How Jesus Christ has Blessed My Life

Last year our bishop decided to have an entire year where the sacrament meeting talks were about Christ. It was a really great idea. At the end of the year he asked several people to share their testimonies of what Christ means to them. I didn't get asked to speak, but I thought I would share my thoughts here.

Jesus Christ has blessed my life because by giving me the Atonement he made it so that I can repent and have a change of heart. One of the reasons it is so hard to repent is because most of the time when I sin it is because there is a flaw in my character that needs to change. So when I sin I often feel horrible not just because I did something wrong but because I have a weakness that I give in to again and again. I am grateful to be able to receive forgiveness for my sins, and even more grateful that Christ goes beyond providing forgiveness and actually helps me to have a change of heart if I am willing to let him in. As I heard recently in a sacrament meeting talk, the atonement is not just redemptive--it is rehabilitative. It is a great comfort to me that when I feel frustrated with my flaws I can turn to Christ and ask for help to overcome those flaws, and to know that it's never too late to change.

I am grateful for Jesus Christ because through him all people will be resurrected. I look forward to the joyful time when I will see Grammy, Grandma Velma, Grandma Taylor, and my niece Allison in resurrected bodies. Although I sometimes worry that I will lose Ryan, my children, or other loved ones, I am grateful for my faith in the resurrection because I have hope that even if that happened I will one day be reunited with them again. I am blessed to be sealed through the priesthood to my parents, to Ryan, and to my children and to know that we will be a family forever if we are faithful.

I am blessed to know through personal experience that Christ suffered the pains and afflictions of all men. Although I have lived a fairly comfortable life, I have still experienced emotional suffering at times. There have been a few times in my life when I have felt so troubled that I couldn't bring myself to get up. I know that for many people this is a common occurrence--fortunately, for me it hasn't happened very many times. At these times I was brought out of this depression by the reminder that Christ had experienced this pain also and that he did that willingly so that he would know how to help me. It didn't make the pain go away immediately, but knowing that Christ knew how to help me through my challenges gave me enough strength to move forward. This testimony helped me through the self-esteem issues of my pre-teen and teenage years and has been even more of a strength to me through the various challenges I have had as a mother.

Christ was willing to do this because he loved all men and wanted them to be saved. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God." Knowing that he loved me so much and felt that it was worth it to suffer an infinite atonement so that I could be saved is a powerful reminder to me that I am a person of worth. This is the most important thing that I learned from the Young Women's program as a teenager.

Knowing that he did this for all mankind reminds me that everyone has worth and deserves respect and love. Through this principle Christ has helped me to learn to forgive (although I still have a lot more learning to do in this area!). I can think of one particular time when I was angry with somebody who had hurt my feelings without realizing it. I knew that the right choice was to forgive the person, but I did not want to. I was really struggling to overcome this anger when it occurred to me to ask for help. I turned to Christ and asked for a change of heart. Instantly I felt a wave of peace rush through me. I was able to forgive the person.

This is how I know that Jesus Christ is real and that he lives. You can't prove it with science. But I have experienced his influence in my life. It was unmistakable. He is my Savior, my Counselor, my Healer, my Father, my Brother. He knows me, loves me, and understands me. I know that my Redeemer lives.