Day 152

     We can tell the steroids are starting to loose their effect, because Katie has begun eating something else other than Ramen soup, bagels and cream cheese!   Also, her mood swings are less and less.  We are glad for that!  She still has the puffy cheeks though, so we know the steroids aren't completely out of her system.  Plus, she is still feeling good and strong.  We will see if she can continue until Thursday that way. Dr. Dana said she has a 50/50 chance of making counts on Thursday.  Between now and then we will just keep taking it one day at a time.
     I am still focusing on the atonement today in my personal study.  Here are some excerpts from a talk by Elder Le Grand R. Curtis Jr. on Redemption.
    "Lehi taught, “And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall” (2 Nephi 2:26).

     The Psalmist wrote, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave” (Psalm 49:15).

     The Lord declared through Isaiah, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee” (Isaiah 44:22).

     The redemption referred to in these three scriptures, of course, is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This is the “plenteous redemption” provided by our loving God (Psalm 130:7).

     “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). President John Taylor taught that because of the Redeemer’s sacrifice, “the debt is paid, the redemption made, the covenant fulfilled, justice satisfied, the will of God done, and all power is … given into the hands of the Son of God”

     The effects of this redemption include the overcoming of physical death for all of God’s children. That is, temporal death is overcome, and all will be resurrected. Another aspect of this redemption by Christ is the victory over spiritual death. Through His suffering and death, Christ paid for the sins of all mankind on condition of individual repentance.

     Thus, if we repent, we can be forgiven of our sins, the price having been paid by our Redeemer. This is good news for all of us, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Those who have strayed significantly from the paths of righteousness desperately need this redemption, and if they fully repent, it is theirs to claim.  But those who have worked hard to live good lives also desperately need this redemption, for none can get to the presence of the Father without Christ’s help. Thus, this loving redemption allows the laws of justice and mercy to be satisfied in the lives of all who repent and follow Christ.

How great, how glorious, how complete,

Redemption’s grand design,

Where justice, love, and mercy meet

In harmony divine!

(“How Great the Wisdom and the Love,” Hymns, no. 195)

     President Boyd K. Packer taught, “There is a Redeemer, a Mediator, who stands both willing and able to appease the demands of justice and extend mercy to those who are penitent." 

     Although we can never repay the Redeemer what He paid on our behalf, the plan of redemption calls for our best efforts to fully repent and do the will of God. The Apostle Orson F. Whitney wrote:

Savior, Redeemer of my soul,

Whose mighty hand hath made me whole,

Whose wondrous pow’r hath raised me up

And filled with sweet my bitter cup!

What tongue my gratitude can tell,

O gracious God of Israel.

Never can I repay thee, Lord,

But I can love thee. Thy pure word,

Hath it not been my one delight,

My joy by day, my dream by night?

Then let my lips proclaim it still,

And all my life reflect thy will.

("Savior, Redeemer of My Soul," Hymns, no. 112)

     "Through Christ, people can and do change their lives and obtain redemption." (Ensign, Nov. 2011, 35).