The Lord's Yoke

I've learned so much about the Atonement of Jesus Christ in the last few weeks. Mostly I've learned how all-encompassing it is (Alma 7:11-13). I've been reading a book called "Believing Christ" and in one part the author explains two means of justification. First "the law", under which we must do everything right and never make any mistakes, under "the law" the only way to receive salvation is by being perfect. As you and I both know, this is completely impossible for any of us because, we're not perfect. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23. The other way to be justified is by faith in Christ. We turn to him and despite our weaknesses, but because of His perfection, when we join with him, we too, become perfect. The author, Stephen E. Robinson, says "in the New Testament the two means of justification, by law and by faith, are referred to as separate yokes or burdens." p. 44

I began thinking about this. A yoke is "a wooden beam, normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs." I thought about this first yoke: us having to be perfect to make it back to our Heavenly Father. Then the second, our faith leads us to join with Christ and thus become perfect. Then I imagined a journey with a far off destination and a heavy load to carry. The first yoke, "the law", is like putting a yoke upon one oxen and then expecting that lone oxen to carry the whole load and go the entire distance. Travel that way is impossible, a yoke can't be worn by one and such a load can't be carried by one oxen alone. The second yoke is when one struggling, imperfect oxen allows himself to be yoked with a perfect, never tiring, full strength oxen. The responsibility of the first oxen is to remain in the yoke, the other oxen will take the weight of the burden and ensure that together, they reach the destination. This is like our journey of life. The destination is the Celestial Kingdom, returning to live with our Heavenly Father, and the load is all the trials, struggles, sorrows, and temptations that come with earth life. We are the first oxen; entirely human, and therefore flawed and imperfect. Our Savior is the second oxen. He has all the perfection and strength necessary for us to return to our Heavenly Father. Our responsibility is to join with Him in covenant and allowing Him to make up for our mistakes and weakness.   

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Galatians 5:1 So often we put pressure on ourselves and believe that we're not good enough, that we need to be perfect, we try to take on the yoke alone. The Lord not only doesn't expect us to carry the load alone, He doesn't want us to. On our own it is not possible, therefore our Savior invites us to come to Him and receive his help and strength throughout the journey. 

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" Matt 11:30 

Don't Judge a Bed by It's Cover

One of the things that you need to bring with you on a mission is bedding. When I left I brought a bedspread that my sister had used in college. It's easy to pack and very girly looking. She likes pink so it was a good one for her. I don't love pink, but I needed a bedspread so I wasn't going to complain. One day in Eureka while I was remaking my bed I looked at my bedspread and had a sudden realization. It's reversible. One side is pink the other side is purple (my favorite color). I had seen that blanket on my sister's bed for years, it had always been pink. Through all those months of packing the blanket, and using it at the MTC and in Eureka, I hadn't noticed that all I had to do to get a purple bed was to turn it over. I was so used to seeing a pink blanket that that was all I saw.

I sat there for a while wondering how it possibly could have taken me so long to realize. Then it dawned on me that we, as humans, do this so often. We see a person, ourselves or others, and say that what they have been is all that they can become. We forget that we are all children of God. The person we are now is only one aspect of us, it is within our grasp to change and become more. All we have to do is turn our lives to Christ and the Atonement and we can become a totally new and beautiful person. A person who was there all along but was hidden from our sight. 2 Cor 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is as a new creature". Don't let yourself be defined but what you have been, instead seek out what you can become.

Timmmmberrrr!

A few Sundays ago my companion and I were eating lunch with the family next-door when we heard a huge bang, and all the lights went off. Our neighbor said, "Oh, another tree must have fallen and knocked down some power lines." Really? They do that? That's the sound it makes? It happens enough that that is the first thing she thought of? Those were the thoughts running through my head. And then came, "If a tree fell in the woods and no one was there to hear it, would it still make a sound?" Maybe I'm not smart or intellectual enough, because I've never gotten the depth of that question. I'm always like, "Yes, of course it would, why wouldn't it?" I can't see why anything else would happen, a tree falls, it makes a sound, it shouldn't matter if there's anyone around to hear it or not.

But the other day when I was pondering this I thought of the Atonement. The Atonement is like my hypothetical tree that makes a sound no matter what. We can choose to use the Lord's Atonement, or we can choose not to, but the the Atonement still happened. Christ suffered for our sins, our weaknesses, and felt our trials and pains,1 despite whether or not we turn to Him for repentance or help.

Although it's clear to me that if a tree falls it will make a sound, it's not always so easy to recognize how all-encompassing the Atonement is. I think there are two main times when we, as God's children, forget this. First, when we believe that we can't possibly be forgiven because of the seriousness of what we've done, and second, when we're stubborn and choose not to turn away from our sins and mistakes, and towards Christ. Both are not good, and both are still atoned for by Christ. But we can only take advantage of that when we acknowledge Him and allow the Atonement to work in our lives. Christ has already suffered: He knows how we feel, He is just waiting for us to humble ourselves, to ask for help, to forgive ourselves. The tree is falling, it is going to make a sound, it's up to us to decide if we want to be there to hear it or not. We can all choose to experience the Atonement. I love Alma the Younger's description of his repentance,

"I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death. And now, behold when I thought this, I could remember my pains on more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain... there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you,..on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy."2

That is the joy that is available to each one of us. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, Atoned for "all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be"3. I know this. It has already happened, for each one of us. Now, we just have to choose to have faith in Christ and His Atonement and experience that joy for ourselves.   

1. Alma 7:11-12

2. Alma 36:18-21
3. Mosiah 4:7