Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Reflections on the Atonement and Grace
I had a client who was not a member of the LDS faith, ask me, "I don't get you Mormons... you think that you will be saved by works and not by faith!" I responded, "I believe in Grace". He then stated, "No you don't, you're religion never talks about it... they only talk about the works you can do". I reflected on this and thought, "I think we might just use another word more often to explain Grace--The Atonement". I have come to realize that in the Gospel, "works" refer to repentance, keeping the commandments, etc.. And why do we do these "works", so that the Savior can help us progress--but we need His Grace--there is no way we can do it on our own. He paid our debt by His infinite sacrifice--and now it is paid--our sins were paid in full nearly 2000 years ago, now all Christ requires of us is to progress a little each day so that we will want to be with Him again and grow into a charitable, merciful Christlike person who He knows we can become! I believe this doctrine is consistent with all of our other Christian brothers and sister.
After explaining my understanding of "Grace", I told my client that "I do 'works', [e.g.] service, repentance, attempting to love everyone, etc., so that I can be a better person (which I feel is God's will for me)--not to earn my way to heaven, but to want heaven. I have realized that my works are mutually exclusive of grace, but my faith in Christ, my faith in the gift of Grace that He has given me--all that he has given me--increases as my behaviors become more like His behaviors, and I do works as He would do works." My client responded that his belief is actually the same. We came to a mutual understanding.
As we do a little more, we become a little better. As we conform our life to gospel standards, we become more charitable. When we break commandments we become more selfish. No matter what religion we are, if we have charity, eventually (in this life or the next), our lives will begin to conform to gospel standards and we will be saved and gain Eternal Life--b/c we want it! As President Hinckley stated, "We must try a little harder everyday, to be a little better!" Always do your best, and when your best isn't as good as it was yesterday, keep trying, never give up and everything will be okay--this is the spirit of Grace. Christ doesn't make up the difference, He is the difference!
...Also, why do we do missionary work? So that the world can know how to have hope now and how to have a Celestial life in the present! We need to get the good news (the gospel) out there-- there are too many people lost in misery, with no hope and no purpose! I see it everyday in my profession.
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Wow, what an amazing deep thinking blog post! I have to admit it made me think really hard. I am striving daily to truly learn what the Atonement means for me. Some days are easier than others. I have questioned what Grace truly means for me as well. In the scriptures we are told that "his Grace is sufficient". The dictionary states that "Grace is the free and unmerited favor of God." As one of your clients I can relate to one that has lost some hope. One of the first things you learn in DBT is that You are doing your best! From one that lives in the shadows of Shame it is very difficult to ever feel worthy to have that "unmerited favor of God." I have always struggled to be "good enough". This last week in our session you stated that "God doesn't make up the difference, he is the difference." I have had that quote going thru my mind all week. I am really trying to understand God's purpose for me. As I shared in one of my sessions, so many times we as "victims" tend to ask "why me?" That question sounds so selfish to me, but I am a "natural man" and the Lord knows this of me. I asked this question of the Lord and that is when I found Mosiah 24:14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." As you stated in your post, we are here to help each other along this path. This life is difficult and as this scripture states, it is our responsibility to stand as a witness.
I am not going to lie, I have never really understood the Savior's "Grace". Before I started having issues with my mental health I knew where I stood with the Gospel. I lived it to an extreme and I loved it. Now, please don't misunderstand, I still love the Gospel but there are some things I did not understand and one of which was the Savior's "Grace".
You recently asked me to read an article in the September 2013 Ensign from Brad Wilcox. I have to admit I loved it and have referred to it several times. I met with my Bishop yesterday to discuss my thoughts and to ask further questions. He was very kind and understanding with my thoughts.
At one point in my therapy you advised me that if I were to pass away I would stand in front of my maker and talk myself out of the Celestial Kingdom. I told this to my Bishop and he agreed (nice, I know :) ). To more fully understand this I want to quote a portion of the Ensign article...
A young woman once came to me and asked if we could talk. I said, “Of course. How can I help you?” She said, “I just don’t get grace.”I responded, “What is it that you don’t understand?”
She said, “I know I need to do my best, and then Jesus does the rest, but I can’t even do my best.”
I said, “The truth is, Jesus paid our debt in full. He didn’t pay it all except for a few coins. He paid it all. It is finished.” She said, “Right! Like I don’t have to do anything?”“Oh, no,” I said, “you have plenty to do, but it is not to pay that debt. We will all be resurrected. We will all go back to God’s presence to be judged. What is left to be determined by our obedience is how comfortable we plan to be in God’s presence and what degree of glory we plan on receiving.”
As you can see I have had this discussion with my Bishop, my therapist, and with myself. What I loved about this statement is figuring out "how comfortable" I plan to be in God's presence. Right now I am working on this and I am learning. I only pray that I will one day fulfill my greatest desire and that is to kneel at the feet of my Savior, to know him, and to feel at "home" with him!
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