The Atonement

The Atonement

BY PRESIDENT BOYD K. PACKER

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Brightly beams our Father’s mercy

From his lighthouse evermore,

But to us he gives the keeping

Of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning;

Send a gleam across the wave.

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman

You may rescue, you may save.

Dark the night of sin has settled;

Loud the angry billows roar.

Eager eyes are watching, longing,

For the lights along the shore.

Trim your feeble lamp, my brother;

Some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,

Trying now to make the harbor,

In the darkness may be lost.1

“My message is directed to those among us who are suffering, burdened down with guilt and weakness and failure, sorrow, and despair.”

Q. Does this apply to any of you? Then this lesson is for YOU today.  I stress YOU because this lesson is individual and it comes from a talk entitled “The Atonement”, given by President Packer, during the Sunday morning general session in October 2012.

Pres. Packer shares this hymn I just read, a hymn “seldom sung in our hymn books,” but one of his favorites because he once experienced, first hand, the need to be guided by this lower light to safety when he was visiting Western Samoa.

This story provides a great metaphor of the atonement so we are going to go ahead and read it. 

HANDOUT #1

In 1971, I was assigned to stake conferences in Western Samoa, including the organization of a new stake on Upolu island. After interviews we chartered a small plane to Savai‘i island to hold a stake conference there. The plane landed on a grassy field at Faala and was to return the next afternoon to take us back to Upolu island.

The day we were to return from Savai‘i, it was raining. Knowing the plane could not land on the wet field, we drove to the west end of the island, where there was a runway of sorts atop a coral break. We waited until dark, but no plane arrived. Finally, we learned by radio that there was a storm, and the plane could not take off. We radioed back that we would come by boat. Someone was to meet us at Mulifanua.

As we pulled out of port on Savai‘i, the captain of the 40-foot (12 m) boat asked the mission president if he had a flashlight. Fortunately, he did and made a present of it to the captain. We made the 13-mile (21 km) crossing to Upolu island on very rough seas. None of us realized that a ferocious tropical storm had hit the island, and we were heading straight into it.

We arrived in the harbor at Mulifanua. There was one narrow passage we were to go through along the reef. A light on the hill above the beach and a second lower light marked the narrow passage. When a boat was maneuvered so that the two lights were one above the other, the boat would be lined up properly to pass through the dangerous rocks that lined the passage.

But that night there was only one light. Two elders were waiting on the landing to meet us, but the crossing took much longer than usual. After watching for hours for signs of our boat, the elders tired and fell asleep, neglecting to turn on the second light, the lower light. As a result, the passage through the reef was not clear.

HANDOUT #2 (story continued)

The captain maneuvered the boat as best he could toward the one upper light on shore while a crewman held the borrowed flashlight over the bow, searching for rocks ahead. We could hear the breakers crashing over the reef. When we were close enough to see them with the flashlight, the captain frantically shouted reverse and backed away to try again to locate the passage.

After many attempts, he knew it would be impossible to find the passage. All we could do was try to reach the harbor at Apia 40 miles (64 km) away. We were helpless against the ferocious power of the elements. I do not remember ever being where it was so dark.

We made no progress for the first hour, even though the engine was at full throttle. The boat would struggle up a mountainous wave and then pause in exhaustion at the top of the crest with the propellers out of the water. The vibration of the propellers would shake the boat almost to pieces before it slid down the other side.

We were lying spread-eagled on the cover of the cargo hold, holding on with our hands on one side and with our toes locked on the other to keep from being washed overboard. Brother Mark Littleford lost hold and was thrown against the low iron rail. His head was cut, but the rail kept him from being washed away.

Eventually, we moved ahead and near daylight finally pulled into the harbor at Apia. Boats were lashed to one another for safety. They were several deep at the pier. We crawled across them, trying not to disturb those sleeping on deck. We made our way to Pesega, dried our clothing, and headed for Vailuutai to organize the new stake.

I do not know who had been waiting for us at the beach at Mulifanua. I refused to let them tell me. But it is true that without that lower light, we all might have been lost.

Pres Packer goes on to say “I speak today to those who may be lost and are searching for that lower light to help guide them back.It was understood from the beginning that in mortality we would fall short of being perfect. It was not expected that we would live without transgressing one law or another.”

WHAT A RELIEF, we were never expected by our Father in Heaven to be perfect, for in the scriptures we know that

“the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.”2

So it has been established that we aren’t expected to be perfect, thus an atonement was made to rectify our daily imperfections.  Let’s break down this BIG word: atonement.

BD Atonement:

“The word describes the setting “at one” of those who have been estranged and denotes the reconciliation of man to God.”

The verb "atone", from the adverbial phrase "at one" (M.E. at oon), at first meant to reconcile, or make "at one" with something; from this the word came to denote the action by which such reconciliation was effected, e.g. satisfaction for all offense or an injury.

I like how it is described in Catholic theology: the Atonement is the Satisfaction of Christ, whereby God and the world are reconciled or made to be at one. "For God indeed was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19).So in our case the atonement means to be satisfied, to be reconciled, to be “at one” with God.

Finish reading BD to bullet point.

· The atonement is universally and individually applicable.

o     Universally the atonement is unconditional:

“All are covered unconditionally as pertaining to the Fall of Adam. Hence, all shall rise from the dead with immortal bodies because of Jesus’ Atonement. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22), and all little children are innocent at birth.”

So Adam fell and thus became a need for the atonement.  This atonement then bestowed a gift to all mankind (no matter their religion)—that of eternal life.

o     Individually, however, the atonement is conditional:

“The Atonement is conditional, however, so far as each person’s individual sins are concerned, and touches every one to the degree that he has faith in Jesus Christ, repents of his sins, and obeys the gospel.”

This is our also found in the 4th A of F:

“We believe that the first principles and aordinances of the Gospel are: first, bFaith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, cRepentance; third, dBaptism by eimmersion for the fremission of sins; fourth, Laying on of ghands for the hgift of the Holy Ghost.”

** Now, I wanted to make this distinction because sometimes it is easy to forget that the atonement is all-inclusive, even to those outside of our church.  We are all equally blessed with the gift of eternal life because of this supernal act.

Also, I think it is important for us to be reminded about how individual the atonement is.  Behind closed doors each of us sin, each of us experience our own gethsemane’s, and the ONLY person that knows every ounce of pain, every moment of discomfort or sorrow, is our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ knows us by name because experienced our pains individually.

EXAMPLE: I have asked my husband, Mike Moncur, to come and share with us how he knew the Lord knew him personally, and how the atonement changed his life.

Continuing on, and this may be a BIT of a tangent, but I felt the need “ to go there” when preparing this lesson.  It is also important for us to remember the Savior’s atonement is individually applicable in order for us to cease judging others. 

We may think we know someone’s past, we may think we know someone’s heart, but we don’t.  And that is why it is wise to leave judgment’s to the ALL KNOWING JUDGE, He who knows our weaknesses, the desires of our hearts, our capabilities, our talents—our Savior, Jesus Christ. 

HANDOUT # 3

President Joseph F. Smith taught: “Men cannot forgive their own sins; they cannot cleanse themselves from the consequences of their sins. Men can stop sinning and can do right in the future, and so far [as] their acts are acceptable before the Lord [become] worthy of consideration. But who shall repair the wrongs they have done to themselves and to others, which it seems impossible for them to repair themselves? By the atonement of Jesus Christ the sins of the repentant shall be washed away; though they be crimson they shall be made white as wool [see Isaiah 1:18]. This is the promise given to you.”8

*To me this knowledge is a great reminder and actually an added blessing in my life because I don’t HAVE to worry or wonder if this or that person has sincerely changed, if they have felt the atonement in their life.  I can allow the atonement to make them accountable for what they have done and allow them to work out what they need to with the Savior, while I do the same for my life.

EXAMPLE OF MY DAD

And now it is time for me to shed this skin and share a little of what’s been going on underneath.  I am a little frightened to share such a personal example, and I didn’t necessarily want to, but for some reason I felt the necessity to do so, so maybe there is someone in here that needs to hear it.

I am actually going to read my story because if I don’t I will probably get so flustered that I will just fumble through it.

I am actually pretty amazed that I was asked to give this lesson and furthermore that it was on the atonement, because over the past year and a half my family’s faith in the atonement has been tested and tried more than I think any one of my 6 siblings thought it could be.

We came from a “strong” LDS family.  I put “strong” in quotations because really our upbringing was based on hypocrisy (some of which we knew of, and a lot of which we didn’t). 

I will not go into any detail because it is probably the most fantastical, unbelievable story you’ve ever heard—straight out of a really messed up movie—in fact if any of you have ever seen the movie “Catch Me If You Can?” Well, that is only ½ the story my father lived.

In my home many things were hidden, and those secrets didn’t come out till much later in our lives—now living as adults with our own families.  Accounts of abuse, infidelity, embezzlement, fraud, problems with the government . . . the list goes on and on. 

These accounts were exposed by members of my own family, a few of which did so out of anger, wanting justice and revenge, and some did it out of the honest belief that they were helping my father clear up his misdeeds before passing on into the next life.

All of these events eventually led to my father’s excommunication.  When this happened a year ago, I was astounded to think that my dad—a true historical and religious mastermind, THE scriptorian of all scriptorians, the law giver, the patriarch in our home—was at the age of 65, being excommunicated.

I felt like my whole life had been a lie.  I felt betrayed, poisoned, upset, angered, bewildered, shocked . . . so many feelings that were not manageable, nor capable of getting rid of on my own.

And here is the point of me deciding to share this: THE ONLY PERSON that could manage these emotions, that could give me some sort of peaceful remedy, was my Savior. 

And you know what I came to realize? He was not only there to remedy my pain, but my fathers as well.  The Savior’s atonement was to provide retribution to the sinner AND the persons affected by the sins of that sinner.  

So here we all were, under one umbrella, so many of us affected by one mans choices, yet ALL of us, even the sinner, was in need of ONE Healer. 

Now, some members in my family decided to turn to Christ to heal their pain, while others grew further distant and bitter.

Those of us who turned to Christ learned to see my dad not as this “untouchable father”, rather a common sinner amongst us, a man prone to weakness, just like all of us.  And because of this, it has been easier for us to accept his Stake Presidents recommendation that he be re-baptized.  While those who have been hardened by the situation expressed complete disdain over how quickly he went through the repentance process.

The problem with the latter is that they are only seeing things with their natural eyes.  It is impossible for any of us to know the exchanges he’s made with his priesthood leaders, the prayers he has had with the Lord behind closed doors, the change he has felt and experienced inside of his own heart.  Who are we—as fellow sinners (yes maybe to a much lesser degree)— to judge whether or not the atonement has worked in his life?

I want to read an entry my husband wrote in jail that is in direct correlation with this thought:

*READ PRIDE ENTRY

For as Pres. Packer said:

“Throughout your life there may be times when you have gone places you never should have gone and done things you never should have done. If you will turn away from sin, you will be able one day to know the peace that comes from following the pathway of complete repentance.

No matter what our transgressions have been, no matter how much our actions may have hurt others, that guilt can all be wiped out. To me, perhaps the most beautiful phrase in all scripture is when the Lord said, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”11

And here is the clause, even if my father did all of this just to be seen of men, and didn’t truly repent, that’s his issue with the Savior, not mine.  For remember we are all to have an INDIVIDUAL relationship with Christ. Even though my dad is my dad, he is Heavenly Father’s son first; even though Mike is my husband, he is Heavenly Father’s son first; even though Beckahm is my child, he is Heavenly Father’s son first. Each of us are 1^st members of Christ before we are members of this mortal family.

And that is why once we have experienced the atonement in our lives, we must then become that lower light guiding those we love and care for back to Christ. Reading that verse from that hymn once again:

Let the lower lights be burning;

Send a gleam across the wave.

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman

You may rescue, you may save.

Pres. Packer reiterates this by saying:

HANDOUT #4

“That is the promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement: to take anyone who comes, anyone who will join, and put them through an experience so that at the end of their life, they can go through the veil having repented of their sins and having been washed clean through the blood of Christ.12

That is what Latter-day Saints do around the world. That is the Light we offer to those who are in darkness and have lost their way. Wherever our members and missionaries may go, our message is one of faith and hope in the Savior Jesus Christ.”

CONCULSION

When we have sinned, when we are discouraged, the atonement is there to provide us with peace and to give us hope.

“President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote the lyrics to the hymn “Does the Journey Seem Long?” This hymn contains encouragement and a promise to those who seek to follow the teachings of the Savior:

Does the journey seem long,

The path rugged and steep?

Are there briars and thorns on the way?

Do sharp stones cut your feet

As you struggle to rise

To the heights thru the heat of the day?

Is your heart faint and sad,

Your soul weary within,

As you toil ’neath your burden of care?

Does the load heavy seem

You are forced now to lift?

Is there no one your burden to share?

Let your heart be not faint

Now the journey’s begun;

There is One who still beckons to you.

So look upward in joy

And take hold of his hand;

He will lead you to heights that are new—

A land holy and pure,

Where all trouble doth end,

And your life shall be free from all sin,

Where no tears shall be shed,

For no sorrows remain.

Take his hand and with him enter in.13

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.