An Insightful Post about the Atonement and Our Relationships

[Anonymous]

By Common Consent just posted something from a guest author called “The Atonement and Human Reconciliation” that is deeply profound.

I believe in the principle that the kingdom of God really is within each of us – and that, therefore, Zion is supposed to be among us. The post to which I am providing a link addresses the issue of being reconciled to those who have hurt us in very real, very difficult ways – and I recommend it to everyone here.

Please read it, then post any excerpts that strike you particularly and share your thoughts about what he says.

http://bycommonconsent.com/2012/01/09/the-atonement-and-human-reconciliation/

[Thanks, Roy, for pointing out the broken link. It’s fixed now.]

[Anonymous]

Thanks for posting this, Ray. It was very poignant.

What strikes me is that there is a real level of peace and relief that is felt when reconciliation can occur. The interesting thing is it can be brought on in different ways or circumstances.

But I believe that is what the Atonement is about, and I don’t often think about it in terms of reconciliation to others…but surely, that is the same feeling of relief and forgiveness. In fact, I find that very real to be able to experience that with people around us here, so that we might hope for that in some future period with God.

That was a great story, and very real to me. thanks.

[Anonymous]

Quote:

I would, just like my own precious toddler, fall into him, hug him tightly, and then weep. I wouldn’t have any reaction but longing, hugging and crying, discovering again the Dad-shaped hole that he has left behind, that has never been filled.

I am imagining the patriarchal chain in this fashion, as a chain of love. Despite how old we are or how disillusioned we become of the heroes we made our parents out to be, we can still love them and honor our connection to them. That same connection that (metaphorically) ties us all the way back to Divinity. Beautiful!

[Anonymous]

Quote:

Bad actions are easy to identify. Bad people much harder. I’ll leave the latter to God…..

This story made me cry for some reason…great blog. Thank you for sharing

[Anonymous]

This story reminds me of the promise that is part of the temple endowment that we will be “protected from the sins of your generation.”

It is quite obvious that people are sometimes overwhelmingly buffeted by painful experiences that narrow the range of choices they have. Examples include rape, incest, physical illness, mental and emotional illness poverty, lousy childhood, or on a macro level wars, natural disasters , illnesses, pestilences,and the like. Lucifer is certainly running rough shod over billions of people in the world.

In the short term often we can only try to make reasonable choices so we minimize the collateral damage, and wait till we can more fully address the issue, as this story illustrates.

Ultimately I believe, this part of the Atonement is the only thing that makes the pain and anguish of mortality justifiable.

[Author]

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