Jesus: My Help-My Deliverer

Psalms 40:17

But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

We are all poor in spirit and in knowledge compared to Jesus Christ, yet as we strive, as we seek to emulate Him, we become rich toward God, but we will always need Him.

Jesus is my help, for He is always ready and available to intervene and help me in times of need, which in reality, is always. “I Need thee Every Hour” (See LDS hymn #98, ‘I Need thee Every Hour’).  In fact, He is forever knocking at the door of my heart and soul, waiting for me to open up and let Him in. Jesus said,  “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (See Revelation 3:20).

Jesus is my deliverer, for He is my prophet, my teacher, and my king. He rescues me from physical and spiritual harm and danger. He is forever reaching and rescuing me, our family, and all others. He is our Savior, the Good Shepherd who knows His sheep and leads them--He is the Shepherd and we are His sheep. He is  invariably  striving to lead us to Him and His gospel.

Jesus: The Focal Point of My Priorities

Psalms 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Jesus is my:

1. Light
2. Salvation
3. Strength

Jesus is my light, for He is light, and in Him is no darkness. He is the light that lighteth up in me, even the Light of Christ. Jesus is my Salvation, for He it is who opened the door for Salvation to occur. Only He had the power to open the Salvation door and let us in, even into the presence of The Father, The Son, The Holy Ghost, and others. Jesus is my Strength,  for my  life and energy and existence are fruits of His being, His atonement. The energy of my soul comes from Him. Within Him is no failing or flaw, no limitation, for He giveth strength to all, and added strength to those who seek Him endlessly.

Jesus gives us hope, hope for a happy and enjoyable life here in mortality and hope for eternal life in the hereafter. His light lightens up my light. His Salvation gives me Salvation. His Strength gives me strength. Jesus is the strong point inside me, the focal point of my priorities. Jesus magnifies us as we magnify and stretch ourselves in obeying His commandments. Obedience brings light, salvation, and strength, and all come from Christ, our Beloved Savior and Redeemer.

Jesus Christ: Our All

2 Samuel 22:2

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

Jesus is everything to us. Without Him we are as nothing. We would eventually become as satan and live in misery forever were it not for Christ, our Brother.

Jesus is my:

1. Rock
2. Fortress
3. Deliverer
4. Shield
5. Salvation Horn
6. High Tower
7. Refuge
8. Savior

Jesus is the Rock upon which we might build and have a sure foundation, a foundation that never falls or would fail us. He is my Fortress, my stronghold and fortification against sin and temptation, against all the evil wiles ploys of the world. He is my Deliverer, for He delivers me from the world and allows me to find true peace and serenity. He is my Shield, for He protects my heart and mind by withstanding and reversing all evils of the world that try to enter and inflict my soul. He is my Salvation Horn, for salvation is found only in and through His name. He is my High Tower, for I can look up to Him and receive solutions, answers, guidance, and direction for a happy and successful life. He is my Refuge, for in Him is safety, shelter, and defense from danger or trouble. He is my Savior, for He it is who will save me at the end though His love after I have done all that I can do to live a righteous life.

Jesus Christ: Our Everything

Exodus 15:2

The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Jesus, our Lord, is our everything.  He is my:

1. Strength
2. Song
3. Salvation
4. God
5. Ancestors’ God

Jesus is our strength. We obtain light and life from Him. He is our song. He brings edification and cheer into our lives, just like wholesome music. We need to sing and play uplifting music to worship Him. He is my salvation, for salvation comes through Him. He is my God, for besides Him, there is no other. He is the God of our ancestors. They loved and worshipped Jesus and showed us that He would become the Savior of the world. Christ’s atonement affected all people from the beginning, even though He didn’t perform His atoning sacrifice until 34 AD since His atonement was retroactive.

A savior is a person who saves someone or something. He is a rescuer, liberator, deliverer, emancipator. Jesus is our Savior; therefore, He is the one who saves us after all we can do. He rescues us from sin and darkness, liberates us from the wrong path of life, delivers us from the chains that satan’s binds us with-physically and mentally and spiritually.

Jesus is our everything. We are indebted to Him and will be forever. All He asks us to do is keep His commandments faithfully and live the good life, live the best we know how and repent of our sins of omission and commission.

The Sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father

Moses 5:5-7

5 And he (The Lord-See verse 6) gave unto them (Adam and Eve) commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.

6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.

7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.

God the Father sacrificed Jesus, His Firstborn spirit child and His Only Begotten Son in the flesh, as an infinite and eternal sacrifice for all mankind. Just like Adam and Eve offered sacrifices on the altar, God the Father offered Jesus as a sacrifice on Jesus’ altar of sacrifice--the Cross. The blood of animals was shed and sacrifices on the altar, and this was a similitude of Jesus shedding His blood on His altar of sacrifice. It pleased the Father to sacrifice His Son Jesus in fulfillment of the requirement for all mankind to receive forgiveness of sins upon repentance and eventually gain exaltation, if they would endure faithfully to the end of mortality. Jesus’ blood was shed and His life was sacrificed for reconciliation and atonement for all the living and the dead and those who would yet be born into mortality. Jesus’ atonement was infinite in scope, neverending in its influence.

Two Parts Required for Salvation

DC 138:2-4

2 And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world;

3 And the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world;

4 That through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved.

To be saved means to gain eternal life, exaltation in the highest heaven of the Celestial World. To be saved requires two parts:

Part 1) The atonement of Jesus Christ

Part 2) Our obedience to the principles of the gospel that includes all the principles, laws and ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Part 1 has been fulfilled through Jesus' atoning sacrifice, the shedding of His blood. Now, Part 2 is up to us to exercise our agency, to see whether or not we will be totally obedient to God by doing all that He requires of us, for "It is by grace that we are saved after all we can do."  (See 2 Nephi 25:23)

We Must Trust in the Atonement

We must trust in the Atonement. Our only real affirmation of the Atonement is our own repentance. Otherwise, we mock God. President Kimball also said, “God is good. He is eager to forgive. He wants us to perfect ourselves and maintain control of ourselves. He does not want Satan and others to control our lives.” We don’t want other people to control our lives. God doesn’t want Satan and other wicked people to lead us into doing things that are not good. “We must learn that keeping our Heavenly Father’s commandments represents the only path to total control of ourselves, the only way to find joy, truth, and fulfillment in this life and in eternity.”  In the videoThe Faith of an Observer, a documentary about Hugh Nibley, that splendid man said with the accumulated wisdom of his seventy-five years, “There are only two things we can do with distinction in this life: repent and forgive.” I would suggest that we cannot understand the one without experiencing the other.

Ann N. Madsen

“A Voice Demands That We Ascend”-Dare the Encounter: Building a Relationship With God – included in “As Women of Faith: Talks Selected from the BYU Women’s Conferences” edited by Mary E. Stovall, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989

Salvation Through the Name of Jesus Christ

Book of Mormon--Helaman 5:9 (About 30 BC)

Remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.

Jesus Christ’s name is the only name through which man can be saved. His is the only name whereby redemption is obtained. Only through Jesus’ name is the world redeemed. No other person or thing can take the place of our Savior’s atoning sacrifice, His infinite atonement (payment) for our sins. His name is the only name under heaven whereby man could become clean and pure and sanctified. When we are pure and clean of our sins, it is because of our sincere repentance and the grace of God. Grace is divine assistance. We are saved through the grace of God after all we can do.

Think-Ponder-Pray: When you hear or think of the name Jesus Christ:

1. What comes to mind?
2. What do you think of?
3. What feelings enter your heart?
4. What directions do  your thoughts go?
5. Why do you feel a spirit of reverence?
6. Why do tears fill your eyes?
7. Why do you feel a deeper spirit of humility?  
8. Why is your tongue stayed and speechless for a few minutes?
9. What now is most important in life?
10. What is your standing with God?
11. Why am I not more grateful to Him than I should be?
12. How can I increase my love and gratitude for Him?
13. Is my  life in harmony with the teachings of the Lord?
14. How can I do and be better?
15. How can I improve my life?
16. How can I live a more Christ-like life?
17. How can I please Him more?

Ponder answers to these questions, and you will have a spiritual experience because of our loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ who made Jesus’ atonement possible. We are forever indebted to them. Trust them, and trust His name.

The Atonement and Resurrection

Book of Mormon--Alma 42:23

The atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God;

Since the atonement (payment for sins) brings to pass the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrection of the dead brings us back into the presence of God; THEN the atonement brings us back into the presence of God. Without the atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind would eventually perish and become as satan, full of evil and forever  miserable.

Christ’s atonement (payment for our sins) started in Gethsemane, continued on the cross, and culminated with the resurrection.  According to the Law of Justice, everyone would need to suffer for his/her sins. But to have our sins forgiven and to be resurrection after death required a sacrifice, but it needed to be an infinite and eternal sacrifice. Jesus Christ was the only one qualified to make this atoning sacrifice.

Birth is when the spirit enters the physical body. Death is the separation of the body and spirit, when the body goes to the grave to await the resurrection, and the spirit goes to the spirit world, the world where the spirits of all people go when they die. At the appointed resurrection time, your spirit and body will be re-united and come forth to meet Christ at the judgement bar. Here you will be judged according to your thoughts, desires, and works during mortality and the spirit world existence. If you have lived a good life, obeying all God’s commandments, you can receive a Celestial body and dwell with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, family members and friends in eternal life, exaltation, in the highest heaven of the Celestial world. All this is possible because of the resurrection and atonement of Jesus Christ, our elder Brother.

“For as in Adam, all die; even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Cor. 15:21-22).

Christ is the author and finisher of our salvation. Come unto Him and live!

Justice and Mercy

Book of Mormon--Alma 42:23

But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement

Just-Fair

Justice-Fairness

Mercy-Compassion, forgiveness

The Law of Justice-The Law of Mercy

God is a just God. He applies justice, fairness, 100% of the time. He also applies mercy (compassion and forgiveness) when they are due. God’s law of justice, fairness, is always in effect, if not so, God would cease to be God. God is also full of mercy (compassion and forgiveness). When we sin, we come short of the glory of God. The justice of God allows for us to be punished for our sins, and we will be punished because it is only fair. On the other hand, when we sin, in addition to our being punished, if we repent, God extends mercy (compassion and forgiveness) because He loves us. If there was no mercy (compassion and forgiveness), we would be miserable forever.
The Law of Mercy exists because of the Atonement (Payment) of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Great Atoner (Creditor). He atoned (paid) for our sins out of mercy (compassion), for us and the Father.
Will justice rob mercy? Never. Will merce rob justice? Never. If so, God would cease to be God, and He will not cease to be God; therefore, God is a God of Justice and a God of Mercy because of the Atonement (payment) of Jesus Christ.

Click to read more about The Justice and Mercy of God by an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ Atoned for Our Sins

Atonement of Jesus Christ

Book of Mormon, Alma 34:8

8 And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

To atone--to pay for, to reconcile, to make right.
Atonement--payment

Christ came into the world to take upon himself the sins and transgressions of all people, and to atone, to pay for, the sins of the world. According to the justice of the Father, when one sinned, there must be a punishment. In Gethsemane and on the cross, Jesus suffered the punishment  and paid the penalty for everyone’s sins. Our responsibility is to exercise faith in Christ, repent of our sins, and stop sinning.

Life is a constant process of repenting, being forgiven, and striving to cease sinning. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (I Philippians 4:13). By the grace and power of Christ, we can do it.  Grace is divine assistance, heavenly help, divine intervention.

Jesus said, (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19)16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

Therefore, come unto Christ and partake of His salvation.

Christ's Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane

Elder James E. Talmage taught: 

Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. … He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even con-ceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused him to suffer such torture as to produce an ex-trusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of expe-riencing. … In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world,’ could inflict. … In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehen-sible, the Savior took upon Him-self the burden of the sins of man-kind from Adam to the end of the world‖ (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 613). 

Christ's Infinite and Eternal Atonement

President Ezra Taft Benson taught:

In Gethsemane and on Calvary, He worked out the infinite and eternal atonement. It was the greatest single act of love in recorded history. Thus He became our Redeemer—redeeming all of us from physical death, and redeeming those of us from spiritual death who will obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel. (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988],14).

Christ in Gethsemane

Several years before Elder Orson F. Whitney was ordained an Apostle, he received a vision of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane. Elder Whitney’s description of his vision: 

―I seemed to be in the Garden of Geth-semane, a witness of the Savior’s ago-ny. I saw Him as plainly as ever I have seen anyone. Standing behind a tree in the foreground, I beheld Jesus, with Peter, James and John, as they came through a little … gate at my right. Leaving the three Apostles there, af-ter telling them to kneel and pray, the Son of God passed over to the other side, where He also knelt and prayed. It was the same prayer with which all Bible readers are familiar: ‘Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ “As He prayed the tears streamed down his face, which was toward me. I was so moved at the sight that I also wept, out of pure sympathy. My whole heart went out to him; I loved him with all my soul, and longed to be with him as I longed for nothing else. “Presently He arose and walked to where those Apostles were kneeling—fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a tone of tender re-proach, untinctured by the least show of anger or impatience, asked them plaintively if they could not watch with him one hour. There He was, with the awful weight of the world’s sin upon his shoulders, with the pangs of every man, woman and child shooting through his sensitive soul—and they could not watch with him one poor hour! “Returning to his place, He offered up the same prayer as before; then went back and again found them sleeping. Again he awoke them, readmonished them, and once more returned and prayed. Three times this occurred‖ (Through Memory’s Halls [1930], 82).

The Pains, Afflictions, and Temptations of Jesus

Book of Mormon-Alma 7:11

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

Jesus suffered pains, afflictions, and temptations of every kind. Jesus said, "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations" (Luke 22:28). Through His atoning sacrifice, He knows what it is like to have cancer, a severe common cold, leukemia, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, toothache, hurt feelings, broken hearts, brain damage, heart attack, depression, stroke, leprosy, and all the other countless diseases that afflict mankind. In Gethsemane, He descended below all things, including the experiencing of every pain and disease and suffering and temptation. He knows what it is like to be tempted by Satan, and there isn’t anything He doesn’t know.

Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection constitute the Atonement. He is The Great Atoner. While hanging on the cross, the pains and sufferings of Gethsemane returned to Him. Yet, He never complained nor murmured against the Father. He accepted His role as The Great Atoner in perfect stride. He never forsook His responsibilities. He atoned out of His infinite love for His Father and all humankind.

With His Stripes We Are Healed

Book of Mormon--Mosiah 14:5

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Jesus is the Great Atoner. He was foreordained in premortal life to come to this earth and be the Savior, Redeemer, and Atoner of the world for all. He was smitten, spit upon, smote, cursed at, scourged, and crucified-all for the atonement and reconciliation of humankind. While in gethsemane, Jesus suffered the pains and afflictions of everyone past, present, and those who will yet be born, and here is when he sweat great drops of blood from every pore so great was His pain and suffering. He even asked the Father to remove this cup from Him, but if it wasn’t the Father’s will, then Jesus would endure and suffer through it. This He did.

He suffered the Atonement so we could have peace, and as a result of His stripes, His seven special wounds, we are healed of our sins and shortcomings.

His seven special wounds included:

1. Print of the nail in His left hand
2. Print of the nail in His right hand
3. Print of the nail in His left foot
4. Print of the nail in His right foot
5. Print of the nail in His left wrist
6. Print of the nail in His right wrist
7. The spear wound in His right side

In addition to Jesus’ seven special wounds, He received body torture from the scourging, from the crown of plaited thorns pressed down upon His head, and whiskers of His beard were pulled out.

“I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (Isaiah 50:6).

He suffered for the pains and sicknesses of all mankind.

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people” (Book of Mormon, Alma 7:11).

Jesus is our Advocate with the Father. Without Him, we are as nothing. May we praise and thank Him humbly from the depths of our hearts forevermore. Above all, may we live so that our good lives demonstrate and reflect our abiding love for Him. Our lives show the depth of our love, commitment, and devotion to Him.