TO HEAL THE BROKEN HEARTED - PART 2

There is an article in the September 1980 issue of the Newsweek magazine entitled "What Mormons Believe". The author of this article had read several books of Mormon theology but rather than do a book review, it was his aim to report how members of the Church interpret their doctrine.  His findings led him to report that Mormons believe that 'men are born free of sin and earn their way to godhood by the proper exercise of free will, rather than through the grace of Jesus Christ. Thus Jesus' suffering and death in the Mormon view were brotherly acts of compassion, but they do not atone for the sins of others' (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 2). In other words, what this reporter discovered is the members' lack of understanding of the Atonement and what it can do for them. It would seem that we place more emphasis on our own feeble efforts and largely overlook God's grace when it comes to working out our salvation. Whenever there is disbelief expressed by members of the Church in their ability to 'make it' there is a sure belief that we are meant to gain eternal life on our own merit rather than through the power of God's grace given to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The Church has placed a lot of emphasis on the Atonement in recent years and the leaders have taught this important doctrine extensively. Even though we might never fully understand it in this life, it is hoped that most of the Church membership by now at least believe what the Atonement professes it can do because if we don't, this life stands as an insurmountable mountain to climb: "Our understanding of the Atonement is hardly a shield against sorrow; rather, it is a rich source of strength to deal productively with the disappointments and heartbreaks that form the deliberate fabric of mortal life. The gospel was given us to heal our pain, not to prevent it. Having noted these reasons for caution, however, I sense that an increasing number of deeply committed Church members are weighed down beyond the breaking point with discouragement about their personal lives. When we habitually understate the meaning of the Atonement, we take more serious risks than simply leaving one another without comforting reassurances - for some may simply drop out of the race, worn out and beaten down with the harsh and untrue belief that they are just not celestial material (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 5)." Anyone who drops out of the race because they believe that they can't make it does not understand how the Atonement works and how to make it active in their lives. It is practically a sin to say 'I can't make it' for when we do so we negate the Saviour's suffering on our behalf.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ was not only designed for our spiritual purification but to also endow us with power to overcome, to fix, to change and to endure. This is grace. Grace is power. It is not a magic wand that will on judgment day miraculously compensate for everything we fell short of in our mortal lives. It is, however, a consistent source of aid available to us, during our life's journey, to overcome the world and fashion of ourselves what we are meant to become. It is the combined force of our action and the Saviour's power that grants us salvation, not our merit alone or the Saviour's infallible mercy alone. The Saviour was blessed with power to 'tread the winepress alone' and to atone for every sin and mortal distress known to man. This is important for us to know because those who accept the saving ordinances of the gospel have access to this power, with which the Saviour could overcome the suffering of all mankind, to overcome our own. We have the right to this access by virtue of becoming His sons and His daughters. When we are born into this world, we inherit physical attributes of our mortal father. When we are born spiritually in the waters of baptism and proceed to live the gospel, we inherit attributes of our spiritual Father who is Jesus Christ. This means that through the grace available to us we can think as He does, act as He does, endure as He does. This is what Alma meant when he said: "And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the Church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received His image in your countenances? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?" (Alma 5:14,19). When we become as He is, we become powerful, powerful enough to overcome, powerful enough to endure, powerful enough to succeed.

How did the Saviour become so powerful during the moment of His greatest suffering? The scriptures record that as He suffered, He prayed. But not just any prayer. When ordinary prayer was not enough and his agony intensified, He prayed 'more earnestly' (Luke 22:44) suggesting this was not a prayer of words but a prayer of faith. If He believed that His supplication to the Father would go unnoticed He would have ceased praying but the scriptures record that as His agony increased, so did His prayer. As He prayed earnestly through faith, the power increased to endure the agony which extracted drops of blood from every pore. It was because of this power that He was able to say 'thy will be done'. He didn't want to suffer. He pleaded with the Father, if there was another way, to take the bitter cup from Him so that He did not have to drink it but the commitment had been made long ago and the price had to be paid. And so He did what was the hardest of all things for Him to do. That's power. Subjecting Himself to the agony of Gethsemane and overcoming the sting of death was the Saviour's crowning glory.

We can access the power of the Atonement through the prayer of faith in Jesus Christ. When Alma prayed for deliverance from prison cords which held him and Amulek bound, he didn't pray just an ordinary prayer but he prayed that the cords be loosed 'according to our faith which is in Christ' (Alma 14:26). When he blessed Zeezrom with the intent to heal him, he prayed for him to be healed 'according to his faith which is in Christ' (Alma 15:10). If we are to access Christ's power, we must do so by affirming our faith in Him with the words of our prayer, during our prayer and not just at its' conclusion. Speaking the name of Jesus Christ carries with it immense power and affirms to the Father that we have faith in His Son and His Atonement. The Saviour Himself has said 'whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you' (3 Nephi 27:28) and 'whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it' (Enos 1:15).

We possess the greatest tool known to man for the perfection of our souls. In our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour we have been granted access to immense power to conquer all things including suffering that comes from consequences of this mortal probation, even the decisions we make pertaining to our spiritual and temporal lives. So much depended on the Saviour's acceptance of the task given Him, not only did His eternal destiny hang in balance but ours also. Imagine being responsible for billions of people. Imagine allowing destruction of all these people in your care. Satan had already led away a third of the Father's children. Imagine if the Saviour backed down in His hour of agony and allowed the rest us to fall into Satan's hands. It could never be because all would have been wasted including this earth which He has created for the perfection of our mortal experience. As we stood in line in the Garden of Gethsemane with the burden of our mortality upon us we understood the price that was paid for our eternal souls. With bated breath we hoped against all hope that Christ would not shrink back from exquisite agony and leave us unransomed and lost. It was in that precise moment of His submission to the Father's will that we understood just how much we are worth. The price was paid, the slate would be wiped clean, the tears of our sorrows wiped away, perfection will be within reach and then life eternal in the realms of our heavenly home. The plan conceived before the world was, at once became the plan achieved. This is grace. This is the path to exaltation, this is the reality that dispels all doubt in human breast telling us we cannot do it.

"For ye are bought with a price..........I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands"

(1 Cor 6:20, Isa 49:16)