Heavens Anidote

I mentioned it in my last email, but this week I studied Heavens Anidote- the Atonement of Jesus Christ! I have to say that my testimony of the blessing of the atonement has increased tremendously, and I invite all of you to take the time to learn more about it!

Here are some of the talks that I loved:

- the atonement (Nelson Oct 1996)

- the atonement of Jesus Christ (Callister April 2019)

- the atonement: all for all (Hafen April 2004)

- the atonement covers all pain (Richard's 2011)

I'm going to just get right to the point:

In the talk by President Nelson, he explained the significance of the word atonement. "In the English language, the components are at-one-ment, suggesting that a person is at one with another." When we accept Christ's Atonement, we are with him- we are one in purpose! He continued to say that "in Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is Kaphar, a verb that means "to cover" or "to forgive". Closely related is thr Aramaic and Arabic word Kafat, meaning "a close embrace." I loved this, and it reminded me of 2 Nephi 1:15 and the part "encircled about eternally in the arms of love." Christ loves us so much, he gave us this amazing opportunity to live with our father in heaven again- and his arms are forever extended to embrace us when we accept his mercy!

On another note, I learned that by transgression, man loses control over his own will and becomes the slave of sin- that is why this gospel is so freeing. It is only through Christ that we can be truly free!

In 2 Nephi it talks a lot about how we cannot be saved by obedience alone. And my mission president said in our last zone conference that we would not have made it, we had no chance. I know that without Jesus Christ and his infinite atonement, we could not have and could never return home to our Heavenly Father. And it had to be Jesus Christ- only he could be our Savior because he was debt free to justice. Whereas we all have made mistakes and have had to pay the consequences! Only Jesus Christ, being perfect, could pay the debt! 

Also... in D&C 19:16-17 it says "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." He came here so that we can live the plan of happiness, and not suffer the pains he felt! All we have to do is repent- so I invite you all now- please repent, and come unto him, so that you can feel joy, and be free! (You can also read 3 Nephi 9:13... and follow his invitation)

To finish my rant on the amazing gift of the atonement, there was a quote from the talk by Hafen that I loved, "so, if you have problems in your life, don't assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life's purpose." I just really loved that- sometimes our trials aren't due to the hardness of our hearts- but because God knew that we had more room to grow! We are here to learn, grow, and follow Jesus Christ!

As for the stuff that happened this week, a lot! The husband of the member who taught us how to make tortillas, told me that we could now get married, because we could make tortillas... then the member proceeded to tell us how long it would take for us to get married after we got home from our missions haha! Any guesses?

I got to go to the temple! It was exactly what I needed, and I just love being there and learning new things every time. There is no feeling that can compare to the joy that one feels there- and I hope that you all can feel that joy in your life!

Our friend Salvador, who has been taught for a while, decided he wanted to give us "the last supper" since one of us is leaving this coming Tuesday! He is so sweet and always told us to remember him, and remember that Jesus loves us, and will take care of us! 

Here's the big news!!! Our friend, Rodolfo got baptized on Saturday! It was amazing! He has been so excited for weeks! He was supposed to work every Sunday, but he decided to tell his boss that he had to come to church- and so he was able to be baptized! It was kinda a crazy day- the font kept draining became the elders didn't put in the suction thing... so hna Hollberg had to strip down to her gs and put the suction over the drain! We took a picture together and sent it to him, and that night, it was his profile picture for his whatsapp! I'm so excited for him! 

He was excited for every step, every lesson- every time we visited him, he would laugh with us and be so happy! This is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! We should all be laughing and smiling! But sometimes I think we take for granted the blessing we have for being able to know and live it! Since knowing him, I'm going to try to remember that I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ- I should be happy! I should be jumping for joy!

My question for this week is: How can we take upon us the yoke of Christ? (Matthew 11:28-30)