Linda K Burton's Beliefs
(10-15) Emmanuella:“Faith in the Atonement Being Written in our Hearts” / General Relief Society Meeting talk by Linda K. Burton.
Footprints in the Sand | | | One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. | Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. | In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. | Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, | other times there were one set of footprints. | | This bothered me because I noticed | that during the low periods of my life, | when I was suffering from | anguish, …show more content…
sorrow or defeat, | I could see only one set of footprints. | | So I said to the Lord, | "You promised me Lord, | that if I followed you, | you would walk with me always. | But I have noticed that during | the most trying periods of my life | there have only been one | set of footprints in the sand. | Why, when I needed you most, | you have not been there for me?" | | The Lord replied, | "The times when you have | seen only one set of footprints, | is when I carried you." | Mary Stevenson |
In the book of Jeremiah, we learned that Jeremiah lived in a difficult time and place, but the Lord allowed him to see “a time of hope during the latter-day gathering of Israel”2—our day. In the scriptures, we read
“After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. …They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”3
From that, I assume that we are the people Jeremiah saw. Now we should ask ourselves these questions….Have we invited the Lord to write the law, or doctrine, in our hearts? Do we believe that the forgiveness available through the Atonement that Jeremiah refers to applies to us personally? Our answers to all these questions should be yes because its only thru the antonement of Chris that we can be saved and return to our father in heaven.
A few years ago, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shared his feelings about the faith of the many hardworking pioneers who pushed and walked toward the Salt Lake Valley. Most had to buried and leave thie love ones behind, Even after the deaths of their children. They didn’t do that for a program, they didn’t do it because it was fun or even because the wanted to at times, they did it because the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ was in their soul, it was in the marrow of their bones.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said “That’s the only way those mothers could bury [their babies] in a snow and move on “They could say that because of covenants and doctrine and faith and revelation and spirit.”
He continued on saying “If we can keep that in our families and in the Church, maybe a lot of other things start to take care of themselves. Maybe a lot of other less-needed things sort of fall out of the wagon. I’m told those handcarts could only hold so much. Just as our ancestors had to choose what they took, maybe the 21st century will drive us to decide, ‘What can we put on our handcart?’ It’s the substance of our soul; it’s the stuff right down in the marrow of our bones.”4 Or, to put it another way, it is what is written in our hearts!
Since we are all sons and daughters of our heavenly father, he has helped us to know what essential things we should put in our handcart to continue moving His work forward. We could attend our church meeting regularly, read the scriptures, do service for others in need, visit the temple often to perform scared ordinances. As we do so, we know our faith will increase, as will our desire to live righteously. Second, as we have considered the need to strengthen families and homes, When covenants are kept, families are strengthened. We are mot alone, we have each other. We should work in unity as the Lord’s missionaries, helping those in need to progress along the path. It is our duties as childrene of our hevenly father to open our hearts and let the Lord engrave in them the doctrines of the Atonement, covenants, and unity. It only makes sense.
How can we expect to strengthen families or help others unless we first have written in our own hearts a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement?
There are three principles of the Atonement that, if written in our hearts, will increase our faith in Jesus Christ weither we’re new members of the church or not.
The first Principle is: “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”5
We should all bear witness of the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our testimonies, should be written in our hearts as we continued to faced challenges and difficulties. We should continue to work on our testimony and faith so they never die off. Without an understanding of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness and the Savior’s Atonement as the main point of that plan, these challenges could seem unfair. We all share in the trials of life together. But in faithful hearts is written, “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” No matter how hard or unbearable a trail might be Let us all remember that the Lord will not give us more than we could handle. He knows each of us individually. He knows our strengs,weaknesses and the secret desires in our hearts. So know that wha ever we each go through, our heavenly father and our saviours gives us those trail knowing that we could be strong enough to overcome …show more content…
them.
Why does the Lord allow suffering and adversity to come to us in this life? Because, it is part of the plan for our growth and progress! This part of the plan of salvation, for us to come leave here on earth would not have a point if there was no suffering. We would not grow. We all chose to come here on earth under the savor’s pane. We “shouted for joy”6 when we knew we would have the opportunity to come to earth to experience mortality.
The example of a faithful pioneer sister shows this truth. Mary Lois Walker was married at age 17 to John T. Morris in St. Louis, Missouri. They crossed the plains with the Saints in 1853, entering the Salt Lake Valley shortly after their first anniversary. On their journey they had suffered greatly. But their sufferings and adversity did not end when they reached the Salt Lake Valley. The following year Mary, then 19, wrote: “A son was born to us. … One evening when he was two or three months old … something whispered to me, ‘You will lose that little one.’”
During the winter the baby’s health declined. “We did all we could, … but the baby got worse. … On the second of February he passed away … and so I drank the bitter cup of parting from my own flesh and blood.” But her trials were still not over. Mary’s husband was also stricken, and three weeks after losing their baby, he died.
Mary wrote: “So there I was, while in my teens, within the short period of 20 days, I lost my husband and my only child, in a strange land hundreds of miles away and with a mountain of difficulty before me … and I wished that I too, might die and join my loved one[s].”
Mary continues: “One Sunday evening I was taking a walk with my friend. … I was reminded of [my husband’s] absence and my loneliness, and as I wept bitterly I could see, , the steep hill of life I should have to climb and face the reality of it with great force. A deep depression came upon me, for the enemy knows when to attack us, but our [Savior, Jesus Christ,] is there to save each and every one of us. Through … the help given of the Father, I was able to battle with all the force which seemed to be arrayed against me at this time.”8
Mary learned at the tender age of 19 that the Atonement gives us the assurance that all things that are unfair in this life can and will be made right—even the deepest sorrows.
Principle 2: There is power in the Atonement to enable us to overcome the natural man or woman and become true disciples of Jesus Christ.9
There is a way to know when we have learned a doctrine or principle of the gospel. It is when we are able to teach the doctrine or principle in a way that a child can understand it. A valuable resource to teach children to understand the Atonement is an analogy that is found in a Primary lesson. Perhaps this can help us as we teach our own children, grandchildren, or friends of other faiths who desire to understand this essential doctrine.
“A [woman] walking along a road fell into a pit so deep [she] could not climb out. No matter what [she] did, [she] could not get out by [herself]. The [woman] called for help and rejoiced when a kind passerby heard [her] and lowered a ladder down into the pit. This allowed [her] to climb out of the pit and regain [her] freedom.
“We are like the [woman] in the pit. Sinning is like falling into the pit, and we can’t get out by ourselves. Just as the kind passerby heard the [woman’s] cry for help, Heavenly Father sent his Only Begotten Son to provide the means of escape. John 3:16 For god so love the world that he gave his only begotton son that who sos ever believth in him shall not parish but have everlasting life. Jesus Christ’s atonement could be compared to lowering a ladder into the pit; it gives us the means to climb out and be free.”10 But the Savior does more than lower the ladder, He “comes down into the pit and makes it possible for us to use the ladder to escape.”11 “Just as the [woman] in the pit had to climb up the ladder, we must repent of our sins and obey the gospel principles and ordinances to climb out of our pit and make the Atonement work in our lives. No one besides chirst can reach perfection on their own but after doing all we can do, the Atonement makes it possible for us to become worthy to continue on the strait and narrow path leafding to our Heavenly Father’s presence.”12
Principle 3: The Atonement is the greatest evidence we have of the Father’s love for His children.
Elder Oaks said: “Think how it must have been for our Heavenly Father to send His Son to endure great suffering for our sins. That is the greatest evidence of His love for each of us!”14
That supreme act of love ought to send each of us to our knees in humble prayer to thank our Heavenly Father for loving us enough that He sent His Only Begotten and perfect Son to suffer for our sins, our heartaches, and all that seems unfair in our own individual lives.
President F. Uchtdorf once spoke of a woman. He said: “One woman who had been through years of trial and sorrow said through her tears, ‘I have come to realize that I am like an old 20-dollar bill—crumpled, torn, dirty, abused, and scarred. But I am still a 20-dollar bill. I am worth something. Even though I may not look like much and even though I have been battered and used, I am still worth the full 20 dollars.’”15
This woman knows that she is a beloved child of her Heavenly Father and that she was worth enough to Him to send His Son to atone for her, individually. Everyone should know what this woman knows—that she is a beloved child of God. How does knowing our worth to Him change how we keep our covenants? How does knowing our worth to Him affect our desire to minister to others? How does knowing our worth to Him increase our desire to help those who need to understand the Atonement as we do—way down deep? When each of us has the doctrine of the Atonement written deep in our hearts, then we will begin to become the kind of people the Lord wants us to be when He comes again. He will recognize us as His true disciples.
Donuts and the Atonement
There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending Seminary. In this Seminary, classes were held during school hours. Brother Christianson taught Seminary at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's Seminary class. Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over. One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Brother Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, 'You think you're pretty tough, don't you?' Steve's answer was, 'Yeah, I do.' Then Brother Christianson asked, 'How many push-ups can you do?' Steve said, 'I do about 200 every night.' '200? That's pretty good, Steve,' Brother Christianson said. 'Do you think you could do 300?' Steve replied, 'I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time.' 'Do you think you could?' asked Brother Christianson again. 'Well, I can try,' said Steve. 'Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for a special Seminary lesson to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,’ Brother Christianson said. Steve said, 'Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it.' Brother Christianson said, 'Good! I need you to do this on Friday.' Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.
When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited - it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend. Brother Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, 'Cynthia, do you want a donut?' Cynthia said, 'Yes.' Brother Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?' Steve said, 'Sure,' and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Brother Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk. Brother Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, 'Joe do you want a donut?' Joe said, 'Yes.' Brother Christianson asked, 'Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?' Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. Brother Christianson proceeded down the second aisle until he came to Scott. Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. Brother Christianson asked, 'Scott, do you want a donut?' Scott's reply was, 'Yes, but I will do my own pushups!' Brother
Christianson said, 'No, Steve has to do them.' Then Scott said, 'Well, I don't want a donut then.' Brother Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?' Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, 'HEY! I said I didn't want one!' Brother Christianson said, 'Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it.' And he put a donut on Scott's desk. Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Brother Christianson started down the third row. The students were becoming uneasy. Brother Christianson asked Jenny, 'Jenny, do you want a donut?' Jenny said, ‘No, not if Scott has to do pushups for me.’ Then Brother Christianson asked Steve, 'Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?' Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut. By now, the students were beginning to say 'No' and there were many uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of effort to get the pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved. Brother Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. Robert began to watch Steve closely. Brother Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Brother Christianson realized this, he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry that Steve would be unable to do all the pushups necessary for this number of students. Brother Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of the last row, Steve was struggling mightily. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Brother Christianson, 'Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?' Brother Christianson thought for a moment, 'Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want.' Brother Christianson went on. A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, 'NO! Don't come in! Stay out!' Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, 'No, let him come.' Brother Christianson said, 'You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him.' Steve said, 'Yes, let him come in.’ Brother Christianson said, 'Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?' 'Yes,’ said Jason enthusiastically. 'Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?' Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and he sat down. Brother Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Brother Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, 'Linda, do you want a doughnut? Linda said, very sadly, 'No, thank you.' Brother Christianson asked Steve, 'Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?' Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Brother Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. 'Susan, do you want a donut?' Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, 'Brother Christianson, can I help him?' Brother Christianson, with tears of his own, said, 'No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?' As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor. Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. 'And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, pled to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.’ When the students hear Brother Christianson’s comments, they all understood the point of the demonstration and realized that Steve represented, in a small way, the sacrifice of the Son. Steve laid motionless in his own sweat and began to cry.
Footprints in the Sand | | | One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. | Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. | In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. | Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, | other times there were one set of footprints. | | This bothered me because I noticed | that during the low periods of my life, | when I was suffering from | anguish, …show more content…
sorrow or defeat, | I could see only one set of footprints. | | So I said to the Lord, | "You promised me Lord, | that if I followed you, | you would walk with me always. | But I have noticed that during | the most trying periods of my life | there have only been one | set of footprints in the sand. | Why, when I needed you most, | you have not been there for me?" | | The Lord replied, | "The times when you have | seen only one set of footprints, | is when I carried you." | Mary Stevenson |
In the book of Jeremiah, we learned that Jeremiah lived in a difficult time and place, but the Lord allowed him to see “a time of hope during the latter-day gathering of Israel”2—our day. In the scriptures, we read
“After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. …They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”3
From that, I assume that we are the people Jeremiah saw. Now we should ask ourselves these questions….Have we invited the Lord to write the law, or doctrine, in our hearts? Do we believe that the forgiveness available through the Atonement that Jeremiah refers to applies to us personally? Our answers to all these questions should be yes because its only thru the antonement of Chris that we can be saved and return to our father in heaven.
A few years ago, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland shared his feelings about the faith of the many hardworking pioneers who pushed and walked toward the Salt Lake Valley. Most had to buried and leave thie love ones behind, Even after the deaths of their children. They didn’t do that for a program, they didn’t do it because it was fun or even because the wanted to at times, they did it because the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ was in their soul, it was in the marrow of their bones.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said “That’s the only way those mothers could bury [their babies] in a snow and move on “They could say that because of covenants and doctrine and faith and revelation and spirit.”
He continued on saying “If we can keep that in our families and in the Church, maybe a lot of other things start to take care of themselves. Maybe a lot of other less-needed things sort of fall out of the wagon. I’m told those handcarts could only hold so much. Just as our ancestors had to choose what they took, maybe the 21st century will drive us to decide, ‘What can we put on our handcart?’ It’s the substance of our soul; it’s the stuff right down in the marrow of our bones.”4 Or, to put it another way, it is what is written in our hearts!
Since we are all sons and daughters of our heavenly father, he has helped us to know what essential things we should put in our handcart to continue moving His work forward. We could attend our church meeting regularly, read the scriptures, do service for others in need, visit the temple often to perform scared ordinances. As we do so, we know our faith will increase, as will our desire to live righteously. Second, as we have considered the need to strengthen families and homes, When covenants are kept, families are strengthened. We are mot alone, we have each other. We should work in unity as the Lord’s missionaries, helping those in need to progress along the path. It is our duties as childrene of our hevenly father to open our hearts and let the Lord engrave in them the doctrines of the Atonement, covenants, and unity. It only makes sense.
How can we expect to strengthen families or help others unless we first have written in our own hearts a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement?
There are three principles of the Atonement that, if written in our hearts, will increase our faith in Jesus Christ weither we’re new members of the church or not.
The first Principle is: “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”5
We should all bear witness of the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our testimonies, should be written in our hearts as we continued to faced challenges and difficulties. We should continue to work on our testimony and faith so they never die off. Without an understanding of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness and the Savior’s Atonement as the main point of that plan, these challenges could seem unfair. We all share in the trials of life together. But in faithful hearts is written, “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” No matter how hard or unbearable a trail might be Let us all remember that the Lord will not give us more than we could handle. He knows each of us individually. He knows our strengs,weaknesses and the secret desires in our hearts. So know that wha ever we each go through, our heavenly father and our saviours gives us those trail knowing that we could be strong enough to overcome …show more content…
them.
Why does the Lord allow suffering and adversity to come to us in this life? Because, it is part of the plan for our growth and progress! This part of the plan of salvation, for us to come leave here on earth would not have a point if there was no suffering. We would not grow. We all chose to come here on earth under the savor’s pane. We “shouted for joy”6 when we knew we would have the opportunity to come to earth to experience mortality.
The example of a faithful pioneer sister shows this truth. Mary Lois Walker was married at age 17 to John T. Morris in St. Louis, Missouri. They crossed the plains with the Saints in 1853, entering the Salt Lake Valley shortly after their first anniversary. On their journey they had suffered greatly. But their sufferings and adversity did not end when they reached the Salt Lake Valley. The following year Mary, then 19, wrote: “A son was born to us. … One evening when he was two or three months old … something whispered to me, ‘You will lose that little one.’”
During the winter the baby’s health declined. “We did all we could, … but the baby got worse. … On the second of February he passed away … and so I drank the bitter cup of parting from my own flesh and blood.” But her trials were still not over. Mary’s husband was also stricken, and three weeks after losing their baby, he died.
Mary wrote: “So there I was, while in my teens, within the short period of 20 days, I lost my husband and my only child, in a strange land hundreds of miles away and with a mountain of difficulty before me … and I wished that I too, might die and join my loved one[s].”
Mary continues: “One Sunday evening I was taking a walk with my friend. … I was reminded of [my husband’s] absence and my loneliness, and as I wept bitterly I could see, , the steep hill of life I should have to climb and face the reality of it with great force. A deep depression came upon me, for the enemy knows when to attack us, but our [Savior, Jesus Christ,] is there to save each and every one of us. Through … the help given of the Father, I was able to battle with all the force which seemed to be arrayed against me at this time.”8
Mary learned at the tender age of 19 that the Atonement gives us the assurance that all things that are unfair in this life can and will be made right—even the deepest sorrows.
Principle 2: There is power in the Atonement to enable us to overcome the natural man or woman and become true disciples of Jesus Christ.9
There is a way to know when we have learned a doctrine or principle of the gospel. It is when we are able to teach the doctrine or principle in a way that a child can understand it. A valuable resource to teach children to understand the Atonement is an analogy that is found in a Primary lesson. Perhaps this can help us as we teach our own children, grandchildren, or friends of other faiths who desire to understand this essential doctrine.
“A [woman] walking along a road fell into a pit so deep [she] could not climb out. No matter what [she] did, [she] could not get out by [herself]. The [woman] called for help and rejoiced when a kind passerby heard [her] and lowered a ladder down into the pit. This allowed [her] to climb out of the pit and regain [her] freedom.
“We are like the [woman] in the pit. Sinning is like falling into the pit, and we can’t get out by ourselves. Just as the kind passerby heard the [woman’s] cry for help, Heavenly Father sent his Only Begotten Son to provide the means of escape. John 3:16 For god so love the world that he gave his only begotton son that who sos ever believth in him shall not parish but have everlasting life. Jesus Christ’s atonement could be compared to lowering a ladder into the pit; it gives us the means to climb out and be free.”10 But the Savior does more than lower the ladder, He “comes down into the pit and makes it possible for us to use the ladder to escape.”11 “Just as the [woman] in the pit had to climb up the ladder, we must repent of our sins and obey the gospel principles and ordinances to climb out of our pit and make the Atonement work in our lives. No one besides chirst can reach perfection on their own but after doing all we can do, the Atonement makes it possible for us to become worthy to continue on the strait and narrow path leafding to our Heavenly Father’s presence.”12
Principle 3: The Atonement is the greatest evidence we have of the Father’s love for His children.
Elder Oaks said: “Think how it must have been for our Heavenly Father to send His Son to endure great suffering for our sins. That is the greatest evidence of His love for each of us!”14
That supreme act of love ought to send each of us to our knees in humble prayer to thank our Heavenly Father for loving us enough that He sent His Only Begotten and perfect Son to suffer for our sins, our heartaches, and all that seems unfair in our own individual lives.
President F. Uchtdorf once spoke of a woman. He said: “One woman who had been through years of trial and sorrow said through her tears, ‘I have come to realize that I am like an old 20-dollar bill—crumpled, torn, dirty, abused, and scarred. But I am still a 20-dollar bill. I am worth something. Even though I may not look like much and even though I have been battered and used, I am still worth the full 20 dollars.’”15
This woman knows that she is a beloved child of her Heavenly Father and that she was worth enough to Him to send His Son to atone for her, individually. Everyone should know what this woman knows—that she is a beloved child of God. How does knowing our worth to Him change how we keep our covenants? How does knowing our worth to Him affect our desire to minister to others? How does knowing our worth to Him increase our desire to help those who need to understand the Atonement as we do—way down deep? When each of us has the doctrine of the Atonement written deep in our hearts, then we will begin to become the kind of people the Lord wants us to be when He comes again. He will recognize us as His true disciples.
Donuts and the Atonement
There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending Seminary. In this Seminary, classes were held during school hours. Brother Christianson taught Seminary at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's Seminary class. Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over. One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Brother Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, 'You think you're pretty tough, don't you?' Steve's answer was, 'Yeah, I do.' Then Brother Christianson asked, 'How many push-ups can you do?' Steve said, 'I do about 200 every night.' '200? That's pretty good, Steve,' Brother Christianson said. 'Do you think you could do 300?' Steve replied, 'I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time.' 'Do you think you could?' asked Brother Christianson again. 'Well, I can try,' said Steve. 'Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for a special Seminary lesson to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,’ Brother Christianson said. Steve said, 'Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it.' Brother Christianson said, 'Good! I need you to do this on Friday.' Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.
When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited - it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend. Brother Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, 'Cynthia, do you want a donut?' Cynthia said, 'Yes.' Brother Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?' Steve said, 'Sure,' and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Brother Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk. Brother Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, 'Joe do you want a donut?' Joe said, 'Yes.' Brother Christianson asked, 'Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?' Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. Brother Christianson proceeded down the second aisle until he came to Scott. Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. Brother Christianson asked, 'Scott, do you want a donut?' Scott's reply was, 'Yes, but I will do my own pushups!' Brother
Christianson said, 'No, Steve has to do them.' Then Scott said, 'Well, I don't want a donut then.' Brother Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, 'Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?' Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, 'HEY! I said I didn't want one!' Brother Christianson said, 'Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it.' And he put a donut on Scott's desk. Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Brother Christianson started down the third row. The students were becoming uneasy. Brother Christianson asked Jenny, 'Jenny, do you want a donut?' Jenny said, ‘No, not if Scott has to do pushups for me.’ Then Brother Christianson asked Steve, 'Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?' Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut. By now, the students were beginning to say 'No' and there were many uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of effort to get the pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved. Brother Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. Robert began to watch Steve closely. Brother Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Brother Christianson realized this, he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry that Steve would be unable to do all the pushups necessary for this number of students. Brother Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of the last row, Steve was struggling mightily. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Brother Christianson, 'Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?' Brother Christianson thought for a moment, 'Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want.' Brother Christianson went on. A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, 'NO! Don't come in! Stay out!' Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, 'No, let him come.' Brother Christianson said, 'You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him.' Steve said, 'Yes, let him come in.’ Brother Christianson said, 'Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?' 'Yes,’ said Jason enthusiastically. 'Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?' Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and he sat down. Brother Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Brother Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, 'Linda, do you want a doughnut? Linda said, very sadly, 'No, thank you.' Brother Christianson asked Steve, 'Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?' Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Brother Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. 'Susan, do you want a donut?' Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, 'Brother Christianson, can I help him?' Brother Christianson, with tears of his own, said, 'No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?' As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor. Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. 'And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, pled to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.’ When the students hear Brother Christianson’s comments, they all understood the point of the demonstration and realized that Steve represented, in a small way, the sacrifice of the Son. Steve laid motionless in his own sweat and began to cry.