Believing Christ

Our Relief Society recently finished ready Believing Christ by Stephen R. Robinson for our book club. It was an amazing book, I would recommend it to anyone. The book talks about the "good news" of the Gospel. It gave me a really different perspective about the Atonement than I had ever thought about. We all understand that the gospel requires that we be perfect to return to live with our Heavenly Father. The good news of the gospel is that a way has been provided by Jesus Christ that we can become perfect and return to live with Heavenly Father. The author talked about how we often think that we must perfect ourselves and than turn to the Savior, but it doesn't work like that. I think there are definitely times that I find myself doing this in my life. The problem is that when we try to perfect ourselves and than turn to the Lord we are denying ourselves the blessings of the Atonement. We are asked to do all that we can do and than through the grace of God, Christ will step in and make up whatever the difference is between our efforts and the perfection required by Heavenly Father. So in essence "the good news of the gospel is good news to me not because it promises that other people who are better than I am can be saved, but because it promises that I can be saved- wretched, inadequate, and imperfect me." This gives me hope that no matter what I'm doing as long as I'm doing the best that I am able I have a wonderful Savior who can make up the difference for any of my shortcomings. It makes me only want to do better.