"Outlines the Plan of Salvation"

May 15, 2017

This week was transfers, which is always fun. We actually had zero missionaries go home, and only one come in, which was odd. This coming transfer though... hahaha not quite so lucky! Lots of turnover in the summer.

A ton happened other than that, but probably the thing of most importance was a lesson I learned whilst teaching. Crazy how that works, right? It's super true what it says in the Doctrine and Covenants about teaching by the Spirit means the teacher is learning just as much if not more as the student. Anyway. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation to one of our wonderful investigators in a little bit of an unorthodox way, by just reading 2 Nephi 2 with her! Holy flip. The Introduction to the Book of Mormon teaches that the Book "outlines the Plan of Salvation," and in 2 Nephi 2, it truly does. It's all there. I'll share just a snidbit of what I learned while teaching Barbara!

The first couple of verses, as it should when dealing with the Plan, are all about the life, sacrifice, and resurrection of the Savior, or in other words, the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The only way any of us are saved is by the grace of him who is mighty to save. However, the next verses teach a principle about this atonement. The need for opposition. No one is saved by the laws or commandments, that is, no one can possibly be perfect. No one is going to be able to save themselves by merely listening to the commandments, so why have them? If God didn't hold us to a standard, aka the commandments, we wouldn't need his Son to help us reach it. 

Now does that mean the commandments are just there, and Christ will throw each of us up to them no matter what? To quote Paul "God Forbid." Just like any high jumper will say, if you choose to never jump, no matter how much technique, practice, or even help will ever get you over that bar. That's where our agency comes in. 

We must choose to jump, choose to try to get over, and that's when the atonement of Jesus Christ will lift us over, even if the bar is 13 feet and the best we've ever done is 1 inch. It's not about what we can do, it's about making the effort to try.

Love y'all! 

Keep trying, and read your scriptures so you can have cool things happen, too!

Elder Roberts

Went on an exchange with this Elder! Named Elder Dayton. Seriously such the man.

Umm... is this really Texas...?

President blowing the new missionary's, and our, mind.