This week's lesson deals with Christ's miracles. There have been chapters and books written about the various miracles performed, so what does that leave for a 45-minute lesson? There are so many ways to apply the lessons to our lives today, how does one pick a few selected examples when they are all so rich?
When I worked on this lesson last time (four years ago), one of the strongest impressions I had was how much the Lord loves the individual. I went through and counted 21 miracles performed for just one person; healings, casting out devils, even raising the dead. He often went out of his way to reach someone. If I have time this week, I'll see about picking a few miracles to discuss, but now I want to focus on "the one".
The Lord used the image of the shepherd leaving the "ninety and nine" to search for the one sheep which had gone astray (Matt 18:12-13) to show us (among other things) how much he cares for us. And notice the sheep didn't get a lecture all the way home, but the shepherd rejoiced in finding the one which had been lost.
When the resurrected Savior came to visit the Nephites, he told the multitude to come forward to feel the nail marks in his hands and feet, they came "one by one until they had all gone forth" (3 Nephi 11:14-15). So, how many people are we talking about? Thirty? Fifty? How about 2,500 (see 3 Nephi 17:25). Even with a group of 2,500 people, he still made sure they had individual one-on-one time with him.
That's how I imagine the atonement taking place. We talk about the infinite atonement (see 2 Nephi 9:7, Alma 34:12) which makes it easy sometimes to forget the very personal nature of the sacrifice. I haven't found any supporting evidence of this, but I believe the atonement was made one person at a time. The closest I've been able to find is a quote from Elder John H. Groberg:
In my heart, I see the Savior in Gethsemane taking on himself the burden of our sins. When my name "came up" I imagine him pulling my picture out of his wallet (I'll never understand how it was done, so I put it into terms I can grasp a bit better) until he was sure I had been sufficiently covered before he pulled out the next person's photo. "I ... [suffer] these things for [you], that [you] might not suffer if [you] would repent" (see Doct and Cov. 19:16-18). And then, just to make sure, he went through it all again on the cross:
So, while there are so many great spiritual lessons to be found in the miracles performed by Christ, one of the biggest for me is the reminder of the importance and value in God's eyes of the one.
When I worked on this lesson last time (four years ago), one of the strongest impressions I had was how much the Lord loves the individual. I went through and counted 21 miracles performed for just one person; healings, casting out devils, even raising the dead. He often went out of his way to reach someone. If I have time this week, I'll see about picking a few miracles to discuss, but now I want to focus on "the one".
The Lord used the image of the shepherd leaving the "ninety and nine" to search for the one sheep which had gone astray (Matt 18:12-13) to show us (among other things) how much he cares for us. And notice the sheep didn't get a lecture all the way home, but the shepherd rejoiced in finding the one which had been lost.
When the resurrected Savior came to visit the Nephites, he told the multitude to come forward to feel the nail marks in his hands and feet, they came "one by one until they had all gone forth" (3 Nephi 11:14-15). So, how many people are we talking about? Thirty? Fifty? How about 2,500 (see 3 Nephi 17:25). Even with a group of 2,500 people, he still made sure they had individual one-on-one time with him.
That's how I imagine the atonement taking place. We talk about the infinite atonement (see 2 Nephi 9:7, Alma 34:12) which makes it easy sometimes to forget the very personal nature of the sacrifice. I haven't found any supporting evidence of this, but I believe the atonement was made one person at a time. The closest I've been able to find is a quote from Elder John H. Groberg:
"I feel that as [the Savior] hung upon the cross and looked out…, he saw through the stream of time. His huge, magnanimous, loving soul encompassed all eternity and took in all people and all times and all sins… Yes, he saw down to you and to me" (John H. Groberg, "Beauty and Importance of the Sacrament", Conference Report Apr 89).
In my heart, I see the Savior in Gethsemane taking on himself the burden of our sins. When my name "came up" I imagine him pulling my picture out of his wallet (I'll never understand how it was done, so I put it into terms I can grasp a bit better) until he was sure I had been sufficiently covered before he pulled out the next person's photo. "I ... [suffer] these things for [you], that [you] might not suffer if [you] would repent" (see Doct and Cov. 19:16-18). And then, just to make sure, he went through it all again on the cross:
"...while he was hanging on the cross for another three hours, ... all the infinite agonies and merciless pains of Gethsemane recurred." (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane", April General Conference 1985)
So, while there are so many great spiritual lessons to be found in the miracles performed by Christ, one of the biggest for me is the reminder of the importance and value in God's eyes of the one.
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