He died for all of us, and for each of us.
Are they contradictory statements? No. It is a single statement, and it is true. This phrase came to me, more than once today, and as I have been wanting to write on it, this seemed like a good time to do so.
In the Pearl of Great Price, one of the works of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is the book of Moses. This book of scripture, received by revelation by the prophet Joseph Smith has this phrase, encapsulated in verse. Moses 1:39 states
For behold, this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
The world was created for this purpose, man was created so that the spirit children of our Father in Heaven could come down, live a mortal life in which they have no memory of their lives prior, to learn faith, obedience, repentance, and to learn to love our fellow beings as Our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, love us. However, we are not perfect, and cannot achieve perfection in mortality. And we know that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of heaven, so where does that leave us?
We are not left alone in this world, the Lord does not leave us for lost. He presented a Plan to us, where a sacrifice would be offered, so that all who would have faith and repent, can return to live with our Father. We accepted this plan, and came to earth.
So many have written about the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, including me, that I won't elaborate, except to say that it is this Fall which brought two deaths, the death of the body, and the death of the spirit, or separation from God. Christ came to conquer these deaths, which he accomplished in His Atoning Sacrifice. He paid a terrible price, to body and spirit culminating in His Death, and subsequent resurrection. This victory unlocked the physical death, and that at some point, ALL will be resurrected, and live again. (John 5:29, KJV) This is a gift to all who have ever lived, men have to do nothing to receive it. This is what I meant in that He died for all of us. And the immortality referred to in the book of Moses quote that is at the top of this post. All will be made alive.
In the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there is a distinction between immortality and Eternal Life. I just described immortality, Eternal Life is the victory over that separation between man and God. It is living life in a way that, while not possible for mortals to be perfect in this life, we can achieve that perfection through the grace of Christ by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel, and enter into the presence of God.
This victory is an individual gift, accorded to men (generic "men" meaning mankind) It is given to people who live the gospel to the best of their knowledge, repenting when necessary, (repentance is always necessary, FYI). But even more so, sought out to help those around them, to see a need and address it, not just in word but in deed. They also must receive every ordinance of the gospel, as an individual, administered by proper priesthood authority. As God is just, and there is no doubt billions who have lived exemplary lives and died without hearing the gospel, or receiving these ordinances, the Lord has provided a way to receive those ordinances vicariously by those working in the temples that have been erected for that purpose. Those ordinances done on behalf of the dead are not forced on them in the next life, however. God's gift of agency to us is too important, even after death. Those that have gone before choose whether to accept or reject this work done on their behalf.
I won't put the lyrics here, as I have in a previous post, but the link to one of the songs we sang today is here:
https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/reverently-and-meekly-now?lang=eng
This hymn, #185 in the current hymnbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is one of many hymns sung during the preparation of the Sacrament in our Sunday meeting. It is unique in that it is all written as if spoken to us by our Savior, Jesus Christ. As I was directing the hymn today, I was nearly overwhelmed by the words, and the magnitude of the suffering of the Lord, for all of us, but especially for me. No matter how much grief, suffering, and pain that we may endure, He has endured it for us, and is uniquely qualified to comfort us in our time of need, if we but seek Him out.
God knows us, each of us, he knows our trials, our triumphs, our sins, and he knows those pains of the heart that we dare not speak ourselves. He waits for us to demonstrate that mustard seed of faith, by laying our troubles on Him. His gift is a gift to all, who lay upon the altar the sacrifice He asks. A broken heart, and a contrite spirit. He will heal us, if we allow it. This I know.
It is never too late to turn to Him. He loves each of us, no matter our sin. He longs for us to return. May we ever not only seek Him out, but seek those that are lost, that they may be found. In Christ's name I write these words, that all may come to Him.
In the Pearl of Great Price, one of the works of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is the book of Moses. This book of scripture, received by revelation by the prophet Joseph Smith has this phrase, encapsulated in verse. Moses 1:39 states
For behold, this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
The world was created for this purpose, man was created so that the spirit children of our Father in Heaven could come down, live a mortal life in which they have no memory of their lives prior, to learn faith, obedience, repentance, and to learn to love our fellow beings as Our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, love us. However, we are not perfect, and cannot achieve perfection in mortality. And we know that no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of heaven, so where does that leave us?
We are not left alone in this world, the Lord does not leave us for lost. He presented a Plan to us, where a sacrifice would be offered, so that all who would have faith and repent, can return to live with our Father. We accepted this plan, and came to earth.
So many have written about the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, including me, that I won't elaborate, except to say that it is this Fall which brought two deaths, the death of the body, and the death of the spirit, or separation from God. Christ came to conquer these deaths, which he accomplished in His Atoning Sacrifice. He paid a terrible price, to body and spirit culminating in His Death, and subsequent resurrection. This victory unlocked the physical death, and that at some point, ALL will be resurrected, and live again. (John 5:29, KJV) This is a gift to all who have ever lived, men have to do nothing to receive it. This is what I meant in that He died for all of us. And the immortality referred to in the book of Moses quote that is at the top of this post. All will be made alive.
In the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there is a distinction between immortality and Eternal Life. I just described immortality, Eternal Life is the victory over that separation between man and God. It is living life in a way that, while not possible for mortals to be perfect in this life, we can achieve that perfection through the grace of Christ by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel, and enter into the presence of God.
This victory is an individual gift, accorded to men (generic "men" meaning mankind) It is given to people who live the gospel to the best of their knowledge, repenting when necessary, (repentance is always necessary, FYI). But even more so, sought out to help those around them, to see a need and address it, not just in word but in deed. They also must receive every ordinance of the gospel, as an individual, administered by proper priesthood authority. As God is just, and there is no doubt billions who have lived exemplary lives and died without hearing the gospel, or receiving these ordinances, the Lord has provided a way to receive those ordinances vicariously by those working in the temples that have been erected for that purpose. Those ordinances done on behalf of the dead are not forced on them in the next life, however. God's gift of agency to us is too important, even after death. Those that have gone before choose whether to accept or reject this work done on their behalf.
I won't put the lyrics here, as I have in a previous post, but the link to one of the songs we sang today is here:
https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/reverently-and-meekly-now?lang=eng
This hymn, #185 in the current hymnbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is one of many hymns sung during the preparation of the Sacrament in our Sunday meeting. It is unique in that it is all written as if spoken to us by our Savior, Jesus Christ. As I was directing the hymn today, I was nearly overwhelmed by the words, and the magnitude of the suffering of the Lord, for all of us, but especially for me. No matter how much grief, suffering, and pain that we may endure, He has endured it for us, and is uniquely qualified to comfort us in our time of need, if we but seek Him out.
God knows us, each of us, he knows our trials, our triumphs, our sins, and he knows those pains of the heart that we dare not speak ourselves. He waits for us to demonstrate that mustard seed of faith, by laying our troubles on Him. His gift is a gift to all, who lay upon the altar the sacrifice He asks. A broken heart, and a contrite spirit. He will heal us, if we allow it. This I know.
It is never too late to turn to Him. He loves each of us, no matter our sin. He longs for us to return. May we ever not only seek Him out, but seek those that are lost, that they may be found. In Christ's name I write these words, that all may come to Him.
Comments
Post a Comment