The Atonement and Faith

Most of us understand that faith in Jesus Christ and true repentance allow us to be cleansed from our sins because of His Atonement. But the available blessings are even greater than that. Elder Dallin H. Oaks explained:

“We tend to think of the results of repentance as simply cleansing us from sin, but that is an incomplete view. A person who sins is like a tree that bends easily in the wind. On a windy and rainy day, the tree bends so deeply against the ground that the leaves become soiled with mud, like sin. If we focus only on cleaning the leaves, the weakness in the tree that allowed it to bend and soil its leaves may remain. …

“When a person has gone through the process that results in what the scriptures call ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit,’ the Savior does more than cleanse that person from sin. He gives him or her new strength. That strengthening is essential for us to realize the purpose of the cleansing, which is to return to our Heavenly Father.”

To learn more about what is required of us to receive the full blessings of the Savior’s Atonement, read Elder Oaks’s complete address, “The Atonement and Faith,” in the April 2008 Liahona.

  Listen