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Sin acts as if God's original plan was for us to bootstrap ourselves into holiness by way of the law and then, when this didn't quite pan out, God offered his grace--but only the bare minimum--to make good the difference. This is exactly backwards. God's boundless grace comes first and sin is what follows.

Grace doesn't grease the wheels of the law. Grace isn't God's way of jury rigging a broken law. It's the other way around. The law is just one small cog in a world animated entirely--from top to bottom, from beginning to end--by grace.

The exaltation and happiness of any community, goes hand in hand with the knowledge possessed by the people, when applied to laudable ends; whereupon we can exclaim like the wise man; righteousness exalteth a nation; for righteousness embraces knowledge and knowledge is power.

If you are there for the Lord, He will be there for you. If you love Him and keep His commandments, you will have His Spirit to be with you and guide you.

In the things that really matter--our covenants, the commandments, and following the prophet--we need to be completely united. In the non-essentials, we have our agency to handle things as we see fit. But, in all things, regardless of whether we make the same choices or not, we are to treat each other with dignity and respect, both of which are evidences of charity in our hearts and lives.

Thus, when we plead for the gift of charity, we aren't asking for lovely feelings toward someone who bugs us or someone who has injured or wounded us. We are actually pleading for our very natures to be changed, for our character and disposition to become more and more like the Savior's, so that we literally feel as He would feel and thus do what He would do.

The English word Atonement comes from the ancient Hebrew word kaphar, which means to cover. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit and discovered their nakedness in the Garden of Eden, God sent Jesus to make coats of skins to cover them. Coats of skins don__ grow on trees. They had to be made from an animal, which meant an animal had to be killed. Perhaps that was the very first animal sacrifice. Because of that sacrifice, Adam and Eve were covered physically. In the same way, through Jesus_ sacrifice we are also covered emotionally and spiritually. When Adam and Eve left the garden, the only things they could take to remind them of Eden were the coats of skins. The one physical thing we take with us out of the temple to remind us of that heavenly place is a similar covering. The garment reminds us of our covenants, protects us, and even promotes modesty. However, it is also a powerful and personal symbol of the Atonement__ continuous reminder both night and day that because of Jesus_ sacrifice, we are covered. (I am indebted to Guinevere Woolstenhulme, a religion teacher at BYU, for insights about kaphar.)Jesus covers us (see Alma 7) when we feel worthless and inadequate. Christ referred to himself as __lpha and Omega_ (3 Nephi 9:18). Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Christ is surely the beginning and the end. Those who study statistics learn that the letter alpha is used to represent the level of significance in a research study. Jesus is also the one who gives value and significance to everything. Robert L. Millet writes, __n a world that offers flimsy and fleeting remedies for mortal despair, Jesus comes to us in our moments of need with a __ore excellent hope_ (Ether 12:32)_ (Grace Works, 62).Jesus covers us when we feel lost and discouraged. Christ referred to Himself as the __ight_ (3 Nephi 18:16). He doesn__ always clear the path, but He does illuminate it. Along with being the light, He also lightens our loads. __or my yoke is easy,_ He said, __nd my burden is light_ (Matthew 11:30). He doesn__ always take burdens away from us, but He strengthens us for the task of carrying them and promises they will be for our good.Jesus covers us when we feel abused and hurt. Joseph Smith taught that because Christ met the demands of justice, all injustices will be made right for the faithful in the eternal scheme of things (see Teachings, 296). Marie K. Hafen has said, __he gospel of Jesus Christ was not given us to prevent our pain. The gospel was given us to heal our pain_ (__ve Heard All These Things,_ 27).Jesus covers us when we feel defenseless and abandoned. Christ referred to Himself as our __dvocate_ (D&C 29:5): one who believes in us and stands up to defend us. We read, __he Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler_ (Psalm 18:2). A buckler is a shield used to divert blows. Jesus doesn__ always protect us from unpleasant consequences of illness or the choices of others, since they are all part of what we are here on earth to experience. However, He does shield us from fear in those dark times and delivers us from having to face those difficulties alone. _We__e already learned that the Hebrew word that is translated into English as Atonement means __o cover._ In Arabic or Aramaic, the verb meaning to atone is kafat, which means __o embrace._ Not only can we be covered, helped, and comforted by the Savior, but we can be __ncircled about eternally in the arms of his love_ (2 Nephi 1:15). We can be __lasped in the arms of Jesus_ (Mormon 5:11). In our day the Savior has said, __e faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love_ (D&C 6:20).(Brad Wilcox, The Continuous Atonement, pp. 47-49, 60).

The Lord needs us. He needs us to be knowledgeable, dependable, and competent disciples. We need to know not only that the gospel is true but we need to know the gospel, better than we do right now. We need to be in the right place at the right time. We will thereby become the right person.

Latter-day Saints have often been critical of those who emphasize salvation by grace alone, while we have often been criticised for a type of works-righteousness. The gospel is in fact a gospel covenant__ two-way promise. The Lord agrees to do for us what we could never do for ourselves__o forgive our sins, to lift our burdens, to renew our souls and re-create our nature, to raise us from the dead, and to qualify us for glory hereafter. At the same time, we promise to do what we can do: come unto Christ by covenant, commit our lives to him as Lord and Master, receive the appropriate ordinances (sacraments), love and serve one another, and do all in our power to put off the natural man and deny ourselves of un-godliness. We know, without question, that the power to save us, to change us, to renew our souls, is in Christ. True faith, however, always manifests itself in faithfulness. "When faith springs up in the heart," Brigham Young taught, "good works will, and good works will increase that pure faith within them.

Sometimes we find ourselves thinking that since the call comes from the Lord, everything ought to work out smoothly, with every potential obstacle removed. We forget sometimes that life is a "schooling" provided for our growth and development, and that if every time we went on the Lord's errand, things were to go perfectly well because of the Lord's blessing, we would be deprived of much of our education. {re 1 Nephi 3:7}

The Atonement has not only helped me be cleansed, and be healed, but it has also helped me live.

We're not alone--at least, we're alone only if we choose to be alone. We're alone only if we choose to go through life relying solely on our own strength rather than learning to draw upon the power of God.

Zoroastrianism? Oh, there__ never been but a few hundred thousand of them at any one time, mostly located in Iran and India, but that__ it. The one true faith. If you__e not a Zoroastrian, I__ afraid you are bound for Hell.__he man looked stunned and shocked. "It's not fair." The demon gave a mirthful laugh. __ell, it was fair when you were sending all the Chinese to Hell who had never heard of Jesus. Wasn__ it?

No sex?" He looked at me in disbelief. "Well if you can't have ze sex, what can you do?"For the sake of simplicity I took my left arm and lined it up just under my collarbones. "Nothing below here," I said. I took my right arm and lined it up to my knees. "Nothing above here.""What about your armpit?" he asked. "Can your boyfriend do anything he wants to your armpit?"I thought about it. Armpits seemed pretty harmless. "Yeah," I said optimistically. "My boyfriend can do anything he wants to my armpit.""This is good," the Frenchman said. "He can stick his penis in and out of your armpit, and if you grow hair there it is almost like vagine."Is it too late to change my answer? I wondered, pulling a cardigan over my bare shoulders and covering any hint of an invitation.

We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons.

The most important doctrine I can declare, and the most powerful testimony I can bear, is of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. His atonement is the most transcendent event that ever has or ever will occur from Creation__ dawn through all the ages of a never-ending eternity.

If we will build righteous traditions in our families, the light of the gospel can grow ever brighter in the lives of our children from generation to generation. We can look forward to that glorious day when we will all be united together as eternal family units to reap the everlasting joy promised by our Eternal Father for His righteous children.

I have now been an officer in this Church for a very long time. I am an old man who cannot deny the calendar. I have lived long enough and served in enough different capacities to have removed from my mind, if such were necessary, any doubt of the divinity of this, the work of God. We respect those of other churches. We desire their friendship and hope to render meaningful service with them. We know they all do good, but we unabashedly state__nd this frequently brings criticism upon us__hat this is the true and living Church of our Father in Heaven and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.