Agency and the Atonement RS Lesson

It was my turn to teach Relief Society again. So, here's my lesson:

My daughter, Brianna, loves to do grown-up things (i.e., brush teeth, talk on the phone, empty the dishwasher, etc.) She has a special affinity for doors. She loves to close doors. I think it’s the appeal of being such a tiny person moving such a BIG thing.
One day, Brianna kept going into the dark bathroom, and shutting herself in, then crying and crying and crying, until someone would come to her rescue. As I was rescuing her for the umpteenth time, I realized that little toddlers aren’t the only ones who try something or do something -- thinking it will be fun, or a great adventure, or even funny -- only to realize that they’ve gotten themselves into a situation that’s way over their head, and a bit scary, and that they cannot get out of it without help. We all do it at one time or another.

Could I, as a parent, out of concern for my daughter’s welfare, remove all doors from her life? Would that be practical? Would that even be helpful to her?

Doors serve many purposes. What are some of the purposes that doors can serve?

Brianna’s going to encounter many doors in her life. Some will be heavy, some will be harder to open or re-open. What could I do, as a kind and loving parent, to help her with the doors she will encounter?
Help her learn the consequences of different doors.
Give her the skills/tools she needs to open closed doors (which would include the key).
Come to her aid when she cries for help.

For our lesson’s purposes, the doors that we will encounter in our lives will represent opportunities to exercise our agency.

(2 Nephi 2:27)
Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

Who has given us “all things . . . which are expedient”? Expedient means: tending to promote some proposed or desired object; fit or suitable for the purpose.

(Moses 1:39)
What is the Lord’s goal/object/purpose? For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

What expedient things have we been given? Savior, Atonement, Priesthood, Covenants, Church, Temple, Gospel, Scriptures, Prophets, Family, . . . .

What are our choices from this verse (2 Ne. 2:27)?

What is Satan’s goal? that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
Satan wants us to get trapped behind the door, so that we can be captive and miserable.

It seems so very black and white. Why on Earth would any of us choose captivity and death and misery according to the power of the devil?

It is not usually packaged that way, is it?

Let’s turn to Alma, chapter 36 to read about Alma the Younger, who, at this point, has been choosing door number 2. Whatever the packaging looked like for Alma, he was going about trying to destroy the Church of God, and intentionally leading people away from Christ. When we catch up with him, in verse 12, he has been stopped by an angel, and told, “If thou wilt be destroyed of thyself, seek no more to destroy the church of God.” (Alma 36:11)
When Alma hears this, “[he] was struck with such great fear and amazement lest perhaps [he] should be destroyed, that [he] fell to the earth. . . .” (Alma 36:11)

Alma 36:12-15
12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.

Satan has Alma securely captive behind a closed door, and certainly miserable.

Howard W. Hunter, “The Golden Thread of Choice,” Ensign, Nov 1989, 17
"Given the freedom to choose, we may, in fact, make wrong choices, bad choices, hurtful choices. And sometimes we do just that, but that is where the mission and mercy of Jesus Christ comes into full force and glory. He has taken upon himself the burden of all the world’s risk. He has provided a mediating atonement for the wrong choices we make. He is our advocate with the Father and has paid, in advance, for the faults and foolishness we often see in the exercise of our freedom. We must accept his gift, repent of those mistakes, and follow his commandments in order to take full advantage of this redemption. The offer is always there; the way is always open. We can always, even in our darkest hour and most disastrous errors, look to the Son of God and live."

So, how do we accept Christ’s gift?

Alma 36:17
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

As a kind and loving parent, Alma the Elder had given his son the key to the closed door. He gave him a foundation on which his faith in Christ could grow and he provided hope to him through the Atonement of Christ.

Let’s continue our reading in Alma 36, verses 18-21

18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
(Alma 36:18 - 21)

The same key that freed Alma is available to each of us: The Atonement of Jesus Christ. It is entirely up to us whether or not to accept that gift, and use that key.

2 Ne. 9:46
Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful guilt in perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God Almighty—but I know my guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath obtained me, that I am a prey to his awful misery. (2 Nephi 9:46)

Howard W. Hunter, “The Golden Thread of Choice,” Ensign, Nov 1989, 17
"To fully understand this gift of agency and its inestimable worth, it is imperative that we understand that God’s chief way of acting is by persuasion and patience and long-suffering, not by coercion and stark confrontation. He acts by gentle solicitation and by sweet enticement. He always acts with unfailing respect for the freedom and independence that we possess. He wants to help us and pleads for the chance to assist us, but he will not do so in violation of our agency. He loves us too much to do that, and doing so would run counter to his divine character."

What does our Heavenly Father, as a kind and loving parent, do for each of us to help us with the doors that we each will face?
How can we apply that as we deal with loved ones?


How is it possible that Alma’s pain and torment were so completely transformed into joy?

D&C 19:16-19
16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

Boyd K. Packer, “The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness,” Ensign, Nov 1995, 18
"So many live with accusing guilt when relief is ever at hand. So many are like the immigrant woman who skimped and saved and deprived herself until, by selling all of her possessions, she bought a steerage-class ticket to America.
"She rationed out the meager provisions she was able to bring with her. Even so, they were gone early in the voyage. When others went for their meals, she stayed below deck—determined to suffer through it. Finally, on the last day, she must, she thought, afford one meal to give her strength for the journey yet ahead. When she asked what the meal would cost, she was told that all of the meals had been included in the price of her ticket."

What are some reasons that people might choose to remain locked behind a door, rather than to use the key?

Closing:
Howard W. Hunter, “The Golden Thread of Choice,” Ensign, Nov 1989, 17
"To countermand and ultimately forbid our choices was Satan’s way, not God’s, and the Father of us all simply never will do that. He will, however, stand by us forever to help us see the right path, find the right choice, respond to the true voice, and feel the influence of his undeniable Spirit. His gentle, peaceful, powerful persuasion to do right and find joy will be with us 'so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved.'” (Moro. 7:36.)

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
(Revelation 3:20)

The key to all doors = faith in Christ and acceptance of his Atoning sacrifice for us individually.