I’d like to share a poem by Boyd K Packer.
In ancient times the cry “Unclean!”
Would warn of lepers near.
“Unclean! Unclean!” the words rang out;
Then all drew back in fear,
Lest by the touch of lepers’ hands
They, too, would lepers be.
There was no cure in ancient times,
Just hopeless agony.
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But there was One, the record shows,
Whose touch could make them pure;
Could ease their awful suffering,
Their rotting flesh restore.
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The day He made ten lepers whole,
The day He made them clean,
Well symbolized His ministry
And what His life would mean.
However great that miracle,
This was not why He came.
He came to rescue every soul
From death, from sin, from shame.
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What must be done to make us clean
We cannot do alone.
The law, to be a law, requires
A pure one must atone.
He taught that justice will be stayed
Till mercy’s claim be heard
If we repent and are baptized
And live by every word.
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If we could only understand
All we have heard and seen,
We’d know there is no greater gift
Than those two words—“Washed clean!”
Leprosy was a terrible disease. The skin rotting before the afflicted’s own eyes.
One day we will stand before Christ and feel how unclean we really are. How grateful will we be for the Atonement in that moment? I’m grateful that we can be washed clean from all our misdeeds, errant thoughts, unkindness, and mistakes. All because He suffered our folly for us.
While I’m not overexcited to see all my shortcomings, it will be a powerful moment to truly see and understand what Christ did for me. I have an idea now. One day I’ll see and know.
He died for me.
No Coincidences 