And the Book of Mormon is replete with examples of disciples and prophets who knew and understood and were transformed by the enabling power of the Atonement in making that journey. May I suggest, brothers and sisters, that as we come to better understand this sacred power, our gospel perspective will be greatly enlarged and enriched.
Such a perspective will change us in remarkable ways. Nephi is an example of one who knew and understood and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. In 1 Nephi 7 we recall that the sons of Lehi had returned to Jerusalem to enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause.
Laman and others in the party traveling with Nephi from Jerusalem back to the wilderness rebelled, and Nephi exhorted his brethren to have faith in the Lord. Brothers and sisters, do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And may I suggest that he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew and understood and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement of the Savior. I personally do not believe the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists.
Brothers and sisters, the implication of this episode for each of us is quite straightforward. As you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the Atonement in our personal lives, we will pray and seek for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed. Consider the example in Mosiah 24 as Alma and his people are being persecuted by Amulon. Brothers and sisters, what was changed in this episode?
It was not the burden that changed; the challenges and difficulties of persecution were not immediately removed from the people. But Alma and his followers were strengthened, and their increased capacity and strength made the burdens they bore lighter. As we progress in the journey of mortality from bad to good to better, as we put off the natural man or woman in each of us, and as we strive to become saints and have our very natures changed, then the attributes detailed in this verse increasingly should describe the type of person you and I are becoming.
We will become more childlike, more submissive, more patient, and more willing to submit. We are all familiar with the story of Alma and Amulek contained in Alma In this episode many faithful Saints had been put to death by fire, and these two servants of the Lord had been imprisoned and beaten. Now note the result of this prayer, as described in the latter part of verse 26 and in verse Let me present one final example from the Book of Mormon.
In Alma 31, Alma is directing a mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites. You will recall that in this chapter we learn about Rameumptom and the prescribed and prideful prayer offered by the Zoramites. Again we observe that Alma did not pray to have his afflictions removed. He knew he was an agent of the Lord, and he prayed for the power to act and affect his situation.
No, the afflictions were not removed. And what a lesson each of us should learn. Examples of the enabling power are not found only in the scriptures. Daniel W. Jones was born in in Missouri, and he joined the Church in California in In he participated in the rescue of handcart companies that were stranded in Wyoming by severe storms.
The food and supplies left with Daniel and his colleagues were, to say the least, meager and were rapidly expended. We ate all the poor meat; one would get hungry eating it. Finally that was all gone, nothing now but hides were left. We made a trial of them. A lot was cooked and eaten without any seasoning and it made the whole company sick. Many were so turned against the stuff that it made them sick to think of it. We asked the Lord to direct us what to do.
The brethren did not murmur, but felt to trust in God. We had cooked the hide, after soaking and scraping the hair off until it was soft and then ate it, glue and all. This made it rather inclined to stay with us longer than we desired. Finally I was impressed how to fix the stuff and gave the company advice, telling them how to cook it; for them to scorch and scrape the hair off; this had a tendency to kill and purify the bad taste that scalding gave it.
After scraping, boil one hour in plenty of water, throwing the water away which had extracted all the glue, then wash and scrape the hide thoroughly, washing in cold water, then boil to a jelly and let it get cold, and then eat with a little sugar sprinkled on it.
All that I have read thus far is a preparation for the next line from Daniel W. My dear brothers and sisters, I know what I would have prayed for in those circumstances. I would have prayed for something else to eat.
What did Daniel W. Jones know? He knew about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. But we will have help from heaven. Because we know who is in charge and that we are not alone, then no, I am not scared. Please permit me now to express gratitude and appreciation. I am thankful for my progenitors—for those faithful and steady men and women whom I respect and honor and to whom I owe everything.
I am grateful for their love and support and teaching and strength. My wife, Susan, is a virtuous woman and a righteous mother. You will quickly see that purity and goodness are evident in her countenance. I love her and appreciate her more than words can express. I thank her for the woman she is, for the lessons she has taught me, and for the love we share. Susan and I have been blessed with three stalwart sons. I love and thank them. And our growing little family now includes two righteous daughters-in-law and three brilliant and beautiful and charming granddaughters.
As we have opportunities to be together, we are blessed to see just a glimpse of the family unit in eternity. My dear brothers and sisters, I am grateful for you. As I see you assembled here in the Conference Center and envision you in meetinghouses all over the earth, I am blessed by your faithfulness and devotion to the Savior. As your arms were raised to the square on Saturday, I felt a sustaining influence flow into my soul that was most remarkable.
Few of you know who I am, yet you know from whom the call has come, and you are so willing to sustain and support. I express my thanks to you and pledge my whole soul and all of my energy to this sacred work. I will go where the Lord and the leaders of His Church want me to go, I will do what they want me to do, I will teach what they want me to teach, and I will strive to become what I should and must become.
In the strength of the Lord and through His grace, I know that you and I can be blessed to accomplish all things. As one of the weakest of the weak, I testify that God lives.
I testify and witness that Jesus is the Christ. He is our Redeemer and our Savior, and He lives. And I testify that the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and His true Church have been restored to the earth in these latter days through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Examples of the enabling power are not found only in the scriptures. Daniel W. Jones was born in in Missouri, and he joined the Church in California in In he participated in the rescue of handcart companies that were stranded in Wyoming by severe storms.
After the rescue party found the suffering saints, provided what immediate comfort they could, and made arrangements for the sick and the feeble to be transported to Salt Lake City, Daniel and several other young men volunteered to remain with and safeguard the company's possessions. The food and supplies left with Daniel and his colleagues were, to say the least, meager and were rapidly expended. I will now quote from Daniel Jones' personal journal and his description of the events that followed.
Game soon became so scarce that we could kill nothing. We ate all the poor meat; one would get hungry eating it. Finally that was all gone, nothing now but hides were left. We made a trial of them.
A lot was cooked and eaten without any seasoning and it made the whole company sick. Many were so turned against the stuff that it made them sick even to think of it. Things looked dark, for nothing remained but the poor raw hides taken from starved cattle. We asked the Lord to direct us what to do. The brethren did not murmur, but felt to trust in God.
We had cooked the hide, after soaking and scraping the hair off until it was soft and then ate it, glue and all. This made it rather inclined to stay with us longer than we desired.
Finally I was impressed how to fix the stuff and gave the company advice, telling them how to cook it; for them to scorch and scrape the hair off; this had a tendency to kill and purify the bad taste that scalding gave it.
After scraping, boil one hour in plenty of water, throwing the water away which had extracted all the glue, then wash and scrape the hide thoroughly, washing in cold water, then boil to a jelly and let it get cold, and then eat with a little sugar sprinkled on it.
This was considerable trouble, but we had little else to do and it was better than starving. Jones, Forty Years Among the Indians , pg. All that I have read thus far is a preparation for the next line from Daniel W. Jones' journal.
It illustrates how those pioneer saints may have known something about the enabling power of the atonement that we, in our prosperity and ease, are not as quick to understand:. We asked the Lord to bless our stomachs and adapt them to this food Ibid. My dear brothers and sisters, I know what I would have prayed for in those circumstances. I would have prayed for something else to eat.
What did Daniel W. Jones know? He knew about the enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. He did not pray that his circumstances would be changed. He prayed that he would be strengthened to deal with his circumstances.
Jones had the spiritual insight to know what to ask for in that prayer. We hadn't the faith to ask him to bless the raw-hide, for it was "hard stock. We were three days without eating before this second attempt was made.
We enjoyed this sumptuous fare for six weeks. Thus, for Daniel and his associates, this delicious doctrine provided both physical and spiritual nourishment. The enabling power of the atonement of Christ strengthens us to do things we could never do on our own. Sometimes I wonder if in our latter-day world of ease--in our world of microwave ovens and cell phones and air-conditioned cars and comfortable homes--I wonder if we ever learn to acknowledge our daily dependence upon the enabling power of the atonement.
The greatest lessons I have learned about the enabling power have come from the quiet example of my wife in our own home. I watched her persevere through intense and continuous morning sickness and vomiting during each of her three pregnancies. She literally was sick all day every day for eight months with each pregnancy. That challenge was never removed from her. But together we prayed that she would be strengthened, and she indeed was blessed through the enabling power of the atonement to do physically what in her own power she could not do.
Sister Bednar is a remarkably capable and competent woman, and over the years I have seen how she has been magnified to handle the mocking and scorn that come from a secular society when a Latter-day Saint woman heeds prophetic counsel and makes the family and home and the nurturing of children her highest priorities.
In today's world, a righteous woman and mother in Zion will need both the enabling power of the atonement and priesthood support. I thank and pay tribute to Susan for helping me to learn such invaluable lessons.
In Alma chapter 7 we learn how and why the Savior is able to provide the enabling power, beginning with verse And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people emphasis added.
Thus, the Savior has suffered not just for our iniquities but also for the inequality, the unfairness, the pain, the anguish, and the emotional distress that so frequently beset us. Additional detail is described in verse And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities , that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities emphasis added.
There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, "No one understands. No one knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life.
He can reach out, touch, and succor--literally run to us--and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying only upon our own power. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. I express my appreciation for the infinite and eternal sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The atonement is not only for people who have done bad things and are trying to be good. It is also for good people who are trying to become better and serve faithfully and who yearn for an ongoing and mighty change of heart. Indeed, " in the strength of the Lord " Mosiah we can do and overcome all things. Brothers and sisters, truly this is precious and delicious doctrine. Later this year I will celebrate my fiftieth birthday.
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