Leviticus 16, one of this week’s Come, Follow Me chapters, teaches us profound truths about Jesus Christ and His Atonement. In fact, this chapter uses the word “atonement” more than any other in the King James Version of the Bible.
Reading about the Atonement is one thing but truly feeling it is another. On a recent Sunday on Monday podcast episode, Tammy Uzelac Hall and her guests share a simple object lesson inspired by Leviticus 16 that can help us do exactly that.
A Way to Make Christ’s Atonement Feel Deeply Personal
Tammy says she once had a memorable experience teaching about Leviticus 16 in a Young Women class. During the lesson, she asked the girls to write down everything in their lives that felt difficult, whether it was a physical ailment, heartache, or another struggle. They wrote their burdens on dozens of small slips of paper and placed them in a basket. By the time they finished, it was overflowing.
Then, Tammy connected that experience to scripture, asking them to highlight every time the word “atonement” appears in Leviticus 16. She explained that, including the heading, this chapter contains the word 16 times.
Because the Hebrew word for “atonement” is kaphar, which means “to cover,” Tammy then took a piece of red fabric and covered the basket with it. She invited the Young Women to reflect on the covered basket and how it connects to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Although the basket was still there, she explained that Christ was now taking care of the burdens inside.
“It was one of the most powerful visual moments I’ve ever had,” Tammy says.
After hearing about this story on the podcast, Tammy’s guests reflected on what this object lesson meant to them. “He’s got it covered,” Jolene Bingham says. “He knows what’s in the basket. I’m not hiding it from Him. He sees it. He knows it. He’s not ashamed [of] me.”
Su Jones adds, “He’s not taking it away, but He’s taken it. He’s helping me carry it. … It doesn’t have to be mine alone; it can be ours.”
By allowing the Savior to cover your burdens with His Atonement, you can find repose, like Leviticus 16:31 teaches: “[The Day of Atonement] shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.” Tammy says the last part of this verse, “a statute for ever,” aligns with President Russell M. Nelson’s teaching of using the Atonement daily. Because of the restored gospel, we don’t have to wait for a specific day to find this peace. We can always access the covering power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Listen to the full Sunday on Monday podcast episode on the Deseret Bookshelf app. Try it for free for seven days.
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