I Stand All Amazed.

Today, I had an incredible experience in my New Testament class. It is a class that is surprisingly hard and I often struggle to feel like my teacher is teaching the gospel the way that it should be taught. However, today we had an incredible class on the Atonement. I learned more in this class period about the Atonement than I ever have before. It was incredible. I feel like I need to get my thoughts out of my head about it, and for some reason I've turned to my blog. This topic is pretty sacred, and I'm hesitant to post about it online. But then I remembered how the apostles have encouraged church members to share their testimonies via the interent, so that's what I'm going to do now. Here are my thoughts, feelings, and testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, in light of what I was taught today by Brother Merrill in New Testament:

• The Atonement teaches us about the value of our soul. Jesus Christ suffered for each person that ever lived on the earth individually. He did not suffer for groups of people. Brother Merrill quoted an apostle (I think it was Elder Maxwell) who said that Christ didn't just suffer for our sins, he stepped into our shoes. He literally knew what I feel like when I feel lonely, offended, hurt, sick, afraid, and frustrated. He suffered for me as an individual, because of his infinite love for me. Brother Merrill said that we will be reminded of the moment Christ suffered for us on our judgement day.
• Another interesting thing I learned from this lesson is that the Garden of Gethsemane isn't actually a garden in the way we think of gardens. It was an orchard of olive trees, so really it doesn't make sense that we refer to it as a garden--until we think about the symbolism. The fall occurred in the Garden of Eden, and here everything went wrong. Because of this, things are being fixed and restored in the Garden of Gethsemane.
• The Atonement is infinite. He quoted another general authority here (can't remember who) that said: "The Atonement is not a human sacrifice, it’s an infinite and eternal sacrifice. It covers an infinite number of sins, an infinite number of people, and an infinite period of time. It was performed by an infinite being, who endured infinite suffering. He suffered enormity times infinity." Wow. I think our earthly minds can't comprehend the magnitude of what happened in the Garden of Eden.
• The scriptures tell us that Christ sweat drops of blood from every pore. It is estimated that there are between 10-15 million pores on the body. I think that this gives us a better understanding of the enormous pain Christ endured.
• Because of the Atonement, repentance is possible. Elder Maxwell taught about what repentance means by saying: "This means we are to change our thoughts and then our behavior until we are turned away from our sins and are aligned with God's commandments. This change of mind means that we are actually progressing toward what Paul called 'the mind of Christ'. Repentance is thus a continuing process in which each of us needs to draw on the Atonement for real relief, real forgiveness, and real progress." (Testifying of the Great and Glorious Atonement, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, from a MTC Broadcast in August 1999).
• As we remember the Atonement, we are reminded of Christ's suffering and love for us, and thus we can have his spirit with us. This might be what I love the most. I love knowing that I can have His spirit with me. I may be a small, earthly being who has very little to offer, but I have the privilege of getting to have His spirit with me in my life. The Spirit brings peace, understanding, calmness, happiness, contentment, and love into my life. It makes me more than I could ever be on my own, and reminds me of who I really am.

I want to wrap up my thoughts by saying that I know that Christ's Atonement is real. I know that He cares for each of us deeply, and that He knows us better than we think He does. I know that He suffered for my shortcomings, my pain, my sicknesses, my struggles, and my fears, as well as many other things. I know that He is deeply involved my life, and that he loves me with an infinite love that I can't even comprehend. I know that He lives, and that he suffered for every individual to ever occupy the earth.

Today, I am thankful that I went to religion class and came away with a greater testimony of the Atonement.