The atonement is for you — a lesson from John 5:1-9

The first nine verses of John chapter 5 in the New Testament have always held a special place in my heart. But I never knew why until today.

These verses tell the story of a man who had been sick for longer than I have been on this earth and whose hopelessness was turned to joy by the Savior:

Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, (called) Bethesda, having five porches.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked.

I have turned to this chapter often when I want to spend some time with the scriptures but have no particular place that I need or want to read. I love the story.

Today during priesthood class (the class for men during the last hour of church), the lesson was about Jesus Christ. The teacher read a few words from the lesson manual, but then he wanted to give most of the time for the class members to share some of their favorite scriptures about Christ. It was an inspired choice; the power of the Holy Ghost filled the room as people taught and testified to each other.

Someone beat me to sharing the first scripture I had been thinking about sharing, so I decided to turn to John chapter 5. But I wondered, what should I say about this? Why is this one of my favorites?

Finally, I began to understand why this story has always struck a chord with me.

This is the story of a man who wanted to be well. He wanted to solve a problem in his life. There was a very simple task required to reach this goal, but accomplishing this task was out of his reach. But still he stayed by the healing waters in hopes that, someday, he would be healed.

Jesus did not offer the man advice on how to try harder, how to find a friend who could help him out, how to sit closer to the water, or how to anticipate the angel and therefore be ready to take advantage of its healing powers. Instead, he blessed the man with the healing he had sought for so long.

The atonement of Jesus Christ is especially for the imperfect, the weak. It's for those of us who try again and again and still can't seem to get 100% home teaching, overcome addictions, serve completely unselfishly, or rid our hearts of envy. No matter how close we stay to the "healing waters," we all have have some weakness that we struggle with, a spiritual infirmity that hinders us in our quest to overcome that very weakness. If any of this sounds like you, the atonement of Jesus Christ is for YOU.

"My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me," the Lord told a Book of Mormon prophet. "For if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Today, I finally understood what this story from the New Testament actually means to me. None of us has the power to fully overcome all mortal weaknesses on our own. But the grace, mercy, and perfect love of Jesus Christ are such that he will seek us out and help us overcome these things in his time. The atonement is for us.

I can do hard things

A few days ago I was talking to one of the owners of a jewelry store in town. His store has an intern from the college where I work, so I was checking in about the possibility about writing an article for the college blog about this student's experience. I was impressed when I learned more about a gospel principle while I was there.

The jewelry store owner had many good things to say about the intern, who is developing social media marketing for the company. What stood out the most, he said, was her work ethic and her determination.

When she runs into obstacles, he said, she works and does research and experiments until she finds her way over or around the obstacle. He is accustomed to seeing people work until they get to an obstacle, and then use that challenge as an excuse for not continuing on to their goal.

This illustrates an important aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Life includes many challenges that stand between us and happiness, joy, perfect love, and true discipleship. Reaching the obstacles does not mean we can turn around and stop striving for those goals. The gospel and grace of Christ provide us away around and over the obstacles so we can reach our goals.

Several years ago, I began to hear a phrase in the church's general conference (a twice-annual worldwide meeting where Mormons hear talks by church leaders). Sometimes when leaders of the church's young women's organization spoke, they would talk about a motto: “I can do hard things.”

When I first heard this phrase referred to as a motto, I was puzzled. It didn't make sense as a motto, and it seemed so trite. But the more I pondered on that message and what it might mean, I realized it had a deeper meaning. More than just stating an ability, it implies that if something is hard, I can do it anyway. If I find something difficult or challenging, I can rise up to that challenge and do it. This is partly possible because I am a child of God, I am an intelligent creature who can solve problems and apply myself to accomplish many things.

It also is possible because of the grace of Jesus Christ.

The scriptures are replete with examples of people who were able to accomplish difficult tasks because of God's help. If you read Hebrews chapter 11, there are many summarized examples of people who accomplished great things through faith. The apostle Paul summed it up well: “I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.” (Phillippians 4:13)

The Book of Mormon tells the story of the sons of Mosiah, brothers who left their homes to be missionaries to the mortal enemies of their nation. The prospect of them converting the Lamanites to the gospel of Christ seemed so unlikely that others suggested that the Nephites should send armies to destroy the Lamanites rather than missionaries to teach them. But the sons of Mosiah went to teach.

They knew that they did not have an easy task before them. The brother named Ammon recalled, “Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us and said: Go amongst thy brethren...and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.” (Alma 26:27)

The Lord made good on that promise. These brothers helped teach thousands of people about the plan of salvation and the atonement of Christ, their savior. Ammon explained a lesson that he learned from this: “I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things.” (Alma 26:12)

Another word for God's strength is grace. A later Book of Mormon prophet was concerned about his personal weaknesses, including an inability to express the gospel to his satisfaction using the written word. As he prayed and anguished about this problem, the Lord told him this:

...My grace is sufficient for the meek... If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

The grace of Jesus Christ allows us to overcome weaknesses, reach righteous goals, and accomplish other good things that otherwise are beyond our own personal ability, or seem to be at first. If you have reached an obstacle that seems to be keeping you from being happy, from following Christ, from spending more time with your family, or succeeding in schoolwork, or any other good thing, then God can provide a way. You can trust that the grace of Christ is sufficient for you.

If you humble yourself, pray for help, have faith in Christ, work hard, and be patient, he will help you overcome the obstacle and reach your righteous goals.