5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.
(Enos 1:5-8)
Long before the Savior was born, people received a remission of sins because of His Atonement. Enos’ sins were washed away, not because he believed that the Savior had paid the price for those sins, but because he believed that the Savior would pay that price during His mortal life. To me, it is a remarkable thing that the entire plan of salvation depends upon an event which didn’t actually happen until relatively late in the history of the world.
Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters (Ether 3:14).
And on the night before His birth, He testified of His mission to the prophet Nephi:
Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given (3 Nephi 1:14).
I’m grateful that the Atonement was such a certainty that people could benefit from it even before it had occurred. I’m grateful that the Savior knew He would fulfill His mission even before He actually did so. Today, I will face my own challenges and responsibilities with optimism and with confidence, knowing that, with the help of the Lord, I can accomplish all things which I need to do.
Leave a Reply