July 2011 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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26 Ensign THE MEANING OF THE CROSS FOR LATTER-DAY SAINTS I hope that members of the Church will carry the message of Christ’s Atonement and its blessings deeply within their heart and share that message with others.
GRAY DAY GOLGOTHA, © BY J. KIRK RICHARDS All of us have passed by churches that have a cross on their steeples or cupolas, and we’ve all seen people wearing a necklace with a cross, indicating they are Christian or a member of a certain Christian denomination. Some of our new members may even continue to wear a cross, feeling that it connects them with their past or other religious traditions. We may wonder why we Latterday Saints don’t place a cross on our churches or wear a cross to show that we are Christians, thereby making it easier for others to identify in whom we believe. Is the cross important to our faith? The answer is an unequivocal yes! The Redeemer’s suffering on the cross is vitally important to us and is an inseparable part of the Atonement, through which He suffered and died for our sins and thereby provided us with a clear path to salvation and exaltation. The Savior was clear when He stated that in following Him we should take upon ourselves a cross—not the Roman cross that was the instrument of death but our own cross, whereby we present a sacrifice to the Lord of our own heart to be obedient to His commandments. “And he that taketh not his cross, By Elder Gregory A. Schwitzer Of the Seventy and followeth after me,” Jesus said, “is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38). In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul indicated that the “preaching of the cross . . . is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). We understand through this scripture that the meaning of the cross is much deeper than just a symbol or outward sign, especially for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the preaching of what happened on the cross that is more important than the symbol of the cross. As I Have Been Lifted Up When the Lord appeared to the Nephites just a short time after His death and Resurrection, He clearly indicated that the cross He expected them to take upon themselves was that of denying themselves the sins of the world: “For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell” (3 Nephi 12:30; emphasis added). Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1926–2004) said: “The Church would grow much faster now, numerically and spiritually, if it were not for the wickedness of the world (see 1 Nephi 14:12). It July 2011 27
Page 1 and 2: THE ENSIGN OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS C
Page 3 and 4: MESSAGES FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE 4
Page 5 and 6: AN OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE CHURCH
Page 7 and 8: ILLUSTRATION BY BJORN THORKELSON Th
Page 9 and 10: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ATHLEY GLORI
Page 11 and 12: PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOHN LUKE, W
Page 13 and 14: THE WELL OF LIFE, BY ROBERT T. BARR
Page 15 and 16: LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY JAN FRIIS, © H
Page 17 and 18: to distract from family time. They
Page 19 and 20: PHOTOGRAPH © LANDOV July 2011 17
Page 21 and 22: to work out our lives. We should no
Page 23 and 24: I might better serve the Lord— or
Page 25 and 26: DETAIL FROM SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN
Page 27: ( John 13:8). Then Peter readily co
Page 31: PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RUTH SIPUS SE
Page 34 and 35: The Reason for Consistency For the
Page 36 and 37: MI VIDA, MI HISTORIA 34 Ensign Stor
Page 38 and 39: Robin Mendoza Robin was raised in E
Page 40 and 41: Luis and Karla Hernández Luis and
Page 42 and 43: Sand Stone AND The Hole-in-the-Rock
Page 44 and 45: Down the Hole-in-the-Rock Sand and
Page 46 and 47: PHOTO BY KAY SHUMWAY 44 Ensign DANC
Page 48 and 49: 46 Ensign GOSPEL CLASSICS WE WILL N
Page 50 and 51: Faith to Answer THE CALL In 1849, j
Page 52 and 53: 50 Ensign What are we seeing in the
Page 54 and 55: the most part desolate, and the riv
Page 56 and 57: only should go forth but that it al
Page 58 and 59: Be of Good Cheer CHOOSING HAPPINESS
Page 60 and 61: Obedience to God is not insurance a
Page 62 and 63: (1 Nephi 5:1). Naturally such gladn
Page 64 and 65: Alex * took a deep breath as he dro
Page 66 and 67: Arranged from smallest to largest b
Page 68 and 69: fellow men or to pay tithing, for i
Page 70 and 71: LATTER-DAY SAINT VOICES DEFENDING M
Page 72 and 73: MY PIONEER DAYS IN CALGARY was born
Page 74 and 75: Small & Simple Things “By small a
Page 76 and 77: News of the Church Visit news.lds.o
Page 78 and 79:
Mission Boundaries Realigned; Missi
Page 80 and 81:
ON THE WEB Church Magazines Celebra
Page 82 and 83:
By Mont Poulsen When I was growing
Page 84:
Victor Vasquez (above) and Ruth Lop
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July 2011 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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