A few days ago we missionaries had an opportunous visitation from Elder Patrick Kearon of the first quorum of the Seventy. It was a splendid event in which there was felt a generous outpouring of the Spirit, to the degree of touching and edifying all that were present. One of the central themes of the conference was initialized by the question of one sister missionary who said that it was easy for her to preach and then watch the marvelous effects of the atonement of Christ operate in the lives of others but it was exceedingly difficult for herself to accept forgiveness of her own sins and mistakes. This is a doubt that I too have experienced in my life; how could the Lord forgive and change a being as impure as I? Elder Kearon taught that many times we do not understand the atonement of Christ. It is an infinite act full of grace and radiating with mercy. Sincere repentance is like placing our sins and afflictions in a hole we've dug, covering it, and forgetting about it. The earth, or the atonement, receives these things and swallows them in their entirety.
"O the awisdom of God, his bmercy and cgrace! For behold, if the dflesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who efell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the fdevil, to rise no more.
O how great the agoodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our bescape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, cdeath and dhell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit." (2 Nephi 9:8, 10)
How great is the love of God that he would prepare a means whereby our garments may be made white. We should not feel as though the atonement of Christ applies to everyone except ourselves. He suffered for every man and woman and that includes you. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he has all power given him in Earth and Heaven to change us and heal us continually. I am grateful for the merciful atonement and know that we can put our whole trust in it because Christ completed it for each of us. In him is my life and my joy.
Elder Kearon is an inspired man! it sometimes is hard for us to apply the atonement in our own lives, but we are our harshest critics! so we all need to cute ourselves a little slack and allow the atonement to work wonders in our own life!
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