The Gift of Beginning Again – Easter

Come, Follow Me: New Testament 2023 (April 3–9)

When I read the book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, written by Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, I learned about the atonement. She describes growth mindset as the belief that you can change anything when you understand and accept the process by which change, and mastery occurs. When you use a growth mindset you know that change takes effort, practice, and lots of failures to achieve the goal. 

“Growth mindset is a buffer against defeatism. It reframes failure as a natural part of the change process. And that’s critical because people will persevere only if they perceive falling down as learning rather than as failing” (Carol Dweck).

Christ’s atonement gives us the gift of beginning again after a failure, a mistake, a sin. When we understand this, we know the atonement is the ultimate buffer against defeatism. His grace helps us overcome and become. 

Satan is the author of fixed mindset, the belief that failure makes us failures, and is the end, not a new beginning. He endorses judging, blaming, giving up, minimizing repentance power, or walking away because it seems too hard. 

As we celebrate Easter, let’s remember, and honor, the sacred gift of being able to begin again and again, as many times as we need, to return to Them.

“The Savior’s Atonement gives us life for death, ‘beauty for ashes,’ healing for hurt, and perfection for weakness. It is heaven’s antidote to the obstacles and struggles of this world.

In the Savior’s final week of mortality, He said, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). Because the Savior performed His Atonement, there is no external force or event or person–no sin or death or divorce–that can prevent us from achieving exaltation, provided we keep God’s commandments. With that knowledge, we can press forward with good cheer and absolute assurance that God is with us in this heavenly quest” (“The Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Ted Callister)

Emotional Resilience Skill: Facing hardships and challenges during this life is required to become like the Savior. With a growth mindset and heavenly grace, we learn from each one and can become just a little better.