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Because He Came

I just love everything about Sundays. I love having a day of rest. I love talking to my family. I love taking the Sacrament and renewing my covenants with my Heavenly Father. I love spending three hours in church meetings discussing the principles of the Gospel. I love the Sundays when I get to direct choir rehearsals after church. Today we had stake conference and I got to once again hear Elder Bednar speak. It was so incredible to shake his hand yesterday, and I felt so uplifted and inspired by his messages! How cool is it that I got to hear an apostle and his wife speak twice in one weekend? When I got home, I got on lds.org to read some Conference talks. On the home page, I found this link. It was a five part article about the five years that President Monson has been our prophet. One part of the article that really struck me was a quote found in part 2, which highlighted some of his teachings from the past five years. Talking about our Savior Jesus Christ he said, "Because He came, there is meaning to our mortal existence. Because He came, we know how to reach out to those in trouble or distress, wherever they may be. Because He came, death has lost its sting, the grave its victory. We will live again because He came. Because he came and paid for our sins, we have the opportunity to gain eternal life." 

The more I have learned about the Savior's life and ministry, the Atonement, his crucifiction, and his resurrection the more I have grown to love him. Every time I think about the Atonement, my heart fills with gratitude. I start to think about how often I make mistakes, and need to rely on the Atonement for repentance. How merciful is our Father in Heaven that he was willing to allow his only Begotten Son to suffer for our sins, so that we are able to make mistakes, learn from them, repent, and then continue on the course towards eternal life! Elder Bednar talked a lot this weekend about the enabling power of the Atonement. Our burdens in life will not necessarily be taken away from us, but through the Atonement we can be strengthened. He challenged us to go through the Book of Mormon and mark examples of when the Lord did not take away the burdens of the righteous, but strengthened them and made their burdens light. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he and our Father in Heaven know each of us by name. I know without a doubt that the Atonement is real, because I feel it bless my life each and every day. I know that death is not the end, that we will all be resurrected and reunited with our loved ones on the other side of the veil. I know that if we rely on the Atonement, we can obtain eternal life. I know that Jesus Christ set a perfect example for us to follow. I know that I am a member of his true church on the Earth today. I know that President Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet and representative of Him on the Earth today. I am so grateful for all of the blessings that I have because He came. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 

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