Faith in His Grace

In Moroni 7: 40-41 it states that we must have hope in the atonement and have " hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of His Resurrection to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of faith in Him according to the promise. " 

I understand why this principle is so important to understand. To understand that we can not be perfect while here on this earth. In my past many times I have allowed my feelings of inadequacy cause me to make greater errors, rather than turning to the scriptures to find more out about whom my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ are personally, I listened to the opposing voice of satan telling me that I wasn't even really worth trying; because I would never be good enough. These thoughts and actions ended up being detrimental to my future; but as I do know my Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ now, through the scriptures; and trying their works; I understand very deeply that I am not expected to be perfect; to be like anyone else; and that I always have value as His child, for the worth of souls is great in the site of God. ( D&C 18:10 ) 

I appreciate and love the added witness to this principle that was given in the 2014 Conference Talk called, " Approaching the Throne of God With Confidence " by Elder Jorg kelbignat. 

 

In this talk Jorg explains that one of the reasons it is important for us to have faith in His atonement working in our lives; providing the grace necessary that we do not need to be perfect to be guided by the Holy Ghost; or to be pleasing to our Father in Heaven is because this kind of faith provides a steady stream of tender mercies and mighty miracles; thus; providing us strength to move forward and do better. 

My favorite explanations of this in this talk are as follows:

"Whenever the adversary cannot persuade imperfect yet striving Saints such as you to abandon your belief in a personal and loving God, he employs a vicious campaign to put as much distance as possible between you and God. The adversary knows that faith in Christ—the kind of faith that produces a steady stream of tender mercies and even mighty miracles—goes hand in hand with a personal confidence that you are striving to choose the right. For that reason he will seek access to your heart to tell you lies—lies that Heavenly Father is disappointed in you, that the Atonement is beyond your reach, that there is no point in even trying, that everyone else is better than you, that you are unworthy, and a thousand variations of that same evil theme.

As long as you allow these voices to chisel away at your soul, you can’t approach the throne of God with real confidence. Whatever you do, whatever you pray for, whatever hopes for a miracle you may have, there will always be just enough self-doubt chipping away at your faith—not only your faith in God but also your confidence in yourself. Living the gospel in this manner is no fun, nor is it very healthy. Above all, it is completely unnecessary! The decision to change is yours—and yours alone."

I can testify that as long as we are saying prayers out loud, with real feeling and desire in our hearts to seek His will; and as long as we follow through with promptings from the Spirit; and seek to serve His children around us; keep temple covenants that we have made to the best of our human ability; we are pleasing to Him...and knowing that we are pleasing Him is better than any other feeling that I have experienced. I understand why faith in the atonement is so necessary as I make many mistakes; and I  also testify that those tender mercies are truly a steady stream in my life as I have faith that His grace can help me keep moving forward and continuing to try my best. 

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.