Perfection through the Atonement of Christ

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5:6-11)
In these verses I noted in particular Paul's words where he compares regular men to Jesus; he mentions that there are those who would “scarcely [die] for a righteous man,” while others would dare die for a good man. So, how much greater is Jesus who died for sinners? There are many people in history who have died for another, but only Christ died for all people no matter who they were or what they believed. Just as we believe in Christ, Christ believes in us and wants us to do what is right. In essence, Paul is referring to the Atonement of Christ in these scriptures. It is through the blood of Christ that we imperfect mortals can obtain joy and salvation.Because the Lord, perfect and loving died for us we are able to reject the natural man and temporal world and become a pure and eternal being who can live with God. This is truly a magnificent gift! Though we may be enemies of God by our nature, because of Christ we can change internally. There is no one who is broken beyond repair, even if we think that is the case. The Lord and his Holy Spirit is there to guide and perfect us .It truly is remarkable the love that God has for each of us, and the lengths and plans that have been put in place so that all can have opportunities to become better, to even become perfect. I am so grateful that the Lord has done so much for me even though I am terribly flawed, and I hope that I will accept His greatest gift so that I can return to Heavenly Father’s presence.

Filled with Light

In this life where it is so easy to be overcome by darkness and despair, it is crucial to any person's well-being, especially spiritual well-being, by surrounding ourselves with good things that will light up our life. One of the best ways to fill our life with light is to learn how to live according to God's laws, and allow His spirit into our homes by acting righteously. While reading the scriptures this week, I was reminded to take a closer look around me, and make an effort to clear out any junk that is distracting me from the Savior and filling my life with a dark haze. By taking the time to think of good things and remember the Savior, I will be spending less time thinking of unclean things which will help me to stay away from temptation.

From the New Testament Paul teaches the people through letters many principles on how to become full of light and to do right by God. Specifically, while he writes to the people of Corinth, and it can be learned that only fully clean can inherit the kingdom and salvation of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), which comes from following Christ and keeping His commandments - in other words, doing righteous actions - and one way to help ourselves have our surroundings filled with light is to associate with righteous people (1 Corinthians 5; 6:15-17).When we surround ourselves with good people, then we also shall do good and have less temptation.

It is not only important to surround ourselves with good people, but good things that will uplift us.
Surrounding ourselves with many good things will help each of us succeed in mortality and learn more of God, helping us to become more like Him. As we are true to our divine natures and become more like Christ, then we will most assuredly be able to stand before God in the last days with honor and grace, our countenances filled with light.