BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” BYU students take nearly a semester of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.
In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)
Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.
Book of Mormon: The Power of Christ’s Atonement
Dear Friends and Family,
This week in my Book of Mormon class we have been reading in the beginning chapters of Helaman. I really love these chapters because although there is a lot of bad things happening in the land, I feel that much good also can be found in it. One of the most well-known scriptures is found in the Book of Helaman is found in chapter 5 verse 12.
In the beginning part of this chapter, Helaman is speaking to his sons Nephi and Lehi about the importance of following Christ and the example of their ancestors who also lived and prophesied of the coming of Christ. In verse 12, Helaman tells his sons that they must remember that it is upon the rock of Christ that they must build their foundation. He then goes on to tell them that the importance of this sure foundation is so that when the devil sends whirlwinds, hail, and mighty storms against us that they will have no power to prevail over us.
This is a promise that can be applied to our own day. Many of us deal with problems and trials that at the moment seem to threaten to overwhelm us. However, if we are willing to build on Christ’s foundation then we are promised that they will have no power over us to drag us down. The part of this verse that really caught my attention this time however was the symbolism ascribed to Christ as well as the symbolism about the power of the devil. Christ is described as a rock and a sure foundation. Both of these things for me conjure up images of endurance, of things that won’t be eroded away by time but something that will last forever. The power of Satan, on the other hand, is described by things like wind and storms. Certainly these things are real and have a very real power. However, no matter how powerful the wind, the hail, or the storm we can always be certain of one thing: that it will end. Their power will diminish until it gives way to the sun and blue skies once more. It is the very same with Christ and Satan.
Christ’s power endures forever. He will always be there to give us strength and support when and wherever we need it as long as we build upon our connection with him. Satan may tempt us, confuse us, or otherwise try to make us believe that all hope is lost. However, if we will but build on Christ and trust in him we can know of assurance that the storms of life will eventually pass and that any pain or suffering we have experienced can be swallowed up in Christ. This is the great power of Christ’s atonement. This is what is meant by Christ’s atonement being an “infinite” atonement. It is something that will last forever and extend past anything else. I know that Christ atoned for our sins and that if we come unto him we can be forgiven. I am grateful for this knowledge and the impact it has on my life by giving me hope in a world where there is so much sorrow. I know Christ lives.
Additional Resources:
Recent Comments