I've been overloaded with feelings lately, friends. But I wanted to share this quote with you. It comes from this talk from the April 2000 LDS General Conference.
"While visiting the British Museum in London one day, I read a most unusual book. It is not scripture. It is an English translation of an ancient Egyptian manuscript. From it, I quote a dialogue between the Father and the Son. Referring to His Father, Jehovah—the premortal Lord—says:
“He took the clay from the hand of the angel, and made Adam according to Our image and likeness, and He left him lying for forty days and forty nights without putting breath into him. And He heaved sighs over him daily, saying, ‘If I put breath into this [man], he must suffer many pains.’ And I said unto My Father, ‘Put breath into him; I will be an advocate for him.’ And My Father said unto Me, ‘If I put breath into him, My beloved Son, Thou wilt be obliged to go down into the world, and to suffer many pains for him before Thou shalt have redeemed him, and made him to come back to his primal state.’ And I said unto My Father, ‘Put breath into him; I will be his advocate, and I will go down into the world, and will fulfill Thy command.’”"
Definitely started crying in the library when I read that.
So circumstances lately have brought some pretty gruesome things to my attention--things that people do to each other. These are extremely difficult topics. They make everyday problems look like tiny specs in comparison.
Can people heal from being victims of such brutality?
Can people heal from being... perpetrators of such brutality?
Can the Lord Jesus Christ heal the human race?
I have to believe He can. He has healed me before. I believe and I hope that He will heal me again. I believe and I hope that He will heal those whose difficulties are a thousand times worse than my own.
I believe and I hope that those who do horrific things can also be forgiven and healed. For those who are willing to change, justice has already been served--to the One who volunteered to advocate.
I have to believe that healing and forgiveness are possible because they've been possible for me before and if they have been possible for me before they have to be possible for everyone, always, unconditionally.
I have to believe in healing and forgiveness. I have to believe in a life where pain and death aren't a thing anymore, where there's nothing but completeness and joy. I have to believe in it because otherwise I will faceplant and never get up again.
Maybe it sounds idealistic and childish, but I believe that the Lord will keep His promises. He has a plan for all of us, that none of us understand completely. His ultimate goal is for us to have joy. He WILL do EVERYTHING He can do to make that happen. For all of us. Each. Individually. Unconditionally. Though none of us could ever deserve it if we lived 1000 years'-worth of a dedicated life...
Christ came anyway.
He atoned; He now advocates. He heals. He forgives. In His infinite, eternal love, He wants us all back.
And that love will forever and always be undeserved.
"While visiting the British Museum in London one day, I read a most unusual book. It is not scripture. It is an English translation of an ancient Egyptian manuscript. From it, I quote a dialogue between the Father and the Son. Referring to His Father, Jehovah—the premortal Lord—says:
“He took the clay from the hand of the angel, and made Adam according to Our image and likeness, and He left him lying for forty days and forty nights without putting breath into him. And He heaved sighs over him daily, saying, ‘If I put breath into this [man], he must suffer many pains.’ And I said unto My Father, ‘Put breath into him; I will be an advocate for him.’ And My Father said unto Me, ‘If I put breath into him, My beloved Son, Thou wilt be obliged to go down into the world, and to suffer many pains for him before Thou shalt have redeemed him, and made him to come back to his primal state.’ And I said unto My Father, ‘Put breath into him; I will be his advocate, and I will go down into the world, and will fulfill Thy command.’”"
Definitely started crying in the library when I read that.
So circumstances lately have brought some pretty gruesome things to my attention--things that people do to each other. These are extremely difficult topics. They make everyday problems look like tiny specs in comparison.
Can people heal from being victims of such brutality?
Can people heal from being... perpetrators of such brutality?
Can the Lord Jesus Christ heal the human race?
I have to believe He can. He has healed me before. I believe and I hope that He will heal me again. I believe and I hope that He will heal those whose difficulties are a thousand times worse than my own.
I believe and I hope that those who do horrific things can also be forgiven and healed. For those who are willing to change, justice has already been served--to the One who volunteered to advocate.
I have to believe that healing and forgiveness are possible because they've been possible for me before and if they have been possible for me before they have to be possible for everyone, always, unconditionally.
I have to believe in healing and forgiveness. I have to believe in a life where pain and death aren't a thing anymore, where there's nothing but completeness and joy. I have to believe in it because otherwise I will faceplant and never get up again.
Maybe it sounds idealistic and childish, but I believe that the Lord will keep His promises. He has a plan for all of us, that none of us understand completely. His ultimate goal is for us to have joy. He WILL do EVERYTHING He can do to make that happen. For all of us. Each. Individually. Unconditionally. Though none of us could ever deserve it if we lived 1000 years'-worth of a dedicated life...
Christ came anyway.
He atoned; He now advocates. He heals. He forgives. In His infinite, eternal love, He wants us all back.
And that love will forever and always be undeserved.
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