Today is my beautiful wife Ashley's birthday! She is such a beautiful soul who has made me happier than I have ever known. She is sweet and pure and kind and wonderful, and every day with her is a blessing. I'm more grateful for her than I could possibly express. Her birthday completes a set of four important December days that testify to me of the Atonement. On the 11th (today), I celebrate her birthday. On the 19th, I commemorate my Dad's passing. On the 23rd we celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Joseph. And on the 25th, we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World. Each of these events, reminds me of the goodness of God and of the gift of His Son and His Son's atonement. It is a beautiful month of testimony!
Yesterday I had a thought as I was reading scriptures. I had wondered for awhile why the Savior had waited until the end of his first day's visit to heal the Nephites. Why, when he had had the people come forth one by one, didn't he just heal them right then and there of their afflictions. My original thoughts, and they may not be wrong, were that He had either taken care of the most important things first, or that He had waited until the faith of the people was sufficient to be healed.
Yesterday another idea occurred to me. I began thinking about the Savior's visit in terms of a teacher giving a lesson. Every teacher and every writer knows that there are two moments in a lesson or in a book or article that those in attendance are most apt to remember: the beginning and the ending. Many of the details in the middle are apt to be forgotten, but what is said in the beginning and the ending are the things that need to be remembered.
So structured as a lesson, the Savior began by introducing Himself and inviting the people to come forward one by one and feel the wounds of His love in His hands and feet. There, standing before them and tangible and touchable, was evidence of Divine love and evidence of the atonement. The Savior closed by introducing the sacrament, providing the people with emblems that represented those very wounds. In connection with the sacrament, He healed their sick and blessed the people and their children.
Each time that they would then partake of those sacred emblems, they could remember the feeling of those wounds. And then they would remember that the Savior had healed them and blessed them as they came unto Him. What a wonderful opportunity to remember the sacrament must have represented for those privileged souls!
Most of us are not privileged to physically feel the wounds in His hands and feet and side in this life, but each of us has the opportunity to feel His healing and His blessings. Each of us can then approach those sacred emblems with memories of what that atonement has meant, means, and will mean for us in the future. What a great blessing!
Brett
So glad to have your sweet Ashley as part of the family - we love her!
ReplyDeleteI truly appreciate this thoughtful post, too, during this week of sad anniversaries and much reflection. Looking back over the past year since Dad passed away, so many faith-inspiring things have happened. Yet there are still days when I can't help but feel very much like the father who carried his ill child to the Saviour, saying "Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief."
The truth is there, but sometimes the grief is so strong that it's hard to discern through tears and mourning. Looking ahead to Sunday, I am eager for the opportunity to renew my baptismal covenants and to once again to reaffirm my faith in all that He has done and continues to do for me.
At this time of year and always, my Saviour stands at the ready to bless and uplift. Truly, there is no better gift I could hope for that what He has already given me - the promise of life eternal and a reunion with those who have gone before.