Was hab' ich in der Kirche gesagt.
So two weeks ago Sunday I gave a talk in church. In the LDS chruch we don't have a preacher. The Bishop presides and sometimes conducts (sometimes one of the counselors conducts as well), but he doesn't usually share doctrine from the pulpit. Instead we get to hear talks from various people in the congregation, usually a youth speaker and then a couple, though sometimes the formula varies slightly (missionaries who have recently returned or preparing to leave, multiple youth speakers after some youth conference, etc.). This was the first time I had spoken in church since before Chris and I were married and the first time Chris spoke since he returned from his mission so I imagine we were both a bit overdue.
The talk was pretty well-received, I think and I managed to deliver it without much in the way of nerves, though I think I had a couple verbal slips on some of the words. I even had another person come up to me yesterday saying he really enjoyed the talk. That said we have plenty of new people moving into the ward so Chris and I probably won't be asked to speak again for years.
For the curious the following is the text of my talk. I quoted a lot of scripture ... a LOT of scripture.
To understand the Atonement it needs to be broken down into its individual parts. According to the Bible Dictionary the word Atonement means “setting ‘at one’ of those who have been estranged,” or in other words, bringing two people or things back together. The word itself can be separated into “At-one-ment.” The “at one” describing the action that it creates followed by “ment,” a suffix used to describe the means of an action, the place of a specified action, as well as the state or condition resulting from that action. The atonements brings us “at one” with our body. It takes us “at one” in the presence of God, and through the process of the atonement we can become “at one” with God by becoming like him, unified in deed and in thought as He and Christ are.
It allows us to overcome the two types of death described in the scriptures: physical death, described in James 2:26 “the body without the spirit is dead”, a separation of spirit from body, and spiritual death, separation of man from God, well-described in Alma 40:26 as “an awful death… for they die as to the things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter cup.” The part of the atonement that addresses physical death is called unconditional and its resolution of spiritual death is referred to as conditional.
While called unconditional, the first portion of the atonement was conditional upon our acceptance of God’s plan before the world was created. At that time we had a choice between being compelled to return by Lucifer, who said in Moses 4:1, “Behold, here am I, send me, and I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor,” or choosing to return following Jesus Christ’s example, which serves as a stark contrast in the next verse “thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.” God rejected Satan’s plan because it “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). All of us here wanted to be free to make our own choices and because of that we were able to keep our first estate and receive our own physical bodies. The atonement takes effect in allowing us to be resurrected and rejoined with our physical bodies in a perfected state. Everyone who comes to earth gets the benefit of the unconditional part of the atonement.
However, all of those who followed Satan remain spirits forever, described in D&C 29:37 as being “thrust down,” and in Jude 1:6 as “the angels which kept not their first estate” and were “under darkness unto the judgment of the great day,” denied the opportunity to progress through their own choice, because Satan’s plan would have prevented us from learning and growing and so they remain unchanged. Through the plan proposed by Satan we would not be allowed to make mistakes or given the opportunity to prove our conviction in what we believed. Through it we would all make it back, but the cost would have been great. We would have been as Adam and Eve before they ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, in a state of innocence and ignorance. In D&C 29:39 it states that “It must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet” and reiterated in Moses 6:55 “and they taste the bitter, that they may know and prize the good,” and continuing in verse 56 “And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves.”
Jesus Christ fulfilled the requirements necessary to allow us to rejoin with our bodies through his physical death and subsequent resurrection. He was the first to be resurrected with a perfected body because he was the only one who could, being both mortal and divine, having the ability to die and also to rise again. In 1 Corinthians 15:22 it states, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” This scripture encompasses both parts of the atonement as Adam’s fall caused both temporal and spiritual death to come upon man and leads us into the conditional atonement that allows us to return to God’s presence and also to become like him. It gives us the chance to be with God and also to be like God as it paves the way to exaltation. The conditional atonement is the part we focus on most because it is dependent upon our current actions. We have control over the outcome with the choices that we make right now, and our attitudes and feelings. Satan plays a part here in creating the same choice we faced in the pre-earth life: do we follow him or do we follow Christ?
In 2 Nephi 2 Lehi explains to his son Jacob the atonement and the importance of agency (our freedom to make choices) to our existence and progression. Lehi begins by explaining in verses 5-9 that the law alone does not bring redemption and allow us back into God’s presence, but only “through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah,” who “shall make intercession for all the children of men.” He continues in saying that there has to be opposition in all things in verse 11 stating “Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility” and continuing in verse 13 “if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.”
The opposition to God is the devil who seeks for us to be miserable like he is. In verse 16 Lehi says that God gave us the ability to act for ourselves, but that “man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.” Satan is that enticing force that tries to do just as he did with Adam and Eve, to convince us to partake of that which is forbidden. In 2 Nephi 28:20-22 we are reminded of how Satan works to do his part. “For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good. And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion propsereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.”
Adam’s transgression was an essential part of the plan because without it, as explained in 2 Nephi 2:22-23 “he would not have fallen… and all things which were created must have remained in the same state which they were after they were created … And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.” So, as concluded in 2 Nephi 2:25 “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
What the atonement allows for is described beautifully in verse 26 as we will be redeemed from the fall and “because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.” And continuing in verse 27 “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” Lehi finishes his final talk to Jacob by urging his son to look to Christ and adhere to his commandments in order to choose eternal life.
The atonement was in equal parts Christ’s life, suffering, death, and resurrection. His perfect sinless life allowed him to satisfy the demands of justice and be our mediator. In the garden of Gethsemane he suffered not only for our sins, but he felt all of the physical, emotional, and spiritual anguish one can feel, as described in D&C 18:11 “For behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.” He took it all on, which gave him a perfect understanding of all the things we have been through and will go through, throughout all the generations of mankind, giving him endless compassion for he has felt it all. Christ suffered all of these things so that we wouldn’t have to. D&C 19: 16-18 “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; 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-“
The conditional part of the atonement hinges on our repentance. Repentance is the process of forsaking our sins, leaving them behind, in favor of aligning our desires and deeds with God. Alma describes the importance of this process in Alma 41:10-11 reminding us that we will not be saved while still clinging to sin. “Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.” But he also reminds us in verse 15 “For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored....” He continues in chapter 42 first describing in verse 13 how repentance is necessary in order for mercy to take effect “… according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so God would cease to be God.” In verse 15 he states “the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God and a merciful God also.” Alma continues to describe that there is a law and when man sins against it there is a punishment linked to it and if there was no law there could be no punishment and there would be no fear of sin. In verses 22-24 he sums it all up with “But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God. But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice. For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.”
In conclusion, the atonement is central to God’s plan. It allows us to return to him, it allows us to grow and learn to be like him, and it offers us to opportunity to experience true joy and happiness. It was given freely and it is simply a matter of us choosing to accept it in our hearts and through our actions. If we do that, we can be saved from our fallen, imperfect state. AMEN!!
I didn't just close it "AMEN!" I improvised the close, partially because I was tired of writing and partially to give myself some space to say as the moment suggested. Same thing with the opening, there were a few other words there as well, but this was all that I had physically written.
Something completely unrelated is Chris has two interviews this week. One was this morning and the other is tomorrow. Fingers crossed and prayers something comes of it!
The talk was pretty well-received, I think and I managed to deliver it without much in the way of nerves, though I think I had a couple verbal slips on some of the words. I even had another person come up to me yesterday saying he really enjoyed the talk. That said we have plenty of new people moving into the ward so Chris and I probably won't be asked to speak again for years.
For the curious the following is the text of my talk. I quoted a lot of scripture ... a LOT of scripture.
To understand the Atonement it needs to be broken down into its individual parts. According to the Bible Dictionary the word Atonement means “setting ‘at one’ of those who have been estranged,” or in other words, bringing two people or things back together. The word itself can be separated into “At-one-ment.” The “at one” describing the action that it creates followed by “ment,” a suffix used to describe the means of an action, the place of a specified action, as well as the state or condition resulting from that action. The atonements brings us “at one” with our body. It takes us “at one” in the presence of God, and through the process of the atonement we can become “at one” with God by becoming like him, unified in deed and in thought as He and Christ are.
It allows us to overcome the two types of death described in the scriptures: physical death, described in James 2:26 “the body without the spirit is dead”, a separation of spirit from body, and spiritual death, separation of man from God, well-described in Alma 40:26 as “an awful death… for they die as to the things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter cup.” The part of the atonement that addresses physical death is called unconditional and its resolution of spiritual death is referred to as conditional.
While called unconditional, the first portion of the atonement was conditional upon our acceptance of God’s plan before the world was created. At that time we had a choice between being compelled to return by Lucifer, who said in Moses 4:1, “Behold, here am I, send me, and I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor,” or choosing to return following Jesus Christ’s example, which serves as a stark contrast in the next verse “thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.” God rejected Satan’s plan because it “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). All of us here wanted to be free to make our own choices and because of that we were able to keep our first estate and receive our own physical bodies. The atonement takes effect in allowing us to be resurrected and rejoined with our physical bodies in a perfected state. Everyone who comes to earth gets the benefit of the unconditional part of the atonement.
However, all of those who followed Satan remain spirits forever, described in D&C 29:37 as being “thrust down,” and in Jude 1:6 as “the angels which kept not their first estate” and were “under darkness unto the judgment of the great day,” denied the opportunity to progress through their own choice, because Satan’s plan would have prevented us from learning and growing and so they remain unchanged. Through the plan proposed by Satan we would not be allowed to make mistakes or given the opportunity to prove our conviction in what we believed. Through it we would all make it back, but the cost would have been great. We would have been as Adam and Eve before they ate the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, in a state of innocence and ignorance. In D&C 29:39 it states that “It must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet” and reiterated in Moses 6:55 “and they taste the bitter, that they may know and prize the good,” and continuing in verse 56 “And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves.”
Jesus Christ fulfilled the requirements necessary to allow us to rejoin with our bodies through his physical death and subsequent resurrection. He was the first to be resurrected with a perfected body because he was the only one who could, being both mortal and divine, having the ability to die and also to rise again. In 1 Corinthians 15:22 it states, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” This scripture encompasses both parts of the atonement as Adam’s fall caused both temporal and spiritual death to come upon man and leads us into the conditional atonement that allows us to return to God’s presence and also to become like him. It gives us the chance to be with God and also to be like God as it paves the way to exaltation. The conditional atonement is the part we focus on most because it is dependent upon our current actions. We have control over the outcome with the choices that we make right now, and our attitudes and feelings. Satan plays a part here in creating the same choice we faced in the pre-earth life: do we follow him or do we follow Christ?
In 2 Nephi 2 Lehi explains to his son Jacob the atonement and the importance of agency (our freedom to make choices) to our existence and progression. Lehi begins by explaining in verses 5-9 that the law alone does not bring redemption and allow us back into God’s presence, but only “through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah,” who “shall make intercession for all the children of men.” He continues in saying that there has to be opposition in all things in verse 11 stating “Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility” and continuing in verse 13 “if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.”
The opposition to God is the devil who seeks for us to be miserable like he is. In verse 16 Lehi says that God gave us the ability to act for ourselves, but that “man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.” Satan is that enticing force that tries to do just as he did with Adam and Eve, to convince us to partake of that which is forbidden. In 2 Nephi 28:20-22 we are reminded of how Satan works to do his part. “For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good. And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion propsereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.”
Adam’s transgression was an essential part of the plan because without it, as explained in 2 Nephi 2:22-23 “he would not have fallen… and all things which were created must have remained in the same state which they were after they were created … And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.” So, as concluded in 2 Nephi 2:25 “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”
What the atonement allows for is described beautifully in verse 26 as we will be redeemed from the fall and “because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.” And continuing in verse 27 “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” Lehi finishes his final talk to Jacob by urging his son to look to Christ and adhere to his commandments in order to choose eternal life.
The atonement was in equal parts Christ’s life, suffering, death, and resurrection. His perfect sinless life allowed him to satisfy the demands of justice and be our mediator. In the garden of Gethsemane he suffered not only for our sins, but he felt all of the physical, emotional, and spiritual anguish one can feel, as described in D&C 18:11 “For behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.” He took it all on, which gave him a perfect understanding of all the things we have been through and will go through, throughout all the generations of mankind, giving him endless compassion for he has felt it all. Christ suffered all of these things so that we wouldn’t have to. D&C 19: 16-18 “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; 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-“
The conditional part of the atonement hinges on our repentance. Repentance is the process of forsaking our sins, leaving them behind, in favor of aligning our desires and deeds with God. Alma describes the importance of this process in Alma 41:10-11 reminding us that we will not be saved while still clinging to sin. “Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.” But he also reminds us in verse 15 “For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored....” He continues in chapter 42 first describing in verse 13 how repentance is necessary in order for mercy to take effect “… according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so God would cease to be God.” In verse 15 he states “the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God and a merciful God also.” Alma continues to describe that there is a law and when man sins against it there is a punishment linked to it and if there was no law there could be no punishment and there would be no fear of sin. In verses 22-24 he sums it all up with “But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God. But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice. For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.”
In conclusion, the atonement is central to God’s plan. It allows us to return to him, it allows us to grow and learn to be like him, and it offers us to opportunity to experience true joy and happiness. It was given freely and it is simply a matter of us choosing to accept it in our hearts and through our actions. If we do that, we can be saved from our fallen, imperfect state. AMEN!!
I didn't just close it "AMEN!" I improvised the close, partially because I was tired of writing and partially to give myself some space to say as the moment suggested. Same thing with the opening, there were a few other words there as well, but this was all that I had physically written.
Something completely unrelated is Chris has two interviews this week. One was this morning and the other is tomorrow. Fingers crossed and prayers something comes of it!