Area Leadership Message
Cleansed from Sin and Strengthened in Our Weakness
President Russell M. Nelson taught: “Teach your children and each other about the Lord Jesus Christ. His Atonement is the most important event in the history of the world, and it is the foundation of our religion. Everything else about our religion is secondary to that.”
President Nelson continues to teach and invite us to learn about and use the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. He promises great blessings. It is central to our Heavenly Father’s perfect plan. He and His Son love us perfectly. The Lord’s Atonement—including His Crucifixion and Resurrection—make salvation and exaltation possible.
The Atonement is more than just forgiveness of sins. Through Jesus’s sacrifice we can be cleansed from our sins, healed from sickness of body and mind and spirit, and strengthened in our weakness.
The prophet Alma explained that Jesus Christ “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.
“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).
Through sacred ordinances and covenants, we enter a special relationship with the Lord. We take His name upon us and draw closer to Him. Our lives change from just trying to keep commandments to deepening our personal relationship with Him and eventually becoming one with Him. Because of His special kind of love and mercy for those who make covenants with Him, He offers divine help, so we do not need to face mortality alone. We are bound together.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ applies to each of us personally. When we partake of the sacrament, we renew our covenants with Him and our Heavenly Father. We also make a new covenant and promise to take upon us His name, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. This strengthens our relationship with Him, and we are promised the constant companionship of His Spirit each day as we stay in that covenant relationship.
In the temple, the house of the Lord, we also covenant to take upon us His name. He promises to pour out divine power, love, mercy, and grace to bless and help us each day.
“Jesus Christ offers comfort, hope, and healing. His atoning sacrifice is the ultimate expression of His love. All that is unfair in life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”
At Easter, at Christmas, each week at the sacrament, and every day, we can feel the power, peace, hope, and joy of our Savior’s perfect atoning love.