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Jacob says this about homeschool…"I love it!".  He has adjusted so well to the new routine and I'm really proud of his attitude.  We see a big difference in him already…pleasant, happy, content.

He gave his first talk in church on Sunday.  He was asked to give a 3-5 minute talk on the subject of redemption.  Redemption?!  I admittedly felt like the topic was a little heavy for a brand new deacon.  BUT…in reality, redemption isn't that heavy after all.  And Jacob developed a beautiful talk (with a little help from me) and delivered it beautifully. 

Here it is for posterity…

When you look up ‘redeem’ in the dictionary some of the definitions you find are:

-         To buy back

-         To recover

-         To get back

-         To rescue

-         To set free

-         To sacrifice for

When I see these words I think of the Savior and how He gave His life and atoned for our sins so that we could be “set free” from sin, “rescued” and so that we could “get back” to our Heavenly Father with His help.  This is why the Savior is also referred to as the Redeemer.  He literally “redeemed” us from the effects of sin.

2 Nephi 2:6 reads “Wherefore redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah for he is full of grace and truth.”

Mosiah 16:6 says “And now if Christ had not come into the world…there could have been no redemption.”

When God sent us to earth He knew we could not come back to him without help…as “no unclean thing can dwell with God” (1 Nephi 10:21).  So He sent His only begotten to come to earth and put our sins, burdens, pain and death upon Himself.  He sacrificed Himself for us not only because of His obedience to the Father, but also His love for us.  But we have to repent of our sins, be baptized, and try to keep the commandments in order to qualify for this redemption.

In his talk entitled “Redemption”, Elder Legrand R. Curtis said:

“Through His suffering and death, Christ paid for the sins of all mankind on condition of individual repentance.  Through Christ, people can and do change their lives and obtain redemption.”

President Gordon B. Hinckley once told a story about “a one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough no teacher had been able to handle them.

“Then one day an inexperienced young teacher applied. He was told that every teacher had received an awful beating, but the teacher accepted the risk. The first day of school, the teacher asked the boys to establish their own rules and the penalty for breaking the rules. The class came up with ten rules, which were written on the blackboard. Then the teacher asked, ‘What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’

“‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response.

“A day or so later, the lunch of a big student, named Tom, was stolen. The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old.

“As little Jim came up to take his licking, he pleaded to keep his coat on. ‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’

“The boy took off the coat. He had no shirt and revealed a bony little crippled body. As the teacher hesitated with the rod, big Tom jumped to his feet and volunteered to take the boy’s licking.

“‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’ the teacher asked.

“After five strokes across Tom’s back, the rod broke. The class was sobbing. Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. ‘Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”

Just like Tom in the story, Jesus took our punishments upon Himself.  And just like Jim, we should love Him forever.  Also, like death, the rod broke over Tom’s back.  Jesus broke the bands of death.

I am very grateful for what Jesus did for me.  I know it’s possible for us to go back to our Heavenly Father through Jesus’ Atonement. 

In the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.