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| Source For some reason, we think the Atonement of Christ applies only at the end of mortal life to redemption from the Fall, from spiritual death. It is much more than that. It is an ever-present power to call upon in everyday life. When we are racked or harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us. While we do not fully understand how the Atonement of Christ was made, we can experience “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” |
This matter of
sustaining the officers is a great protection to the Church. The Lord commanded
“that it shall not be given to any one to go forth to preach my gospel, or to
build up my church, except he be ordained by some one who has authority, and it
is known to the church that he has authority and has been [duly] ordained by
the heads of the church.” 1 In this way members of the Church in every
organization all over the world know who the true messengers are.
It is my purpose to
ease the pain of those who suffer from the very unpleasant feeling of guilt. I
feel like the doctor who begins his treatment by saying, “Now, this may hurt a
little. …”
Every one of us has at
least tasted the pain of conscience which follows our mistakes.
John said that “if we say
that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 2 Then
he said it more strongly, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make [the
Lord] a liar, and his word is not in us.” 3
All of us sometime,
and some of us much of the time, suffer remorse of conscience from things we
did wrong or things left undone. That feeling of guilt is to the spirit what
pain is to the physical body.
But guilt can be
harder to bear than physical pain. Physical pain is nature’s warning system
that signals something needs to be changed or cleansed or treated, perhaps even
removed by surgery. Guilt, the pain of our conscience, cannot be healed the
same way.
If you are burdened
with depressing feelings of guilt or disappointment, of failure or shame, there
is a cure. My intent is not to hurt your tender feelings but to help you and
help those you love. The prophets teach how painful guilt can be. As I read
what they have said, be prepared for very strong words. Even so, I will not
read the strongest things they have said.
The prophet Alma,
describing his feelings of guilt, said, “I was racked with eternal torment, for
my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.” 4
The prophets chose
very graphic words.
Racked means “tortured.”
5 Anciently a rack was a framework on which the victim was laid with each ankle
and wrist tied to a spindle which could then be turned to cause unbearable
pain.
A harrow is a frame
with spikes through it. When pulled across the ground, it rips and tears into
the soil. The scriptures frequently speak of souls and minds being “harrowed
up” with guilt. 6
Torment means “to
twist,” a means of torture so painful that even the innocent would confess. 7
The prophets speak of
the “gall of bitterness” 8 and often compare the pain of guilt to fire and
brimstone. Brimstone is another name for sulfur.
King Benjamin said
that those who are evil will be “consigned to an awful view of their own guilt
and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord
into a state of misery and endless torment.” 9
The Prophet Joseph
Smith said: “A man is his own tormentor and his own condemner. … The torment of
disappointment in the mind of man [or woman] is as exquisite as a lake burning
with fire and brimstone.” 10
That lake of fire and
brimstone, ever burning but never consumed, is the description in the
scriptures for hell. 11
Suppose there was no
cure, no way to ease spiritual pain or to erase the agony of guilt. Suppose
each mistake, each sin, was added to the others with the racking, the harrowing
up, the torment going on forever. Too many of us needlessly carry burdens of
guilt and shame.
The scriptures teach
that there “must needs be … opposition in all things.” If not, “righteousness
could not be brought to pass,” 12 neither happiness, nor joy, neither redemption.
The third article of
faith teaches, “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind
may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” [A of F
1:3] The Atonement offers redemption from spiritual death and from suffering
caused by sin.
For some reason, we
think the Atonement of Christ applies only at the end of mortal life to
redemption from the Fall, from spiritual death. It is much more than that. It
is an ever-present power to call upon in everyday life. When we are racked or
harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us. While
we do not fully understand how the Atonement of Christ was made, we can
experience “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” 13
The gospel plan is the
“great plan of happiness.” 14 It is contrary to the nature of God and contrary
to the very nature of man to find happiness in sin. “Wickedness never was
happiness.” 15
We know that some
anxiety and depression is caused by physical disorders, but much (perhaps most)
of it is not pain of the body but of the spirit. Spiritual pain resulting from
guilt can be replaced with peace of mind.
In contrast to the
hard words condemning sin, listen to the calming, healing words of mercy, which
balance the harsher words of justice.
Alma said: “My soul
hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in
the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was
racked with eternal torment; but … my soul is pained no more.” 16
“I did remember all my
sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell. …
“And … as I was thus
racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins,
behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people
concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins
of the world.
“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!” 17
We all make mistakes.
Sometimes we harm ourselves and seriously injure others in ways that we alone
cannot repair. We break things that we alone cannot fix. It is then in our
nature to feel guilt and humiliation and suffering, which we alone cannot cure.
That is when the healing power of the Atonement will help.
The Lord said,
“Behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer
if they would repent.” 18
If Christ had not made
His Atonement, the penalties for mistakes would be added one on the other. Life
would be hopeless. But He willingly sacrificed in order that we may be
redeemed. And He said, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is
forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” 19
Ezekiel said: “If the
wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes
of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
“None of his sins that
he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him.” 20
Think of that, not
even mentioned!
We can even “retain a
remission of [our] sins.” 21 Baptism by immersion is for the remission of our
sins. That covenant can be renewed by partaking of the sacrament each week. 22
The Atonement has
practical, personal, everyday value; apply it in your life. It can be activated
with so simple a beginning as prayer. You will not thereafter be free from
trouble and mistakes but can erase the guilt through repentance and be at
peace.
I quoted the third
article of faith. It has two parts: “We believe that through the Atonement of
Christ, all mankind may be saved, [then the conditions] by obedience to the
laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”
Justice requires that
there be a punishment. 23 Guilt is not erased without pain. There are laws to
obey and ordinances to receive, and there are penalties to pay.
Physical pain requires
treatment and a change in lifestyle.
So it is with spiritual
pain. There must be repentance and discipline, most of which is
self-discipline. But to restore our innocence after serious transgressions,
there must be confession to our bishop, who is the appointed judge.
The Lord promised, “A
new heart … will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” 24 That
spiritual heart surgery, like in the body, may cause you pain and require a
change in habits and conduct. But in both cases, recovery brings renewed life
and peace of mind.
When the heavens were
opened and the Father and the Son stood before Joseph Smith, the Father spoke
seven words: “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” 25 Revelation followed
revelation, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 26 was
organized. He Himself declared it to be “the only true and living church upon
the face of the whole earth.” 27
Peter, James, and John
restored the higher priesthood, and John the Baptist the Aaronic Priesthood.
The fulness of the gospel was revealed.
Following the
revelations which came and yet come to His Church, all that has been printed or
preached or sung or built or taught or broadcast has been to the end that men
and women and children can know the redeeming influence of the Atonement of
Christ in their everyday lives and be at peace.
He said, “Peace I
leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” 28
As one who stands
among His Apostles, I testify of Him and of the ever-present power of His
Atonement.
From the lofty words
of justice and mercy and of warning and hope in the verses of scripture, I turn
to the very same message in verses of a simple poem:
’Twas battered and
scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely
worth his while
To waste much time on
the old violin,
But held it up with a
smile:
“What am I bidden,
good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the
bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar”;
then, “Two!” “Only two?
Two dollars, and
who’ll make it three?
Three dollars, once;
three dollars, twice;
Going for three—” But
no,
From the room, far back,
a gray-haired man
Came forward and
picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust
from the old violin,
And tightening the
loose strings,
He played a melody
pure and sweet
As a caroling angel
sings.
The music ceased, and
the auctioneer,
With a voice that was
quiet and low,
Said, “What am I bid
for the old violin?”
And he held it up with
the bow.
“A thousand dollars,
and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And
who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once,
three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone!”
said he.
The people cheered,
but some of them cried,
“We do not quite
understand
What changed its
worth.” Swift came the reply:
“The touch of a
master’s hand.”
And many a man with
life out of tune,
And battered and
scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to
the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old
violin.
A “mess of pottage,” a
glass of wine,
A game—and he travels
on.
He’s “going” once, and
“going” twice,
He’s “going” and
almost “gone.”
But the Master comes,
and the foolish crowd
Never can quite
understand
The worth of a soul
and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the
Master’s hand. 29
In the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
References:
1. D&C 42:11.
2. 1 Jn. 1:8.
3. 1 Jn. 1:10.
4. Alma 36:12; emphasis added.
5. See Mosiah 27:29;
Alma 36:12, 16–17; Morm. 9:3.
6. See 2 Ne. 9:47;
Alma 14:6; Alma 15:3; Alma 36:12, 17, 19; Alma 39:7.
7. See Mosiah 2:39;
Mosiah 3:25; Mosiah 5:5; Moro. 8:21.
8. See Alma 41:11;
Acts 8:23; Mosiah 27:29; Alma 36:18; Morm. 8:31; Moro. 8:14.
9. Mosiah 3:25.
10. Deseret News, 8 July 1857, 138.
11. See Rev. 20:10;
Rev. 21:8; 2 Ne. 9:16, 19, 26; 2 Ne. 28:23; Jacob 3:11; Jacob 6:10; Mosiah
3:27; Alma 12:17; Alma 14:14; D&C 63:17; D&C 76:36.
12. 2 Ne. 2:11.
13. Philip. 4:7.
14. Alma 42:8.
15. Alma 41:10; see also Alma 41:11.
16. Mosiah 27:29.
17. Alma 36:13, 17–20.
18. D&C 19:16.
19. D&C 58:42; see also Heb. 8:12; Heb.
10:17.
20. Ezek. 33:15–16.
21. Mosiah 4:12; see also 2 Ne. 25:26; 2 Ne.
31:17; Mosiah 3:13; Mosiah 4:11; Mosiah 15:11; Alma 4:14; Alma 7:6; Alma 12:34;
Alma 13:16; Hel. 14:13; 3 Ne. 12:2; 3 Ne. 30:2; Moro. 8:25; Moro. 10:33.
22. See D&C 27:2.
23. See Alma 42:16–22.
24. Ezek. 36:26.
25. JS—H 1:17.
26. See D&C 115:4.
27. D&C 1:30.
28. John 14:27.
29. Myra Brooks Welch,
“The Touch of the Master’s Hand,” The Gospel Messenger, Brethren Press, 26 Feb.
1921.
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