Jesus Christ, Lamb of God.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:39 says, "For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain". Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. This is a reference to the fact that He was a sacrifice for the sins of mankind—of us. Through His sacrifice, we can be resurrected and we can be saved. We were not redeemed with things of the earth like precious metals, "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19). He was the perfect example and He was the perfect sacrifice—He died without having made a single mistake—and that makes Him the Lamb of God. 

Jesus Christ, Mediator.

Jesus Christ is our Mediator. A mediator is a person who tries to make people come to an agreement or makes it so that the price is met. Doctrine and Covenants 76: 69 says, "men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood." Through His Atonement, He agreed to be our Mediator—that is, if we agreed to do our best to the best of our abilities, He would make up the rest. He already paid the price—we just need to do our best to get back to Him and He will make up the rest. There is a video that explains this perfectly here:

http://broadcast.lds.org/video/BookOfMormon_Presentations/BM_GospelDoctrine_Video_05_Lesson30_Mediator_04396_eng_1M.mp4

Like the man in debt, we, too, are in debt—not monetary debt, but a debt of sin. With Jesus as our Mediator, we will be able to come clean through His Atonement if we choose to accept Him as our personal Savior. 

Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son.

To be honest, it was only recently that I understood the term "Only Begotten Son", and it was thanks to my brother. Before we came to Earth, we lived in Heaven as spirit sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ was our Elder Brother. When we came to Earth, we received a body of flesh and blood from our Earthly parents. Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of our Father in Heaven—He was born of a mortal mother, Mary, and an immortal father—our Heavenly Father. He is the Only Begotten Son—meaning He is the only literal Son of our Heavenly Father. This is an important name because if Jesus had just been born of a mortal mother and a mortal father, then He couldn't have atoned for our sins and afflictions because He'd be mortal, like us, and wouldn't have been able to handle it. But He was born of His mortal mother, Mary, and of His immortal father, Heavenly Father. He wasn't just a human—he was an immortal God who chose to accept His part in The Plan of Happiness and die for us so that we could come to Him in our time of need and so that we didn't have to pay for our sins and afflictions. I'm grateful for His love and sacrifice for me, and I'm grateful for the prompting I had from the Spirit to focus on Jesus Christ this month because I am learning so much more about Him. :)

Jesus Christ, Redeemer.

Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. To help you, I have kindly looked up the word redeemer. A redeemer is a person who redeems someone or something. I also looked up redeems. Redeems means compensates for the faults or bad aspects of. What it all comes down to is this: Jesus Christ was (and is) willing to redeem you; that is, pay for everything wrong you've done. He did this through the Atonement. Through the Atonement, we can change to become a better version of ourself so that we can ultimately live and dwell in His presence. I know He lives. I know that He died for us. I know that He wants us to use the Atonement to save ourselves (If we don't use the Atonement, then He will have done it in vain. But guess what? He'll still love you. He will always love you). He wants to help us return to live with our Heavenly Father. But the only way to do that is through Him—our Redeemer. If we let Him, He can help us redeem ourselves and become worthy to live in His presence. But only if we let Him. He has done all He can until you let Him in—then He will help you with the rest. :)

Jesus Christ, Resurrection.

In Mosiah 16, verses 7 & 8, it says, "And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection. 8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ." I love these scriptures, especially today as one of my friends passed away today. She will be dearly missed, but her mission on earth has been fulfilled and she has a new mission in heaven. It is comforting to know that "death is swallowed up in Christ". We will all be resurrected because we came to earth, and all because of Jesus Christ, who died for us and then rose again on the third day. I know He lives!! I know that He was resurrected and I know that I will see all of my family and friends who have died again. What a comforting thought!!

Jesus Christ, Savior.

First, happy anniversary to my blog! It was exactly one year ago today I started this blog for one of my personal progress projects. Over this year I have learned so much about this gospel and who I am. It has been a privilege, followers, to share my testimony with you. Second, I am going to try and do something different this month. I am going to try and write something different about Jesus Christ every time I post something on my blog this month. Sunday—even though it was technically August—was the start, with Son of Man.

Today, I want to talk about Jesus Christ as the Savior. He's our Savior! He was tormented, mocked, and crucified for us because He loves us. He is our Savior. If you had been the only person on the ENTIRE earth, He still would have suffered for your sins and afflictions. He loves you that much. Can you imagine that? Imagine the person you love the most on this earth—imagine that love for them, times it by 300,000...no wait...times it by infinity, and that's not even CLOSE to how much Jesus Christ loves us. And guess what else? He loves us all individually. That's right. I said individually. Just like when He atoned for your sins and afflictions individually, He loves you individually. As a person. He knows your name. We talk about Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world—which He definitely is—and sometimes we don't focus on the fact that He is our personal Savior. This is very, very important to remember. He suffered and died for everyone, even for those that don't believe. In 1 Timothy 4:10 it says, "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially those that believe." He died for everyone—especially those who believe in Him. But it's important to remember that He died for you as an individual. He died for you, and He died for me. And I will never, ever be able to repay Him. But He still did it—He never did it for the glory, or for the reward. He did it because He loves us—you and me. No one is perfect—we all make mistakes—and He still loves us. He suffered and died for us—for you and for me. I don't know about you, but I have made many, many, many, many stupid mistakes that I wish I could take back but I can't. But He paid for them. He didn't have to—He could have chosen to not accept His role in Heavenly Father's plan, or He could've wiped out all of the Jews who were planning to kill Him. But He didn't. We are that important to Him. Don't ever, ever, EVER forget how important you are to Him: He died for you. He will not EVER leave you alone. EVER. He will make sure you are taken care of. I love Him because of His sacrifice for me. I love Him because He loves me. I love Him because He's my Elder Brother and He wants me to be saved—He wants me to be safe and sound, back in heaven, so He died for me. I love Him because I am able to love Him. I love Him because I feel His love, and that's why I love Him: because I can. 

(I also love you, treasured followers :). Please let me know if you have any questions and I will try and answer it or I will help guide you to references that can help you answer it. Or, if you're too shy, lds.org is a wonderful place to start :). )

Jesus Christ, Son of Man.

Today, third hour was combined with the young men and we learned about Jesus Christ—who He is and how we can show our love for Him in our daily lives. In the topical guide of the Bible, there's about 20 or so pages full of scriptures that have to do with Christ. There are lots of different names for Him, like Savior, Redeemer, Messiah, Lamb of God, Bread of Life, Good Shepherd, Rock, Son of Man, and Only Begotten. And they all fit Him. But my favorite name for Him (at this point in my life—it will probably change my whole life) is Son of Man. Because I think that sometimes we forget that He was not only a God, but He was also human—through His mother, Mary, who was a mortal woman. And, to me, Son of Man is my favorite name for Him right now, because He, too, was human—He was a perfect human, but He was human nonetheless. He lived a mortal life, learned how to be a carpenter, and did human things that humans do—eat, talk, teach, learn, etc. And right now in my life, I need to remember this. I need to remember that He was human, too, and that He knows what I'm going through not only because He is my Savior and He atoned for my sins, afflictions, etc., but because He was also human. And I love Him all the more for that because He chose to accept His role, and when it came and He had a hard time with it—He who was a God—He could've stopped anytime, but He said, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (St Luke 22:42). He loved us so much and He loved His father so much that He followed through with His part in Heavenly Father's plan. And I will never be able to thank Him enough.