Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
The loss of mortal support He had anticipated, but apparently He had not comprehended this. Had He not said to His disciples, “Behold, the hour . . . is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me” and “The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him”?
With all the conviction of my soul I testify that He did please His Father perfectly and that a perfect Father did not forsake His Son in that hour. Indeed, it is my personal belief that in all of Christ’s mortal ministry the Father may never have been closer to His Son than in these agonizing final moments of suffering. Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required; indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.
He knows. When we are hurting, He knows exactly how we feel. When we are lost, He knows just what we're going through. When we screw up we might not have His spirit with us, but if we will turn to Him, He will share our burden. Jesus Christ experienced it all so that he could be our comfort and our savior. And He will be if we just let Him.
Here is the entire talk: None Were With Him
(And just FYI, I just made my first batch of Yummy Zonkers EVER, that I've made all by myself, for our FBE treat. Can you believe that?)
7 comments:
I loved that talk so much. I was crying when Elder Holland gave it (though not as much as I cried during President Monson's... wow..). One thing I have always had in my life was the identification with Jesus Christ on some sort of unexplainable level. What I think that was, now that I do have a more-complete understanding of the Gospel, is that He really did understand (and therefore was able to comfort) my sadness and suffering. I love the D&C scripture from chapter 19:
16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.
20 Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit.
21 And I command you that you preach naught but repentance, and show not these things unto the world until it is wisdom in me.
22 For they cannot bear meat now, but milk they must receive; wherefore, they must not know these things, lest they perish.
23 Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.
24 I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his will.
I get such peace, comfort... and even a bit of sadness from those words (that it had to be so).
He does know all our pain, I have felt the arms of the Savior surround me in the depths of that pain, and I know for certain Whose they were.
... What is a zonker? and FBE?
I bet it is FHE, I just noticed how close B and H are on the keyboard. Sorry about that. Bah, I really was trying to figure it out and couldn't... but I would still like to know what a Zonker is. I have had Zots and Bonkers, but those are both candy of the 80's... sadness...
I actually meant FBE a Family Blog Evening, hahaha.
Zonkers are like carmel corn but better. You know that green cook book I sent you? They're on page 57 or 59, you should make them!! Mmmm they're good.
This was one of my favorite talks. Thanks for sharing! FBE...hahaha! Mmmm I love zonkers!
So, I'm reading along on your transcript of Elder Holland's talk, and I get to the 5th paragraph and read the words, "screw up," and I'm thinking, I can't believe Elder Holland said "screw up" at all, let alone in conference. Then I realized that paragraph was your synopsis. Otherwise, your words were pristine, and you had me going there. I am so gratified that you and all the kids have reached that level of vital spiritual maturity. The Savior does feel, not only our emotional/spiritual pain, but he also atoned for the pain of our injuries, our physical diseases and deficits. In the perfect hereafter, we will not have to experience any of those difficulties because by simultaneously feeling all of them himself, and then resurrecting into immortality, He cleared the way for us to escape those mortal challenges. That is difficult but exciting to phathom.
dana, i heard his talk in conference, and listened to it on my ipod, but i somehow missed the significance of why the Father withdrew--so that He could feel what we feel when we sin. wow! that is so profound. thank you so much for your spiritual insight, and for sharing this with us.
so glad the zonkers tradition goes on.
crystal. pop popcorn, get rid of the old maids--sorry if that offends anyone--meanwhile, melt 1 cube butter, 1/4 c corn syrup and 2/3 cup sugar. when it boils remove from heat and add 1/4 t baking soda. stir well, it will go kind of whitish, then pour over popcorn and stir. it is delicious!!! one of my favorites.
If you have the time, I suggest listening to this talk again, rather than just reading it. Elder Holland is such a powerful speaker. I actually got to watch this talk all by myself, which ended up being a very good thing because it allowed me to be as emotional as I wanted.
I had never heard or considered things in quite this light before. It makes everything so much more personal to me, which I believe is exactly how He would have it be.
This talk was mentioned in my ward yesterday too. It made me think back on some of the more trying times I've had, and what they've shaped me into. Specifically, I was reminded of times that I have been able to help and empathize with others because I understand experientially exactly what they're dealing with. It's incredible how much comfort people can find in just knowing they're not the only ones who have ever had to deal with a tough situation. That is just a portion of what the Savior offers to us.
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