Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from Tad R. Callister’s book The Infinite Atonement.
Among its many blessings, the Atonement brings peace. It not only cleanses us, but it consoles us. I have found from practical experience that these two blessings do not always come hand in hand. …
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While serving as a priesthood leader, I became acquainted with an exceptionally good man who some years before had committed a transgression that brought him great remorse.
His suffering was prolonged and intense. My heart went out to him. In time I believed he was fully prepared to seek renewal of his temple recommend. I encouraged him in this pursuit, but he was reluctant to proceed. Even though I felt he had been forgiven, he could not seem to forgive himself.
He may have been cleansed, but he was not convinced, neither was he consoled. As a result he deferred his return to the House of the Lord.
His condition weighed on my mind. One day, while reflecting on him, my mind was forcibly struck with this impression: “Brother ________ has paid the uttermost farthing.” A short time later the same impression returned with equal force.
I shared the experience with this good brother and soon thereafter he found sufficient peace to renew his temple covenants.
I have subsequently wondered—why did that impression come to me rather than the man himself? Perhaps his inability to forgive himself proved an impenetrable barrier to spiritual promptings. Perhaps he would have dismissed or rationalized away as self-generated any such impression if it had come directly to him.
Maybe the Lord, in his loving kindness, knew the only way to reach him was by a message through an outside source, namely, his priesthood leader, which would be impossible to dismiss as his own wishful thinking. In any event, peace, that peace that heals and comforts and consoles the wounded soul, eventually found its place in another human heart.
The people of King Benjamin struggled for that peaceful, consoling power. They saw “themselves in their own carnal state” and felt “even less than the dust of the earth.” In unanimity they pleaded, “O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins.”
Then came the divine response: “The Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ” (Mosiah 4:2–3).
The Atonement did not just cleanse them, but it also consoled them. …
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The Lord anxiously wants us to be at peace. It is one of the gifts of his Atonement. Like any loving father, he longs to shower upon us those gifts that will accrue to our spiritual well-being.
Luke records the account of the woman who suffered from “an issue of blood” for 12 years (Luke 8:43). He tells us that she came up behind the Savior, touched the hem of his garment, and was instantly healed.
How did she feel? Certainly there was elation at her instantaneous recovery, but one must wonder if there were not some lingering twinge of guilt that her deed had been done in secret. Was there something spiritually incongruent about the act? Did she believe in the Savior’s healing powers but feel unworthy to personally make of him the desired request?
Whatever the cause for her covert conduct, no sooner had the act occurred than the Savior inquired, “Who touched me?” (Luke 8:45). Peter was amazed. Why should it matter? They were in the midst of a throng; many had pressed about him—but the Savior’s spirit had been aroused by one whose touch had not been prompted by chance. With this touch, he knew power had gone out from him.
The woman, unable to hide, fell before him trembling and confessed what she had done. Her mortal body was rejuvenated, but her spiritual and emotional tranquility had been left in want. She had peace of body, but not peace of mind.
Now the Lord would give her both: “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace” (Luke 8:48; emphasis added). Oh, what balm those few words must have been to her ailing spirit! The sensitive, tender soul of the Savior knew that this good woman of faith had been only partially healed.
Neither the healing of the body nor the healing of the spirit is complete without peace of mind. That is why the Savior told the man sick of palsy, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2). It was the same message given to Thomas Marsh after his sins had likewise been forgiven: “Let thy heart be of good cheer” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:4). To Lyman Sherman, the Lord promised, “Your sins are forgiven you” (Doctrine and Covenants 108:1). That was the cleansing part. Then came the words of consolation: “Therefore, let your soul be at rest concerning your spiritual standing” (Doctrine and Covenants 108:2).
Similar words of comfort were given to the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. First came the cleansing: “You are clean before me.” Then came the consoling assurance that all was right: “Therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:5).
In each instance the Lord placed a capstone on his healings—peace of mind. During the last supper the Lord put it all in perspective: “In me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33; see also Doctrine and Covenants 78:18).
One marvels how on this occasion the Lord could invite “good cheer” when, seemingly, only dark clouds loomed ahead. Gethsemane was imminent. Judas’ betrayal was on the horizon. Peter’s denial was forthcoming. There was the mockery of a pseudo-trial, the haunting chant of those whom he had come to save—“Crucify him, crucify him!”—and finally, Calvary itself. All this lay ahead, and yet he could say, “Be of good cheer.”
Why? Because he would overcome the world; he would descend beneath it all. He would make it possible for every person of every age to overcome every obstacle, every weakness, every sin, and every tinge of guilt. Because of the Savior’s sacrifice, Alma’s experience may be relived by each of us: “I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy . . . and I did find peace to my soul” (Alma 38:8).
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