Just a minute.

It's no secret that I despise Mondays. And I have yet to find something [inanimate, at least] that I hate more than Monday mornings. Yesterday though, was way different. I rolled over, and picked up my phone because it was freaking out while downloading emails. First name that pops up....Bronson Kunzler. I sat STRAIGHT up and bed, more awake than I had been in days. Between him figuring out a nice way to tell me to stop talking, learning what a "Michigan minute" was, and making me laugh like he was right here, I discovered that there's seriously nothing better than starting your day off with a "talk" with your best friend (if you can call it that) and yesterday was wonderful because of it.
In his email, he told me about an investigator they're teaching and he talked about the Atonement. As I was reading his testimony about this incredible event, I remembered a talk that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland gave in General Conference a few years ago.
He spoke about the Atonement, and the sacrifice that it was for our Savior to suffer and atone for our sins like He did, and ended with what is probably my favorite quote in the history of General Conference.

"...may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in world only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ "at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death," for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone." 

Today? Take a little extra time to be grateful for our Savior and his sacrifice. Because I'm grateful.
Grateful that there's someone who understands how I'm feeling when I can't sleep at 3 a.m.
Grateful that there's someone who understands how I feel when I ace a test.
Grateful that there's someone who understands what it's like to miss someone so much it physically hurts.
Grateful that there's someone who understands how excited I get when I get to see my little sisters.
Grateful that there's someone who not only knows how I'm feeling every second of every day, but someone who has felt it exactly like I have.
That's what the Atonement does for us. And it's just one of a million and a half reasons why I love this gospel.

Happy Tuesday, folks.



[p.s. If you want to read/watch/listen to Elder Holland's whole talk, go here. I promise, it's worth it.]