure the trials we are experiencing. If you are having a difficult time being submissive to God's will in general, your supplication should be: "Through my faith in Jesus Christ and the power of the Atonement, I ask for the ability to submit my will to thine, to know thy will and to be empowered to live it" or even better, "Through my faith in Jesus Christ who so perfectly submitted His will to thine, I ask to be empowered through His Atonement to submit my will to thine in all things".  The wording can be more specific relative to the situation you are in. 

If you are blinded by the gloss of this telestial world and care too much about what you have in this life and find it difficult to let go, you are not on the path to eternal life.  The Father has so so much more to give you than this dismal telestial glory. This is not your true home.  You are here for a one off experience.  When that experience is ended and the earth is 'rolled together as a scroll' (Mormon 9:2) you will want to be walked through the pearly gates to receive the splendour of eternal life. So let go and do it now.

THE CHURCH FULFILLS PROPHECIES

"We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (9th Article of Faith)

Continuing revelation is the lifeblood of this Church.  President Lee once shared this story:

"Elder John A. Widstoe of the Council of the Twelve once told of a discussion he had with a group of stake officers.  In the course of the discussion someone said to him, 'Brother Widstoe, how long has it been since the Church received a revelation?'  Brother Widstoe rubbed his chin thoroughly and said in reply, 'Oh, probably since last Thursday'." (Lee, Harold B., Stand Ye In Holy Places, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City: 1974, pp 132-33)

It is amazing to me to witness how revelation can bridge time in fulfilment of prophecies.  It strengthens my testimony to see how the Church is an instrument in God's hands to effect this fulfilment.  None of this would be possible if revelation had ceased between God and his children.  One such prophecy dates back to Ezekiel:

"The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, for Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all of the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand". (Ezek 37:15-17)

The obvious reference of the sticks is the Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon.  The way they have been made into one stick, two historical accounts becoming one witness of Jesus Christ, is through the Church's own publication of the Bible, influenced by revelation, which incorporates references to all of the standard works.

Elder Boyd K. Packer expounded on the significance of the new editions of the scriptures back in 1982:

"The stick or record of Judah - the Old Testament and the New Testament - and the stick or record of Ephraim - The Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ - are now woven together in such a way that as you pore over one you are drawn to the other, as you learn from one you are enlightened by the other.  They are indeed one in our hands.  Ezekiel's prophecy now stands fulfilled.

With the passing of years, these scriptures will produce successive generations of faithful Christians who know the Lord Jesus Christ and are disposed to obey His will.

The older generation has been raised without them, but there is another generation growing up.  The revelations will be opened to them as to no other in the history of the world.  Into their hands now are placed the sticks of Joseph and of Judah.  They will develop a gospel scholarship beyond that which their forebears could achieve.  They will have the testimony that Jesus is the Christ and be competent to proclaim Him and to defend Him. (Boyd K. Packer, "Scriptures", Ensign, Nov. 1982, p. 53)

We are privileged to be a part of the most important and powerful institution on this earth.  Powerful because at the helm of it is Jesus Christ who directs it through his living prophets.  Important because of the work that is being accomplished through revelation for the salvation of the human family.  This institution is the only place that will enable us to stand at the last day when the Saviour returns.  Whether we survive what is to take place before that great event, is up to us.  President Lee explained it in this way:

"This is what has been said, in effect, in this conference:  Unless every member of this Church gains for himself an unshakeable testimony of the divinity of this Church, he will be among those who will be deceived in this day when the 'elect according to the covenant' are going to be tried and tested.  Only those will survive who have gained for themselves that testimony." (President Harold B. Lee, October 1950)

PRIESTHOOD REVELATION BRINGS JOY

"For many years, I have watched the process of continuous revelation which emanates from God through the keys, authority, and under direction of the President of the Church.  I testify that this revelatory power has directed this work since April 6, 1830.  That confirmation is the source of the greatest knowledge I have.  I counsel and pray that all will heed the ongoing prophetic voice of this Church, revealing the word of God in our day. (James E. Faust, "The Prophetic Voice", Ensign, May 1997, 7)"

Studying this lesson has made me see the magnitude of what the Church is accomplishing in preparation of the Saviour's coming.  The Church is a well oiled machine, perfectly organised and run under the direction of the priesthood who continue to receive revelation relative to this preparation.  The scriptures speak of prophets as "watch(men) upon the tower" who see "the enemy while he (is) yet afar off" (D&C 101:54).  Because we have continuous revelation and living prophets,  the Church is always one step ahead to ensure this preparation is ever forging onward. 

One of the greatest examples of this is the revelation extending the blessings of the priesthood to every worthy male member of the Church.  This revelation was presented to the Church and the world on September 30, 1978, at the 148th Semiannual General Conference of the Church.  I stand in awe of President Kimball who had pondered, meditated and prayed much to invite this revelation and bring about such an important change for the Church and its' membership.  At the time I was only a new convert in the Church and did not fully grasp what this revelation would really mean to the membership of the Church and the world.  I think I was of the opinion that it was 'really nice' that this had happened.  The Lord however, doesn't do 'really nice'.  He always fulfils his purposes and he does it on a grand scale.  This revelation had great impact on accelerating the missionary efforts so the Church can fulfil its' destiny of growing and filling the world, as prophesied by Joseph Smith.

I read the following story about the priesthood revelation and was reminded of what it feels like to long to be in the Church:

"Joseph William Billy Johnson of Cape Coast, Ghana, first received literature about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1964.  He knew that the Church doctrines he read in it were true, and he immediately began teaching them to his family, friends and anyone else who would listen to him.  It was not until four years later that he was able to obtain a copy of the Book of Mormon, to carefully read and pray about it, and to receive a witness of its truth.  In letters to Salt Lake City, he had asked for more information about the Church and for missionaries to come to Africa to teach and baptize him.  President McKay sent him literature and told him it was not yet time for missionaries to come to his country but that he should continue to study and have faith.

For 14 years Billy Johnson devoted himself to teaching the everlasting gospel and meeting with informal groups of believers.  While strengthened by many spiritual experiences, he and members of these groups became discouraged when their pleadings for missionaries were not answered quickly.

During a particularly difficult period, Billy returned home one day much discouraged.  As he struggled to obtain comfort and counsel from the Lord, he felt impressed to turn on his shortwave radio and find the BBC news broadcast.  He was finally able to tune in the BBC at midnight.  He recalls:

          "I heard the message of President Kimball's prophecy concerning the priesthood, that all
           worthy males in all of the world could receive the priesthood.  I burst into tears of joy,
           because I knew the priesthood would come to Africa, and if we did the right things, we
           would all receive the priesthood".

What joy spread through his heart as he heard the BBC news commentator announce the long-await revelation! (Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, "The Incomparable Blessings of the Priesthood", Ensign Oct. 1997, p. 50)

Why did Billy Johnson have to wait so long to be baptised?  Because the Church cannot exist anywhere without the administration of the priesthood. This man felt constrained to preach the Gospel in Ghana and converted so many people to it that he organised several branches and all with just one copy of the Book of Mormon.  Members of his branch were allowed just a few moments each to read from it.   There is another amazing story of Nigerian saints who had also organised themselves into a branch under the direction of one man, Anthony Obinna, and waited for the priesthood revelation to bring the saving ordinance and missionary work to Africa. Both of these stories can be found in full in the Church History section of the Church site, www.lds.org . It will make you weep and make you reflect on how much you value your Church membership.  It is astounding to me how the Lord prepared these people on one side of the world and put in place a prophet on the other side of the world who would consider the constant pleading of the African saints important enough to seek a revelation that would bring salvation to so many souls.  Such is the power of continuing revelation to latter-day prophets.



 



HOW TO USE THE POWER OF THE ATONEMENT

I adore words.  I am a firm believer in their power.  I constantly pray that I will be blessed with 'the tongue of angels' so I can expound the words of Christ in my speaking, teaching and writing.  There are no more powerful words to me than the name of Jesus Christ.  I always delight to read stories in the scriptures where the ancients have invoked the blessings of heaven by using the Saviour's name.  One such example is Alma who delivered himself and Amulek from prison by pleading for strength according to their faith which was in Christ (Alma 14:26). 

To make the Atonement active in our lives, we need to call upon its' power in such a manner that it would affirm our faith in Jesus Christ.  If we do not believe in Him, we have no claim on His power.  When working on something as serious as overcoming addictions, we might need to do this several times a day.  The Atonement is the source by which power will come to us that has been taken away.  The Saviour has overcome the world and we can overcome it too through the power He gives us. 

I learnt about this power and how to use it at the time of my divorce when I felt that nothing else would be able to heal the crippling emotional pain I was experiencing.  I invoked the power of the Atonement on daily basis, several times a day, and through it achieved the very result I wanted.  Knowing how powerful words are, I carefully worded my daily petition: 
"Through my faith in Jesus Christ I ask for the power of the Atonement to heal my broken heart, to replace resentment, anger and the sense of injustice with love, peace and forgiveness". 
This phrase became my mantra. I used it every time I felt a wave of pain wash over me. It didn't happen overnight but it happened just like I asked and in good time.  I was healed and survived incredibly well.  Thereafter, I preached about the Atonement and its' healing power many times.  I came to understand it was the greatest tool that was given to us to survive this life.  It was the tool we voted for before this world began.  It was the tool that I think we understood very well in our pre-existence, the only tool through which we could obtain godhood.

When praying for the power of the Atonement to overcome an addiction, I suggest the following wording:

"Through my faith in Jesus Christ I ask for the power of the Atonement to strengthen me in my time of weakness, to give me power over my addiction even unto deliverance."

If you want to be more specific, you could say:

"Through my faith in Jesus Christ I ask for the power of the Atonement to strengthen me in my time of weakness and to free me from my addiction to _______________."

You can use this formula whenever you need to call upon the power of the Atonement for anything you deem is worthy of its assistance.  I testify that it works.  The Saviour is real and so is His power. He suffered indescribable pain so you and I can have eternal life.  And He has provided the way so we can get there.  This is grace.  He cannot live our lives for us so it is up to us to access His grace to lift us to higher ground.  We cannot say that we can't make it, because we can.  Through the grace of God we can do all things.  And if we believe that we can't, we are not His disciples.

ADDICTIONS AND THE ATONEMENT

So many of us have addictive natures and just about all of us can become addicted to something at some point in our lives.  Addictions range from eating chocolate, to compulsive shopping to pornography.  Some are not so destructive and some can destroy us and keep us in chains for years.  What is the worst addiction?  The one that plagues you.  What is the worst aspect of an addiction?  Being stripped of one's power.  An addiction is inverted faith in something outside of ourselves which takes us away from God and his power to save.  If you have been using an addiction as a way of coping with your life, you have more faith in your addiction to get you by than you do in  the Saviour of the world and His power to succor you from day to day. And if you believe that it is impossible for you to overcome your addiction, you are denying the power of the Atonement.

Addictions are so prevalent in our society that they have become one of the greatest tools the adversary has to disempower us.  He wants us to believe that our addictions are who we are, that they are our true nature.  This is a craft very easily accomplished by the world which convinces us that we are what our behaviour labels us to be.  The world tells you that you are an alcoholic, a sex addict, a compulsive eater, a drug addict, a gambler.  The world uses labels and Satan uses the world. 

Satan seeks to confuse us as to our identity by undermining our spiritual origin.  Consider the encounter that Moses had with both God and Satan.  When God the Father appeared to Moses he proclaimed Himself to be "the Lord God Almighty" and he reiterated to him a number of times that He was His father by calling him "Moses, my son".  This stands out in stark contrast to Lucifer who appeared immediately after the Father withdrew and addressed him as "Moses, son of man".  (Moses 1:4,6,12)  When we label ourselves with worldly labels we forget that we are a son or daughter of God.

There is another reason why labelling ourselves is dangerous. If you believe that you are for instance an alcoholic, you will act as an alcoholic because what does an alcoholic do?  He drinks.  If you believe you are an alcoholic and will always be an alcoholic, even if you are on the wagon, you will eventually return to drink to confirm that inner belief, the belief that says that's who you are.  A good example of this is Robin Williams who after 23 years of being sober went back to drinking.  If you are constantly attending meetings that are constantly telling you you are an alcoholic, you will feel there is never escaping this addiction. This can be incredibly discouraging, disheartening and disempowering.  As you can tell, I do not agree with AA.  I am not undermining the seriousness of alcohol addiction but am rather trying to give you hope that there is a better way if you want it.  You are not an alcoholic but a son or daughter or God.  Alcoholism is an addiction, it is not a definition of who you are or of your self worth.  Therefore, it is better to say "I am a son or daughter of God with an addiction to alcohol".  It is not who you are, but what you are when you are drinking. You might want to contend with me here and say that going to meetings and being told that you are an alcoholic all the time keeps you in remembrance of your addiction and thus ensures success in abstinence.  I am of the opinion that suffering the consequences of our addictions keeps us in remembrance better. And there are always consequences.  I have been a witness to this through someone close to me. 

We should be extremely careful when we speak the words "I am" because what you say you are, you will believe and you will act according to that belief.  When we say "I am", we own that definition.  This is why it is important for us to understand our spiritual origin, to know ourselves, our gifts, talents, our character, our weaknesses and our strengths.  It is also important to understand our purpose and our destiny.  And what is our destiny?  We are destined to become gods.  It also goes without saying that we need to have a relationship with God and know Him as our Father.

Consider the Saviour and how well He knows Himself.   In several instances in the scriptures He calls himself "The Great I Am".  What He is saying is, this is who I am:

"I am the bread of life" (John 6:35)
"I am the good shepherd" (John 10:14)
"I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25)
"I am the light of the world" (John 8:12)
"I am the way, the truth, the life" (John 14:6)
"I am the true vine"  (John 15:1)
"I am the first and I am also the last" (Isaiah 44:6)

No wonder He is The Great I Am! How many of us speak so positively of ourselves?  How many of us proclaim ourselves to be scriptoreans, servants, forgivers, hard workers, believers, healers, people lovers, helpers, peacemakers, good mothers?  We are more likely to hear such negatives as:

I am a procrastinator
I am a glutton
I am an addict
I am uncaring
I am unthoughtful
I am dumb
I am stupid
I am weak
I am fat
I am unlovable

The scriptures say that our words and our thoughts will condemn us (Alma 12:14).  This does not mean only the bad things we say about and to others.  This also means that what we think and say about ourselves corrodes our spirits, damages our self-esteem and distances us from our spiritual identity. 

I believe God who says He can change the inner man and make out of us new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16a(footnote),17).  Once you allow Him to change you through the power of the Atonement,  you will turn to Him to help you handle life's difficulties rather than your addictive behaviour.  Such is the power of the Atonement.  It can purify us and refine us and cause all imperfections to fall away as dross.  Our addictions can then become something positive, a vehicle which has enabled us to come unto Christ. And this is where we want to be, in His safety and in His care.