Daily Thought -- June 20, 2010

During all of the taunting, the abuse, the scourging, and the final torture of crucifixion, the Lord remained silent and submissive. Except, that is, for one moment of intense drama which reveals the very essence of Christian doctrine.

That moment came during the trial. Pilate, now afraid, said to Jesus: “Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?” (John 19:10).

One can only imagine the quiet majesty when the Lord spoke. “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19:11).

What happened thereafter did not come because Pilate had power to impose it, but because the Lord had the will to accept it.

“I lay down my life,” the Lord said, “that I might take it again.

“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:17–18).

Before the Crucifixion and afterward, many men have willingly given their lives in selfless acts of heroism. But none faced what the Christ endured. Upon Him was the burden of all human transgression, all human guilt.

And hanging in the balance was the Atonement. Through His willing act, mercy and justice could be reconciled, eternal law sustained, and that mediation achieved without which mortal man could not be redeemed.

He, by choice, accepted the penalty for all mankind for the sum total of all wickedness and depravity; for brutality, immorality, perversion, and corruption; for addiction; for the killings and torture and terror—for all of it that ever had been or all that ever would be enacted upon this earth.

-Boyd K. Packer, “Atonement, Agency, Accountability,” Ensign, May 1988, 69

Daily Thought -- June 19, 2010

"Let us consider some of the attributes of our Lord, as found in the Book of Mormon, that show that Jesus is the Christ. Then let us confirm each of those attributes about Him with a brief quote from the Book of Mormon.

He is Alive: “The life of the world … a life which is endless” (Mosiah 16:9).

He is Constant: “The same yesterday, today, and forever” (2 Ne. 27:23).

He is the Creator: “He created all things, both in heaven and in earth” (Mosiah 4:9).

He is the Exemplar: He “set the example. … He said unto the children of men: Follow thou me” (2 Ne. 31:9, 10).

He is Generous: “He commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2 Ne. 26:24).

He is Godly: He is God (see 2 Ne. 27:23).

He is Good: “All things which are good cometh of God” (Moro. 7:12).

He is Gracious: “He is full of grace” (2 Ne. 2:6).

He is the Healer: The “sick, and … afflicted with all manner of diseases … devils and unclean spirits … were healed by the power of the Lamb of God” (1 Ne. 11:31).

He is Holy: “O how great the holiness of our God!” (2 Ne. 9:20).

He is Humble: “He humbleth himself before the Father” (2 Ne. 31:7).

He is Joyful: “The Father hath given” Him a “fulness of joy” (3 Ne. 28:10).

He is our Judge: We “shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him” (Mosiah 16:10).

He is Just: “The judgments of God are always just” (Mosiah 29:12).

He is Kind: He has “loving kindness … towards the children of men” (1 Ne. 19:9).

He is the Lawgiver: He “gave the law” (3 Ne. 15:5).

He is the Liberator: “There is no other head whereby ye can be made free” (Mosiah 5:8).

He is the Light: “The light … of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened” (Mosiah 16:9).

He is Loving: “He loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life” (2 Ne. 26:24).

He is the Mediator: “The great Mediator of all men” (2 Ne. 2:27).

He is Merciful: There is a “multitude of his tender mercies” (1 Ne. 8:8).

He is Mighty: “Mightier than all the earth” (1 Ne. 4:1).

He is Miraculous: A “God of miracles” (2 Ne. 27:23).

He is Obedient: Obedient unto the Father “in keeping his commandments” (2 Ne. 31:7).

He is Omnipotent: He has “all power, both in heaven and in earth” (Mosiah 4:9).

He is Omniscient: “The Lord knoweth all things from the beginning” (1 Ne. 9:6).

He is our Redeemer: “All mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer” (1 Ne. 10:6).

He is the Resurrection: He brought to pass “the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise” (2 Ne. 2:8).

He is Righteous: “His ways are righteousness forever” (2 Ne. 1:19).

He is the Ruler: He rules “in the heavens above and in the earth beneath” (2 Ne. 29:7).

He is our Savior: “There is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ … whereby man can be saved” (2 Ne. 25:20).

He is Sinless: He “suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation” (Mosiah 15:5).

He is Truthful: “A God of truth, and canst not lie” (Ether 3:12).

He is Wise: “He has all wisdom” (Mosiah 4:9)."

Ezra Taft Benson, “‘Come unto Christ’,” Ensign, Nov 1987, 83

Daily Thought -- May 28, 2010

“The more we know of Jesus, the more we will love Him. The more we know of Jesus, the more we will trust Him. The more we know of Jesus, the more we will want to be like Him and to be with Him by becoming the manner of men and women that He wishes us to be (see 3 Ne. 27:27), while living now ‘after the manner of happiness’ (2 Ne. 5:27).”

Neal A. Maxwell, "Plow in Hope," Liahona, July 2001, 7