The Cross?

Today I went on a tour of temple square and of the conference center with my mom. It was such a great tour and the spirit was so strong. On our way up to Ogden after the tour my mom mentioned how similar the Catholic faith was to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and how she was disappointed that there weren't any crosses. I froze up, but was driven into deeper thought concerning the matter. 

The cross is something that in Christianity is used as a symbol of Christ, but throughout modern times it has become used in many ways contrary to religion, and has even in some cases been used inappropriately. 

In LDS literature and buildings I think about when we see the cross, and something stood out to me. When we see the cross, it isn't just the cross we see, but Jesus suffering upon it. The cross isn't just a sign for Jesus, but a sign for what he did for us, which is deeper than what happened on the cross.

The atonement. The suffering of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. How he bleed from every pore and how he took upon our sins there. Every pain we have ever encountered he has experienced. Emotional, physical, all of it. The act of his atonement was then finished upon the cross of Calvary. 

So looking back, the cross wasn't all that Christ suffered, there was a lot more that took place in the garden. There are two parts to the most important thing that has ever happened in the history of the world. Taking upon the sins of mankind. It started in the garden, and was then finished upon the cross. 

Why only symbolize one, when so much of the saviors trial was in the other? 

Be Willing.

Be willing to change. Be willing to become the person Heavenly Father wants us to become. Be willing to change through the Atonement of Christ. 

When people said "change through the Atonement" I was confused. How can you change through the act of someone else? The Atonement is much more than an act, the Atonement is everything. It's how we can let go of our trials, guilt, troubles, inperfections, everything. Believing in the Atonement is believing in life after death. The Atonement gives us the ability for our sins to be forgiven. When we repent, it should bring about a change in our hearts, and a willingness to become better people. The first step in becoming like Christ is our willingness to accept that we are nothing compared to the glory we can become. Not saying that we are nothing, and unimportant or insignificant, but that compared to the glory Christ there's a lot to catch up on! 

Be willing. 

Be willing to change. To become something more. To be willing to pray to our father in heaven to help us.

He is there. He is ready. He just wants us to come to him, so he can make us perfect in him.