Several years ago, I witnessed something at church one Sunday that planted the seeds of an incredible learning experience for me.
I was attending church with one of the wards that met in our stake center. At the time I was a counselor to our stake president, so I was sitting on the stand to the left of the bishop, his counselors, and our stake president, who was also present and presiding at the meeting. The meeting was a fast and testimony meeting—a monthly meeting where anyone is welcome to come to the pulpit and share their testimony, bearing witness of the spiritual knowledge and understanding they have received.
After the sacrament was administered to members of the congregation, the testimony portion of the meeting began. As I recall, a few people bore their testimonies and then an older gentleman came to the pulpit and began to share his testimony. I sat there quietly listening to him with my head bowed.
At some point I became aware that the man was no longer talking and the chapel had become unusually quiet. I began to sense that something was amiss. This wasn't just a pause to gather thoughts or process emotions.
When I looked up, I saw the man begin to teeter and wobble back and forth, unsteady on his feet.
Before I could fully wrap my mind around what was happening, I saw in my periphery another man, an off-duty sheriff, rushing forward from the very back of the chapel. In what seemed like an instant, the sheriff ran the entire distance, arriving on the stand just in time to catch the man as he toppled and fell into the sheriff's arms.
First aid was administered and someone called 911. Paramedics soon arrived and took the man to the hospital, where he received the additional care he needed.
Despite the unusual commotion, things eventually settled down and church continued.
But something about this experience stayed with me. Although it was very unusual for someone to have a medical emergency during a church meeting, what struck me most about this experience was how keenly aware the sheriff had been that the man was going to need help and how quickly he had run to be there at the moment when help was needed. The sheriff was already running before I even recognized there was a problem.
Not long after this, I was thinking about what to share for a spiritual thought at the beginning of a stake presidency meeting. I turned to one of my favorite passages in the Book of Mormon and read the following words of the prophet Alma in Alma chapter 7 about Jesus Christ and His atonement:
"And he [Jesus] shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
"And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
"Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me" (Alma 7:11-13; see also Hebrews 2:18).
I loved how these verses described three different aspects of the Savior's atonement:
- First, Jesus took upon himself death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people (Resurrection of the Dead).
- Second, Jesus took upon himself the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance (Forgiveness of Sins).
- Third, Jesus took upon himself all of the pains, afflictions, temptations, sicknesses, and other infirmities of his people, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities (Succor).
At that time of my life, I had already long understood that Jesus Christ brought to pass the resurrection of the dead for all and that he took upon himself our sins so we can all be forgiven and made clean upon conditions of repentance. But I was just beginning to understand the depth and breadth of the exquisite blessings of "succor" that Christ offers us.
So I paused and thought about the word succor. I knew it meant to help, but I wondered if I could learn more about what it meant. I checked an online dictionary and this is what I found:
Image of Los Angeles County Sheriff patch courtesy of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Image of the Return of the Prodigal Son used with permission of GoodSalt
"succor [suhk-er]
"noun
"1. help; relief; aid; assistance.
"2. a person or thing that gives help, relief, aid, etc.
"verb (used with an object)
"3. to help or relieve."
Then I scrolled down the page and read the following about the origin of this word:
"Origin of succor
"1250-1300; (v.) Middle English sucuren < Old French suc(c)urre, socorre < Latin succurrere to go beneath, run to help."
Wait. What?
Run to help.
When I read those words, the image of the sheriff returned to my mind. I was awestruck. Immediately the image of the sheriff running to help became symbolic for me of the Savior—of how fully aware he is of our needs and how quickly he rushes to help us.
I felt inspired to share these things at stake presidency meeting. When it came time for my spiritual thought, I recounted the story of the man in fast and testimony meeting and then I read the passage from the Book of Mormon. I shared what I had learned about the word succor and bore my testimony that the Savior knows what we need and he runs to help us, just as the sheriff did when he ran and caught the man as he fell at the pulpit.
Then the other members of the presidency offered some of their own thoughts and feelings about what I had shared. One thing our stake president mentioned took me by surprise. He said that both he and the sheriff caught the man as he fell. This stopped me in my tracks. All I could say was, "Really?" I had been so focused on the sheriff's heroic response that I hadn't noticed that the stake president also caught the man.
Hmmm. What was I to make of this new information?
When the man fell, the stake president was right there behind him where he could just reach out and catch the man. He was already there. He had been there the whole time, and he didn't have to run to get there.
When I thought about that, I began to doubt my inspiration and to question my interpretation of the experience.
Eventually, however, I came to the conclusion that this new information about the stake president's part in the story didn't invalidate anything I had learned from the sheriff. It just opened up a new dimension of learning for me. I began reflecting on what I could learn from both the sheriff and the stake president in this scenario. Here is some of what I have considered:
On one hand, the sheriff was an officer of the law whose responsibility was to enforce the law. But he was also a diligent public servant, alert and always on the lookout for people in trouble and for opportunities to serve—even when he wasn't on duty. He knew the man at the pulpit well and was his personal friend. He was so attuned to the man and his circumstances that he could anticipate his needs, spring into action, cross what seemed like an impossible distance, and arrive at exactly the right moment to help.
The sheriff reminds me of the father of the prodigal son in Christ's parable, who was apparently always watching for his son to return, and when his son was "yet a great way off," "saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20). (Note: I love how the illustration at left shows the prodigal son's father and mother running to greet their son!)
Both the sheriff and the prodigal son's father poignantly remind me of how deeply aware the Savior is of me and my needs and rushes to embrace me and to give me aid and relief.
The stake president, on the other hand, was the presiding authority who held the priesthood keys to administer God's work of salvation in our stake. His personal ministry was to care for and minister to the physical and spiritual needs of each member of our stake and to encourage the rest of us to undertake that same ministry. I was continually amazed at the effort and care with which the stake president sought to know each member of our stake by name and to interact with them personally.
Like the sheriff, the stake president knew the man at the pulpit well and was his personal friend. He loved him and cared for him. The stake president was presiding at that meeting and was observant and aware of all that was transpiring. He, too, anticipated the man's needs and was right there to catch him when he fell. He didn't have to run to help because he was already there.
The image of the stake president, like the image of the sheriff, became a type of Christ for me. Their examples typified something about the Savior for me. (See LDS Topical Guide: Type, Typify.)
With these things in mind, I have asked myself the following questions:
Is it possible that both of these things are true? Is it possible that the Savior runs to help me and that he is also already here to help me?
I have concluded that the answer is yes. Let me explain how I came to that conclusion.
During his atonement, Christ was somehow able to take upon himself all of my sins and my infirmities—past, present and future. He experienced and bore them all. This he did for each and every one of God's children who have ever lived and ever will live on the earth.
The Savior's atoning sacrifice was complete at that moment in time when he declared on the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Yet, his atonement was infinite and eternal. Somehow his atonement reached across time and space to all of God's children who had ever lived, were then living, and ever would live upon the earth, including you and me.
Think about that.
I have heard it said that because God has a body of flesh and bones (see Doctrine & Covenants 130:22), he cannot be in two places at one time. But what if God weren't limited by the dimension of time like we are?
Consider the following thought-provoking scriptures and statements on this subject by Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
"The Lord Himself said that He 'knoweth all things, for all things are present' before Him.' (Doctrine and Covenants 38:2.) We read, too, that 'all things are present with me, for I know them all.' (Moses 1:6.) Therefore, God's omniscience is not solely a function of prolonged and discerning familiarity with us—but of the stunning reality that the past and present and future are part of an 'eternal now' with God! (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 4:597.)" (Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, pp. 7, 8).
Wait. What?
Run to help.
When I read those words, the image of the sheriff returned to my mind. I was awestruck. Immediately the image of the sheriff running to help became symbolic for me of the Savior—of how fully aware he is of our needs and how quickly he rushes to help us.
I felt inspired to share these things at stake presidency meeting. When it came time for my spiritual thought, I recounted the story of the man in fast and testimony meeting and then I read the passage from the Book of Mormon. I shared what I had learned about the word succor and bore my testimony that the Savior knows what we need and he runs to help us, just as the sheriff did when he ran and caught the man as he fell at the pulpit.
Then the other members of the presidency offered some of their own thoughts and feelings about what I had shared. One thing our stake president mentioned took me by surprise. He said that both he and the sheriff caught the man as he fell. This stopped me in my tracks. All I could say was, "Really?" I had been so focused on the sheriff's heroic response that I hadn't noticed that the stake president also caught the man.
Hmmm. What was I to make of this new information?
When the man fell, the stake president was right there behind him where he could just reach out and catch the man. He was already there. He had been there the whole time, and he didn't have to run to get there.
When I thought about that, I began to doubt my inspiration and to question my interpretation of the experience.
Eventually, however, I came to the conclusion that this new information about the stake president's part in the story didn't invalidate anything I had learned from the sheriff. It just opened up a new dimension of learning for me. I began reflecting on what I could learn from both the sheriff and the stake president in this scenario. Here is some of what I have considered:
On one hand, the sheriff was an officer of the law whose responsibility was to enforce the law. But he was also a diligent public servant, alert and always on the lookout for people in trouble and for opportunities to serve—even when he wasn't on duty. He knew the man at the pulpit well and was his personal friend. He was so attuned to the man and his circumstances that he could anticipate his needs, spring into action, cross what seemed like an impossible distance, and arrive at exactly the right moment to help.
The sheriff reminds me of the father of the prodigal son in Christ's parable, who was apparently always watching for his son to return, and when his son was "yet a great way off," "saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:20). (Note: I love how the illustration at left shows the prodigal son's father and mother running to greet their son!)
Both the sheriff and the prodigal son's father poignantly remind me of how deeply aware the Savior is of me and my needs and rushes to embrace me and to give me aid and relief.
The stake president, on the other hand, was the presiding authority who held the priesthood keys to administer God's work of salvation in our stake. His personal ministry was to care for and minister to the physical and spiritual needs of each member of our stake and to encourage the rest of us to undertake that same ministry. I was continually amazed at the effort and care with which the stake president sought to know each member of our stake by name and to interact with them personally.
Like the sheriff, the stake president knew the man at the pulpit well and was his personal friend. He loved him and cared for him. The stake president was presiding at that meeting and was observant and aware of all that was transpiring. He, too, anticipated the man's needs and was right there to catch him when he fell. He didn't have to run to help because he was already there.
The image of the stake president, like the image of the sheriff, became a type of Christ for me. Their examples typified something about the Savior for me. (See LDS Topical Guide: Type, Typify.)
With these things in mind, I have asked myself the following questions:
Is it possible that both of these things are true? Is it possible that the Savior runs to help me and that he is also already here to help me?
I have concluded that the answer is yes. Let me explain how I came to that conclusion.
During his atonement, Christ was somehow able to take upon himself all of my sins and my infirmities—past, present and future. He experienced and bore them all. This he did for each and every one of God's children who have ever lived and ever will live on the earth.
The Savior's atoning sacrifice was complete at that moment in time when he declared on the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Yet, his atonement was infinite and eternal. Somehow his atonement reached across time and space to all of God's children who had ever lived, were then living, and ever would live upon the earth, including you and me.
Think about that.
I have heard it said that because God has a body of flesh and bones (see Doctrine & Covenants 130:22), he cannot be in two places at one time. But what if God weren't limited by the dimension of time like we are?
Consider the following thought-provoking scriptures and statements on this subject by Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
"The Lord Himself said that He 'knoweth all things, for all things are present' before Him.' (Doctrine and Covenants 38:2.) We read, too, that 'all things are present with me, for I know them all.' (Moses 1:6.) Therefore, God's omniscience is not solely a function of prolonged and discerning familiarity with us—but of the stunning reality that the past and present and future are part of an 'eternal now' with God! (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 4:597.)" (Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, pp. 7, 8).
And another:
"God does not live in the dimension of time as do we. . . . In ways which are not clear to us, he actually sees, rather than foresees, the future—because all things are, at once, present, before him!" (Neal A. Maxwell, "A More Determined Discipleship," Ensign, February 1979.)
I believe that Jesus Christ was able to perform the atonement because, as the divine son of God, it was possible for all things—including us—to "at once, [be] present, before him."
This enabled the Savior to "run to help" across time and space, bearing the sins and infirmities of all of God's children.
I learned more about this by going back to the dictionary and rereading the origin of the word succor:
"Origin of succor
"1250-1300; (v.) Middle English sucuren < Old French suc(c)urre, socorre < Latin succurrere to go beneath, run to help."
To go beneath, run to help.
How does Christ go "beneath" when he runs to help us? The scriptures teach that he descended "below all things" (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:6; see also "The Condescension of God," Bishop Richard C. Edgley, Ensign, December 2001).
Thus, Christ's rush to help each and every one of God's children in every moment, at all times and in all places, was not simply an exercise in some kind of miraculous, multidimensional time travel. It required him to descend "below all things."
And because Christ rushed across time and space and descended below all things, I believe he is truly already here, now, with you and me in every moment to bear our pains, our afflictions, our temptations, our sicknesses and every other infirmity we may experience in mortality. He is already here.
So, in God's eternal now, he runs to help. And he is already with us.
With my finite mind, I can hardly begin to comprehend this gospel paradox.
But this much I know for myself:
I have felt the incomparable love of my Savior as I have sought to learn of him, exercise faith in him, turn to him, give my burdens to him, yield my heart and mind to him, obey and follow him, and ultimately, to know him. Along the way I have felt the comfort, healing, strength and peace that only he can offer me. I can turn to him with full confidence, because he has carried all of my burdens and therefore completely understands what I am going through and knows exactly what I need right now. And now. And now. And now!
I have experienced for myself that the Good Shepherd personally comes to find us. Because of his atonement, he crosses every abyss to reach us, no matter how serious our sins, how careless our mistakes, how worldly our walk, or how innocent our suffering. If we are but willing, he will lay us on his shoulders and carry us home, rejoicing. (See Luke 15:4-6 and Zion People, "Finding Christ First: The Lost Sheep".)
For the Good Shepherd knows and loves his sheep. He truly runs to help us. And he is already here.
I believe that Jesus Christ was able to perform the atonement because, as the divine son of God, it was possible for all things—including us—to "at once, [be] present, before him."
This enabled the Savior to "run to help" across time and space, bearing the sins and infirmities of all of God's children.
I learned more about this by going back to the dictionary and rereading the origin of the word succor:
"Origin of succor
"1250-1300; (v.) Middle English sucuren < Old French suc(c)urre, socorre < Latin succurrere to go beneath, run to help."
To go beneath, run to help.
How does Christ go "beneath" when he runs to help us? The scriptures teach that he descended "below all things" (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:6; see also "The Condescension of God," Bishop Richard C. Edgley, Ensign, December 2001).
Thus, Christ's rush to help each and every one of God's children in every moment, at all times and in all places, was not simply an exercise in some kind of miraculous, multidimensional time travel. It required him to descend "below all things."
And because Christ rushed across time and space and descended below all things, I believe he is truly already here, now, with you and me in every moment to bear our pains, our afflictions, our temptations, our sicknesses and every other infirmity we may experience in mortality. He is already here.
So, in God's eternal now, he runs to help. And he is already with us.
With my finite mind, I can hardly begin to comprehend this gospel paradox.
But this much I know for myself:
I have felt the incomparable love of my Savior as I have sought to learn of him, exercise faith in him, turn to him, give my burdens to him, yield my heart and mind to him, obey and follow him, and ultimately, to know him. Along the way I have felt the comfort, healing, strength and peace that only he can offer me. I can turn to him with full confidence, because he has carried all of my burdens and therefore completely understands what I am going through and knows exactly what I need right now. And now. And now. And now!
I have experienced for myself that the Good Shepherd personally comes to find us. Because of his atonement, he crosses every abyss to reach us, no matter how serious our sins, how careless our mistakes, how worldly our walk, or how innocent our suffering. If we are but willing, he will lay us on his shoulders and carry us home, rejoicing. (See Luke 15:4-6 and Zion People, "Finding Christ First: The Lost Sheep".)
For the Good Shepherd knows and loves his sheep. He truly runs to help us. And he is already here.
—o0o—
Image of Los Angeles County Sheriff patch courtesy of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Image of the Return of the Prodigal Son used with permission of GoodSalt
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