The Two Greatest Gifts Of Love~

At the close of this month of love;  I thought I would write a post about "The Two Greatest Gifts Of Love. First, is the Gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16. 
I found that statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland to be profound: " I ask you, what father and mother could stand by and listen to the cry of their children in distress, in this world, and not render aid and assistance? I have heard of mothers throwing themselves into raging streams when they could not swim a stroke to save their drowning children, rushing into burning buildings to rescue those whom they loved...[ Our Father] saw [His} Son finally upon Calvary; he saw his body stretched out upon the wooden cross; he saw the cruel nails driven through hands and feet, and the blows that broke the skin, tore the flesh, and let out the life's blood of his Son. He looked upon that....His Father looked on with great grief and agony over his Beloved Son, until there seems to have come a moment when even our Savior cried out in despair; "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room, so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head, and hid in some part of his universe, his great heart almost breaking for the love that he had for his Son. Oh, in that moment when he might have saved his Son, I thank him and praise him that he did not fail us, for he had not only the love of his Son in mind, but he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere, and that his love for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the sufferings of his Son and give him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without him, without his sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into his presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in Heaven to give the gift of his Son unto men."
Here is a great video~

 The Second Greatest gift is that through Christ's Atonement all men can be saved from sin and through His resurrection; we can live again and return and be in the presence of our Heavenly Parents.

Our Redeemer love us all so much that He freely made the choice to give His life for each and everyone of us. 

"That first Easter sequence of Atonement and Resurrection constitutes the most consequential moment, the most generous gift, the most excruciating pain, and the most majestic manifestation of pure love ever to be demonstrated in the history of this world, Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, suffered, died, and rose from death in order that He could, like lightning in a summer storm, grasp us as we fall, hold us with His might, and through our obedience to His commandments, lift us to Eternal Life.
~Elder Jeffery R. Holland 
I love this thought by C.S. Lewis; "He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less."
Elder David A. Bednar stated the following: "The Savior has suffered not just for our iniquities but also for the inequality, the unfairness, the pain, the anguish, and the emotional distresses that so frequently beset us. There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I every experience during out mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, "No one understands. No one knows.: No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we every did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life. He can reach out, touch , succor -literally run to us- and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying upon only our own power. 
We feel and know the Savior's love more abundantly than ever through our opportunity to be MLS missionaries in the Utah Salt Lake South Mission. We experience miracles in our work where we know that we are being guided to help someone in need, to teach someone about our Savior and are to lift someone who has fallen and feels hopeless. God loves us all so much and we are His spirit children and He wants to see us all again and our Savior, Jesus Christ provided the way. He is the truth and the light for all the world. 
I echo the words of our beloved Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson; "Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives. I know that my Redeemer lives. May the whole world know it and live by that knowledge I humbly pray.