"If our lives and our faith are centered on Jesus Christ
and his restored Gospel, nothing can go permanently wrong"
Fun Fact: In 1939, he attended law school and graduated third of his class. Interestingly, he served as president of the Pasadena Stake in California, which is where I am from.
History: Shortly before he was called to be the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1994, he over saw the planning and construction of BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. He also dedicated the Orlando Florida Temple and presided over the creation of the Church's 2000th stake which was located in Mexico City. There were also interesting stories about his youth. One that stood out to me in particular was that Howard had extreme compassion thus it also extended to animals. There were some neighbor boys who were tormenting a kitten, soon enough came and rescued the kitten although it was lying there almost dead. Also as a teenager, he learned to play many instruments and formed his own music group, Hunter's Croonaders and it was pretty successful because they were able to provide music on a cruise ship that was headed to Asia.
The Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ Chapter 6
President Hunter and his wife's first child was diagnosed with anemia, he had to undergo surgery and discovered he had a severe intestinal problem that was causing him to lose blood and although he received surgery, there wasn't anything else the doctors could do and he passed away, but they were firm in their beliefs about the atonement. "Without the atoning sacrifice, temporal death would be no resurrection and no purpose in our spiritual lives. there would be no hope of eternal life". Because of the sacrifice the savior made for us and because of our own repentance and obedience to the commandments, we can return to our Heavenly Father's presence. The Atonement was a supreme act of love by our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Our Father in Heaven was so merciful, he sent his only begotten son to atone for our sins. It's important to remember that Jesus Christ suffered and was in excruciating pain, yet we shouldn't forget the pain Heavenly Father felt sending his own son to suffer. It was in fact a righteous purpose. The Savior took upon Himself all of our sins, infirmities, grief, and pain. We may, in fact make wrong choices, but that is where the mission and mercy of Jesus Christ comes into full force and glory. We must accept his gift, repent of those mistakes, and follow his commandments in order to take full advantage of this redemption. I think it was interesting that this sermon was centered around Easter. I don't think I have ever really thought about how memeorable that day is because our Savior redeemed us and it is why we are able to experience joy and happiness due to his atonement. We are able to gain eternal salvation as we perservere and continue down the path of righteousness. From this day on I will take that Holiday more seriously because of our Savior, we are here on this earth proving our faithfulness and it is such a blessing to know we can earn eternal happiness.
The Scriptures- The Most Profitable of All Study
As I was pondering on this talk, I noticed how often he used scripture references to get his point across. Through scripture study we can engage more profoundly in the teachings and it is also a way for you to feel the spirit by receiving a confirmation from the Holy Ghost about the truth. I think people can tell you about their experiences and tell you what is wrong or right, but it is not until you learn from it and obtain that confirmation yourself and through scripture study, you are able to obtain answers to your most personal questions. President Hunter assures that there has never been another dispensation where the scriptures are so readily available to us. How we choose to use up our time is really the question here because the resources are there, we simply have to be diligent in the works. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." I know for me, reading is a big issue. I would rather take less time watching a movie than taking more time to read the same thing. But, I have realized that personal revelation takes time because we must prove our faithfulness over and over again. When I take the time to read a chapter verse by verse and interpret it through my own perspective, I obtain answers beyond my comprehension. Although I have read the Book of Mormon, it is also important to read other scripture like the Doctrine and Covenants, Bible, and Pearl of Great Price. One last important statement President Hunter stated was, "Did you realize that by reading the Doctrine and Covenants you can hear the voice of the Lord through scripture? That voice of enlightenment will usually come into your mind as "thoughts" and into your heart as feelings". Because of that statement I will focus on those two aspects as I read more in depth.
