What would life be like had the Savior not been born?

“Restoring what you cannot restore, healing the wound you cannot heal, fixing that which you broke and you cannot fix is the very purpose of the atonement of Christ.

“When your desire is firm and you are willing to pay the ‘uttermost farthing,’ the law of restitution is suspended. Your obligation is transferred to the Lord. He will settle your accounts.

“[T]here is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the atonement of Christ.”

~Boyd K. Packer

“Life is a school, a place for us to learn and grow. We, like Adam and Eve, experience “growing pains” through the sorrow and contamination of a lone and dreary world. These experiences may include sin, but they also include mistakes, disappointments, and the undeserved pain of adversity. The blessed news of the gospel is that the atonement of Jesus Christ can purify all the uncleanness and sweeten all the bitterness we taste.”

~Bruce C. Hafen

“We need not look upon death as an enemy. With full understanding and preparation, faith supplants fear. Hope displaces despair. The Lord said, “Fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.” (D&C 101:36.) He bestowed this gift: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27.)”

~Russell M. Nelson

“[T]he Savior’s grace can bless us, beyond its compensation for our sins, in our quest for divine perfection. While much of the perfection process involves a healing from sin and bitterness, the process involves an additional, affirmative dimension through which we may acquire a Christlike nature, becoming even as the Father and Son are.”

~Bruce C. Hafen

“It is the Atonement of Jesus Christ that provides both a cleansing and redeeming power that helps us to overcome sin and a sanctifying and strengthening power that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only upon our own strength. The infinite Atonement is for both the sinner and for the saint in each of us.”

~David A. Bednar

The post Why we need a Savior? #ASaviorIsBorn appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

It had been a bad day. I was dealing with disappointment over a hoped-for opportunity that had been withdrawn, and pain over a teacher’s unfair and damaging treatment of my young son. As I sat at my computer where so much of my life seems to happen these days, I was feeling lonely and discouraged. Just before I reached out to click the update button on my email, I bent over my keyboard and said a little prayer. “Oh, please, Heavenly Father, let some good news pop up for me!”

I clicked my mouse and emails flooded my inbox, many of them from friends I hadn’t heard from in a while. These emails brought a lot of love and comfort to my heart. One contained a link to a video and I was delighted to find that it was a clip entitled “Reflections of Christ,” featuring the work of an artist who uses live models to re-imagine scenes from well-known paintings. This particular clip featured scenes from the Book of Mormon, when Christ comes to the Americas after he was resurrected.

The first images started out a bit dark and gloomy, just like my mood, but as I watched, Christ appeared and the faces of the people curved with smiles, just my own was doing. As the people gathered, knelt, prayed, and worshiped, I could feel the pain and sorrow slip from my heart as the tears did from my face. When the images of Christ displaying his crucifixion wounds appeared, I was reminded that Christ died on the cross to bear the burden of sin for those who had wronged me as well as for my own sins. I was also reminded of this: there is no pain that is bigger than His love, bigger than His gospel, bigger than His truth. I watched eagerly as the beautiful images permeated my mind, the soaring music permeated my heart and the message permeated my soul. It was just what I needed to watch/see/hear/feel at that very moment.

As the clip came to a close, I was filled with gratitude for my Father in Heaven. What someone else might think is a mere want, He knows to be a true need. He answers prayers, even when murmured over the recumbent letters of the alphabet, the very same keys that brought this gift to me.

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For more Sharing Our Voices content, including First Person essays, see here.

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There are certain things that I do that make me feel close to the Lord.

George Washington Carver said, “I like to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us, if only we will tune in.”

I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Carver, for I see evidence of God’s love as I wander in the mountains,

watch the sun rise or admire flowers growing around me.

Martin Luther said, “God writes the gospel not in the bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.”

I feel a confirmation from the Spirit that our Savior, Jesus Christ, created the earth for us. These same feelings are the ones that help me know that He lives.

I feel peace in my soul when I am in the quiet of nature, away from the sounds of town. Out here is where I know, God loves me.

He loves you, too.

Please share a time when you felt close to God while enjoying the beauties of nature.

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For more Sharing Our Voices posts, please click here.

The post Photo Essay: Nature appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

We do. But not in the way it is sometimes described.

The idea of simply acknowledging Jesus Christ as one’s Savior is sometimes seen as enough to be “saved” in the Kingdom of God. Paul, in Acts 16:30-31, tells a man, who has asked what to do to be saved:

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Sounds simple, right? And yet, there is so much more. If we read in James 2, we learn that we cannot be saved through faith alone:

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone…But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

So, where is the line? Mormons believe it is found through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Grace is defined as “the help or strength given through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” This help or strength can be accessed in our lives now, and is necessary for any eternal blessings we can and will receive. For example, it is through the Atonement of Christ that we will all be resurrected, having our spirits reunited with a body that will be immortal, never to die again. In that sense, we will all be saved from physical death. Resurrection, the gift of immortality, is a gift freely given through the Savior’s Atonement and grace.

We can also be saved from sin (which we sometimes call spiritual death) through the Atonement of Christ, but this element of “being saved” requires us to do something. All sin must be paid for in order to make the blessing of eternal life — the highest blessing we can receive from God — possible. Eternal life is reserved for those who overcome spiritual death by obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Savior has suffered for our sins; He has made it possible for us to partake of mercy. But justice cannot be satisfied by the Savior if we don’t do our part. Simply put, we can’t rely only on grace. God has given laws and ordinances that we are asked to accept and obey to fully access the cleansing, enabling power of the Savior’s Atonement and His mercy and grace.

What does He ask of us? Christ asks us to have faith in Him and believe, but then He asks us to repent of our sins, and enter into covenants through authorized priesthood ordinances. We need to strive to live as He lived — to forgive, live a charitable life, keep God’s commandments, follow Christ’s teachings. Then,  after we have done everything we can — knowing full well that we will come up short, since we are mortal, imperfect, and in need of intercession — Christ’s Atonement will make up the difference. Our works aren’t a matter of trying to be perfect through action; they are more of a matter of having a willing heart and trying our best. As we choose to give our heart to Him, even as we stumble and fail at times, God promises to keep us clean from sin, and to also help change our hearts through the Atonement, enabling us through grace to be more like Him.

I often tell my piano students that anything worth having in this life (or the next!) takes hard work. It truly does! Think about it for a moment. In order to get good grades in school, it takes study, preparation, and diligence. If one wants to become proficient at playing a sport, they must take care of their bodies, attend practices, get along well with teammates, and be on time! To learn a musical instrument, it takes dedication and lots (and lots and lots and lots) of practice. The same goes for relationships: marriage takes work. Being a good parent takes work. All of these things take work –but they are all worth it. The payoff comes in scholarships to college, athletic ability, the joy of being able to perform and share music, fulfilling/meaningful relationships.

Progression toward eternal life also requires hard work and practice. It takes dedication to covenants and endurance through trials. We call this enduring to the end. And even though hard work alone won’t save us, doing what God has commanded to come to Christ (faith, repentance, baptism by water and by fire, obedience to commandments, Christlike living) brings great blessings available through the grace of the Atonement. We can have comfort and peace, knowledge and strength — and in the end, we can have the most glorious reward there is: exaltation, or life with God forever in eternal families.

It is my belief and sincere testimony that Jesus Christ knows and loves us –and loves us enough to know what we need in order fully access His grace. Accepting Him is vitally important, yes; but we also are invited to demonstrate our devotion to Him and to Heavenly Father by how we live our lives —by our works and desires.

The following is a fabulous video that came to mind as I was pondering this topic; to me, it gives a better understanding of how the Atonement of Jesus Christ works in our lives.

**Please note: The answers in “Ask a Mormon Woman” and (other content on this site) reflect the thoughts and perspectives of the administrators at Mormon Women. Although we strive to have our content consistent with the Church’s doctrine and teachings, we do not speak officially for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For official information about or from the Church, please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

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For more Ask a Mormon Woman questions/answers, please click here.

Do you have a question you would like to submit? Simply include a comment below, or send an email at gmail with the username ‘mormonwoman’ or ‘mormonwomen’.

The post Ask a Mormon Woman: Do Mormons Believe in Grace? appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

My kids have a favorite Strawberry Shortcake book. We picked it up at the Deseret Industries [the Church’s thrift store — more info here]. It’s called Strawberry Shortcake and Sad Mr. Sun. The Strawberry kids write a heart-shaped note to the sun because he’s grumpy and hasn’t been shining in their valley for a while.

It says:

For days, and days,

We’ve missed your warm rays.

We thank you, dear Sun,

For all that you’ve done.

It’s been a trial –

Come back, and we’ll smile!

There was a while there recently when we had a lot of cloudy weather, and I didn’t really realize how much I had missed the sun when it came out. I’m a pretty content person in whatever circumstances I find myself in, but those couple of days with sunshine were amazing. I felt brighter, more ambitious, more perky. The kids played outside with reckless abandon. We walked to preschool. There was a spring in our step that was directly related to that dear sun shining in the sky. (Not having to worry about coats, hats, boots, gloves, etc. helped, too!)

It makes me think about my relationship with the Son. I think it’s very similar. I’m pretty content and upbeat by nature, but when I really focus on Christ and bask in the warmth of His Spirit, there’s a new level of happiness that I can enjoy. The great thing about Christ’s light, too, is that it’s available year round, regardless of the season.

So, if I could write a note on a heart-shaped leaf and send it to the sun on the string of a balloon, I would. Instead, I’ll refocus and show my thanks to Heavenly Father for His Son, and for this season of the year and this season of my life.

The post First Person: Thank You, Sun appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

My name is Rebekah, and I am a Mormon Woman.

I have been married for just over a year. I was married to my husband in the Atlanta, Georgia LDS Temple, and we do not, yet, have any children. I was born into a Latter-day Saint family, and was baptized at the age of eight. My mom is a convert; missionaries from the Church taught her family while they were living in Puerto Rico and she was baptized at the age of 16, along with her mother, brother, and sisters. My Dad was born to LDS parents, who were converted and baptized into the church just before he was born.

I am currently a student attending BYU-Idaho, although I grew up in Tennessee. I am majoring in Communications, with minors in Photography and Humanities. In the Church, I am currently serving as a Family Home Evening Group Leader (in our area, young, married couples get together on Monday nights once a month to share a gospel message and get to know each other through games and activities). I am also serving on the Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment Board, helping to put together enriching activities for the women in our Relief Society.

I enjoy the outdoors more than most anything else: I love hiking, camping, rock climbing, repelling, and swimming. Some of my hobbies include writing and photography. I am currently taking piano classes and trying to develop my musical talent and I also love to dance!

When I was in high school, I was one of only a few LDS kids at my school. I was a cheerleader and had a lot of really wonderful friends. However, it was often a struggle for me to have friends and keep my standards at the same time. I didn’t drink or smoke or do much of what was often happening around me. I didn’t want to attend most of the parties, and felt a little alienated from some of my friends because I just didn’t want to participate. I felt different. But, I could feel what my parents and church leaders were teaching me was right, and I held onto it. It wasn’t until after high school that I realized what a blessing these standards were in my life! Although I wasn’t perfect, and made plenty of mistakes, the things that my family and church leaders had taught me kept me clean, healthy, and happy. It also allowed me to have the knowledge of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, so that I could repent and start fresh when I slipped up. I now feel that I have lived wisely and without regret. It is a joyful way of life.

I love the joy that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings. Being a Mormon Woman blesses my marriage and keeps it strong. It gives me guidance as to how to live a happy, healthy, and productive life. Most of all, it teaches me to progress daily and provides a way for me to repent and grow closer to my Savior. Being a Mormon woman teaches me of my identity as a child of God and gives direction as to what this life is all about and what I should be doing here to get back to my Heavenly Father with my family some day.

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For more Portraits of Mormon Women, please click here.

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We’re creating a new section on Christ.org–one of our More Good Foundation websites–that will include a composite of personal stories regarding the ways in which the Savior has intervened in our daily lives, and helped us to overcome, realize His hand, submit to His will, live on, receive understanding, see purpose, or find joy in the journey.

We’d like to extend an invitation to you to write and submit your own account of any way in which you have felt the personal impact of the Savior’s atoning love, grace, and influence in your life as you’ve moved forward in your journey of life, or as you’ve faced a particular life challenge. It doesn’t matter if the story revolves around a small moment, one event, or a long struggle. Selected accounts will be published on Christ.org.

If you’re interested, please fill out this form with your story. Stories should be approximately 350-1200 words. While we can post some stories anonymously, we’d also like to receive those from guests who would like to include a photo and first name, with their post, to keep the site inviting, real, and personal for our visitors.

The post Sharing Personal Stories about the Savior appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Mormon Messages video using Elder Holland’s powerful talk from this last Conference, “None Were with Him.”

The post Video para la Pascua (in English, too) appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

And enjoy below a video about one of the scenes.

The post “Reflections of Christ” video appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.