His Grace *IS* Sufficient

Last week, my bishop gave me a book to read called, "Believing Christ" by Stephen E. Robinson. It talks about the difference between believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the World, and believing that He really can save us. Its the difference between believing in Christ, and believing Him. That is, believing Him when He says that His grace is sufficient for us.  That through Him we can be justified and made perfect.

He shares a lot of great parables that teach how Christ saves us. They all boil down to us entering into a partnership with Christ. We are the junior partners, with very little to offer. In fact, we have great debts that we need to pay off. When we enter into that partnership with Christ, His assests immediately pay off those debts, and we become a single entity which is immediately justified. This is what Moroni means when He speaks of becoming perfect in Christ (Moro. 10:32-33). Individually, we are still imperfect, but together with Christ we become perfect as He immediately makes up the difference. 

I've been thinking a lot about that this week. Could it really be that as soon as I choose to truly exercise faith in Christ and accept Him as my Savior I could be perfect in Him? As I came to understand that, I became very anxious to partake of the sacrament and renew that partnership with Him. 

I went hometeaching today for the first time in 3 years, and left feeling the best I've felt since being a missionary. I didn't teach perfectly, but I knew that I only had to put forth my effort, and that would be enough. And as I relied on the Savior for the rest, it became a wonderfully uplifting experience.

I know that the plan of redemption can take immediate effect in our lives as soon as we fully put our trust in the love and power of our Savior to make us whole. He lives, His grace is sufficient, and as we strive to improve we can rest certain in the knowledge that our mistakes are ultimately beneficial when we are yoked with our Savior.

I'm back! Onward and upward!

Well, I've been thinking on and off about starting up my blog again for the last couple months since getting back.  I just never get around to it.

There is so much I could write about.  It's amazing to me that I've only been back from my mission about 2 1/2 months.  It feels like a year.  So much has happened!  I worked during December, started going back to Snow College after receiving a great scholarship offer from the music department, started dating again (a bit), got my own phone, and was called to be Ward Mission Leader in my YSA ward to list a few things.  It's been a good couple months!

One of my institute teachers likes to say, "Your mission was a wonderful introduction to the foothills of the Spiritual Himalayans of your life."  I've heard many times that if we are asked to share a spiritual experience and the most recent one we can think of was from our mission, then something is wrong.  We are supposed to be continually progressing.  A mission is not a final destination, rather "a spring board to every other good thing in your life," as my mission president liked to say.

So that's my challenge.  I'm trying to keep having spiritual experiences like I did as a missionary.  It's hard.  I was encouraged by a recent lesson in institute.  My teacher explained that this mortal journey is like a journey through a desert.  Eventually, we come to an oasis with a couple tress and a small stream.  It's a wonderful time! All our prayers are being answered, we're feeling the spirit often, keeping the commandments is easier than ever.  But we're not meant to stay there, and Heavenly Father soon kicks us back out into the desert.  What we can't see is that a little ways ahead is another spiritual oasis, this one with more trees and more streams.  And beyond that one, another even better.  However, the journey between oasis's is hard.  There seems to be a "brass ceiling" between us and Heaven.  Why aren't our prayers being answered as easily as before?  Why are we struggling so much more with temptation?  Are we doing something wrong?

Not always.  The thing is, Heavenly Father wants us to become better, stronger, more like He is.  So He asks us to give more effort to receive the answers, he lets us wander in the desert to try our faith and see if we will stay faithful despite no additional confirmations that it is still the right thing to do.  The more we progress in our journey, the longer those stints in the desert become.  Sometimes, they last decades. But if we will keep pressing forward in faith and allow ourselves to be stretched, we will reach those oasis's and eventually our final destination.

For those with faith in Christ, there are good things to come.  I know this is true.  If you're struggling, hang in there, hold on to your faith, and know that God has a grand plan just for you.