Institute Graduation, 2009
The institute this refers to is a clas called Institute of Religion that I often attend on Thursday nights. Not right now because I have ITT that night, but it is my preference and I miss it and Brother Ramierez (the instructor) makes sure to tell me I'm missed every time he gets the chance. I'm posting this now because someone has recently decided I am a bad influence on their children. This does not make sense to me. Apparently my hat and glasses and long hair have a lot to do with it. So I decided to put this here in hopes it will be read.
Institute Graduation, 2009
I am Daniel Huffaker. I’m pleasantly surprised to be here right now. You see, I didn’t know that it was possible to graduate from institute until Brother Ramirez came and told me that I was doing so. Since I haven’t done that much with college I’m actually very pleased to be graduating from anything post high school. Initially, Brother West asked me if I would speak, but didn’t specify a topic or length of time. My response was simply “on what and for how long?” I’m not sure what he thought of that at first. For me I suppose it was a “yes, now tell me what you want.” I’m somewhat honored to have been asked to speak. I’ve been blessed to have a lot of gospel learning. The scriptures are pretty clear that one of the major points of having knowledge is to be able to share it in a way that helps other learn and grow. When Brother West informed me that my topic was simply to take any scripture I wanted from the New Testament and speak for 5-7 minutes or so, I realized that I had a lot of possibilities. I don’t know about the time limit, but this is the scripture that came to my mind.
Luke 22:43 states “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” The context is Christ in the garden. The following verses tell of his agony in atoning for the sins of the world. In D&C 19:16-19 the Lord describes the experience in this way: “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- Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.” In the most recent conference Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said of this time:
Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually-that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
The loss of mortal support He had anticipated, but apparently He had not comprehended this. Had He not said to His disciples, “Behold, the hour . . . is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” and “The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him”?
With all the conviction of my soul I testify that He did please His Father perfectly and that a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour. Indeed, it is my personal belief that in all of Christ’s mortal ministry the Father may never have been closer to His Son than in these agonizing final moments of suffering. -end quote-
Remember Luke 22:43 states “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” Christ was prepared and supported for that ultimate moment of sacrifice. Elder Holland continues:
Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required; indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind-us, all of us-would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.
But Jesus held on. He pressed on. The goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish. The trust He lived by told Him in spite of His feelings that divine compassion is never absent, that God is always faithful, that He never flees nor fails us. When the uttermost farthing had then been paid, when Christ’s determination to be faithful was as obvious as it was utterly invincible, finally and mercifully, it was “finished.”18 Against all odds and with none to help or uphold Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the living Son of the living God, restored physical life where death had held sway and brought joyful, spiritual redemption out of sin, hellish darkness and despair. With faith in the God He knew was there, He could say in triumph, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”19
Again, Luke 22:43 says “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” There is a great example there, one of the Father’s love for all his children. You see, Alma taught of Christ “and he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might ne 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. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people,. That he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.” Alma’s testimony, in short, was that the atonement was not only about sin, but about every pain, sickness, emotional issue, hurt, depression, that makes up the negatives in the human experience. Essentially, it absorbs everything that separates us from the perfect joy that is godliness. Christ had to feel all of this things to properly understand and “succor,” or help, his people. The lesson I find in Luke 22:43 “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him” builds on this. As Elder Holland said, our Heavenly Father did not withdraw his support from Jesus until the very moment when the ultimate sacrifice of the atonement required it. Until that point, he was upheld, supported, and prepared with as much as our Heavenly Father could possibly give him. He was given every chance to succeed. As Nephi tell us “…I will go and do the things which the lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” Jesus understood this. Placing his faith in the Father and the strength and support he was given he said “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” The Father prepared the way that so that Jesus could follow the commandments given him. This included sending an angel to strengthen him. In our lives there are also many times where we need strength. The example of Christ shows us that the Father will send angels for us. He even gives the power of the ministering of angels to holders of the Aaronic priesthood. Deacons, 12 year old boys, hold the Aaronic priesthood. God the Father loves his children so much that he will send angels unto them from heaven, strengthening them. Angels also does not have to mean an immortal being. Angels can come in the form of friends, family, home teachers, missionaries, and church leaders. Angels can be the deliverer of a kind word, the random man who helps with your oversize load of groceries, or the person who pulls over to help you fix the flat tire on your car. These blessed angels bring us strength. As Luke 22:43 shows us, even Christ relied upon these angels.
Toward the end of his conference talk Elder Holland said this:
Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path-the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”
-end quote.
Matthew 25:40 teaches us that “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” By spending that time alone Christ, who descended below all in the atonement to truly become the least of all, Christ did an incredible service to us all. His sacrifice in the atonement rendered it possible for his grace to bring us closer to our Heavenly Father, to allow us the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, and to insure that none of us, ever, is truly alone.
I add my testimony to that of Elder Holland when he says “that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.” I know that Jesus Christ is my lord and Savior, even the Savior of the world. I know that he does love us, each and every one of us, and looks forward to the day when he can greet us at the judgment bar of god, tell the Father that his grace has atoned for our impurities, and then say to us “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” I hope that each of us remembers that we are never really alone, because Christ has walked that path for us. Because of Christ, each of us will have the Father send angels unto us from heaven, strengthening us. This I say in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Institute Graduation, 2009
I am Daniel Huffaker. I’m pleasantly surprised to be here right now. You see, I didn’t know that it was possible to graduate from institute until Brother Ramirez came and told me that I was doing so. Since I haven’t done that much with college I’m actually very pleased to be graduating from anything post high school. Initially, Brother West asked me if I would speak, but didn’t specify a topic or length of time. My response was simply “on what and for how long?” I’m not sure what he thought of that at first. For me I suppose it was a “yes, now tell me what you want.” I’m somewhat honored to have been asked to speak. I’ve been blessed to have a lot of gospel learning. The scriptures are pretty clear that one of the major points of having knowledge is to be able to share it in a way that helps other learn and grow. When Brother West informed me that my topic was simply to take any scripture I wanted from the New Testament and speak for 5-7 minutes or so, I realized that I had a lot of possibilities. I don’t know about the time limit, but this is the scripture that came to my mind.
Luke 22:43 states “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” The context is Christ in the garden. The following verses tell of his agony in atoning for the sins of the world. In D&C 19:16-19 the Lord describes the experience in this way: “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- Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.” In the most recent conference Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said of this time:
Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually-that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
The loss of mortal support He had anticipated, but apparently He had not comprehended this. Had He not said to His disciples, “Behold, the hour . . . is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” and “The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him”?
With all the conviction of my soul I testify that He did please His Father perfectly and that a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour. Indeed, it is my personal belief that in all of Christ’s mortal ministry the Father may never have been closer to His Son than in these agonizing final moments of suffering. -end quote-
Remember Luke 22:43 states “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” Christ was prepared and supported for that ultimate moment of sacrifice. Elder Holland continues:
Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required; indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind-us, all of us-would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.
But Jesus held on. He pressed on. The goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish. The trust He lived by told Him in spite of His feelings that divine compassion is never absent, that God is always faithful, that He never flees nor fails us. When the uttermost farthing had then been paid, when Christ’s determination to be faithful was as obvious as it was utterly invincible, finally and mercifully, it was “finished.”18 Against all odds and with none to help or uphold Him, Jesus of Nazareth, the living Son of the living God, restored physical life where death had held sway and brought joyful, spiritual redemption out of sin, hellish darkness and despair. With faith in the God He knew was there, He could say in triumph, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”19
Again, Luke 22:43 says “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” There is a great example there, one of the Father’s love for all his children. You see, Alma taught of Christ “and he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might ne 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. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people,. That he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.” Alma’s testimony, in short, was that the atonement was not only about sin, but about every pain, sickness, emotional issue, hurt, depression, that makes up the negatives in the human experience. Essentially, it absorbs everything that separates us from the perfect joy that is godliness. Christ had to feel all of this things to properly understand and “succor,” or help, his people. The lesson I find in Luke 22:43 “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him” builds on this. As Elder Holland said, our Heavenly Father did not withdraw his support from Jesus until the very moment when the ultimate sacrifice of the atonement required it. Until that point, he was upheld, supported, and prepared with as much as our Heavenly Father could possibly give him. He was given every chance to succeed. As Nephi tell us “…I will go and do the things which the lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” Jesus understood this. Placing his faith in the Father and the strength and support he was given he said “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” The Father prepared the way that so that Jesus could follow the commandments given him. This included sending an angel to strengthen him. In our lives there are also many times where we need strength. The example of Christ shows us that the Father will send angels for us. He even gives the power of the ministering of angels to holders of the Aaronic priesthood. Deacons, 12 year old boys, hold the Aaronic priesthood. God the Father loves his children so much that he will send angels unto them from heaven, strengthening them. Angels also does not have to mean an immortal being. Angels can come in the form of friends, family, home teachers, missionaries, and church leaders. Angels can be the deliverer of a kind word, the random man who helps with your oversize load of groceries, or the person who pulls over to help you fix the flat tire on your car. These blessed angels bring us strength. As Luke 22:43 shows us, even Christ relied upon these angels.
Toward the end of his conference talk Elder Holland said this:
Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path-the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”
-end quote.
Matthew 25:40 teaches us that “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” By spending that time alone Christ, who descended below all in the atonement to truly become the least of all, Christ did an incredible service to us all. His sacrifice in the atonement rendered it possible for his grace to bring us closer to our Heavenly Father, to allow us the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, and to insure that none of us, ever, is truly alone.
I add my testimony to that of Elder Holland when he says “that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so.” I know that Jesus Christ is my lord and Savior, even the Savior of the world. I know that he does love us, each and every one of us, and looks forward to the day when he can greet us at the judgment bar of god, tell the Father that his grace has atoned for our impurities, and then say to us “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” I hope that each of us remembers that we are never really alone, because Christ has walked that path for us. Because of Christ, each of us will have the Father send angels unto us from heaven, strengthening us. This I say in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.