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James L. Ferrell Biography

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“It is no accident that the Atonement will begin, as did the Fall, in a Garden. And it is no accident as well that the individuals in those gardens were each sinless, or that the events in those gardens centered on their exercise of agency-for Adam, whether he would partake of the bitter fruit, and for the Savior, whether He would partake of the bitter cup. The Savior and Adam faced a similar choice: If they did not partake, they would become lone men in paradise. Both partook that man might be. And by partaking of that bitterness, Adam came to know good and evil, and the Savior came to know all of the good and evil that had and would transpire in the hearts of mean through all generations of time.”

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Book:The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes
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“Our appreciation for what Christ did for us will fall abysmally short if we think that he fell on his face merely at the prospect of suffering for a few mortal hours, however excruciating that suffering might be. Both in impact, kind, and degree, what happens in Gethsemane cannot be marked merely by the clock of this fallen realm. Indeed, its impact could be felt from the days of Adam and Eve, even though by the reckoning of this earth it hadn't yet happened. The Atonement happened as much outside this time as within it, thought what was outside we cannot hope to grasp. It was and is an infinite eternal act, unbounded by the limitations of mortality. No wonder the Savior trembled at the thought of it, and 'would that he might not drink the bitter cup.' Mortal minds, with their earth-bound limitation, cannot comprehend the immensity of it.”

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Book:The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes
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“Because of the power that Satan obtained through the Fall over the will of the flesh, man's agency could be redeemed only if all the powers of captivity that had been hardwired into the flesh by every sin of mankind could be overcome by an opposing power-by someone who could take our captivity upon him and yet escape from it, thereby providing a way of escape for us...With all of this sinfulness heaped upon him, he then had to withstand the unimaginable onslaught of the entire power and fury of the forces of hell, and do so, as Paul described further, 'yet [remaining] without sin,' For Satan knew that if he could wield the power of his captivity-the chains of our sinfulness that lay ready to bind the Savior-and entice the Savior to sin, he would bring the Savior into his captivity as well.”

Atonement Of ChristGarden Of Gethsemane
Book:The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes
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“...Then the destruction of agency would be complete, and mankind would be left without a way for their hearts to be purified and cleansed. There would therefore be no way for any of us to return to the Father, where only the clean and pure can dwell. 'Is it any wonder, Ricky, that Satan looked up and laughed when he held the entire earth in his chains? On this night in Gethsemane, Satan is only one sin away from holding all creation in his hand.”

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Book:The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes
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“Praise be to God! The Savior has withstood in the aggregate what no man has been able to withstand individually: He refused to submit to Satan's will even though he was fully subject to it. Even with all of the mortal effects of our sins heaped upon and pulling at Him, and with Satan and his hosts attempting to drag Him down by that power to sin, the Savior was able to withstand and resist.”

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Book:The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes
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“Even now," he whispered, a tear trickling down his cheek, "the powers of darkness are upon him in full force and fury. The term Luke used to describe this assault-the Greek word agon, translated as 'an agony'-means, literally, 'a contest, struggle, or fight, facing an opponent.'..It is what latter-day prophets have referred to as 'indescribable anguish' and 'overpowering torture,' a 'supreme contest with the powers of evil,' an 'hour of anguish when Christ had to meet and overcome all the horrors that Satan could inflict.' And he suffers all this, Ricky-and never forget this-for us.”

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Book:The Peacegiver: How Christ Offers to Heal Our Hearts and Homes
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