Divine Harmony through the Atonement Talk by Laura Lane
On June 9th, 1842, just three months after Relief Society had been formed in Nauvoo, prior to the building of the Nauvoo temple, The Prophet Joseph Smith came to address the sisters. At that time, as the Relief Society was growing so very quickly, it had been recommended that the new sisters had to be invited and presented on good report by two other sisters. And because of this ruling a certain Sister Mahala Overton had previously been denied membership.
The Prophet spoke to the sisters and apologized to Sister Overton. He then spoke to the sisters about the topic of mercy saying, “Supposing that Jesus Christ and angels should object to us on frivolous things, what would become of us? We must be merciful and overlook small things.
It grieves me that there is no fuller fellowship— if one member suffers all feel it— by union of feeling we obtain pow’r with God. Christ said he came to call sinners to repentance and save them. Christ was condemn’d by the righteous Jews because he took sinners into his society, he took them <up>on the principle that they repented of their sins.
Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand and watch over them with tenderness. When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what pow’r it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind.
God does not look on sin with allowance, but when men have sin’d there must be allowance made for them. All the religious world is boasting of righteousness— tis the doctrine of the devil to retard the human mind and retard our progress, by filling us with self righteousness— The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more are we dispos’d to look with compassion on perishing souls— to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our back.
If you would have God have mercy on you, have mercy on one another.”1
That mercy is at the heart of the Atonement.
There are two ideas I would like to share with you today The Power of the Atonement and Divine Harmony – that union of feeling that the Prophet mentioned.
President Boyd K. Packer of the Council of the Twelve beautifully explains the Atonement with the following parable. The Story of the Debtor and the Creditor. 2
There’s a man who borrows a sum of money from a creditor with an agreement to pay it back when required.
One day the creditor demands his money, and the debtor doesn’t have it.
If he doesn’t pay up, he will be put in jail.
The debtor begs for mercy but the creditor cries that if he gives him mercy, he won’t have justice.
They are at an impasse, until a mediator steps in and offers to pay the debt, giving the debtor mercy, and the creditor justice.
The debtor represents all who have the sinned. All those things that come with a price but yet we cannot ever truly repay the errors of our ways: the lies that cannot be taken back, the gossip and harm it causes, the malice and hurtful words, the harm we cause to others and ourselves, the anxiety and fear, neglect and abuse, sadness and loneliness, broken promises and covenants.
The creditor represents those who are harmed, who cry out for justice. Whether or not they receive justice in a court of law. An earthly court of law can never fix the emotional and spiritual wounds that are afflicted.
Only the Saviour can step in as mediator to provide mercy to the Debtor and justice and healing to the Creditor. He in essence provides healing to both. The Saviour understands completely that the Debtor is only in the position he is in because he is broken and wounded himself. The debtor needs compassion as much as the creditor – the man he has wounded.
That was the lesson Joseph Smith was teaching.
“Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand and watch over them with tenderness.”3
Mercy!
To the creditor – to the man or woman who has been harmed. When someone who has wronged us, and we are crying out for justice, someone owes us a debt and we are demanding to be paid. It is then that the Savior steps in.
He mediates between us and says, “I see your pain. I know your pain I feel your pain. I will make it right. I will repay you for all you have lost.”
He sees the lies that were told – He knows the truth. He knows the gossip that was told and harm it caused you: the malice and hurtful words, the harm caused to others, the wounded spirits, the anxiety and fear, neglect and abuse, sadness and loneliness, broken promises and covenants. He has felt all of it.
He loves and embraces you and will heal your wounds if you will let him. He will share your burdens. He cried your tears in the garden of Gethsemane. He will kneel beside you as you cry to the Father, and he will stand between you and persecutor.
The beauty of the Atonement is that it helps everyone of us become AT ONE with GOD.
It creates a divine harmony.
I return again to the quote by the Prophet Joseph Smith, “by union of feeling we obtain pow’r with God … When persons manifest the least kindness and love to me, O what pow’r it has over my mind … The nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more are we dispos’d to look with compassion on perishing souls— to take them upon our shoulders and cast their sins behind our back.” 4
I would invite you to consider what that would look like in your life if heart, mind, and soul were to become more in line with the compassion and mercy the Saviour has for each one of us?
That is Divine Harmony.
Harmony comes from the Latin word Harmonia meaning joining or to fit together. How can we fit or knit together with our Heavenly Father? Harmony can also represent the combining of notes or chords to create beautiful music.
When I consider who God is, my first response is God is loving, compassionate, and merciful. If there was one word to summarize the vibration (Music is a vibration) that represents Him, it would have to be Love – a Christlike love.
So, if I want to have Divine Harmony, I will need to have Love as my primary vibration. The other notes I can weave into that harmony are Peace and Gratitude. These are notes I will need to sing or play on a daily basis. Not just once but everyday as much as I can. Just like a musician if I hit a wrong note, if I go off key, I can stop, pause, check what notes I should be playing and try again.
There are times when we get distracted, angry, frustrated and things just go wrong or at least not as planned and we are no longer in harmony. Once we realize where we are, we can course correct. The Saviour’s Atonement gives us that opportunity. Every moment is an opportunity to let go of the past moment and refocus on love, peace and gratitude once again.
Our goal then becomes to raise our vibration to that of love and gratitude, to send the energy of love and gratitude to others and to our Heavenly Father so that it will transform us, so we can become more like God.
My invitation to you is to consider how would your life look differently on a daily basis if your goal was to live each day by accepting the Saviour’s Atonement in your life and live in Harmony with God?
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Notes:
- Smith, J, “Minutes and Discourse: 9 June 1842 full transcript” The Joseph Smith Papers, (June 2023). ttps://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/minutes-and-discourse-9-june-1842/2#full-transcript
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, “Chapter 12: The Atonement” Gospel Principles, (June 2023) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-12-the-atonement?lang=eng
- Smith, “Minutes and Discourse”.
- Smith, “Minutes and Discourse”.