Advocate

This is what I wrote this morning for my scripture study, and Jeffrey told me to post it as a blog post. Hopefully it's helpful to someone out there. =)

An advocate is "a person who pleads for or in behalf of another" (dictionary.com). This is how I have come to know Jesus Christ in my personal experiences with His Atonement.

The scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father. One of my favorite sections of scripture is found in Doctrine and Covenants 45:

3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;
5 Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.

My friend Daniel shared these verses with me when I was going through my anxious/depressed phase of my mission. He pointed out to me that Christ wasn't saying "Father, behold the efforts of Ali. She's trying really hard, and the mistakes she made really weren't that bad. She's a really good person, and I think we should forgive her." Instead, He shifted the Father's attention to His Son. "Behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin...behold the blood of thy Son which was shed...wherefore spare this, my sister, Ali."

This meant a lot to me, because it resonated true. I didn't want to be excused from my sins, I wanted to be forgiven. So often we tell ourselves that we can be forgiven because our sins weren't really that bad. But Christ makes no claim about the severity of the sin when He intercedes. By not excusing the sin itself, He acknowledges that the sin may have been or likely was horrible.

We also often tell ourselves that we should be forgiven because we are a good person at heart. Christ makes no such claim about us.

We get ourselves into trouble when we focus on the sin (saying it was small or justifiable) or on ourselves (saying we are good) as we try to find peace. The only way to peace is through Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Jesus knows this, and that's why He Himself didn't talk about our sins or our heart as He pleaded with the Father. Instead, He talked about His Atonement. It's really the only relevant thing. The only thing that He says about us as He asks God to spare us is "spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life." When we repent, the most important thing to ask ourselves is "Do I believe in Jesus Christ? Do I believe in His Atonement?"

Let's not focus on our own merits as we seek peace, and forgiveness from our sins. Let's focus on Him who said "I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father." (D&C 110:4)