The Ultimate Price: Have I Been Worth It?

In the midst of Easter Parades, Easter Egg Hunts, Easter Bunnies and Easter Eggs, amidst the abundance of pink and yellow ribbons overflowing the shelves in the supermarkets, we might be reminded of the meaning of Easter through days with names like Passover Thursday, Atoning Friday and Resurrection Sunday, that Easter had a beginning and that beginning is about making the choices in deed, and in courage, and in faith; choices that must be made to be true to who we are and what we believe, in response to the charge given us with the atonement.

Jesus Christ paid the price for our every wrong, that as we repent we may be freed from our sins or payment would reach into the eternities. Through the atonement we were given the possibility to repent, to receive forgiveness, and go on, without having to carry the heavy burden of every wrong we ever did.

Because our Saviour, Jesus Christ atoned for us, suffered and paid the full price for our every wrong, we can actually receive forgiveness from God. As we realise our wrongs, do not repeat them, and to the extent that this might be possible, do our best to correct our wrongs; we may if receive His forgiveness and once again find peace in our hearts.

This payment for our sins didn't happen because it was easy or convenient but because of His love for us. While it would be impossible to fully understand how Our Saviour Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, it may help us trying to imagine how difficult this might have been, even for the Son of God. As we remember the words of Jesus, when in Gethsemane: "... Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done... And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:42, 44)

I imagine that in this dark and sad moment of history, God would desperately want to reach out and lift the pain, to stop everything. Yet, it went on and in preparation for the crucifixion Jesus was beaten, whipped, mocked, rejected, humiliated and treated as a criminal; all while His and our Heavenly Father must have cried heavy tears.

"And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him," (Luke 23:33) our Heavenly Father, Father of Jesus Christ must have trembled to His very core, with tears flooding His eyes, hearing Jesus lovingly, in a Spirit of kind forgiveness praying and pleading for His assailants:  "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."(Luke 23:34)

Still, amidst a constant flow of mockery, the crucifixion continued in what must have been an abundance of tears and empathy from those who loved Him.

What must have been hours later, drained, fatigued and thirsty, as pain and feelings of abandonment would seem overwhelming in what must have been the most lonely hour of His life, Jesus, overcome with agony of the whole experience cried out in a loud voice of ultimate loneliness: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)

Hearing such a plea, our Heavenly Father certainly would want to reach out and spare His only begotten son from such suffering. As the literal Father of Jesus Christ, He must have wanted to respond in ways I can't begin to imagine. Even with God's perfect knowledge and understanding of what had to happen, He must have have agonised as His son was beaten, whipped and crucified, and finally left to die while hanging on the cross. The Heavens must have grieved and cried that day, to see the Son of God suffer such misery!

Jesus had walked the earth, shared His teachings and dealt with people's doubts, hypocrisy, lies and mockery, all while they conspired against Jesus the Christ to ultimately crucify Him. He had preformed miracles, helped where He could and in return suffered the full extent of evil in the world. Jesus Christ was subjected to a process of blind injustice, suffering every measure of trials, agony and difficulty that we might ever face in a lifetime, only to finally suffer a crucifixion with common criminals. He had truly earned the right to finally say "It is finished." John 19:30 and "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." A long and hard road had finally and mercifully come to an end, and He gave up His Spirit.

Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ both suffered this, all of this, out of love for us that we may be allowed repentance. And, as we truly repent of our wrongs, we may be allowed redemption, to once again find peace in our hearts and sin no more. He walked this long and hard road alone, that we don't have to, and after reviewing some small understanding of what my Saviour did for me, I can't help but ask myself: Have I been worth it, will the sum of my life and what I have done with what I've been given, all be worth His great sacrifice or have I rejected it all with my many shortcomings?

Remembering the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ with Gratitude

“I believe that none of us can conceive the full import of what Christ did for us in Gethsemane, but I am grateful every day of my life for His atoning sacrifice in our behalf. At the last moment, He could have turned back. But He did not. To the depths of my very soul, I am grateful to Him. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. He secured our salvation.” 
- President Thomas S. Monson

The Worth of One Soul

Every minute of every day, every week and month all year long, representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are actively serving God and their fellow beings as missionaries around the world. 


The Church currently have approximately 53,000 young men and women serve as full-time missionaries, giving every waking minute of every day to sharing a message of significance to every human being. As Gordon B Hinckley said "The sun never sets on this work of the Lord as it is touching the lives of people across the earth."


There are of course many reasons that young men and women are giving up their time to serve as missionaries but perhaps Heber J. Grant best explained the continued motivation: "There is no other labor in all the world that brings to a human heart, judging from my own personal experience, more joy, peace and serenity than proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."


Serving a mission is not an absolute must. Gordon B. Hinckley has suggested that a mission is not a rite of passage. Many young people who wants to go are not able and some who go are not able to stay as long as they had intended but all should prepare to serve a mission, spiritually, scholastically, mentally and physically. President Monson in the October 2011 General Conference, repeated what prophets before him have taught, that: "Every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission. Missionary service is a priesthood duty and obligation the Lord expects of us, who have been given so very much."


Preparation for missionary work is paramount for a successful mission. President Monson has taught: "Missionary work is difficult, it taxes ones energies, it strains ones capacity, it demands ones best effort. No other labor requires longer hours or greater devotion or such sacrifice and fervent prayer. As a result of that sacrifice we return from our missions with our own gifts, the gift of faith, the gift of testimony, the gift of understanding the role of the Spirit, the gift of daily gospel study, the gift of having served our Savior."


A mission is indeed a sacrifice and hard work. So why do people put themselves through such a rigorous ordeal? A possible answer and very good reason can be found in the book "Doctrine & Covenants:" 


Doctrine & Covenants 18:10
Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!


Helping another person to access the blessings of the atonement, seeing lives change as people discover the peace found in aligning choices and priorities with the directions found in God's words, is a reward of unimaginable proportions.


A mission is an experience on such a scale that it becomes a milestone in the lives of those who served it wholehearted and with commitment. It has become a worn out cliche to refer to a mission as the "Best two years" of ones life.  This is a thought that I myself have never been that comfortable with. My wife and I both served missions. All our three sons either served or are currently serving missions and I would like to think that greater things are yet to come. Don't let it all be downhill from here, don't let a mission be the pinnacle of an entire lifetime. There is life after a mission, to both build and climb new and greater pinnacles than ever before.

Elder W. Christopher Waddell tells us that there is no returned missionary for whom it is too late to considerer the lessons obtained through faithful service and to apply them more diligently. As we do so we will feel the Spirit more fully in our lives, our families will be strengthened and we will draw closer to our Savior and Father in Heaven.

In a previous General Conference Elder L. Tom Perry extended this invitation: "I call on you returned missionaries to rededicate yourselves, to become re-infused with the desire and Spirit of missionary service. I call on you to look the part, to be the part and to act the part, a servant of our Father in Heaven. I want to promise you there are great blessings in store for you if you continue to press forward with the zeal you once possessed as a full-time missionary."


The atonement is not just for the many people we teach as missionaries but also for ourselves and entirely for our benefit. The atonement is why we do we do missionary work, it is what we share, it is what we seek and it is the most beautiful gift of all. When we sing the hymn “I Stand All Amazed” I am reminded of His great gift, the atonement:

Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, #193

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.


The worth of one soul, the worth of your one soul, is great in the eyes of God. I ask for God's eternal blessings to be with everyone of you, that you may have, see and recognize God's hand in your lives and seek Him in all your decisions and needs.