The Atonement

“For some reason, we think the Atonement of Christ applies only at the end of mortal life to redemption from the Fall, from spiritual death. It is much more than that. It is an ever-present power to call upon in everyday life. When we are racked or harrowed up or tormented by guilt or burdened with grief, He can heal us. While we do not fully understand how the Atonement of Christ was made, we can experience ‘the peace of God, which passeth all understanding’” President Packer

     When you talk about the atonement you get the image of a pain and suffering in your mind. You remember the the suffer of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. The outright betrayal of Jesus by Judas The unjust judgments of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, and Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea. Then crucifixion on the cross. The phrase 'Jesus suffered for our sins' may also come to mind.
     This is all right but there is more that sometimes that gets over looked and it goes along with the phrase 'Jesus Suffered for our sins'. Not only did Jesus suffer for the sins of the world but he also suffered for the pains of the world. "Suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; ... And he [took] upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he [took] upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." Alma 7:11-12  
     I know that as we come to more fully realize the importance of the atonement in our life we will want to apply the atonement in our lives. The peace it give to one who is suffering is ... so great I don't have a word to describe it.