It's been a unique weekend full of gratitude and hope. It began on Friday night as I attended the Lamb of God production. It continued as I attended the temple last night with the man I love most. And today's church meeting has been full of testimony and lovely stories of the effects of the atonement in profound and real ways. I love weekends like this: weekends where my heart could explode with the peace, gratitude, love, and adoration I feel.
I'm reading in 3 Nephi 9 this morning and it's caused me to think about the healing power that the Savior offers us. In verse 13, Christ speaks about the conditions of being healed: RETURN to the Savior, REPENT of sins, and BE CONVERTED.
In this verse, Christ pleads, "Will ye not (do those things) that I may heal you?" He is waiting.
Receiving Christ into our lives is an active pursuit. To come means to move toward or near. I show my willingness to come unto Christ by my small, daily actions. Through consistent, correct choices, as Elder Richard G Scott teaches.
In verse 21, Christ tells us His purpose for being in this world: "I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin."
To me, to be saved means to be healed. When we seek relief, we seek healing from something--> a physical ailment, an emotional pain, a weakness, an answer to a question. I'm convinced all the commandments are really exactly the same.. Just different ways to say the same thing.. "Come unto Christ!" He came to save us from sin. To save us from heartache. To save us from hurt. To save us from evil and wickedness. From the natural man. From ourselves.
"If ye will come unto me, ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive, and blessed are those who come unto me." (Vs. 14)
Did you catch that promise? "Whosoever will come, him will I receive." He says it again in verse 22: "Whoso repent with and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive... For such I have laid down my life and taken it up again." He invites everyone. And will accept anyone who makes the effort.
He wraps it up by saying, "Therefore, repent, and come unto me, and be saved." Simple as that.
Choose to be saved. Choose to make the Savior an integral part of your life. Choose to be healed.
There are countless examples in the scriptures where the Savior's call to come unto Him has been heeded and people have experienced the joy and healing He promised.
In chapter 10 of 3 Nephi, the Savior's voice comes to the people. The earth is mourning on the death of Christ, then goes still. Christ's voice comes to remind them that He has gathered them, that He's nourished them. As the days went on and the darkness wore off, the earth ceased to tremble, "the tumultuous noises did pass away". Verse 10: "Their mourning was turned into joy, and their Lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer."
I myself have experienced the process of mourning turning to joy, lamentations turned to praise. It is real, it is beautiful, and it is necessary for our journey in this life to experience these things. The principles of the gospel have the unique characteristic of applying to everyone as a whole, yet being so specific and unique to each of us. I love this. I love that I have a Father in Heaven that loves me enough to give me relief and healing through the process of coming unto Him in the very individual way that makes sense to me.
My favorite song in The Lamb of God is called "Here is Hope". "Hope did not die here, but here was given. Here is hope!"
Particularly at this time of the year, when we celebrate the resurrection of the Savior, I feel an extreme amount of gratitude for the hope that comes because of the resurrection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is real. He is love. His love is eternal. His healing is a gift to us. We can and will be saved because of Him, through Him.
He is hope.
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