A Pearl...of Great Price

This week I had a difficult time preparing the Gospel Doctrine lesson (How Beautiful Upon the Mountain - Old Testament Lesson 39 -Isaiah) which focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  And that is because the scope of the Atonement is so wide and so encompassing, and there were a lot of scripture references in the lesson manual, and it was overwhelming.  And I was physically tired from over 2 weeks of painting my kitchen, so my brain was exceptionally tired, too.

I had a huge rough draft with more than enough scripture references, and I was very late in the week even getting that much done.  I spent as much of Friday as I could working on it, but kept getting interruptions--then when Saturday came I just was not satisfied at all with what I had.  But the Spirit always kicks in and helps me go the right direction, even if it's the last minute, so I knew I needed help from General Conference talks and that is exactly where I went and was rescued by talks from Elder David A. Bednar and Elder Bruce C. Hafen that I was able to weave throughout all the beautiful scriptures of Isaiah to help bring the Atonement up more close and personal to each of us. 

In my struggles to prepare I really related to, and was empowered by, this thought by Elder Hafen: The people in 3 Nephi 17 had survived destruction, doubt, and darkness just to get to the temple with Jesus. After listening to Him for hours in wonder, they grew too weary to comprehend Him. As He prepared to leave, they tearfully looked at Him with such total desire that He stayed and blessed their afflicted ones and their children. They didn’t even understand Him, but they wanted to be with Him more than they wanted any other thing. So He stayed. 

My thoughts:
As we study His gospel, and especially aspects of His Atonement, we too may grow too weary to comprehend, but the desires of our hearts may be that we want to be with Him more than we want anything else, and I testify that He will stay to help us.  He knows and understands the righteous desires of our hearts. 

Elder Hafen said: 
We can have eternal life if we want it, but only if there is nothing else we want more.  So we must willingly give everything, because God Himself can’t make us grow against our will and without our full participation. Yet even when we utterly spend ourselves, we lack the power to create the perfection only God can complete. Our all by itself is still only almost enough—until it is finished by the all of Him who is the “finisher of our faith.” 

My thoughts: 
And so it is through Him, and with His grace, which is an aspect of His Atonement, that we press forward and comprehend even the words of Isaiah, line upon line, and precept upon precept. And I want to be with Him more than I want anything else, even if I don't always fully understand everything about what He has done for us in the Plan of Heavenly Father. 

Elder David A. Bednar said: 
The unique burdens in each of our lives help us to rely upon the merits, mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah. I testify and promise the Savior will help us to bear up our burdens with ease. As we are yoked with Him through sacred covenants and receive the enabling power of His Atonement in our lives, we increasingly will seek to understand and live according to His will. We also will pray for the strength to learn from, change, or accept our circumstances rather than praying relentlessly for God to change our circumstances according to our will. 

 Elder Hafen: 
Grace is not cheap. It is very expensive, even very dear. How much does this grace cost? Is it enough simply to believe in Christ? The man who found the pearl of great price gave “all that he had” for it. If we desire “all that [the] Father hath,”  God asks all that we have. To qualify for such exquisite treasure, in whatever way is ours, we must give the way Christ gave—every drop He had: “How exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.”  Paul said, “If so be that we suffer with him,” we are “joint-heirs with Christ.”  All of His heart, all of our hearts.

Elder Hafen continues:

What possible pearl could be worth such a price—for Him and for us? This earth is not our home. We are away at school, trying to master the lessons of “the great plan of happiness”  so we can return home and know what it means to be there. Over and over the Lord tells us why the plan is worth our sacrifice—and His. Eve called it “the joy of our redemption.”  Jacob called it “that happiness which is prepared for the saints.”  Of necessity, the plan is full of thorns and tears—His and ours. But because He and we are so totally in this together, our being “at one” with Him in overcoming all opposition will itself bring us “incomprehensible joy.” 

"So if you have problems in your life, don’t assume there is something wrong with you. Struggling with those problems is at the very core of life’s purpose. As we draw close to God, He will show us our weaknesses and through them make us wiser, stronger.  If you’re seeing more of your weaknesses, that just might mean you’re moving nearer to God, not farther away. 

Mosiah 15:18

For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people; 

 One reason his feet are beautiful is that they bear the prints of the nails, the tokens of his atoning love. 

"We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.

"We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. 

"God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son!"
(The Living Christ)