Dear Family and Friends,

I recently gave my homecoming talk at church.  I will include it here so you can read it if you desire.

Lynette's Sacrament Meeting Homecoming Talk

May 27, 2012

The Atonement is a principle of power.  It encompasses the power to relieve us from sin and the power "to make good men better" (President David O. McKay Conference Report, Apr. 1954, 26).  In other words, as Elder Bednar explains in the April Ensign ("In the Strength of the Lord" BYU Discourse, Oct. 2001), "The Atonement includes redeeming and enabling powers" (italics added).

Feeling the enabling power of the Atonement was very special to me during my mission.  I testify that I frequently felt a fortifying power.  The interesting thing is that I did not recognize that this power came from the Atonement.  About a month after finishing my mission, I wrote in my journal, "Many times I've felt like my testimony of the Atonement didn't grow as much as I'd hoped it would during the mission.  Tonight I've been reading a talk that Elder Bednar gave at BYU in 2001.  He says, 'I wonder if we mistakenly believe that we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves through grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities...The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do good and serve beyond our own natural desires and natural capacity.'  I believe that I served beyond my own natural capacity and desire during my mission.  That means that I was experiencing the Atonement in my life.  I just didn't recognize it."

In life we have a journey with two phases.  The first phase is overcoming sin.  We commonly recognize the Atonement's application to this phase.  The second phase in life's journey is to "go from...good to better."  Before and during my mission, I never realized how the Atonement applies to the second phase of life.  I am coming to understand now how the Atonement can empower me to become more than I could ever be by relying solely on myself.

I cannot do it by myself

At my year mark in the mission, I was in a fun area called Puerto Maldonado.  Puerto Maldonado is located in the jungle, and it is very hot there.  Without meaning to, I attempted for a few months to be a shining missionary through sheer grit, discipline, and sweat.  At that time I was the senior companion and my companion and I would work until 9:30pm almost every night.  Sometimes we would walk ourselves to death in the sun and we would skip dinner.  Quite honestly, I would even feel frustrated at times because I thought my companion was not walking fast enough.  In my mind I thought, I can become a better missionary if I just work hard.  I know that I can do that, I can work.  

The question is if my companion and I had a lot of success during that marathon time.  The simple answer is no.  We finished our time together having helped fewer people than we'd hoped and we were exhausted both physically and emotionally.

My experience with my subsequent companion was quite different.  She was outspoken and refused to go along with some of my intense plans.  After stressing about all the work I thought we should do as part of becoming better missionaries, she would simply respond, "Trust God."  My companion repeated this to me over and over again.  I finally realized after some time that I was trying to "make the journey from good to better...through sheer...willpower...and with [my] obviously limited capacities."

With the encouragement of my companion, I began changing my perspective.  I focused on sharing my goals with the Lord.  I began to offer humble prayers with recognition that I needed to Atonement to become the missionary I dreamed of being.

The main message from this experience is simple.  We need to recognize that changing our human nature requires the Atonement.  We cannot do it all by ourselves.  God only expects us to seek perfection through the enabling power of the Atonement.

Applying the Atonement

Once we understand that changing our nature depends on the Atonement, we need to find our way of bringing that enabling power into our lives.

The first step to do that is increasing our faith in Christ.  What kind of faith do I refer to?  Let me share an example from my life to illustrate this point.  One of my lifelong weaknesses is having quality scripture study.  It is a weakness that tries to trip me even after my mission. The faith that I refer to is the faith that believes Christ really cares about this weakness of mine.  He is interested in my progress.  He and my Heavenly Father believe in me that one day this weakness can become one of my biggest strengths. 

After we work to trust that our Savior wants to help us in our righteous desires, we can begin to call the Atonement into our lives daily.  We can do that through better scripture study, prayer, temple attendance, fasting, and other activities.

Alma 34:26 invites us, "But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness."  I have an especially strong testimony that honest prayer can invite the Atonement's enabling power into our lives.  Currently, my daily prayers often include pleading that the Atonement can help me resist the temptation to put off my scripture study.  It really helps.  On the days when I forget to plead for this blessing, I often do not meet my scripture study goals. 

One of my favorite mission experiences relating with prayer and the Atonement comes from my first day in the mission field.  The day I arrived in Cusco, we new missionaries were taken to our mission president's home and, later, to a mission transfer meeting to meet our companions.  Several things became quickly apparent to me during those activities.  First, I saw few North American sisters.  Second, the chapel was freezing, and, third, everyone was speaking Spanish.  During the transfer meeting, we new missionaries sat in the front and looked at the missionaries.  The biggest knot I've ever had formed in my stomach.  I became truly scared.  The only reason I did not cry was because I was in front of everyone.  At that moment, I began to pray.  I prayed that I would be able to feel my Heavenly Father holding my hand.  With great compassion, my Heavenly Father held my hand.  That is the reason why I am here today speaking.  I vividly remember walking off the stand to greet my companion with my mind concentrated on my hand.  My Father's hand was not there literally, but it was tangible enough for me.  Without that, I would not have been able to walk off of the stand.  That experience is evidence for me that the Atonement enables us to do things we cannot do alone.  The tool for me to call for it in that moment was sincere prayer.

Before I continue, I briefly want to recap how we can bring the Atonement's enabling power into our lives.  If we remember, the first step is developing faith in Jesus Christ.  The second step is improving our daily actions that show that we desire that power.

Another key element to receiving strength from the Atonement is exercising patience.  Mosiah chapter 24 contains an excellent example of the Atonement strengthening Alma and his brethren.  Their burdens from Amulon were made light.  Verses 15-16 stand out to me as they say, "Yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.  And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage" (italics added).  I believe that the Lord desires that we be patient while the enabling powers of the Atonement are working in our lives.  The Atonement and patience walk hand in hand.

Isaiah 55:8 can help us to keep our perspective if it feels difficult to be patient.  We learn, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neighter are your ways my ways, saith the Lord."

Blessings of the Atonement's enabling power

The scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, are filled with examples of the blessings people received through the enabling power of the Atonement.  These blessings are still available to us today.  Elder Bednar says that through faith in the atonement and the grace of the Lord, "individuals...receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means."  I testify that these words are true.

In an additional journal entry after my mission, I recorded, "I'm reflecting more and I truly believe that my mission experience was all about learning of the Atonement.  I didn't realize that I was learning about the Atonement because God was teaching me in personal ways.  I didn't learn from books, but I did learn from daily experience that the Atonement has enabling powers.  Only God and the powers of the Atonement could have given me the strength to go on each day when I felt tired.  The enabling power of the Atonement helped me to almost always have a smile on my face.  The enabling power of the Atonement helped me keep going when I got sick.  Those are example of how the Atonement applied in my life...I'm grateful that my lessons on the Atonement were personalized for me by God.  I'm grateful that I could learn about the Atonement through real experiences."

Brothers and sisters, I would like to share with you why I have talked about the Atonement today.  The first chapter of Preach My Gospel explains, "As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase" (page 2).  If we truly understand the Atonement, we will want to share the gospel with others.  I pray that each of us might let our understanding and appreciation for the Atonement grow within us.  If we let this happen, a desire can form to share the gospel.  Sometimes this desire can be small, that's how it started for me, and I think that is okay.  Alma 32:27 invites us to let this desire work in us, and we are promised that the desire will grow.  We learn in the Doctrine and Covenants that the only requirement to serve God by saving souls is to have a desire to do it. 

I testify that feeling the Atonement in our lives is the key for sparking a desire in us to share the gospel.

Testimony...In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.