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"As I pondered, I came to understand that during His mortal life Christ chose to experience pains and afflictions in order to understand us. Perhaps we also need to experience he depths of mortality in order to understand Him and our eternal purposes." The Atonement Covers All Pain; Elder Kent F. Richard's Christ Chose To Experience Pains And Afflictions In Order To Understand UsThe word chose jumped out at me. Christ was the only person and there will never be another mortal to be both a God and man at the same time. Why this is important to realize is because Christ was a God, He had full access to the Fathers power and could have called down all the powers of heaven to do whatever He said. Even so, Christ performed extraordinary miracles. His miracles proved that He had all power over the elements of the earth and life and death. The pains and afflictions Christ suffered were not strictly during the atonement. Isaiah says Christ was a man who was acquainted with grief and sorrow, which implies His entire life.The scriptures say Christ grew from grace to grace. Our Lord didn't have the fullness at first. He also progressed. His process of progression was the same as it is for us. Because of Christ's agency in the pre-existence He came to earth with greater abilities than the rest of us. Somewhere during His progression He came to understand His mission in life and His pre-existence. The scriptures talk about Christ's condescension, which is something He must have chosen. Because He was a God, He easily could have lived an easy life with no stresses. Because Christ learned of His choice in the pre-existence and His mission on earth, He took it upon Himself to be the Savior of all mankind. Christ knew that salvation was through Him only. He still gave all glory to the Father. Our Lord couldn't understand us unless He descended below all things and experienced firsthand the worst that could possibly happen to anyone. "Perhaps We Also Need To Experience The Depths Of Mortality In Order To Understand Him And Our Eternal Purposes."The depths of mortality do not seem to imply only the good things. I don't think anyone who is awarded the Celestial Kingdom will say they had it easy. We need to understand Christ. We are not saved without faith. Without faith we can't please God and we can't have His power. We can't do the works He did without faith. With faith anything is possible. We need to understand our eternal purposes. God has a specific plan for every individual. He also has a plan for the masses. If you don't understand your eternal purpose you run the risk of not fulfilling your individual life mission. Your greatest joy will come by being an instrument in God's hands. In order to be a powerful instrument in His hands you need to know your purpose. |