Happy Easter! And welcome to the General Conference Book Club– Week 1. It seemed fitting today to start off our study of all of the General Conference talks with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s poignant sermon about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His unique power to help anyone who ever feels alone. The goal is to read one General Conference talk a week and discuss it together as an on-line “book club.” A new talk will be posted each Sunday.
Click here to find the talk entitled “None Were with Him” by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
I realized that it’s not necessary for me to write up any post about my thoughts on the talk of the week. All of us (including me) can just come to the Sunday post (this one) at anytime during the week and share thoughts, findings, favorite quotes, applications, even questions from this talk. Personally, I think it would be a good idea to subscribe to comments from the post so that we can read each other’s insights and have a “real book club” conversation. (There are two ways to do this: 1. Below this post click on “Comments RSS” below the “Actions” list to subscribe to an RSS feed for comments, or 2. click the little box under the “Submit Comment” button so that comments are emailed to you.)
My own plan for this week, and for every week of book club, is to let the talk guide my personal scripture study throughout the week. First I’ll read the talk all the way through, then look up and read all the scripture references he quoted, and then break the talk down into segments to study them carefully and try to find other related scriptures that help me understand it better. Feel free to share any ideas of how you plan to study or apply the talks we read. (You’re allowed to do this however you want. You can have a goal to simply read the talk before the week is over, and that’s good, too.)
Here’s a little button you can put on your own blog if you’d like to. Feel free to invite friends (the real kind and bloggy kind as well) to participate. The more the merrier. You can link it directly to the GCBC page (https://diapersanddivinity.com/gcbc/) since it has all the instructions for the Book Club challenge, plus I’ll put a link there each week to keep track of the talks we have covered.
And try to comment when you’ve read each article, even something as simple as “I did it.” Then we have a certain motivation/accountability to each other to meet our goal of reading all the talks from the previous General Conference. The objective is to read the words of the living prophets and learn from them. Our book club community is for sharing and encouraging, but please don’t feel pressure that you have to come around and make profound insights or write eloquent summaries. Just show up and be counted!
Here’s a recent video that the Church posted on YouTube as a summary of the main points of Elder Holland’s talk. It’s beautiful and will get you in the mood to read it:
Diapers and Divinity 
I read it, three times. I actually based my Gospel Doctrine lesson on it today. One of the things I found to be powerful was Elder Holland’s injunction that Christ never again be asked to effect the Atonement alone. I’ve thought about how many times I essentially look the other way while He walks His “via dolorosa” — and I do it by being prideful, or shortsighted, or selfish, or lazy in my discipleship.
I’m excited that you’ve chosen this talk, to start with. I thought it was one of the most beautiful, but complex, talks given this past conference. I’ll get started, and get back with you! 🙂
I love what you’re doing here with the Book Club. I just started a new blog mainly for LDS women, designed to be a daily spiritual thought kind of thing. I’m grabbing your GCBC button and adding it to the sidebar RIGHT NOW…hopefully we’ll get some additional interest generated!
I’ll be back to share some thoughts on the talk after I read all the scriptures that accompany it…
Hi. I linked over from Erin’s blog. This is such a great idea. I am excited to have a little extra motiviation to re-read those talks. Every season, I try to. Sometimes I make it and often I don’t, but this will give me a more targeted goal. Thank you. I’ll check back in after I’ve read this talk (another great choice!)
What a GREAT idea!! I have been thinking of this particular talk for the last week and had a post written. Decided to ponder some more, will get back with you.
Can’t wait to see where this one goes!!
I like this idea and will be back again 🙂
I’m just going to let a few thoughts spill out without much organization or internal editing. If I wait to do that, I’ll never get it done!
1. I was thinking of my sister during this talk. At the time, she was sitting in a hospital room watching her 9 year old son recover from major back surgery (metal rods attached to his spine being replaced). The last time he had this surgery, he stopped breathing and had to be revived by paramedics and on a respirator in ICU for weeks. Her husband was helping take care of their other three children. In the other room was a 10 month old baby who lay screaming in a metal crib. She said no parents or other adults came to visit the baby. Even the nurses were reluctant to pick up the baby because they said he had something potentially contagious. I was feeling helpless because I live 2000 miles away. She was alone.
2. I can do hard things. The Savior truly suffered. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. So when I have a hard day and I don’t feel like being a disciple of Christ, I can just do it anyway.
3. The scripture that kept coming to mind is John 14:18: “I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.” He knows what it feels like to be comfortless. And He doesn’t want us to feel that way. So He promises to come to us, comfort us, let the Spirit be with us always (sacrament prayers) so we will never feel like He did. It feels like the ultimate gesture of ingratitude or disrespect to not avail ourselves of that blessing and promise, considering the price Christ paid in order to offer it.
awesome. I love that scripture you referred to and the conclusions you made.
Mary–I love the thoughts you shared here. They’ve given me more to think about…
I LOVED this address when I heard it last week, LOVED the video that was posted with the highlights, visuals and music (it was a great addition to our Easter yesterday) and the phrase: “He never flees nor fails us” makes me feel like I want to cry. Thanks for this General Conference book club. Great idea.
One more thought came as I was doing dishes. . .
I think what amazes me the most is that the motivation for the atonement was simple, pure love. Love for the Father whose plan it was, love for us, all of us imperfect, inadequate, disobedient, rebellious, stubborn, prideful souls. The next thought is that I want to love Him that purely back. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
The interesting thing, too, is that if most of our actions are guided by love for Him, we don’t have to repent nearly as often, and His spirit is a more constant companion.
What a testimony this is to me of the prophets of the Church. The insight into the loneliness experienced by Savior during his atonement is seemingly simple, and yet adds such dimension and significance to the event. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that Christ would not have experienced a loss of the Spirit’s presence in his life. Of course that is true! But for Christ to be able to truly succor us in our darkest hours, he’d need to know that feeling. I am so grateful that my Savior understands me so perfectly. It’s difficult for me to entirely comprehend the love that he demonstrated and that he has yet for all of us.
I thought last Sunday that this will be one of those talks that will be remembered and referenced for years to come.
If you study the references for this talk during the week I HIGHLY recommend reading the Spencer Kimball talk, “Peter, My Brother” which is listed there. It’s included in the index of one of the CES manuals, and I found it so touching. Peter tends to get a little of a bad rap, and reading this while studying the New Testament helped me develop a deep admiration and love for this president of the church.
I think you’re right about the endurance of this talk. It will rank up there like Bruce R. McConkie’s final testimony of the Savior.
And I’m excited to look up that talk you mentioned. Thanks.
Okay, so today was my first read-through of the talk since I heard it in Conference and LOVED it. Here are a few things that stood out to me today:
1. When Elder Holland read that intro list of all the categories of people that might be experiencing loneliness, I could think of someone I know and love in each of those. Made me realize how universal loneliness is and how important it is that we have a Savior that can help us through it.
2. That part about Pilate washing his hands made me think of the Joseph Smith quote that says something about the only thing that lets evil win is when good men do nothing. Pilate wasn’t good, but he refused to have the courage to make the right choice concerning Jesus.
3. You know how his disciples fell asleep at Gethsemane and he says “Could you not watch with me for one hour?” It made me think of the times that I feel the Spirit and set goals to be more Christlike and obedient, but then I get lazy. I’m all gung-ho dedicated for “one hour,” but then I fall asleep so to speak. A solemn reminder/rebuke.
4. I loved how he explained that Christ’s supporting circle got smaller and smaller “by divine necessity.” It’s powerful to know how essential it was that EVERY kind of suffering/sorrow be a part of His atoning experience.
5. I was inspired by His example when “the goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish.” I hope I can always do the same in my own minimized suffering.
6. E. Holland said that “His solitary journey brough great company for our little version of that path.” It reminds of a quote I’ve studied recently claiming that our pain and suffering is simply the deductible we pay so that we can better understand the larger burden carried by the Lord.
Man, I love this talk! I’m sure I’ll blab on more later as I mull over it all week.
I LOVE your insight about “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” It seems like every goal or resolution I make lasts all of about a week. This will definitely make me think twice the next time I think about NOT accomplishing one of my goals! Thanks!
My first read-through. This is what stuck:
The Apostles falling asleep during the atonement, was a shadow of Peter denying him three times. Both done three times.
We all do this. Through ignorance or pride. We dont understand or comprehend what the Savior did. We can’t. We have to have the Faith to “Stay Awake” – but even so when the Lord sees that we just can’t, he allows us to sleep. He will meet us where we are at, and take what we are able to give.
This senerio was reiterated at the sea when he asked Peter three times “lovest Thou me?” – but that’s a different post.
We all, at some point in our lives, will have to stand , and make the choice between good and evil. Everyone of us has a piont at wich we are asked the fateful question of wich master we will serve. According to Joesph Smith everybody will have this point in their lives, and it will determine where they end up. Just as the Savior had that monent in Gethsemene where the Father withdrew, we will have that crucial time to face. But becasue the Savior overcame – we can and will. He made it so everyone of us will have the ability to call upon his strength and he will help us. We are bound to him.
We cannot lose.
Here is the big picture of it for me.
This shows us what we need to do to gain our Salvation. As Hugh Nibley said “It is not cheaply bought”
We have to be willing to give away everything. Even our very lives if nessessary to know God. We have to do what the Savior did. We have to be stripped of everything. Our connections to anything outside of our desire to know God. Earthly possesions as well as pride and sin. We have to stand utterly alone. Not without the Savior, as he had to be without Heavenly Father, but alone from the ANYTHING that would keep us from him. We will all have our Abraham and Issac moment – our Gethsemane, and we have to stand as the Savior did – comepletely stripped and abandoned by the world. Only then, will we recieve the fullness of the Father, and every blessing that awaits us. He marked the path and showed the way, we just have to have the courage to do the same.
Listened to it. Loved it. Talked about it with my hubby, alot.
Yay. It’s so fun to see new folks participating.
This talk was AMAZING! I based our FHE lesson off of this talk. I have 4 children three of them teenagers and one is graduating and deciding if a mission is in his future. I love the video found on lds.org and your website. I love how Elder Holland shared with us that this talk was for everyone. As I shared this with my children, niece and nephew I was able to share with them how the Atonement isn’t just for those who need to repent. I went on to share with them how the Atonement is all encompassing and how he(Elder Holland) went on to name specific groups of people and then said, “In short it can include all of us at various times in our lives.” That right there had me hooked and that is when I felt strongly that I needed to share this with my children.
Over the past number of years, as I have personally been studying the Atonement. Not full time, but through talks such as this. I have experienced for myself more times than I can count, the various uses of the Atonement. If it wasn’t for the “Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burdens of [my] our Salvation” I don’t know where I would be this day.
I love how Elder Holland talked about the last week of the Saviors life, and how those closest to Him, who knew him well sold Him out, denied knowing Him and left him alone to Atone for each one us. It made me stop to think, “would I have done or better yet, do that to my Savior?” Elder Holland goes on to state “. . .the supporting circle around Jesus gets smaller and smaller,. . . essentially His lonely journey back to His Father continued without comfort or companionship.” “It was required. . . that Father briefly withdrew from Jesus . . .he had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone. If He did not experience the Atonement and the Crucifixion this way how would He know how we feel?
I weep at the very thought of being alone. Our Savior does not leave us alone for one minute. He is there with us every step of the way. As we yearn to be forgiven, to have our hearts mended He is there and we are never alone.
But I know that if I do as the Savior did and hold on, press on, He will lift us, He will give us the strength needed to carry our burdens and faith will triumph even in complete anguish. Even during His darkest moments the Lord endowed Him with power, so it is with us, we can be endowed with power from on high to endure to the end and gain that eternal reward “as we stand by Jesus Christ ‘at all times and in all things and in all places that [we] may be in even until death,’ for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.”
Are we willing to share with the our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ our burdens so we are never left alone?
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I love the thought about us being gung ho for 1 hour. I feel like more than I should and now and as I listened, read and pondered this talk I wonder am I really ready for the commitment. If the apostles slept, how often do I sleep when I should stand for what I believe?
First of all I just wanted to thank you for your personal invitation to join the book club. I have invited all of my readers as well and hope to see some of them join in. What a great idea!
Now, where to begin…
1. My first thought is just an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my Savior and the sense of the very real connection that I have to what He experienced. He was a perfect and powerful being and yet an abandoned, lonely, and betrayed being. He did all things out of love and selflessness and yet even those that loved Him walked away from Him, fled from Him, and slept in His moment of great need.
It makes me wonder how often I am an “unresponsive onlooker” or how often I sleep spiritually and forget my Savior and the Atonement that was performed in my behalf. What a powerful and self-examining talk.
2. This quote really stuck out to me: “I speak of the loneliest journey ever made…I speak of the Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burden of our salvation.” My initial response was one of feeling that I play a role in shouldering or bearing that burden. In a small sense I do. I do have to strive to make good choices, to repent when I falter, and I do have to have faith in Jesus Christ. But something became very clear to me that no matter what I do or don’t do I myself will never do or be enough. I cannot deliver myself from the grasp of physical death. I, alone, cannot recover from the debilitating effects of sin. I cannot rescue myself from my carnal and fallen state. I cannot escape my moments of loneliness and abandonment without “the Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burden of [my] salvation.
What a humbling position we all stand in. We are all at the grace and mercy of our loving Savior and our loving Heavenly Father. We are indeed eternally indebted to Them. That “Jesus held on…[and] pressed on [and for] “the goodness in Him” I am forever grateful.
3. The last thing I’ll share for now is the profound statement and challenge in Elder Holland’s final words, “may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,”21 for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.
I know that I have so much to work on to be a better disciple of Christ but I hope that with the powerful spirit and words of this talk I can be reminded that He always stands by me and that I must strive to always stand by Him.
You’ve made a great case for how much we NEED Him despite how much we try to do on our own. Thanks for your comment!
I think this book club is just what I need to get me studying and learning more about the Conference talks. Thank you so much Stephanie. Thank you for visiting my blog as well. As you know I blogged about this talk by Elder Holland because it was an instant favorite as soon as I heard it. I have a returned missionary son who just started in basic training and he mentioned how alone he felt and how hard it was there. I quickly wrote about this talk and made a copy to send him as well. The concept that we will never be abandoned is so comforting even when our cross seems to heavy to bear. I love the part that we must never allow it to be reenacted by us to let Christ walk that lonely path again. That we need to declare ourselves more fully His disciples and stand by Him.
I also love how he acknowledges that even when it was VERY difficult, he never lost faith in His father, even though he was alone. We, on the other hand, are never alone, and need to cling to our faith even in the middle of the trial.
I am so glad you’re doing this! I need Sunday moments every day!
There isn’t much more I could add to what has already been said, except that this is the one talk that really stands out in my mind as the highlight of conference. Reading it over again, you always find things that you don’t remember hearing, however, and since I can’t wait for my Ensign, I’m going to print this out and mark it up and plaster it all over my walls so i can read it every day!
I could spend hours reading and re-reading this talk…and reading all of your comments. I’m excited to put myself to work on this… i can’t believe how much we can learn from one simple talk. I never thought of breaking it down so much….but it’s truly inspiring!
I’ll start in the morning w/ this first week! thank you! ♥
Okay.
For some reason, rather than reading this talk, I wanted to *listen* to it again, so I did. This is what stood out to me…
1. In the list of people that he makes, from the judges to the people in general to Judas, and then to his own beloved disciples, I wondered “Where do I fit in here? Where would I have found myself.” And then, Elder Holland’s comment, “Especially and always, the blessed women in the Savior’s life stayed as close to him as they could.” That just made my heart catch a little, and I found myself wondering if I–as a woman–am doing everything, in my power, to stay as close to him as I can. I’m pretty sure not, and suddenly I feel a stronger desire to really work on that more.
2. When I heard this talk the first time, I remember feeling something that came back even more strongly when I listened to it again, and that was the statement about, as the atonement is coming to a close and the Savior is saying “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” and then, from Elder Holland “Against all odds… it was finished.” As he said that, those words “It is finished” reverberated through my whole soul and I felt the sheer, overwhelming triumph of that moment. Of the fact that the Savior accomplished this all-important mission. That he didn’t fail us. That he “perfectly pleased” his Father. How incredibly, unbelieveably thrilled we must have been. As I let that sink into my heart tonight, the wonder of it was really vibrant for me.
3. Others have commented on this, but I too loved that Elder Holland didn’t just give a powerful talk on the atonement and sit down, but really challenged us to DO something about it. To never be unresponsive onlookers. In DEED. In COURAGE. In FAITH. Love it.
Becca, I just had to say the love your first point. I remember reading everything you talked about but not pulling it all together like that. You have me thinking what kind of women I would’ve been then and where I stand today. Thanks.
🙂 Isn’t it funny, when I ask myself where I would’ve stood–I tend to think that I would’ve been with the wicked loser-crowd. But then I remember, years ago, asking a young woman leader of mine how I could ever measure up to my pioneer ancestors, or the examples in the scriptures. I said to her “Sometimes, I just wonder what I would’ve done, if I had been there. If I would’ve been strong enough.” She looked at me and said “If you’re choosing to follow the Savior now, you would’ve chosen it then.” I’ve always remembered that.
I had one young women make a staement during a lesson about the pioneers that “she could never do that.” I was floored that she thought that way. We do “that” every day. Our challlenges are different, but actually what they faced, and what the people during the time of Christ faced, is nothing compared to our day. In Ephesians 6, it talks about the battle is not with men, but dominions and powers. Never before has the earth been so wicked as it is now. Pres. Kimball said Sodom and Gomorah have nothing on us. Now is the worst it has ever been. Trust me – if you follow Christ now, you would have then. That is why you are here now. Held back 6,000 years, to stand at the darkest hour.
I love how that phrase “It is finished” ties in so nicely with all the other verses (later) where he testifies that he drank the bitter cup (3 Nephi 11) and finished his preparations unto the children of men (D&C 19:16-19). It was truly a thorough atonement that had to be absolutely complete and he suffered it to the very end.
I like Becca, thought deeply about the line..”Especilally and always, the blessed women in the Savior’s life stayed as close to him as they could.” I am thinking about ways I can always stay close to him when the world around me seems to be pulling away or completely denying Jesus Christ. His atonement and sacrafice is so relavant to our lives even today. It is in fact everything. I don’t understand why people deny it…or don’t love the savior. This talk gave me more gusto to do my best to stand by the savior in all times and in all places.
For those of you studying this talk, there is a reference in the footnotes to a speach by Spencer W. Kimball called “Peter, My Brother” from BYU Speeches 1971. It is available to download the audio for free at http://speeches.byu.edu/download.php/KimballWI71.mp3 . Enjoy!
Wow, thanks!! When I saw the talk in the footnotes, I wondered how I could get ahold of it, so thank you!
Becca’s got me thinking, too. (Read her blog; she does the same thing over there.)
And I was thinking about that Sunday morning, where it was out of both love and duty that these women were at the tomb. They were able, by fulfilling their callings, to be the first witnesses to receive the news that Christ always, always keeps His promises: “He is not here. He is risen, AS HE SAID.” (Matthew’s version of events)
Could the simple act of fulfilling the duties of my calling open the same door of revelation and joy for me as it did for my fellow sisters on that morning?
Ooooh, Denae–love that statement. “The simple act of fulfilling the duties of my calling…”
Don’t you find it so touching that sweet Mary was being such a woman, that morning? She was coming to clean up, make right, finish… in short–she was trying to make the very best she could out of an awful situation. She was being a woman, and a true follower of Christ. She may not have understood the things he’d foretold about his return, but she continued to have faith and hope–even when those things should’ve been lost.
So, your statement about fulfilling the duties of my calling really struck me. How often, in my calling in Young Women, but–more than that–my calling as a homemaker, mother, and wife, am I really taking the time to demonstrate my love for my Savior in my relationships to those people?
Thinking…
Yes! I think you’ve hit on something very important. It is entirely possible in our simple “duties” to have powerful experiences because our heart is in the right place. I am absolutely certain that these women were devoted to the Savior and expressed their devotion openly and in deed. Simple deeds. Acts of service and friendship. Very, very cool.
After reading it through again this morning, I was deeply touched by the hope given. Elder Holland is not asking us to be perfect, but to be brave. I love that this is doable. The more I learn about the Gospel and the Savior, The more amazed I am at the simplicity of it all. I was left not feeling like I had contributed to his burden, but that there was hope for my burden. There is so much I carry that is not nessesary. So many blessings that are right in front of me.
One of the biggest things that stood out was that Heavenly Father withdrew His Spirit, not because He couldn’t watch but so that Jesus could understand what it was like to feel completely alone. I mean “ultimate loneliness”. The Father had ALWAYS been with Him, even from birth. Jesus had to know “what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.” He had to know how know how it felt to be like mankind who had committed sin.
Wow! I never thought this. I think of those who are excommunicated and feel the Spirit withdraw from them, making them feel ultimately alone. Jesus had to know what it was like to die spiritually.
I think it’s important to note that when we sin, we actually withdraw ourselves from the Spirit. The Lord never *leaves* us alone, we feel alone when we choose to leave Him.
Wow. I never thought of it that way… He never leaves us, we choose to leave Him. Which, of course, makes me think of Elder Holland’s plea to each of us, to never leave Christ alone again…
There is more to Elder Holland’s reference of Spencer W. Kimball’s talk. It really sheds even more light on to how Elder Holland felt AND knows about Peter’s actions. I LOVE all of these insights from our General Authorities!!
Click to access Holland%20on%20Peter.pdf
I think this is one of those landmark talks that will go down in history as one of the best…right up there with Bruce R. McConkie’s last testimony. It touched me on so many levels. I especially enjoyed rereading it this week because my son is in a wilderness program right now and they told us this weekend (Easter) they’d be doing solos…completely on their own (alone) for two whole days. In my Easter letter to him I quoted sections of this talk, told him I thought he’d relate to the loneliness of the journey, and also the “never alone” aspects…hoping and praying he’d find access to the amazing love from this One who dared to be completely alone, yet would never leave us alone.
So glad you chose this one, Steph.
I found that I couldn’t just read this talk. I started to read the first paragraph and realized that half of the Spirit that I felt during Conference was watching Elder Holland’s spirit come through his words. The actual words are very powerful, but his conviction is what made this such a memorable talk.
The most poignant line, to me, was when Elder Holland stated, “He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance…”
So I listened the Pres. Kimball talk about Peter that was in the citations of E. Holland’s talk, and it was very cool. The extra insight it gave me about THIS talk was how when Peter cut off the soldier’s ear and Christ said something to the effect of “Don’t you know I could call down legions of angels?”, it’s an additional testimony that the ALONE-ness of the atonement was by CHOICE and a matter of divine necessity. Realizing that Christ could have called down the armies of heaven to help him out, but didn’t, made me appreciate him even more. WE, however can call down the armies of heaven at any time we need them, and we have access to that kind of power through Christ, who made it possible for us to gain access to help and salvation, even when we don’t deserve it.
I need to go to that talk. Me and Peter – lots in common. Temperance. Controlling impluses – trusting the Lord. I need a nap.
I just finished reading the talk, and while I will read it again and look up some of the scriptures, I just wanted to say that two quotes stood out for me this time. The first one is, “Especially and always the blessed women in the Savior’s life stayed as close to Him as they could.” I love how the women in his life are so faithful and so devoted that they do whatever they can to remain close to him.
The second quote is, “The goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish.” One thing that struck me is that Jesus has faith, even though he also KNOWS things. You know how they say faith and knowledge are different? Another thing is that this sentence witnessed to me the absolute goodness of Jesus Christ. The third things is it gave me hope and a positive outlook on the fact that I can do everything I can to try to have faith like Him. My faith can help me triumph in life.
Thanks Erin, You helped me see something. The goodness in Him allows Faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish.
That is true for us. The goodness in him allows our faith to triumph even in a state of complete anguish. That means a lot to me.
Is anyone else completely excited to see what talk Stephanie chooses this coming week?????
Okay, I’m late in the game here, but I think I’m glad. Reading through the insights of others brought some new points out, and now I think I’d like to study the talk again after reading all of these comments.
I had some similar thoughts that others had shared, and one or two more. I think it is wonderful to see how the Spirit works to touch us in the ways we need it to. Same talk…so many different insights.
The line that stood out to me was “But, eagerness to continue walking with Him would quickly begin to wane.” How often do I hear a great talk in General Conference, or a fantastic lesson, or someone’s testimony, or have an insight in my scripture study that gives me a renewed desire to walk with my Savior and live a better life, but when “real life” comes, my renewed desire wanes and I have forgotten? How often does my eagerness fade after a prompting to change or serve another? How often do I decide to walk with “the world” instead of with Christ simply because I have forgotten that I am eager to follow Him, or it’s easier to walk with the crowd?
I think it is very similar to the point Steph brought up when Christ asked “Could you not watch with me for one hour?” Does our eagerness wane before we have really walked with Him, or followed Him in the way that we have been asked to do? I know I could do better. I love the challenge, or request, that Elder Holland ends with, “may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear.” And, I think you could add–when our eagerness to walk with Him begins to wane.
This is a GREAT point concerning the quick waning of our walk in the Gospel of Christ.
I spent some time wondering why I reduce my walking with Christ when life becomes comfortable and realized that it is because of my lack of habit in reading the scriptures and stopping before I pray to remember that I am just about to talk to Heavenly Father (which is completely awesome).
I think this is a talk you could study for 5 or 6 hours along with references and still feel there is something you are missing. Just an incredible talk!
I feel like I’m just on the “outside looking in”, but I wanted to say thanks to everyone for the fantastic comments, and the insight. It touched my heart, and brought tears to my eyes to have introduced or reiterated all these things concerning our Saviour and our relationship to him. I think we all need to be reminded of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s love for, and devotion to, each of us. Thank you again!! Have a great week.
I’m a little late but I just watched the talk for the second time. Here is what stood out to me of many things:
The Savior and our Father will take up their abode with us. I used to think this might refer to some majestic personal manifestation to include sights and sounds. However, I can clearly recognize times and circumstances in my life where I felt the full support of deity, the powerful sustaining influence of the Holy Ghost, which represents to me the unending love and constant support of my Father and my Savior.
AGH! My computer imploded this week, so I am late late late, but better late than never. The thing that stuck out to me the most about this whole talk was just the overwhelming idea the the Savior truly was put through everything. EVERYTHING, so he could truly be the perfect judge, as well as able to succor (succor meaning “to run to”) us when we need it. The Atonement was truly set up so we could succeed, not so we would fail! He went through all of this out of love, so he would know every single day exactly what it means to be Devon. So at that last day when I stand before him to be judged he can have mercy on me because he KNOWS. And not just at that last day–he suffered those things so he would know what it means to be any of us, on any given day, at any given second–so he could in reality “run to” us when we needed him. It is shocking to me how often I refuse that succor, telling myself there is no one in the world that understands what I go through every minute. Not so–all I need to do is ask him in–he knows.
Wow! I have tears streaming down my cheeks, just as I do every time I hear or read this glorious testimony of the atoning sacrifice of my (our) Savior. Thanks to all of you for your insights and your comments. You have helped to enlighten my mind and strengthen my spirit!