Sunday Soliloquy - My Redeemer Lives

My Sunday Soliloquy also happens to be a book review. "My Redeemer Lives" is a beautiful nonfiction book which pairs inspirational artwork with inspired text to create a testimony of the life, and death, of the Lord Jesus Christ. I sat down and read it this evening and found it to be the perfect way to bring my Sabbath to a close.

Kathryn B. Jenkins composed the text and tell us the story of the Atonement, Crucifixion, and subsequent Resurrection of Jesus Christ. She implements scripture and the words of James E. Talmage, as well as quotes from other noted scriptorians and gospel scholars, to create a read that invites the Spirit, speaks to Christ's divinity, and provides an intellectual look into the sacrifice which allows all of us to return to our Heavenly Father's presence. The illustrations are masterful, the words are carefully chosen, the packaging is beautiful, and the book is suitable for gift-giving and to hold a place of honor on an end table or book shelf in any home.

However, most meaningful to me as I come to the end of the book are the feelings I have about the Atonement of the Savior. I often go from day to day, doing my tasks and checking them off my list, without taking the time to stop and remember all that has been done for me to ensure that I know the path back to my Heavenly Father. There was a war fought in Heaven that I might come here in the first place. There was a plan created and set in motion for me to allow me to learn the gospel while I'm here and to obtain the teachings I would need to help me live the happiest, most fulfilling, most God-like life I could. A sacrifice of such magnitude I can't even begin to fathom it was made, for me, so I could repent of my mistakes and try again. Every need in my life has been seen to by a loving Heavenly Father, and yet He does not force me to partake of anything that has been prepared for me - He invites, and then He leaves it to me to decide. He has done this for me, and He has done it for every soul upon this earth.

This Sunday night, I am so grateful for the Atonement. I may never understand it all, but of one thing I'm absolutely sure - only the most sincere, honest, and true love could have brought such a thing about, and I am so grateful to have an Eternal Father, and a most precious Elder Brother, who were willing to do that for me, for all of us.