Christ's Atonement and Preparing for His Second Coming

The Last Days of Jesus’ Mortal Mission

Important events led up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  On the sixth day before He was crucified, Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, riding through the town on a donkey.  A great multitude greeted him, shouting hosanna and praising Him.  Christ goes directly to the temple.  On the fifth day, Jesus goes to the temple again, and challenges the Jewish religious leadership.  As Christ goes to leave, He explains that the House of the Lord is to be a place of prayer, not of personal gain.  On the fourth day before His crucifixion, Jesus’ wrath the previous day in the temple raises an issue of authority, which causes priests to challenge Him.  Jesus explains to the scribes and Pharisees that they are hypocrites.  Only the Twelve Disciples of Christ teach in public from this day forward.  Jewish leaders conspire even more to discover ways that they can end Jesus’ life.  On the third day, Jesus explains his knowledge of the plot to kill him.  This day he spends outside of the city.  The next day, the day before his crucifixion, Christ arranges the Passover meal.  He introduces the sacrament, and prophesies of His death and betrayal.  Jesus takes his Apostles to Gethsemane, and then takes Peter, James, and John further into the garden.  He asks them to stand watch.  Christ offers a prayer to Heavenly Father, asking Him to “let this cup pass from me,” and proceeds to bleed from every pore.  He is then betrayed by Judas, and taken into the city for an illegal and unjust trial.  On the day before He is crucified, the Jewish leaders discredit Jesus in front of His followers.  Jesus is convicted of blasphemy, taken to Pilate, and the death sentence pronounced.  The Romans then crucify Christ.  The day was a Friday.  He is buried in a sealed tomb by two of His disciples.  On the following Sunday, Christ is resurrected.  He appears to Mary after emerging alive in the flesh from the tomb.  Many testimonies are recorded as many saw and witnessed Christ after His resurrection.

I have a testimony that because Christ died for each one of us, we will have the opportunity to live again.  While life can be hard and days will be dark sometimes, we can find hope and peace through Christ’s Atonement.  One of my favorite Mormon Messages is by Joseph B. Wirthlin, titled “Sunday Will Come.”

Here is the video:

 


How can we prepare for when Christ comes again?  What do we need to do?  There has been much revealed doctrine on this topic, particularly in the Doctrine and Covenants.  

In Mark chapter 13, we learn some of the signs we can look for in order to recognize the nearness of the second coming.  In verses 6-8 we learn that people will arise claiming to be Christ, there will be rumors of wars, nations will rise against nations, and there will be "earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles."  

In Doctrine and Covenant chapter 87 verse 8 it reads: "Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord..."  Because we don't know exactly when He will come again, we need to be preparing each day for the time when He will come.  "Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom."  We cannot suppose that if we've wasted our time "eating, drinking, and being merry," that suddenly when Christ does come, we'll be prepared to receive Him and to be judged according to our works.  We must have our lamps filled, meaning we must have a personal testimony and witness that Christ lives, that He atoned for us, and that His gospel is true.

I have a testimony that if we continually strive to come unto Christ, we will be blessed at that last day, and we will be prepared that amazing day when He comes again.

~Tanisha






Mormon Message retrieved from: http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages
Come Unto Christ image designed and created by Shayla Olson (https://www.etsy.com/listing/178621614/come-unto-christ-poster-2014-theme-for)

Parables and Miracles

What is a parable, and why are they important?

Here is a definition of a parable, according to the Bible Dictionary: "The word parable is Greek in origin and means a setting side by side, a comparison. In parables divine truth is presented by comparison with material things." A parable is a story used to teach truth, and allows for different levels of understanding and application, based on spiritual depth and understanding of different individuals. Jesus almost always taught in parables. In the Bible Dictionary it also says, "From our Lord’s words (Matt. 13:13–15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10) we learn the reason for this method. It was to veil the meaning. The parable conveys to the hearer religious truth exactly in proportion to his faith and intelligence; to the dull and uninspired it is a mere story, “seeing they see not,” while to the instructed and spiritual it reveals the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Thus it is that the parable exhibits the condition of all true knowledge. Only he who seeks finds."

Parables can teach us many things and can be applied to our times and to our lives. Here are a few examples of parables Christ taught:

The parable in Mathew 13: 24-30 (parable of the tares) can be seen as describing the future growth of the Church.

The parable in Mathew 13: 31-32 (parable of the mustard seed) helps explain the growth of the Church, even though it's fairly new.

The parable in Mathew 13: 44-46 (parable of the pearl of great price) helps answer the reasons why so many members of the Church are willing to sacrifice so much.

The parable in Mathew 13: 47 -50 (parable of the gospel net) explains why the Church has so many missionaries.

In considering the parable of the treasure and the pearl of great price, one might ask the self, "What am I willing to give up, or what sacrifices am I willing to make, in order to obtain the gospel." Being born into the Church, it's easy to sometimes take the gospel for granted.  This parable helped me ponder what it is I'd be willing to sacrifice in order to have the gospel in my life if I didn't have it, and also what I'd be willing to sacrifice in order to keep it in my life, and a full part of my life. I would (hopefully) give up anything in order to have the precious truths contained in the gospel and the scriptures in my life.  In my extended family, my grandparents (my dad's parents) made some sacrifices in order to bring the gospel into their family. My grandparents were not members of the Church, and sought many answers to deep questions regarding life before finding the truth. They had old habits and thoughts that needed to be let go of in order to join the Church and embrace the gospel.  Because of some of the sacrifices associated with this, I was able to be born into the gospel and enjoy the blessings of the everlasting covenant from my parents.

Another parable I've pondered about this week is the parable of the net being cast into the sea.  The net represents missionaries (full-time and member missionaries), and their efforts to bring others to the gospel.  It can also be representative of the Atonement. As the net is cast in, it is representing those who are being brought into the Church and are converted to the gospel. Not everyone will be a member of the Church in this life, thus the "good" and " bad" fish; once we've been gathered in, and it's judgment time, we have the opportunity to partake of the gospel and come unto Christ (for some of us this will mean converting to the gospel and being baptized, etc., and for others it will mean repenting and utilizing the Atonement), otherwise we will be like the "bad" that was cast out of the net and destroyed.

If we learn to use parables to deepen our understanding of spiritual and gospel matters, we can be richly blessed.  There is so much to learn from and draw out of Christ's parables, if we take the time to study them.

Miracles of the Lord

Christ performed many miracles while on the earth.  In each of His miracles, someone exhibited amazing faith.  We can learn from these miracles, and those demonstrating faith, below:

Reference	Miracles of the Lord	Who Demonstrated Faith
Matthew 8:1-4	Christ heals a leper.	The leper ("Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean").
Matthew 8:5-13	A centurion's servant is sick with palsy, and Christ heals him.	The centurion (Christ says, "As thou hast believed, so be it done...").
Matthew 8:14-15	Christ heals Peter's mother from a fever.	Christ exhibits faith.
Matthew 8:16	Christ casts out spirits of the devil from many people.	Christ and those who brought the people to Him for healing.
Matthew 8:23-27	Christ calms the winds and sea.	Christ (as it says, the men were fearful).
Matthew 8:28-34	Spirits of the devil are cast into swine.	Christ, and those whose bodies had been inhabited by the evil spirits.
Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34	A woman with a blood diseased is cured by Christ.	The woman with the disease ("If I but touch Him, I will be whole").
Matthew 9:27-31	Christ gives sight to two blind men.	The two blind men believe they will be healed.
Mark 2:1-12	Christ heals a person with palsy, and they take up their bed and walk.	The people in the area and around the home have faith in Christ's power to heal the bed-ridden individual.

What kind of faith do we each have?  Have we exercised our faith recently?  What can we do to increase our faith?