We finished this the other night. We are looking forward to the next book, Parrot in the pepper tree. If we can get a copy.

Costco whim purchase. It is a compilation of letters received by Tim Russert after he wrote a book about his dad. He wrote chapter headings, but most of the text is stories from readers about their fathers.
I really enjoyed the book.

Strawberry gazpacho.
Unbelievably good.

When I picked up this book, I thought I knew the doctrine of the Atonement. And indeed, there were many things written that I already knew. Some things I had not considered. As I read I found that I understood some points better, but more importantly, I felt more gratitude and reverence. And a better understanding, or feeling, of God’s love for me.
I look forward to reading this more deeply, and coming to a better knowledge and understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

“The Atonement is, in fact, the most powerful motivational force in the world to be good from day to day and, when necessary, to repent when we have fallen short.”
“He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him.”
Paul taught that “the blood of Christ” purges or turns our “conscience from dead works to serve the living God” As we expand our knowledge of the Atonement and increase ourlove for the Savior and the cause for which he suffered, our hearts begin to soften and more readily yield to the motivational powers of his sacrifice. We find new reservoirs of commitment to serve the living God. Eventually there emerges a personal burning resolve that his suffering shall not have been in vain.

The Fall of Adam brought a few things along with it. It introduced physical death into the world. Adam was cast out of God’s presence and that became a spiritual death. The Atonement rectifies these two deaths by providing a resurrection to overcome death and also brings each person into God’s presence again at the end of this life, overcoming that spiritual death.
Being born into this world we are surrounded by choices and there is the chance that we choose to break God’s commandments. In fact, it is said in the scriptures that all (except Jesus) have sinned and come short of the glory of God. These are sins, not of Adam’s choice, but of our own. Adam is not responsible for my sins. The Atonement also gives us hope to overcome our own personal sins, if we repent.
Because of the Fall Adam lost immortality, God’s immediate presence, innocence.
The Atonement rectifies death by resurrection, restoring immortality and restores us to God’s presence. We lost innocence, but gained knowledge and ability to choose and the ability to have family, to have children. If we repent we can regain being clean.

What is the Atonement? The suffering, power and love manifested by the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane, the cross and the tomb.
Three principal purposes of the Atonement include 1. restoring that which was lost by the Fall of Adam. Namely, the resurrection to overcome death and restoring all men to the presence of God, overcoming the separation caused by the Fall. 2. Provide the possibility of repentance. With the cleansing power of the Atonement, we can be cleansed from our sins. 3. Exaltation. The Atonement provides us with the power to not only be cleansed from sin, but to become better and better, to lift us above our situations. To become one with the Savior as he prayed for those who believed him that “they all might be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee. “

It has been said about the atonement that “nothing in the entire plan of salvation compares in any way in importance with that most transcendent of all events, the atoning sacrifice of our Lord. It is the most important single thing that has ever occurred in the entire history of created things… The Savior’s life can be divided up into three categories, his message, his ministry and his mission.
His message did not only come from his lips. He had inspired prophets before and after his life to teach and preach his gospel. His ministry included miracles and power over nature and elements, things that he had also had given others to do, including Moses and Peter. But his mission, the atonement, was unique and could not be delegated. Only he could perform it. Understanding the atonement is important, so we know how to be saved.
Why study this atonement? The more we know of the atonement, what it covers and how it covers it, the more we know how to apply it’s balm to our lives and the lives of those around us. Further, as we study it, it can be a source of inspiration to us in our lives.

Finally p 362 “Here’s my point: usually, all we get is a glimmer. A story we read or someone we briefly met. A curiosity. A meek voice inside, whispering. It’s up to us to hammer out the rest. The rewards of pursuing it are only for those who are willing to listen attentively, only for those people who really care….Finding what we should do is one of life’s great dramas. It can be an endless process of discovery, one to be appreciated and respected for its difficulty.”

More quotes: p327 “A culinary academy is where a cook is turned into a chef. I’d talked to other people who, like Kurt, had turned to cooking after a midlife crisis. There’s something about nourishment, and nourishing others, that helps people to heal. Half the student body of most culinary schools are people in emotional transition.”
“You have to give yourself permission to enjoy the life that you have been given.