The Book of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ, is the religious history of a people that inhabited the Americas from around 600 BC to 400 AD. It was translated by Joseph Smith from an ancient record by the gift and power of God. As its title indicates, its teachings about Jesus Christ combine with the teachings of the Old and New Testaments to help form the foundation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the nickname “Mormons” comes from its title. In the Book of Mormon, Jesus himself talks about how He no longer requires animal sacrifices. Instead, He requires the sacrifice of a broken heart:

I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost…

Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin (The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 9:18-21).

In his new book, Enabled by the Power of Christ, E. Richard Packham describes how a broken heart can bring us to our Savior, Jesus Christ:

One day a number of years ago, I was using an unabridged dictionary to look up the spelling of a particular word. As my finger ran down the column of words, all of a sudden a very familiar term jumped out: broken heart. I could not help but stop and see what Mr. Webster had to contribute to my understanding. One concept proposed that the term meant, “A theological term meaning to be crushed spiritually.” The thought ran through my mind, “What is there in the gospel that would cause us to be crushed spiritually?” Every gospel principle that is taught brings joy and happiness—eternal marriage, the resurrection, the Plan of Sa1vation, and so forth. All of a sudden, the thought filled my being that perhaps as people, we come to understand the profound suffering of the Savior’s Atonement by realizing that we personally contributed to that suffering. We then are “drawn to Christ.” In this realization, it breaks our hearts and brings a contrition of spirit, increasing the commitment to a changed life that can come in no other way. It penetrates us to the point of not wanting to make that great offering of love, an offering made in vain. It produces godly sorrow to the point of breaking our hard hearts, opening ourselves to the commit-ment, and changing our lives to be completely submissive to Him who gave so much…

I obtained permission from Lynn McKinley, a retired professor at BYU, to quote a sacred, personal experience that profoundly describes this process as it happened to him:

Such laboring in the spirit I have never known before. My wife and children were away for an hour or so, visiting her mother, and I was in the house alone. I felt the old familiar earthborn loneliness but was entirely unprepared for that which came. I knelt down beside the couch, began to pray to draw the Spirit to my breast for comfort and relief. But soon I felt an overwhelming power fill my being—not a power of light and exaltation which I wanted and expected, that I’d tasted measurably before at times, but a power that seemed almost to bruise my flesh and crush my spirit with the awful knowledge of my earthly guilt. The shameful vivid memories of sins that I had committed—tore my heart apart as they passed before my eyes and settled in my bosom. I could almost feel the anguish that the Master bore for me there in Gethsemane; the aching sorrow that I felt, to know with burning knowledge every sin I had committed or—God help me—I might yet commit, had of necessity to be absolved by bitter pain within his own pure, perfect, patient body. How the sobs tore through my throat. My spirit groaned with grief. With all the strength in me I bared my soul, confessed as deeply as my consciousness could stretch and still beyond, and plead forgiveness at the feet of him, my Savior and my King. I offered him my life, whatever it was worth to him. He bought it with his blood, the blood that oozed from every pore.

Could such a total commitment come without an awareness of the incomprehensible suffering of the Savior? Truly, a broken heart is the final capstone in the repentance process that provides the commitment, the purging, and the cleansing that allows a knowledge of forgiveness to come. (Enabled by the Power of Christ, by E. Richard Packham. 2008. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc.)

When we truly allow ourselves to experience the effects of the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, it will break our hearts with a knowledge of our sins. But when our hearts are broken, they can also finally be purged and healed through His marvelous love and power as we turn our lives completely over to Him.

In Humility, Our Savior

In humility, our Savior,

Grant thy Spirit here, we pray,

As we bless the bread and water

In thy name this holy day.

Let me not forget, O Savior,

thou didst bleed and die for me

When thy heart was stilled and broken

On the cross at Calvary.

Fill our hearts with sweet forgiving;

Teach us tolerance and love.

Let our prayers find access to thee

In thy holy courts above.

Then, when we have proven worthy

Of thy sacrifice divine,

Lord, let us regain thy presence;

Let thy glory ’round us shine.

(“In Humility, Our Savior,” by Mabel Jones Gabbott and Roland Prichard, Hymns #172)

Additional Resources:

Jesus Christ is the Way

A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit

Jesus Christ

by Nora

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ kept the passover with His disciples. He spoke to them with great love as He comforted them concerning His impending death. He blessed them with His peace:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

After washing their feet, sharing this special meal with them, teaching them, expressing His love for them, and praying for them, the Lord Jesus Christ left for the Garden of Gethsemane, where the suffering of the Atonement began. Jesus’s disciples, who did not really understand that He was about to suffer and die for mankind, felt great anguish and despair as they watched Him die and be laid in the tomb. Where could they find peace?

Hurricanes rage and tsunamis flood, killing people and destroying homes. Dictators oppress their people; destitute children beg in the streets of major cities throughout the world. Loved ones die, and family members suffer. If God is loving, we may ask, why is there suffering in the world?

God Himself has answered these questions in the scriptures. Every moment of every day, He remembers us:

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands… (Isaiah49:15-16)

But still the question remains: if He remembers us and loves us so completely, why does He allow us to suffer?

God loves us, so He sent us to earth to choose between good and evil

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called “The Mormon Church” by the media) teaches that God has a plan for us. In The Pearl of Great Price, which contains ancient writings of Abraham and Moses as well as modern revelation, God explains that we are His work and His glory:

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (The Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:39)

Mortal life is not the beginning of our existence, and it is not the end. As the literal spirit children of God, our Heavenly Father, we lived with Him before we came to earth. We are here because of His loving plan for us to learn, grow, and become more like Him, so that we can have eternal life and experience the fulness of joy that He experiences. To be like Him, we need physical bodies like His, and the opportunity to choose between good and evil. God loves us so much that  He allows the natural processes of the world to go forward so we can fully experience mortal life and the ultimate gift of eternal life. He loves each of His children, even those who choose evil and cause others to suffer. Because He loves us so much, He allows us to suffer at the the hands of others so that we each can experience fully the consequences of choosing good or evil. Because He loves each one of His children so much, He allows everyone to choose good or evil, to make real decisions with real consequences.

In this environment, we are required to act for ourselves and prove to ourselves and to God whether we would keep all of His commandments and overcome sin and opposition…The Father’s desire is to provide all of us with the opportunity to receive a fulness of joy, even the fulness that He possesses in His perfected and glorified state.(Christoffel Golden Jr., Our Father’s Plan, October 2001 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

By choosing to overcome evil and opposition, our natures can eventually become like His, thus allowing us to feel as He feels and live as He lives.

God loves us, so He sent Jesus Christ to atone for us

Because God loves us enough to let us each choose, the choices other people make often cause us pain and suffering. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to provide a way for us to overcome the suffering others may cause us to experience, as well as the suffering we bring upon ourselves though sin. The atonement of Jesus Christ mitigates the effects of sin and suffering in our lives if we learn to choose good by repenting of our sins and keeping His commandments. The gift of the Savior is the greatest evidence of all of God’s love for us:

For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of the Father in the flesh, willingly took upon Him the suffering of all men because of His great love for us. Our Savior, who had committed no sin, suffered beyond our ability to comprehend and died for our sins. In The New Testament and in The Doctrine and Covenants, a book of revelations to modern prophets, Christ describes His love and His sufferings. No greater love could ever be shown (see John 15:13 and Doctrine and Covenants 18:10-13). Jesus Christ’s sufferings in Gethsemane and on the cross paid the price for our sins, on condition of repentance; His resurrection from the dead broke the bands of death and physical suffering for all men. The atonement protects us from being destroyed by the struggles of our lives. Because of our Savior’s sacrifice, we can have our burdens lifted in mortality and return to God to live with Him eternally.

We can personally experience God’s love here on earth

Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we can feel the great love God has for us here on earth. Many Christians throughout history can testify of the joy and healing they have felt as they have experienced God’s love. The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, is the modern translation of some records of God’s dealings with an ancient people in the Americas. One story contained in it is the story of Alma the younger, who was the son of the prophet of an ancient people. Alma caused great pain to his father and others by actively going about, seeking to destroy the faith of the Christians who lived during his time. One day while he was traveling with his companions, he experienced a vision similar to Paul’s in which he was commanded to cease his work of destruction. He suddenly realized the terrible harm he had done to his people, and he fell to the ground, unable to move, consumed by despair. For three days he was wracked with torment at the thought of his sins. But at the end of the three days, he remembered the things he had been taught concerning the atonement of Christ. He called upon Jesus Christ for help and for forgiveness:

Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy. (The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma 36:18-23)

When we are overwhelmed with sin or despair, we too can call upon our loving Heavenly Father for help. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can feel His great love and be healed. Other Book of Mormon prophets described a Tree of Life, whose fruit represented the love of God. They described God’s love as filling their souls with great joy (1 Nephi 8:12), and being “most precious, …sweet above all that is sweet, and pure above all that is pure,” (Alma 32:42) so that by feasting upon it, they hungered and thirsted no more.

talk more about how we suffer for others’ sins, agency

Additional Resources:

Jesus Christ, Our Savior

Finding Ourselves in Lehi’s Dream

Amazing Grace: Sarah’s Story

As a young member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (inadvertently called “The Mormon Church” by the media), I learned about the atonement of Jesus Christ at a very young age. I prayed in His name, was baptized in His name, and partook of the bread and water of the sacrament weekly, just as He did with his disciples before his crucifixion (Luke 22:18-19). In my prayers, I promised God that I would follow Jesus and serve Him with my life; if I had broken one of His commandments, I asked forgiveness. I worshipped and asked for help every day. In my early 20′s, I went to the temple, where members of The Church of Jesus Christ (Mormons) covenant to follow Christ, keep His commandments, and sacrifice all they have to Him. Yet it was not until I reached the age of 31 that I truly came to understand what Jesus did for me when He suffered in Gethsemane, died on the cross, and was resurrected.

Needing the Savior

I spent Christmas of 1991 in the hospital, fighting for the lives of my unborn twin daughters. They were not due for 12 more weeks, but because of serious complications their lives were in danger. I had blown up like a balloon and was at constant risk of going into labor. My husband and I prayed constantly for our babies’ health and safety, but still felt continual fear. Our three little boys could not understand why Mommy was not home for Christmas.

Three days after Christmas, one of the twins died, and the other was delivered by Caesarian section. Her life, too, hung in the balance as she was rushed to a nearby children’s hospital, given three full units of blood, and placed on life support. In shock and pain, grieving the loss of her sister, we continued to pray for the miracle of health for our remaining daughter, whom we named Sarah.

In a few weeks the verdict was in: Sarah, although healthy in body, had suffered an almost complete loss of mental capacity. Her brain was damaged beyond repair, with only enough healthy tissue left to keep her heart beating and her lungs breathing as the rest slowly died and disappeared. We were devastated. How could God have treated us this way? We were His beloved children, and we worshipped Him and followed our Savior, Jesus Christ, who had miraculously healed the sick and brought the dead to life! Where was the Lord when we needed Him?

As we brought home our tiny, four-pound premie, I tried to settle into life as the mother of a profoundly handicapped child. Sarah required round-the-clock feeding and attention. She did not sleep normally; she fed listlessly; she could not keep her tiny meals down; she cried and arched her back painfully whenever she was not being held. With three other young children who needed me and a still grieving heart, I felt completely overwhelmed. Again I sought help from God through prayer. One day, as I was reading in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, I came across the following lines in Mosiah 24:13-15. Jesus Christ said to a group of ancient Christians who were enslaved to their enemies:

“Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; …and I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs.”

The Miracle of Grace: Lifting our Burdens

Grace is the miracle the Lord God offers to us, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, that lifts us to Him beyond anything we can do or ever hope to do in this life. “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:23). We must put forth our very best efforts all through our lives to keep the Lord’s commandments–but we will inevitably fall far short. Grace is the gift through which God strengthens us along the way and makes up the difference. One of the three essential gifts we receive by grace through the atonement of Jesus Christ is the gift of comfort and healing. Alma, an ancient prophet, calls it “succor:”

And [Jesus Christ] shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people…and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities (Book of Mormon, Alma 7:11-12).

Relief and hope flooded my heart as I read the words of the Lord. I began to pray differently: not that my Savior would remove my burdens, but that, through the atonement, he would “ease my burdens” and provide succor for my soul. It was then that our miracle began–not a miracle of the flesh, but a miracle of the heart. I began to sense the presence of my tiny daughter’s pure, magnificent soul, and the presence of the angelic spirits who tended to her as she endured her physical trials. Earthly angels entered my life in the guise of loving friends, wise doctors, and understanding social workers who eased my burdens of worry and exhaustion. By the time a few months had passed, I was rejoicing in the opportunity to nurture my beautiful daughter.

 

The Miracle of Healing our Bodies

In order to heal, I needed a second gift of grace. As a Mormon, I believed Sarah’s damaged body housed an immortal spirit that was a literal spirit child of God the Father. Although her brain could not function, her spirit was still experiencing mortal life through her body. When she felt pain, I suffered, knowing she could not remember or anticipate it. Nor could she organize the continual bombardment she experienced through her senses. She could not, for example, tolerate both a breeze and a song at the same time. Nevertheless, her mortal experience was important to her eternal life. I had faith that after this life, she would remember and learn essential truths from what she experienced here. I sang to her, and her spirit responded to the sounds. She would relax in my arms, a rare blessingfor her, as I sang her  a favorite children’s song from a songbook published by The Church of Jesus Christ:

          I Will Follow God’s Plan

My life is a gift; my life has a plan.

My life has a purpose; in heaven it began.

My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth

And seek for God’s light to direct me from birth.

I will follow God’s plan for me,

Holding fast to his words and his love.

I will work, and I will pray.

I will always walk in his way.

Then I will be happy on earth

And in my home above.

“I Will Follow God’s Plan,” by Vanya Watkins

I had faith in my heart that, through the grace of the resurrection of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ, Sarah would one day fully experience life in a healthy, perfect immortal body. By understanding her past as a spirit daughter of God, her present mortal experience, and the perfection to which she would one day be raised, I found comfort despite her occasional sufferings.

On a trip to visit family just seven months after her birth, Sarah contracted a sudden, severe case of pneumonia. In the whirlwind of rushing her to the emergency room trying to help her breathe, I was forced to decide if the doctors should use oxygen or a ventilator in order to save her life. Visions of her early suffering in the NICU arose in my mind. There was no time to calmly review each choice, and although we prayed, answers were not immediately evident. I tried to see my daughter’s life in terms of the learning and growth of her immortal spirit, and made a decision to withhold treatment. She died in our arms at home just a few hours later, breaking my heart once again.

The Miracle of Forgiveness

The last grace I needed through the atonement of Jesus Christ was perhaps the most serious of all. While I had made the best decision I could, I had made an irrevocable choice in allowing my daughter to move on in her eternal life by leaving this one. If that was a mistake, it was a big one. Like all parents, I agonized over my imperfections. Like all mortals, I was lost unless my Redeemer intervened in my behalf. Without the Savior’s atonement, Sarah was gone forever; and I was cut off from God unless Jesus Christ atoned for all my sins. I reached up and grasped His promises with both hands. Isaiah’s promise was a light in the darkness to me: 

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18

Amazing Grace: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

The world has never been the same for me since Sarah lived and died. Sarah brought me face to face with suffering, sin, and death, and my own great need for a Savior and Redeemer. Despite my best efforts, in the depths of my need, I was indeed lost. Through the sacrifice of the blood and body of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I was strengthened, healed, forgiven, and found. He has paid my debt, and I owe every breath of my life to Him. I live in hope of a glorious resurrection where Sarah will be reunited with our family, our physical bodies made perfect, to continue to grow in God’s presence for all eternity. Through Jesus’ grace we have been saved, after all we could do. It is indeed Amazing Grace to me.

Nora Moore Hess

          Nora Moore Hess is a writer and musician living in Lindon, Utah. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon). Nora and her husband, Bret, are the parents of seven biological and three adopted children.

Additional Resources: 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God

Jesus Christ, Our Savior

The Living Christ

Amazing Grace Video

Tiffany Sowby is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”) and mother of five. She tries to find humor, joy and contentment in the little things life has to offer.

How do members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) celebrate Christmas? Is it all about Santa’s visit on Christmas Eve night and what presents have been purchased for loved ones? Or is Christmas about remembering the birth of Jesus Christ?

Growing up as a child in England, Religious studies were a part of the daily school curriculum. I spent many Decembers working on art projects and essays depicting what most in the Christian world refers to as ‘The First Christmas’. I specifically recall making a time-line of events with pictures beginning with Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth to Baby Jesus laying in a manger. I remember my third grade class painting gold angels, that I placed proudly on my family’s Christmas tree. One of my favorite parts of December as a school child were joining with the rest of the school and singing the old Christmas favorites, Away in a Manger and Silent Night.

My children now bring home from school Rudolphs made of construction paper, and red and green tissue paper wreath’s that adorn our counters, fridges and doors. Furthermore, any singing my children do at school during the month of December is limited strictly to songs about reindeer, snowmen, and of course, good old Santa Claus himself.

Too often now, the balance of Christmas is left out.

As a child growing up in England my family was (and still are) active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). Our personal family celebrations and traditions intermixed with the celebrations of our local church congregation and the school festivities all had very similar tones. We celebrated Christmas. And though we certainly had our fair share of Christmas candy, visits to/from Santa Claus and non-religious Christmas songs, one thing was never neglected, the recognition and celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Is it possible to enjoy the traditional parts of Christmas that include Santa Claus, candy canes, and gingerbread houses AND the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth?

Absolutely!

There is much to love about the Christmas season. Christmas music, wrapping presents, garlands on banisters and the smell of a freshly cut Christmas tree are high on my list of Christmas favorites. I love the excitement on children’s faces in anticipation of Santa Claus, and I love chocolate in my stocking.

I love the kindness that seems to be in the air at Christmas time. It seems hearts stretch a little more and wallets open a little wider with a turn of the calendar page. Yet even with all the distractions of a commercialized holiday, there is room for quiet moments of reflection about what Christmas is really about.

Though my children may not experience the same balance of Christmas celebrations in school as I once did, they experience both parts of Christmas within our Mormon Christ-centered home, our church (The Church of Jesus Christ) and among extended family and friends.

Typically Latter Day Saint (Mormon) Sunday meetings in December focus on the true meaning of Christmas, but there are plenty of opportunities to balance the other parts of Christmas within our church buildings. I have participated in numerous Christmas dinners in a church setting that may include a energetic rendition of Jingle Bells as Santa enters the room or it may include young children dressed in robes and sheets re-enacting the scene in Bethlehem on that first Christmas night. I’ve joined church groups making Christmas crafts and decorations, and I’ve joined church groups supplying Christmas to a homeless shelter.

We live in a world that has made Christmas far more than the simplicity of a sacred night more than 2,000 years ago. We’ve even moved on from the simple times of excitment over a single orange left under a tree. We live in a world that fills December with gift exchanges, dinner parties, stocking stuffers and all sorts of anxiety and stresses that result from the search for the perfect gift or celebration.

In my family, despite my best efforts to balance all aspects of the Christmas season, on occasion Christmas Day has come and gone with our full focus on unwrapping presents, Santa Claus’ visit, and answering the repeated question, “What did you get?” The Nativity re-enactments, carols and scriptural readings of the previous night are suddenly forgotten in the whirlwind of toys, gadgets and chocolate on Christmas morning.

Several years ago my Latter-day Saint (Mormon) grandmother introduced a new tradition into the Christmas afternoon dinner she has always hosted. Sometimes close to 40 people squeeze into her modest front room. Amidst piles of gift bags and hand-wrapped presents, she has a previously assigned person read to us, “And Santa whispered, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas.’ Using a somewhat dated flannel board, we watch and listen as some typically commercialized Christmas symbols are related to Jesus Christ.

It isn’t the piece of writing itself that draws a special spirit into the room, and it certainly isn’t the visual aid. It is the acknowledgment and remembrance of Jesus Christ’s simple birth and what His life means to each one of us. While wrapped presents under a lit Christmas tree sit waiting to be torn into, we are reverently reminded that Christmas is more than the gifts under a tree.

My family has spent many a Christmas season reading from the book of Luke in the Bible. We have spent many evenings dressed up in bath-robes and sheets depicting angels, wise-men and shepherds. We have spent hours in discount stores and shopping malls searching for the right gifts for under-privileged families and children. We’ve dropped loose change in the buckets of Salvation Army’s Bell Ringers.

And yet without fail, every Christmas Eve night we retire to bed with grand hopes that Santa will come while we sleep.

There is without a doubt, room for all sorts of Christmas celebrations within the month of December. While keeping all things in moderation, there is plenty of joy to be felt at Christmas. The kind of joy that stretches even beyond discarded tin-foil angel halos, crumpled wrappings and door-bell ditched Sub-for-Santa gifts. The joy comes from only one place-holding in our hearts the sacred reminder of our Savior’s birth and life.

Additional Resources:

Christmas should be fun, but it should also focus on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Watch Bible videos about the birth of Jesus Christ.

Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon, along with the Bible it testifies of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Attend a local meetinghouse.

Karen Trifiletti, MA is a Philadelphia-born convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, single mother of two, writer, and non-profit business professional.

When my best efforts seem miniscule in standing as the Savior’s witness or in mothering my children, or in serving in the workplace, or in life in general, I am always reminded by the Savior, Jesus Christ, that they are not so in His eyes.  They matter to Him. My efforts, your efforts, our clumps of dandelion-deeds that we bring Him day by day, to please and glorify Him, are known to Him. and appreciated by Him. I feel that. I hope you feel that, and that if you don’t, you’ll dig deeper to find Him.  Jesus Christ, the Son of God, wants to be found. He wants you to know you are known by Him.

As a Mother: Jesus Christ Knows and Sees Us

I remember a time as a young mother of two, feeling the incessant demands–sometimes sweet, sometimes screechy–of little ones beckoning for food, shelter, stories, sleep, cuddles, drinks, more food, diaper changes, help, love, learning, attention, and more. Sometimes it was as if the surround sound of those little lives was turned up and drowning out my ability to hear myself think. While I loved and love being a mother, I remember temporary moments of fatigue and faint-heartedness in the midst of that glorious calling producing life’s greatest joys. One afternoon, after putting my little ones down to nap; I collapsed on the couch and the small set of scriptures (which I could then read), called for some attention.  On this occasion, they seemed to fall open to the gospel of Matthew.  I found myself reading the account of Jesus Christ and the disciples on the shore of Galilee.

The multitude that always gathered round Him, had been taught. But they weren’t leaving. Not yet. They were hungry. Jesus may have been as well. The apostles were eager to shew them away, thinking their job was done or  wanting some respite perhaps for the Savior Himself, who just earlier that day had lost his dear friend and cousin, John the Baptist. Nonetheless, the Savior bid the crowd stay.  He knew the clinging of needy children, and understood the cries and the desires for spiritual and physical food.  He fed the multitude.  Interestingly, the apostles left the stage then.  And the Savior tarried to finish up. Only then, after all of that, did the Savior Jesus Christ depart and find a place apart, to be alone.

I marveled at what I read, anew with fresh eyes. Jesus Christ knew my experience. He knew what it was to be continually surrounded by those beckoning for care and healing hands.  He knew what it was to be tired, and to provide. He even knew, I thought to myself in a casual sort of way, what it’s like to be the last one out of the kitchen. He was the last to leave the dinner table and the dinner. I bet He cleaned up.  He knew me, He saw me, He loved me that afternoon.  He knows you, He sees you, He loves you today.

As a Friend:  He Sees Us, He Knows Us

As disciples of  Jesus Christ, as Latter-day Saint women (“nicknamed Mormon women”), as Christian women, we want to be there for others, to bear their burdens, to speak the right words, to know that we are led by the Lord as we strive to be on His errand.  The other day I felt prompted to make a phone call to a friend, recently widowed.  I caught her in, in spite of her working several jobs, tending to selling her car, and her interviewing schedule for a better position.  I asked what she might need and how things were going.  She ended up telling me that she’d interviewed twice for a teaching position in a particular school district and needed some help identifying where she was in the process of re-certification. She just hadn’t the time to pull that together and wanted to share that with those screening her.  In a small way, I was able to help her.  The next day, I received, as I read my scriptures, an affirmation that the Lord, Jesus Christ, knew that my heart was inclined towards Him. He knows your efforts to be a friend. Not one is missed. He has seen you and seen those today.

He knows when we’ve given “all” our living–not just financially–but emotionally, spiritually, socially.  Just as he saw the unnamed widow’s offering, he sees ours, in unlit arenas and unmarked pages of our lives. They are marked in the Savior’s book of life. In the compelling, inspired words of a living apostle of Jesus Christ,

No matter where you live, no matter how humble your circumstances, how meager your employment, how little your abilities, how ordinary your appearance, or  how little your calling in the Church may appear to you,  you are not invisible to your Heavenly Father. He loves you. He knows your humble heart and your acts of  love and kindness. Together they form a testimony of your fidelity and faith.

As His Children

Recently, in the 181st Semi-Annual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed Mormons), a living apostle of Jesus Christ, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, addressed a global audience of members and friends of other faiths invited to participate.  He reminded us that we are not forgotten. Elder Uchtdorf said the following about our place in God’s plan:

The most powerful Being in the universe is also the Father of our Spirits.

We are everything to God.  We are the reason God created the universe. … We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation (eternal life with God and the redeemed of His children), worlds without ends, within our grasp and it is God’s greatest desire to help us reach it.

Satan intends to focus our sight on our insignificance until we begin to doubt that we have much worth. He tells us that we are too small for anyone to take notice. He tells us that we are forgotten–especially by God. … [But we are not forgotten.]

The Lord doesn’t care at all if we spend our days working in marble halls or stable stalls. He knows where we are, no matter how humble our circumstances. He will use in His own way, and for His holy purposes, those who incline their hearts to Him.

At times we may feel insignificant, invisible, alone, or forgotten. But always remember: You matter to Him.

Just as the Lord Jesus Christ rewarded the unnamed widow with everlasting remembrance in our hearts, and in His, so will He reward our personal service to Him with His appreciation and the power and beauty of His presence.

I bear witness that it is true, as recorded in the Holy Bible,  and as a modern apostle attested to us in the recent October gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ available to all the world, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). He sees the good you do; He knows you; He loves you.  And He will help us overcome whatever is left.

Emily Holmstead.

Today after church we went to the Garden Tomb, one of the sites where Jesus may have been buried. It is beautiful, simple, and peaceful; a welcome break from the gilded churches where people choke on incense, contradictory doctrine and centuries of sectarian bickering.Next to the site there is a cliff with a combination of outcroppings and indentations that look a bit like a Golgatha (a skull). The bottom of it is covered because the ground level has risen since the time of Jesus. Due to that and some other specifics in the Bible and particularities about the site (including the fact that there is one part of the tomb that looks like it was carved out hurriedly for someone three inches taller than the man the tomb was originally constructed for) it is widely to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Christ.

The caretakers actually let you go into the tomb itself. Through some stealthy maneuvering on my part, I got to be inside alone by myself for a few minutes. I stood there, expecting to feel some powerful burst of spirituality at the site of the resurrection, but nothing happened. I stood there in the dark, disappointed. Where were the spiritual fireworks? Where was the earth-shattering personal revelation? And then it dawned on me; why should I feel something special in here? The whole point of this crude tomb, the reason it was wonderful, was because He wasn’t here anymore! I walked right past the door that said, “He is not here for He is risen” and completely missed the point. I had heard and repeated the phrase my whole life, and it took standing there in the dark to actually understand it. If Jesus was still in this tomb, his body or his trapped soul, there would be no reason for me to be here.

Then I got emotional and started to cry, leaning against the rock wall and looking at the thin hollow where one of the most miraculous events in the history of the world took place. I have traveled all over the world. I have seen the Parthenon and the Taj Mahal, but all of the labor and intricate beauty of those places couldn’t equal the marvel of this little cave. Men built those as memorials of their mortal lives, and a dead man rose from this to immortalize mankind. I realized Mary Magdalene might have stood in the exact same place, crying for exactly the same person. The same man brought two women, born thousands of years apart, to the same place for the same purpose.

My classmates began to sing a hymn that echoed around the garden and into the cave as I wrote a prayer on a scrap of paper and stuck it in one of the crevices in the rock. I probably wasn’t supposed to do that, but it seemed more meaningful to me than the traditional gesture of sticking a prayer in the Wailing Wall.

Why is Jesus Christ called the Son of Man?  While others in the Scriptures (particularly the Old Testament) who are called “son[s] of man” (Jeremiah 49:18, Ezekiel 4:16, Psalms 8:4), the word “son” is uncapitalized.  Elder James E. Talmage, a Biblical scholar, sheds light on the answer in his renown work, Jesus the Christ.  He says,

“In applying the designation to Himself, the Lord invariably uses the definite article. ‘The Son of Man’ was and is, specifically and exclusively, Jesus Christ. While as a matter of solemn certainty He was the only male human being from Adam down who was not the son of a mortal man, He used the title in a way to conclusively demonstrate that it was peculiarly and solely His own. It is plainly evident that the expression is fraught with a meaning beyond that conveyed by the words in common usage. The distinguishing appellation has been construed by many to indicate our Lord’s humble station as a mortal, and to connote that He stood as the type of humanity, holding a particular and unique relationship to the entire human family.”

Others are called by the title “son of man,” but only the Lord Jesus Christ is called The Son of Man.  Said the Spirit of the Lord to the prophet Nephi, “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” (Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi 11:16; emphasis added).  But, as Talmage says,

There is, however, a more profound significance attaching to the Lord’s use of the title ‘The Son of Man’; and this lies in the fact that Jesus Christ knew His Father to be the one and only supremely exalted Man, whose Son Jesus Christ was both in spirit and in body—the Firstborn among all the spirit-children of the Father, the Only Begotten in the flesh—and therefore in sense applicable to Himself alone, He was and is the Son of the ‘Man of Holiness,’ Elohim, the Eternal Father.

Moses wrote,
Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:57).

In other words, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).

Joseph Smith, a prophet God raised up to re-establish Jesus Christ’s Church on earth in our day, said,

The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 121). Since ‘all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to [Jesus Christ],’ and since the Old Testament is something ‘which pertains to our religion,’then the Old Testament must somehow testify of Jesus Christ.1

Yet, the somewhat gruesome nature of blood sacrifice [in the Old Testament] has led some to ask, “How could such an activity have anything to do with the gospel of love?” We can better understand the answer to that question when we understand the two major purposes for the law of sacrifice. These purposes applied to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and the New Testament Apostles, and they apply to us today as we accept and live the law of sacrifice in a different way: through exemplifying a broken heart and contrite spirit. Its two major purposes are to test and prove us and to assist us in coming unto Christ” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7).

The evening before the Lamb of God was to be crucified for the sins of the world and hours before He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus was sitting with his Apostles in a “large upper room” (Mark 14:15). It was here that He first instituted the sacrament: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,” (Matthew 26:26). Then He said, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” 1 Corinthians 11:24). Then, “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25). Thus, the purpose of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is to look back and remember Jesus the Christ and what He has done for each of us. Everything points “to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice [is] the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal” (Alma 34:14). Blood sacrifices looked forward; the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper looks backward, and the central act—the atonement of Jesus Christ—is right in the middle—the meridian of time.

In the previous two articles about the law of sacrifice, we have discussed how the law was used anciently to teach God’s children to look forward to this “great and last sacrifice.” With the Savior’s ultimate sacrifice, the law of Moses was done away. The law of Moses, however, “is not the same thing as the law of sacrifice” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7). The Savior said after His resurrection from the dead, “And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood . . . [but] ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19-20). Hence, what we sacrifice has changed; that we sacrifice, and the reasons why we sacrifice have remained the same.

The word sacrifice means to make holy. It also means “To surrender or give up (something) for the attainment of some higher advantage or dearer object” (Oxford English Dictionary, “Sacrifice”). Or, as Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Bruce R. McConkie put it, “Sacrifice involves giving up the things of this world because of the promises of blessings to be gained in a better world” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. “Sacrifice,” Bookcraft: 1966).

But what is a broken heart and a contrite spirit? A broken heart is the opposite of a hard heart. The image of a hard heart is used in the scriptures to denote pride. Hence, a person with a broken heart is one who is humble. The word contrite means repentant. A person with a contrite spirit is one who has an awareness of his or her guilt. This person remembers the things he or she has done wrong, but because the person is repentant, he or she strives to change and be better than before. This person knows that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, he or she can overcome all obstacles.

To have a broken heart and a contrite spirit therefore means we are willing to submit to God. We are willing to submit to God as Christ was willing to submit to His father. The Savior said, “And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men, even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil” (3 Nephi 27:14).

God loves us. He wants us to come unto Him. The law of sacrifice tests us and assists us in coming unto Christ (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7). Another Apostle of the Church, Russell M. Nelson, has taught: “Our highest sense of sacrifice is achieved as we make ourselves more sacred or holy. This we do by our obedience to the commandments of God” (“Lessons from Eve,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 88). Hence, “the sacrifice changed from the offering to the offerer” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7).

Sacrifice is therefore a wonderful blessing. Joseph Smith said, “A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation” (Lectures on Faith 6:7). In other words, sacrifice gives us faith, and with faith we can receive salvation. It is not always easy to give up something we want, especially when we can’t actually see the end results. But I testify that it is worth it in the end. Sometimes we must take a few steps into the darkness in order for the light to turn on and go before us. That’s faith. And sacrifice takes faith.

I end with one of my favorite quotes on the law of sacrifice: “Real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed!” (Neal A. Maxwell “ ‘Deny Yourselves of All Ungodliness,’ ” Ensign, May 1995, 68).

The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ “embraces, sustains, supports, and gives life to all other gospel doctrines.  It is the foundation upon which all truth rests and all things grow out of it and come because of it.”1 “The wondrous and glorious Atonement was the central act in all of human history.”2 Because of these statements, all things also point to Christ and His atonement.  Those who lived before Christ looked forward to Him and His infinite and eternal sacrifice.  Those who live after Christ look back to this greatest of all events and “remember what was done.”3

There were many different ways in which the blood sacrifices before Christ were types and shadows of the great and last sacrifice.  Note a few of the details:

First, like Christ, the [sacrificial] animal was chosen and anointed by the laying on of hands. (The Hebrew title Messiah and the Greek title Christ both mean “the Anointed One.”) Second, the animal was to have its life’s blood spilt. Third, it had to be without blemish—totally free from physical

flaws, complete, whole, and perfect. Fourth, the sacrifice had to be clean and worthy. Fifth, the sacrifice had to be domesticated; that is, not wild but tame and of help to man (see Lev. 1:2–3, 10; Lev. 22:21). Sixth and seventh, for the original sacrifice practiced by Adam and the most common sacrifice in the law of Moses, the animal had to be a firstborn and a male (see Ex. 12:5; Lev. 1:3; Lev. 22:18–25). Eighth, the sacrifice of grain had to be ground into flour and made into breadstuffs, which reminds us of our Lord’s title the Bread of Life (see John 6:48). Ninth, the firstfruits that were offered remind us that Christ was the firstfruits of the Resurrection.”4

About 74 years before Christ, the prophet Amulek wrote about how Christ’s sacrifice would eventually end blood sacrifices:

It is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice . . .
And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal. (Alma 34:10, 14)

Nine years before that, the prophet Alma also testified of Christ,

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. (Alma 7:11-12)

The Savior of all mankind came and fulfilled the law.  He is the great and last sacrifice.  The pain that He went through was “so hard to bear” that we cannot comprehend it, and His suffering was so great that He–God, the greatest of all–trembled because of the pain, bled from every pore, and suffered both body and spirit (See Doctrine and Covenants 19:18).

With His death, the law of Moses was fulfilled.  Yet, the law of Moses is not exactly the same thing as the law of sacrifice.5 We still keep the law of sacrifice.  The Savior taught concerning the fulfilling of the law and what we are to sacrifice nowadays:

And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 9:19-20)

Malachi 3:8-10 is often quoted to motivate us to pay our tithes and offerings.  “Will a man rob God?” the record reads,

Yet ye have robbed me.  But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?  In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  (Malachi 3:8-10)

Because one of the offerings we are to give to the Lord is “a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” the same principle of blessings applies.  I testify that when we offer up to the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit that He will pour out a blessing upon us that is so great that we will not have room enough to receive it.  Our cup of blessings will fill to overflowing, even so much that those around us will also receive blessings.

Yet, no matter how contrite our spirit or how broken our heart, our sacrifice is nothing compared to the one that happened in the meridian of time.  Indeed, there is one offering that pours out a blessing so great upon all of mankind, that none can even begin to comprehend the greatness of it.  This offering is so great that it has power to bless—and save—all mankind: “black and white, bond and free, male and female” (2 Nephi 26:33).

In conclusion, hear another testimony from another prophet in the Book of Mormon–King Benjamin:

And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.
And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.
For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. (Mosiah 3:7-11)

Hence, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”6

Notes

1 Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, 60.
2 Neal A. Maxwell, “Willing to Submit,” Ensign, May 1985, 70.
3 Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Salt Lake City, 1980, 185.
4 M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7.
5 Ibid.
6 Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Ed. Joseph F. Smith, Deseret Book: Salt Lake City, 1976, 121.