Brothers and sisters, I am grateful to speak to you today. I love you very much, and it is good to be with you at the beginning of a new semester on another great day at BYU-Idaho.
Many years ago, I served a mission in Southern Germany. One morning early in my mission, I knelt in prayer to ask my Heavenly Father for help. I was discouraged and worried, unsure of myself, and troubled by fears and doubts. I pleaded with the Lord for relief, for help, and for guidance. As I prayed, I heard a voice, as clear as if someone were standing by my side, say to me: "Believe in God." I looked up but only saw my companion across the room fixing breakfast. I said to him, "Is there a scripture somewhere that says, 'Believe in God'?" In an offhand way he said, "Oh yeah. Mosiah chapter 4, verse 9."
I sat on the bed, opened the Book of Mormon and read that scripture:
Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.
As I read that verse, the Spirit bore a powerful witness of its truth. I had my answer.
In an hour of intense need, in a time of trial, I received reassurance of the Savior's love, mercy, and grace, along with divine counsel for a lifetime: when you are in tough situations, when you face important decisions, when you need to repent, when you are discouraged or lonely or afraid, turn to Christ. Act with faith and humility to seek the blessings of His Atonement in your life.
Brothers and sisters, I bear witness that marvelous blessings can flow into our lives through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I bear that witness to you today because I want the Atonement of Christ to work more powerfully in your lives. I want you to have greater faith in Him, more thoroughly forsake sin and repent, and have His Spirit with you always. I want you to love Him more, obey Him more, trust Him more, and serve Him more. I want you to be converted more deeply unto the Lord so that in your trials that surely will come, the Savior's redeeming and strengthening power will be with you.
And so, today, in this sacred place, I will speak first about the Atonement of Christ and its blessings. I will then focus on what we need to do so that the Atonement of Christ will work more powerfully in our lives in times of trial.
The Atonement of Christ and Its Blessings
In the premortal realm, our Heavenly Father chose His firstborn spirit son to be the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. Born of Mary in Bethlehem, Jesus was the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. He came to live in this fallen, mortal world in order to experience and overcome everything that stood in the way of immortality and eternal life for all of Heavenly Father's children.
In Gethsemane and on Calvary, Jesus took upon Himself our sins and suffered the "whole law of the demands of justice"[2] for us. He felt in His pure and sinless soul the searing torment of "a perfect knowledge of all our guilt and our uncleanness."[3] He suffered the agony of "[death] as to things pertaining unto righteousness"[4] and the "awful chains"[5] of Satan's power and captivity.
Jesus also chose to take upon Himself all of our infirmities. Alma taught that Christ would know our infirmities through the Spirit but would choose to suffer them in the flesh.[6] In that magnificent act of love and sacrifice, Jesus would suffer "pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind"[7] and indeed, "the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam."[8]
In His love and compassion for us, Jesus chose to suffer every infirmity of mortal life for two reasons: first, that He would be filled with mercy and know from His own experience how to use His power to succor each one of us in our weakness, our sorrow, and our trials; second, that He might "blot out [our] transgressions according to the power of His deliverance."[9]
This means that the Atonement of Christ can work in every aspect of our lives. Jesus experienced and overcame everything we experience so that His almighty power can cleanse us from every sin and lift us and strengthen us in every trial we face. He knows each one of us perfectly. He has walked our path. He has felt what we feel. He has perfect love and empathy for us, and He has all power to redeem us and strengthen us perfectly.
Jesus has that power because of His suffering. We have His own words describing what He felt:
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--
Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.[10]
The culminating experience of Christ's suffering and sacrifice was the Resurrection. Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb, and rose the third day a glorious resurrected being. He burst the bands of death and the chains of hell. In a way we only dimly comprehend, Jesus descended below all things and overcame all things. Because of His atoning sacrifice, He "received all power both in heaven and on earth."[11] He is the Savior and Redeemer.
It is remarkable that out of such awful suffering there could come such amazing blessings. Because of the Atonement, every little child born into this world is born innocent, "alive in Christ"[12]; every person receives the Light of Christ; and everyone will be resurrected and return to "stand in the presence of [God], to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in Him."[13] These blessings are all unconditional gifts of Christ to everyone.
Jesus opened the path to exaltation and eternal life to those who have faith in Him, repent of their sins, are baptized by water and the Spirit, desire to serve Him, and endure valiantly to the end. As the Lord taught Nicodemus, each repentant soul may be born again, a new person in Christ. We are not trapped by our past. Through the Atonement of Christ, we can be redeemed from all the burdens of sin and enjoy all the blessings of the Lord's true and living church--including the gifts of the Spirit, the blessings and power of the priesthood, and the sacred ordinances of the temple of the Lord.
As we walk in that path and learn to consistently and persistently act with faith in Christ to do His will, the power of the Atonement will work in our lives. Jesus will redeem us from sin and change our very nature. He will strengthen us with His gifts and blessings and help us become more and more like Him. Through His mercy and His grace, we can qualify for exaltation and eternal life.
The Power of the Atonement Working in Our Lives
The path to eternal life is not the easy way. It is strait and narrow; and it runs right through this fallen, mortal world. In this world there are storms of sorrow and suffering that break upon us and forces of evil that try to draw us away.
Trials come to everyone in mortal life; no one is exempt. Some trials are short and intense. Some last a long time. These times of trial are one of life's great crucibles of personal, spiritual growth. They test us and try us. They are part of the Father's plan. The growth and learning He wants for us can only come through mortal trials.
Satan tries to exploit those very same trials for his evil purposes. In times of trial he tempts us to stop doing the things that bind us to God and to seek relief in the ways of the world that lead to sin and darkness.
It is very important to remember that while trials make us vulnerable to temptation, Satan has no power over us unless we give it to him. As long as we keep the pleasures, philosophies, and riches of the world out of our hearts and live the plain and simple truths of the gospel, the power of the Atonement of Christ will work in our lives. We will be warned and strengthened and blessed to resist and escape from temptation, and we will find strength in times of trial. As Jesus said to the Prophet Joseph:
The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.[14]
I love the message of that scripture--"hold on thy way,"[15] "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ,"[16] relying on the "merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah"[17] and He "shall be with you forever and ever."[18]
We "hold on [our] way"[19] by turning to Christ with all our hearts, relying on His teachings and example to guide us, and trusting in Him for strength and capacity beyond our own. The Savior's experience after He descended from the Mount of Transfiguration illustrates a pattern that will help us apply these principles in times of trial.
When Jesus had come down from the mountain, a father said to Him:
Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; And they brought him unto [Jesus]: and when [Jesus] saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
The father then said to Jesus:
. . . if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.[20]
Moved with divine compassion, Jesus cast out the evil spirit and healed the boy and his family.
The father's experience is instructive. He came to Jesus with his only son who was beset by a foul, dumb spirit. The father and mother had cared for the boy for a long time. They loved him. The father had turned to Jesus hoping that He might be able to do something for them. His faith was weak. The Savior helped the father recognize his weakness, open his heart, and put his trust in Christ.
There is a pattern in the father's experience that can help us "hold on our way" in times of trial. It has three parts:
Part I: Turn to Christ with humility and faith in Him
The Savior knows you perfectly and has suffered what you suffer. He knows how to help you address and overcome the trials you face, and His love never fails. You can turn to Him with confidence and trust.
However, in times of trial, difficult issues and new demands on our attention and our time may distract us. There may be temptations to turn elsewhere for relief. If we are not careful, we may stop doing the very things that will bring us divine help. We "hold on our way" by consciously saying to ourselves: I am going to look to Christ, give my heart to Him, and keep doing the things that connect me to Him and to His power.
Once the father in the story decided to turn to Christ for help, he went looking for Him in the roads and on the hills of Palestine. When we turn to Christ in times of trial, where do we find Him? The answer is very clear. We find Him in prayer to our Father in Heaven, in the scriptures, in the words of the living prophets, in obedience to His commandments, in personal revelation through the Holy Ghost, and in His Church--including in His authorized servants, in sacred ordinances and covenants, in His temple, and in His service.
All of these things are channels through which we can seek the strength, guidance, and support of Christ in times of trial. We can pray and search the scriptures; we can counsel with parents, family members, and priesthood leaders; we can partake of the sacrament, worship in the temple, and serve others. When the Atonement of Christ is working in our lives, these channels literally "light up" with His Spirit, truth, guidance, love, and power.
Part II: Hear the Word of the Lord and Do It
When we turn to the Lord with humility and faith, He guides us and directs us. Insights and understanding come when we ask the Father in the name of Christ what we are supposed to learn from our trials and what we should do. The Lord wants us to "hold on our way," and He will speak to us.
The key for us is to hear His word and do what He directs us to do. What He gives us will depend on the very specific situations we face. I can tell you, however, two things the Lord will direct all of us to do in times of trial.
The first is to repent. Look back at the example of the father. When he asked Jesus for help, the father said, "If thou canst do any thing."[21] The father's faith was weak and incomplete. He did not believe that Christ could do all things. Jesus called the father to repentance with these words: "If thou canst believe."[22] With His searching statement, Jesus gave the father an opportunity to repent and grow in his understanding and faith.
The Lord uses our trials to help us put our lives in order and become more like Him.[23] This may seem especially daunting in a time of trial. However, if we pray and ask what we need to change in our lives, the Lord will guide us. If we heed the call to repent, the Lord will forgive us. His redeeming power will cleanse us and change our hearts and our lives, no matter the nature of the sin or how long it has been going on. Repentance will be a source of great power in overcoming the trials we face.
The second direction the Lord will give us is to serve. Even in our most trying times, Jesus will guide us to serve other people. Serving others on the Lord's errand opens our hearts to His Spirit and His love. We turn away from a preoccupation with ourselves and focus more on the Lord and the people we serve. And very often the people we serve lift and strengthen us.
Here, again, Jesus is our great example. Because He heard and did the Father's will, Jesus can guide and direct us, redeem us, and strengthen us in every time of trial.
Part III: Face the Trial Head-On with Faith and Not Fear
When Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, He faced that difficult situation head-on; He did not turn away. With divine love and power, Jesus healed the boy and the mother and father. He is our example, and He is the source of the strength we need. When we "hold on our way" and face trials head-on in the Lord's way, we have access to His guidance and His power.
President Thomas S. Monson has taught:
The history of the Church . . . is replete with the experiences of those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer. The reason? They have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. We will still experience difficult challenges, but we will be able to face them, to meet them head-on, and to emerge victorious.[24]
The trials of mortal life usually require that we do hard things. Because things are hard, our natural reaction may be frustration, disappointment, a desire to find an easier way, and especially fear. That is why it is a trial; we feel inadequate and even at a loss.
But we do not have to take counsel from our fears and our frustrations. We can act with faith in Christ's power and His love to do what is hard with an attitude of hope and optimism. The scriptures teach us that through the power of His atoning sacrifice, Jesus can make our burdens light. He can strengthen us to do things that are hard. He can change our hearts and bless us with assurance of His help.
Like Helaman and his army who at one point were "grieved and also filled with fear,"[25] we, too, can turn to Christ and He will "grant unto us great faith" and "cause [that] we should hope for . . . deliverance in him."[26] He will help us face hard things head-on, with hope and assurance and good cheer.
Conclusion and Testimony
I want to return now to my experience with Mosiah, chapter 4, verse 9.
On that day in Germany, I did not know what trials I would face in my life. But the Lord knew, and He began to teach me that day how to "hold on my way." Over many years and many trials, I have gained a sure witness of the pattern I have taught today and of the power of the Atonement of Christ in times of trial.
Let me give you an example from a trial Sue and I and one of our children faced together.
When our son Jonathan was in the third grade, he was diagnosed with a serious learning disability. The counselor who tested him told us that by his early twenties Jonathan would develop the ability to learn effectively, but until then he would have difficulty learning.
That turned out to be true on both counts. Throughout his years in middle school and high school, Jonathan really struggled with schoolwork. He coped with his frustration and disappointment psychologically by making school unimportant and by getting into trouble in a variety of ways.
Sue and I had not dealt with these challenges before, and we were often at a loss when new behaviors and new challenges would emerge. There were years when every time the phone in my office would ring I would get a knot in my stomach because I worried it was about some problem with Jonathan.
Sue and I turned to the Lord for guidance and strength. There were times when we did not know how we were going to make it. We needed more insight, more love, more firmness, more patience, and more resilience than we had. We prayed and trusted that the Lord would help us, and then we faced what we had to do every day head-on. We loved Jonathan, taught him, talked to him, disciplined him, worked with him, and prayed for him for many years.
Many blessings came. We had some wonderful times with Jonathan. We received new insights from the Lord, and many angels of mercy helped Jonathan and us. Through the strengthening power of the Atonement of Christ, Jonathan matured spiritually and emotionally. Sue and I gradually learned how to help Jonathan with more love and more structure. And we became more patient and more resilient.
Jonathan graduated from high school, did a year of college, and then served a mission. But the trials were not over. He had to come home from his mission because of a serious anxiety disorder that surfaced for the first time. That was a really difficult time for him and for us. Over a number of months, with lots of faith in the Savior, with priesthood blessings and the help of a wise physician, Jonathan made progress. He had learned to trust the Lord, and the Lord blessed him.
One of the most powerful blessings was Deborah, whom Jonathan had met in college and who became his wife. They moved to Minnesota so Jonathan could play football and go to school when another trial hit them, literally. Jonathan was out tubing one day with a friend from Church when he lost control of his tube and spun out onto a state highway. A truck hit him and crushed his left leg between the knee and the ankle.
He survived the crash and recovered through months of painful therapy with priesthood blessings and lots of faith. One day Jonathan called me on the phone and said the words his mother and I had hoped to hear for 14 years. He said, "Dad, I'm starting to really like school, and I am doing well. I think I need to go to a better school." He transferred to Boston College where he majored in economics. The boy who struggled mightily in high school later earned a master's degree in public health and a Ph.D. in health policy and management at Harvard. Today he teaches at Penn State, has a wonderful family, and serves in the bishopric in his ward.
Brothers and sisters, I know from my own experience that the path to eternal life comes with trials. But I am a witness of the strengthening and redeeming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer. I know He lives. The power of His Atonement is real. When trials come, turn to Him, listen to Him and face the trial head-on with faith in Him. He loves us and will be with us in every time of trial.
His promise is true: hold on thy way, and God will be with you forever and ever.[27] I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] D&C 122:9
[2] Alma 34:16
[3] 2 Nephi 9:14
[4] Alma 5:42
[5] 2 Nephi 28:22
[6] Alma 7:12-13
[7] Alma 7:11
[8] 2 Nephi 9:21
[9] Alma 7:13
[10] D&C 19:18-19
[11] D&C 93:17
[12] Moroni 8:12
[13] 2 Nephi 2:10
[14] D&C 122:8-9
[15] D&C 122:9
[16] 2 Nephi 31:20
[17] 2 Nephi 2:8
[18] D&C 122:9
[19] Stet
[20] Mark 9:22-24
[21] Mark 9:22
[22] Mark 9:23
[23] D&C 105:6
[24] Thomas S. Monson, "I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee," Ensign, November 2013
[25] Alma 58:9
[26] Alma 58:11
[27] D&C 122:9