Roller Coasters and The Wasted Atonement Pt. 2

First, a story:

Last summer, my boys and I went on a different kind of Father’s & Son’s outing, and ended up at Magic Mountain. The place was PACKED, and it looked like we were going to spend our entire day at the park standing in lines of up to two hours for a single ride.

Pish posh, I said to myself, and took the boys to a little office near the front gate. I gave the people money, and in exchange they gave us a special gadget that looked like a Tamagotchi, and three green wristbands. Yes, it was expensive.

Newly equipped, we went back into the park and conquered. We went on so many roller coasters that my boys were begging for mercy. Here’s how it worked: With the device, we could make ride reservations to obliterate the wait, and we usually walked right on the ride – bypassing hundreds of clearly irritated line-shufflers.

But wait, it gets better. Not only could we jump the queue, we could stay on the ride. That’s right – we would go for a round on the roller coaster, and as we were pulling back into the loading zone, we would show the operators our green wristbands, and they would let us stay in our seats to ride again. (Much to the chagrin of the people who thought they would be taking our seats.) At times we almost felt a little bit guilty, but I reminded myself that I had been willing to pay a price that others were not.

It was awesome, because when you go to a place like Six Flags, you want to get on a ride, and stay on a ride. Granted, some people would not want to stay on a ride for multiple cycles, and they would choose to get off. Not us. Because on the ride is where the good stuff happens.

It was exhilarating, scary, full of ups and downs, and unexpected twists and turns. Just like we were counting on.

Now hold on to that thought, while I change subject so fast you might get whiplash…

 

We all know the fourth Article of Faith, right?  Right?

“We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for theremission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Link)

Those are the first steps, that many of us see as a sort of checklist.

Here’s the problem: It is not a checklist!  A checklist mentality gives us a sense that it is over and done with. Some think that after checking off these four, the only thing left to do is to “endure to the end.” Not true!

I believe that the first four principles are much more than a checklist. I think they represent a cycle. A cycle that continues until we die – every day, every week of our lives until we are called home. I also believe that “Enduring to the end” refers to our ability to stay in that cycle.

Why? Because we are NEVER finished with those four things here in mortality. We are continually called on to…

1) Strengthen our faith (Mor 7:38)

2) Repent for our sins (Hel 7:17)

3) Be baptized for the remission of sins (John 3:5)

4) Receive the Git of the Holy Ghost.  (D&C 19:31)

Allow me to adjust the labels, and add some clarifications…

Every day we need to…

1) Strengthen our faith 

2) Repent of our sins

Every week we need to…

3) Partake of the sacrament (D&C 59:9)

“Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are commanded to partake of the sacrament each week.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks)

4) Always have the Holy Ghost with us. (D&C 20:77)

“By participating weekly and appropriately in the ordinance of the sacrament we qualify for the promise that we will “always have his Spirit to be with us.” Elder Dallin H. Oaks

 

Right about now you should be asking yourself, “What happened to the roller coasters, and what does this have to do with wasting the Atonement?”

Great questions.

Just like our visit to Magic Mountain, our goal should be to stay on the ride – or stay in the cycle as long as we possibly can. Because that is where the good stuff happens.

Why? Because when we leave the cycle, the Atonement becomes of no use to us, until we get back in. When we are outside the cycle of the first principles, we have no claim on the Atonement, and the grand miracle of the Savior’s suffering is wasted on us.

How can this be? It really is intuitive if you give it some thought:

1) If I do not have faith in the Savior, I will not do those things that lead me to partake of the Atonement.

2) If I do not repent, instead of the Atonement paying for my sins, I must suffer for this things myself. (D&C 16:17)

3) If I do not partake of the sacrament weekly, I am not only unclean, I am disobedient. “For they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God.” (Alma 40:26)

And here is the real key: Why am I unclean if I don’t partake of the Sacrament? Because even if I exercise great faith, I sincerely repent, and Christ might even be willing to forgive me, it is not just Faith, Repentance or Baptism that purifies me. They put me in the position to be purified, but more must happen.

The scriptures are full of references to the two things that cleanse us: The blood of Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Our sins are forgiven through the beauty of the Atonement, but the blood of Christ and the Holy Ghost work together to purify us from the stains that resulted from our sins. I do not know exactly how that relationship works, but it does. That is one of the Holy Ghost’s particular assignments. He purifies and sanctifies us. That is the “Baptism of Fire” we receive after our baptism of water.

Here is some scriptural support:

“For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.” (3 Nephi 31:17)

“And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; (Moroni 6:4)

“Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.” (3 Nephi 27:20)

Two brief apostolic quotes, and I will finally get to the main point:

In speaking of the sacrament, Elder Oaks said this, “Out of the seemingly small act of consciously and reverently renewing our baptismal covenants comes a renewal of the blessings of baptism by water and by the Spirit, that we may always have his Spirit to be with us. In this way all of us will be guided, and in this way all of us can be cleansed.”

In a different talk, he also said, “How grateful we are that the Lord has provided a process for each baptized member of His Church to be periodically cleansed from the soil of sin. The sacrament is an essential part of that process.” (link)

Here is the main point:

If I do not partake of the sacrament on a regular basis, I am not entitled to the companionship of the Holy Ghost, nor His cleansing power.

Let me phrase it differently:

If I do not attend sacrament meeting, and partake of the sacrament, I have no claim on the Atonement, and Christ’s suffering for me is wasted.

And one more:

It is inevitable that I will become unclean through sin, but I must remain unclean and lose all chance of exaltation unless I participate in the ordinances of the gospel.

This should elicit some wide eyes to those of us actively pursuing the gospel, but it should also be a wake-up call to those who have let alternate voices convince them that they can be cleansed by the blood of Christ and the Holy Ghost without actually doing it the way the Lord himself has outlined: Participating in the ordinances of baptism, confirmation and the sacrament. There is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (Eph 4:5)

The following scenario is very real: I can exercise what I deem to be faith, I can repent, Christ may even be willing to forgive me and take my sins upon Him – but I am never sanctified, never made clean, because I don’t complete the cycle – because I am unwilling to go to church and partake of the sacrament.

Here is the hard truth: Believing in Jesus does not sanctify me. Repenting of my sins does not sanctify me. Baptism does not sanctify me. Even receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost does not sanctify me for very long. Why? Because the cycle continues. I will sin again, and become unclean yet again. It is inevitable, expected, and provided for.

I find it personally tragic because there are people I care about who have convinced themselves that it is enough to “be a good person, and live a charitable life.” I have had sincere people tell me that they have a “side-deal worked out with the Lord” where they do not need to participate in the ordinances, and they feel reassured that “everything will work out OK.” This is a scary self-deception, and runs counter to the very teachings of the Savior. Without the ordinances of the Gospel, there is no sanctification, no matter what our reasons, or how hard we justify staying away from them.

It does not matter if someone offended me, or I don’t like my ward, or my bishop, or there is a point of doctrine or a policy that I disagree with. This process was put in place before the very foundation of the world! My opinion on the matter is irrelevant.

My friends. We need to stay in the cycle of the first principles and ordinances., and stay there as long as we can –  hopefully for the rest of our lives. There will be people that tell us the ride is dumb, flawed, painful, a waste of time, or even unnecessary. They are wrong. The people most likely to encourage you to get out are the people who already got out, for whatever reason. But beware, those people are not entitled to the companionship of the Holy Ghost, or the inspiration that comes with it. I don’t know what voices they are listening to, but I can assure you it is not the Hoy Ghost. That is not how it works –  even at the most fundamental doctrinal levels.

If we find ourselves on the outside with the masses, we need to hurry and get back in as soon as we can, because when we are outside of the cycle, we lose our claim on the Atonement. We need to stay in our seats, stay on the ride, stay the course, and stay in the boat. Take your pick of metaphor.

Simply put: We gotta go to church. There is no salvation outside.

As Peter famously asked, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” (link) The answer? There is no one else. There is no place else.

Where shall we go? We need to go where he asks us to go: To sacrament meeting, to finish the cycle, to start it again, and to revel in the blessings that come from the process – now and eternally.

Here is a link to last week’s post: “The Wasted Atonement, Pt. 1“