As I sat and talked with a dear friend, she poured her heart out about the struggle she’s having with her teenage daughter and how she can feel her faith slipping away. My heart broke for my friend, and I prayed several times for her and her daughter. I cried for hours, wishing there was something I could do to help this sweet girl.
Now that I’m a mom, with my own teenagers, and I watch all they have to go through. I watch them stand tall time and time again. I worry about the times they fall, and hope they will have the strength to get back up and stand tall again. I worry about the pressures they feel to put Christ on the back burner. My heart is in constant prayer for them, to be able to fight the temptations they face. I feel equally devoted to those kids that I have had in my home or that I know. I want them to fight hard to be courageous. My heart breaks when I hear they are struggling and my prayers turn to heaven for them. That’s where I was early this morning, as I asked the Lord how to help the youth who are struggling. I opened to 2 Nephi 10 and read, quickly stopping at the second verse.
2 Nephi 10:2 For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according to the flesh; wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief, nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer.
My first reaction was “NO”, you can’t give mercy to some and not all. They all need you. How do you choose who to be merciful towards and who to just leave left in the drowning affects of sin? I found myself once more praying to have clarity. …then it came! I fully understood. Tad R. Callister explained it perfectly in Conference this past weekend.
“Suppose for a moment a man contemplating an exhilarating free fall makes a rash decision and spontaneously jumps from a small plane. After doing so, he quickly realizes the foolishness of his actions. He wants to land safely, but there is an obstacle—the law of gravity. He moves his arms with astounding speed, hoping to fly, but to no avail. He positions his body to float or glide to slow the descent, but the law of gravity is unrelenting and unmerciful. He tries to reason with this basic law of nature: “It was a mistake. I will never do it again.” But his pleas fall on deaf ears. The law of gravity knows no compassion; it makes no exceptions. Fortuitously, though, the man suddenly feels something on his back. His friend in the plane, sensing the moment of foolishness, had placed a parachute there just before the jump. He finds the rip cord and pulls it. Relieved, he floats safely to the ground. We might ask, “Was the law of gravity violated, or did that parachute work within that law to provide a safe landing?”
“When we sin, we are like the foolish man who jumped from the plane. No matter what we do on our own, only a crash-landing awaits us. We are subject to the law of justice, which, like the law of gravity, is exacting and unforgiving. We can be saved only because the Savior, through His Atonement, mercifully provides us with a spiritual parachute of sorts. If we have faith in Jesus Christ and repent (meaning we do our part and pull the rip cord), then the protective powers of the Savior are unleashed on our behalf and we can land spiritually unharmed.” -Tad R. Callister
There it is! God doesn’t choose who he is merciful towards and who he is not. We choose! The Atonement of Jesus Christ is for all, everyone has a parachute on, the choice lies completely in the hands of each individual person. It’s not a question of whether the atonement is there it’s a matter of if we accept it and use it. Therefore, mercy is completely available to all at all times. We just have to pull the rip cord.
1 Nephi 10:6 Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer.
The next question is how do we help our teenagers realize they are falling and that they don’t have to fall to their demise? How do we get them to pull the rip cord?
2 Nephi 6:11 Wherefore, after they are driven to and fro, for thus saith the angel, many shall be afflicted in the flesh, and shall not be suffered to perish, because of the prayers of the faithful…the Lord will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance.
The redeeming power of Christ is 100% available to our children, but it’s not a testimony we can give our children, it’s one they have to come to understand for themselves. They have to know that the Lord loves them, that he is there for them, that he will forgive and repair them. It’s a process they have to learn for themselves through trusting and having the faith to try out repentance. That’s the only way to feel the awesome redemption of the Savior.
1 Nephi 15:14 And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.
Once they come to know the redeeming power of Christ for themselves they will be changed forever. It’s the same change that takes place at baptism, and each week as we partake of the sacrament. Once they feel this change and love for themselves, and they can personally know that the redemption spoken of in the scriptures isn’t figurative but literally for them. They will crave that feeling and seek to follow the Lord. Will they ever fall again? Who doesn’t? Yet, they will be familiar with where to turn. They will now for themselves where Heavenly love and healing comes from.
Mosiah 18:30 … how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.
–Sherri Jorgensen
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