This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Morning Session of the April 2010 Conference.
A couple weeks ago I wrote about how our easy access to the scriptures and the words of the prophets might be a compensating blessing for the difficult challenges of our day. Elder Scott talks in this session about another thing that can help fortify us, something I wouldn't have thought of: a testimony of Jesus Christ's atonement. It makes sense, of course, because His atonement is the central part of God's plan, and it makes possible all the things we need—revelation, access to the spirit, access to heavenly power, etc. But I just hadn't thought about that specific testimony being this valuable to us:
As you remember the Resurrection and the price paid and the gift given through the Atonement, ponder what the scriptures teach of those sacred events. Your personal witness of their reality will be strengthened. They must be more than principles you memorize. They must be woven into the very fiber of your being as a powerful bulwark against the rising tide of abomination that infects our world.
Then Elder Scott goes even further:
I realize that no mortal mind can adequately conceive, nor can human tongue appropriately express, the full significance of all that Jesus Christ has done for our Heavenly Father’s children through His Atonement. Yet it is vital that we each learn what we can about it. The Atonement is that essential ingredient of our Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness without which that plan could not have been activated. Your understanding of the Atonement and the insight it provides for your life will greatly enhance your productive use of all of the knowledge, experience, and skills you acquire in mortal life.
I think that's so interesting. Knowing about Jesus' atonement will enhance ALL our knowledge, experience, and skills? Music? Writing? Getting along with difficult people? Cooking? Time management? I guess it's the same thing as "not at any time have I given you a law which was temporal"—where my mortal mind sees a disconnect between "regular everyday things" and "things the atonement of Christ can help me with," a greater perspective finds they are one and the same. It makes me want to do better at consciously inviting Jesus Christ into the little details of my daily life, and seeking to find the spiritual purpose behind the challenges Heavenly Father has allowed in my life.
I also think this is a powerful promise about how sharing our testimonies of Christ's Atonement will bless our children:
As you ponder—not just read but ponder and meditate—on scriptural passages, the power of the Holy Ghost will distill truths in your mind and heart as a secure foundation in this uncertain time in which we live. As parents, prepare your children for the challenges they will encounter. Teach them truth, encourage them to live it, and they will be all right no matter how severely the world is shaken.
As parents, we do have to know and internalize these truths, so we can teach them. And we have to be good examples and share our testimonies freely with our children. But it's interesting that he doesn't say "make them live it" or "ensure that they live it" or even "don't let them stop living it"—because, obviously, we can't. But we can "encourage" them to live as if the Atonement of Jesus Christ matters, by letting it matter to us. We can "encourage" them to seek His help in all things, by seeking it ourselves. We can "encourage" them to get to know their Savior by radiating His love. And if we do that, leaving the rest up to God, Elder Scott promises "they will be all right no matter how severely the world is shaken." I think that's amazing!
