The Atonement Is For All of Us

I was feeling a little down today.  And a little overwhelmed.  Then I looked on my Youtube channel and there was this video waiting for me:

It's about the point in the ancient church when Peter received the revelation that the gospel could be preached to the gentiles.  I love how Peter explains to Cornelius that Jesus Christ atoned for and died for all of us.  Every single one of us.  It made me think of a conversation I had with my sister earlier today.  We were talking about how we don't all have to do all things the same way and it's ok.  I told her about a quote I had read by President Uchtdorf that really impressed me and we looked it up together.  Here it is (if you want to read the whole talk go here):

"Without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, life would be a dead-end road without hope or future. With the Atonement, life is an ennobling, inspiring journey of growth and development that leads to eternal life in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

But while the Atonement is meant to help us all become more like Christ, it is not meant to make us all the same. Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father. Even identical twins are not identical in their personalities and spiritual identities."

 

I think this video and this quote go perfectly together.  It doesn't matter where we were born, who our parents are, how we look, how smart we are . . . the Atonement is for all of us.  We have been given agency to receive it and through it become the best version of ourselves.  I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us.  I am thankful that he has given me the opportunity to repent and keep trying to become like him.  I am thankful for agency to go about this in the best way I know how.  I am also thankful for the opportunity to have others in my life who are using their own agency to draw closer to Christ.  I learn a lot from them and it helps me in my own journey.  I love that we are not all expected to be exactly the same.

 

I love the Bible Videos and how they bring the scriptures to life.  And I love the scriptures and how they can chase my blues away by helping me feel the Spirit.  If you would like to see all of the Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos you can go here.