Mormon Musings

"Pondering a passage of scripture can be a key to unlock revelation and the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one's ability to overcome the challenges of life....Scriptures can communicate different meanings at different times in our life, according to our needs."  -Elder Richard G. Scott (Ensign, Nov. 2011, 6)

When  Jesus comes  again  in  rem inding  red attire, there will b e  a spectacular solar display a nd  stars will fall from their  places  in  the heavens. What wil l  then be evoked will not be an   exclamation over the solar di splay. Rather,  from human lips  praise will flow for Jesus' lov ing-kindness,  for His perfect  goodness. Then, the scriptures a ssure us  and tell us how long w e  will go on praising Jesus fo r  that Atonement: "forever  and  ever." (Mosiah 2:24; D&C 128: 23.)  The one thing He will men tion  when He comes again in maj esty  and power will have nothin g  to do with how He suffered in   the scourging, nothing to do  with the vinegar and gall or an y  of those things. Instead, His   voice will be heard to say, " I  have trodden the winepress al one,  and none was with me" ( Isa.  63:3).  Incredible alonene ss  lay at the heart of the Grea t  Atonement, and Jesus endured  it, because He let His will be swallowed up in the will of 

Can we, even in the depths of   disease, tell Him anything at  all about suffering? In ways we   cannot comprehend, our sickne sses  and infirmities were borne   by Him even before they were b orne  by us. The very weight of   our combined sins caused Him t o  descend below all. We have ne ver  been, nor will we be, in de pths  such as He has known. Thu s  His Atonement made perfect Hi s  empathy and His mercy and His   capacity to succor us, for whi ch  we can be everlastingly gra teful  as He tutors us in our tr ials.  There was no ram in the t hicket  at Calvary to spare Him ,  this Friend of Abraham and Is aac.  Neal A. Maxwell (Even As I Am, pp.  116- 17.)

Diluted Christianity is not C hristianity,  it is a feeble att empt  to have Christianity with out  Christ, for it denies the c entral  service of Jesus' life— the  Atonement. Those who call t hemselves  Christians but deny  the divinity of Jesus cannot se em  to tolerate those of us who  accept and proclaim the divini ty  of Christ. No one, brothers  and sisters, would pay us much  heed if we were merely nonsmok ing,  non-drinking humanists. Wit hout  acknowledging the reality  of the Resurrection and the Ato nement,  believing in the minis try  of Jesus would mean slumpin g  into the very Sadduceeism whi ch  Jesus himself denounced. Neal A. Maxwell (" All  Hell Is Moved" p.  17 7.)

Jesus' marvelous meekness pre vented  any "root of bitterness"   from "springing up" in Him ( Heb.  12:15). Ponder the Savior 's  precious words about the Ato nement  after He passed through  it. There is no mention of the  vinegar. No mention of the sco urging.  No mention of having be en  struck. No mention of having   been spat upon. He does decla re  that He "suffer[ed] both bod y  and spirit" in an exquisitene ss  which we simply cannot compr ehend.    (D&C 19:18; see also v.   15.) Neal A. Maxwell (Ensign, May 1989, p.  64. )

There will be no end to the r ipples  of the Resurrection resu lting  from the infinite  Atonement.  Neal A. Maxwell, (Ensign, November 1988, p.   33.)

Nobody becomes perfect in this life…Becoming perfect in Christ is a process.  We begin by keeping the commandments today, and we keep more of them tomorrow…We can become perfect in some minor things…if we chart a course of becoming perfect, and, step by step and phase by phase, are perfecting our souls by overcoming the world, then it is absolutely guaranteed—there is no question whatsoever about it—we shall gain eternal life…If we chart a course and follow it to the best of our ability in this life, then when we go out of this life we’ll continue in exactly the same course…The Prophet Joseph Smith told us that there are many things that people have to do, even after the grave, to work out their salvation. Bruce R. McConkie