June 25, 2015
Elder Brad Wilcox was our special guest speaker in Relief Society this morning. He has been involved with EFY activities this week. Here are some thoughts he shared with us today. His talk today centered on 2Nephi 25:23 and more particularly the last part of that verse--for we know that it is by grace we are saved after all we can do. Some people, after reading this, feel like giving up rather than having hope. They feel they can never do enough. Nephi is telling us we don't have to do it alone nor can we except with the enabling power or grace of Jesus Christ. Elder Wilcox also pointed out that it is not only important that we are saved by grace but that we are changed by grace. Ultimately we want to become like the Savior, saved by grace and changed by grace. Elder Wilcox's favorite name for Jesus is Immanuel or God With Us. Me + Jesus Christ = We. Together we can do all things. It their a better definition for the Atonement? The grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cover us, sufficient to transform us, and sufficient to help us as long as that transformation process takes. Jesus doesn't make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us. We are practicing to become more like the Savior and He is happy when we use His gift of the Atonement, His grace so that we can improve to become more like Him. A life impacted by grace eventually begins to look like Christ's life. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly, not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed. Thank you Elder Wilcox for your inspiring message to us today.
Elder Brad Wilcox was our special guest speaker in Relief Society this morning. He has been involved with EFY activities this week. Here are some thoughts he shared with us today. His talk today centered on 2Nephi 25:23 and more particularly the last part of that verse--for we know that it is by grace we are saved after all we can do. Some people, after reading this, feel like giving up rather than having hope. They feel they can never do enough. Nephi is telling us we don't have to do it alone nor can we except with the enabling power or grace of Jesus Christ. Elder Wilcox also pointed out that it is not only important that we are saved by grace but that we are changed by grace. Ultimately we want to become like the Savior, saved by grace and changed by grace. Elder Wilcox's favorite name for Jesus is Immanuel or God With Us. Me + Jesus Christ = We. Together we can do all things. It their a better definition for the Atonement? The grace of Jesus Christ is sufficient to cover us, sufficient to transform us, and sufficient to help us as long as that transformation process takes. Jesus doesn't make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us. We are practicing to become more like the Savior and He is happy when we use His gift of the Atonement, His grace so that we can improve to become more like Him. A life impacted by grace eventually begins to look like Christ's life. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly, not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed. Thank you Elder Wilcox for your inspiring message to us today.
