Power & Perspective From The Atonement

We each have really hard things happening in life. And if we don't right now, we have in the past and we will in the future. It's part of the mortal experience that we signed up for.

Even the splotchy skin and those annoying siblings. Yup!

So let's get a bit more serious today and talk about something REAL and IMPORTANT that will help you with those hard times ok? 

Ok. Let's go!

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We knew that when we came to this earth it was part of The Plan. We would get a body. We would have opportunities to learn. We would be given the commandments. In Abraham 3:25 it says,

"And we will prove them herewith, 

to see if they will do all things whatsoever 

the Lord their God shall command them."

That's why you're here! To prove to God that you will make choices that lead back to him. Sounds simple enough...but in real life it's easier said than done huh?

The most important part of The Plan is that our Heavenly Father provided a Savior for us. He knew that we needed to keep the commandments, but He also knew that we would make mistakes and sin. We wouldn't be able to keep those commandments perfectly.

That's the first part of the Atonement. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered for us so that we could overcome sin. So that we could repent, be forgiven, and be clean again in the sight of God. This is the redemptive power of the Savior's Atonement. And we each need to use this daily! 

Come on, I know you snuck your sister's new lip gloss!! 

Now the second part of the Atonement is something that we need just as much but we often fail to remember. The Atonement also gives us power. Power to be happy! Power to be strong! Power to do hard things!

This is called the enabling power of the Atonement. It "enables" us or makes possible for us to do more and be more than we could without that power.

You can see this power in different ways at different times of your life. When I was in junior high school, I had a really difficult time with two boys that would constantly tease me. They did it so often that it turned from being a joke here and there, to something that really hurt my feelings and my self-esteem. However - here's the part you'll want to pay attention to - because I knew my Savior and I prayed and pled for help, I was given power to be strong. Power to ignore. Power to have confidence in myself. Power to understand who I was and that it didn't matter what two silly and obnoxious boys thought about me.

This is the enabling power of the Atonement!

Make sense?

Think of it this way. The redemptive power is something you use if YOU sinned or if YOU did something wrong.

The enabling power is often something used when SOMEONE ELSE or JUST LIFE does something that affects you. 

Maybe someone says something rude. Maybe you're struggling with that history class. Maybe you have a difficult circumstance at home. Whatever it is, the enabling power can give you strength. In Alma 20:4 King Lamoni says,

"In the strength of the Lord thou canst do all things."

That's what Lamoni is talking about! The enabling power of the atonement! 

Yesterday I saw this fun article online. It shows famous places and how their appearance changes based on perspective.

Here are the Pyramids of Giza:

Huge, towering, and they seem like they are just out in the middle of the desert!

But look what happens when you zoom out a bit:

© Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons) 

Now they don't seem so large and deserted. It looks like there are people living basically at their doorstep! 

Isn't that incredible!!

A lot of times this is what the enabling power of the Atonement does for me. It helps me to have a larger perspective. To understand that a little argument or a small frustration in life isn't really this huge, overbearing pyramid. But just a small little bump in the big picture of life that I can overcome with the help of my Savior.

I promise you that as you use the redemptive AND enabling powers of the Atonement you can do hard things. You will grow in confidence, strengthen in testimony, and brighten in faith. You will have the perspective to see yourself and your life with eternal meaning. And you will have the power to be a strong, valiant, and faithful daughter of God.

- marci