Day 5 - Power of Christ

Day 5  (April 11, 2011 for me)     Question:  Wherein lies the power of Christ?

      Read:

      D&C 19:15-24

15  Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.

 16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

 17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

 18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

 19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and my preparations unto the children of men.

 20 Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit.

 21 And I command you that you preach naught but repentance, and show not these things unto the world until it is wisdom in me.

 22 For they cannot bear meat now, but milk they must receive; wherefore, they must not know these things, lest they perish.

 23 Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.

 24 I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his will.

 

      Mosiah 3:5

            For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.

      Mosiah 4:2-3

2    And they had themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.

 3   And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.

      Mosiah 5: 7-8

7    And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.

 8   And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

      Ponder:  How can I rid myself of guilt?  How can I put myself in a position to have the power of the atonement wash away my sins?

      The reality is that if we repent, truly repent, we should not feel guilty from that point forward.  I’m not sure we would ever truly forget, or else how would we learn from our mistakes?  But we can certainly free ourselves from the feeling of worthlessness and guilt that comes from knowing we’ve done things that have wronged ourselves and others. 

      But the true peace that we can find within comes from one source only, and that is the power of the Atonement.  We can know that Christ has already paid the price, if we are but willing to do our own part.  I think the true knowledge of what the Atonement is in my personal life is still elusive to me.  That miracle is so far reaching and so intensely personal at the same time, that it’s difficult to wrap my brain around.  But I do know that there are many things that I have repented of that I have ceased to do and are no longer part of my life, and through knowledge of the power of the Atonement, I no longer feel guilty about them.  I know I made mistakes but I also know I was able to overcome them and put them behind me and learn from them.  Through the Atonement, life can be beautiful going forward.