Brigham Young University (BYU) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” As part of their undergraduate coursework, BYU students take multiple semesters of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
Here, in this column, students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the New Testament and gospel of Jesus Christ in the form of letters to someone they know. In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to witness to all of us of the relevance, power, and beauty of the New Testament, and God’s plan of happiness for each of us. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures. Let us know how these may help you in your own life. Share them with a friend.
Mormon Thoughts: An Epiphany
A letter to my sister
I had an epiphany this week in New Testament class. It is about the purpose of righteousness. We have been talking a lot the last few weeks in the letters of Paul to new converts about the differences between grace and why we need to do good works, such as what we read this week in Philippians 2:12. Because the original expectation was that we need to be perfect, and that was not attainable, that is the reason for the Atonement, right? So why can we not just take advantage of the Atonement and do whatever we want? It is because in performing the Atonement, Christ set a new standard for us to attain, you know, the laws of sacrifice, the gospel, etc. He transferred the debt we needed to pay from Heavenly Father to himself. He still wants us to become perfect, so He does not leave us without any rules, we are still expected to become something more. So my epiphany this week was about the purpose of righteous actions.
The Atonement sets a new standard for all who desire to be followers of Christ.
My professor said something about connecting to God, and I am not sure why that resonated so much inside me, just because it seems like such a simple concept. But I was thinking about it, and in my experience, I find that when I do something “good,” it is as if I am trying to achieve something; I am reaching for some abstract ideal. For example, God did all this stuff (Creation, Atonement, and everything needed for us to get back to Him) for us, and gave us the law of chastity, so I will be chaste for the sake of being chaste. I realized this was not the reason we do it. It is to connect with Christ. Let’s say we were building a bridge. Christ already has His part built, in just the right place with just the right materials, etc. It is now our object to attach ourselves to Him. Or in another analogy, to attach our branches to Him, the Vine.
It is through Him that we attain sustenance and that all blessings flow. In surrendering the only thing we have to give, our wills, we achieve the ultimate victory. When we seek to connect to Him, we are no longer focused on just our actions, but also our thoughts and attitudes. Ironically, we still need His help to do our part of the bargain as well. But if I had to trust my will, my life, and my whole soul to anyone, I am glad it is the most loving, all knowing, and perfect being in existence.
With warm thoughts,
Ashley
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