Jesus Christ’s ministry shows us his love. That love and his Atonement are the greatest gifts ever given.
The last two lines in the song “Gethsemane” read, “Jesus loves me, / So He gives His gift to me from Gethsemane.” This simple song tells us why Jesus performed his Atonement: because he loves us. This song also describes his Atonement as a gift, which is exactly how Elder Gerrit W. Gong describes it in his talk “Eternity’s Great Gifts: Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration.”
In his talk, Elder Gong shares many stories from the scriptures of Jesus weeping with those around him. Those stories teach us that Jesus loves us. They teach us that Christ is always with us and that he will bear our burdens with us. Just as Jesus wept physically with those people in New Testament days, Jesus is with us spiritually when we weep. He knows our burdens and he can comfort us through them. Elder Gong says that “knowing that Jesus Christ understands life’s pains and joys can give us strength beyond our own.” That strength is accessed through Christ’s Atonement.
Because Jesus Christ bore our burdens on the cross and in Gethsemane, he understands every type of struggle and joy that we go through, and he can help us through those things. His Atonement helps us mend relationships, escape from perfectionism, and be whole spiritually. Elder Gong promises that “Jesus Christ restores abundantly—not only what was but also what can be.” Growing up with a large family, I have seen how Christ’s Atonement helps us forgive each other. My family is generally loving, but like any other family, we have our fights as well. The forgiveness found through Christ has helped us strengthen our relationships. Christ helps us change and grow into better people—what can be.
Christ’s Atonement truly has the power to change our lives, and Christ truly is the greatest gift we can receive. Through him we can be healed and changed. Christ’s Atonement can sometimes feel unattainable, but as we pray, read the scriptures, and serve others, we can feel the strength, peace, and comfort of Christ’s Atonement. He will be with us in every struggle and joy.
Read the full talk “Eternity’s Great Gifts: Jesus Christ’s Atonement, Resurrection, Restoration” by Elder Gerrit W. Gong.
Source: General Conference
—Brooke Francis, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
Find more insights
To learn more about how the Atonement helps us, read Elder Quentin L. Cook’s talk “The Atonement of Jesus Christ Provides the Ultimate Rescue.”
To learn how to apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ, read Karlie Kelsch’s article “3 Concrete Ways to Apply Jesus Christ’s Atonement.”