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| From the LDS Gospel Library |
Recently I had the privilege of listening to a couple
General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first, Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the
Presidency of the Seventy, spoke about how the gospel of Christ encompasses the
principle of change. This means that if
earlier in our lives we have made decisions that have hurt us or others, or if
we have developed destructive habits, we do not have to say, “That’s just the
way I am,” but we can change. How is
this change possible? With the help of
Christ! Elder Hallstrom gave three steps
to make this change and become a happier person:
- Gain eternal vision. We must see that we can be better than we are.
- Be willing to make commitments. By making commitments we promise to become the better person that we know we can be.
- We must show self-discipline. We have to put for the effort to change.
If we do these three steps the Lord will take care of the
rest. In the book of Ether from the Book
of Mormon, the Lord informs us: “And if
men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be
humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me
for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make
weak things become strong unto them.” (Ether 12:27.)
How can the Lord make a weakness, such as addiction, a
strength for us? This is because of the
atonement Christ performed for us in Gethsemane. The prophet Alma taught:
“And he [Christ] shall go forth, suffering pains and
afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be
fulfilled which he saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of
his people. And he will take upon him
death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will
take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy,
according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor
his people according to their infirmities.” (Alma 7:11-12.)
We learn here that Christ not only made forgiveness possible
through atoning for our sins, he not only broke the chains of death through the
resurrection, but he gave us the promise of change. By taking all temptation and suffering upon
himself he became our advocate in these troubling times. By coming to him he can help us change and
show us a happier life. We can find
examples of this kind of change throughout the scriptures, from Saul the
persecutor who became Paul the apostle to the woman forgiven of adultery. When the Lord enters our life we can leave
behind the troubles and grow in joy.
The second General Authority I listened to was Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
He appropriately followed the talk on change with the following message:
“Your Heavenly Father loves you, and his Son Jesus Christ loves you. You are not just a lost grain of sand on an eternal beach that nobody knows but yourself. You have a Heavenly Father that loves you.”
Our Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to the earth to perform
the Atonement. Christ performed this
Atonement out of the love he has for all of us, and through the Atonement we
have the opportunity to become better than we are today.
Want to know more? Ask a missionary here.
