What Group Projects Taught Me About the Atonement

All I hope now is that this boy also recognizes the mercy and grace of  God. President Hinckley's finishes this way: "When all is said and done, when all of history is examined, when the deepest depths of the human mind have been explored, nothing is so wonderful, so majestic so tremendous as this act of grace when the Son of the Almighty, the Prince of His Father's royal household, He who had once spoken as Jehovah, He  who had condescended to come to earth as a babe born in Bethlehem, gave His life in ignominy and pain so that all of the sons and daughters of God of all generations of time, every one of whom must die, might walk again and live eternally. He did for us what none of us could do for ourselves-"Think of that next time you want to take on "an entire project" by yourself-"I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal, Living God. None so great has ever walked the earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing. He is the Savior and the Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His father, in spirit and truth. I thank Him and kneel before his Beloved Son, who reached out long ago and said to each of us, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest' (Matthew 11:28).

Ahh, group work. It's what possesses me to answer a phone call in the middle of a shower and run to campus without a decent breakfast, let alone a decent reading of the scriptures. It's what keeps me warm as I walk on campus with damp hair.

So this morning I really did get a call from one of my fellow classmates. We were working together to create a group project for our Physics and Culture class. I have already worked on two other group projects; one project was for my Social Studies and Art class, and another was for my Portuguese class. I thought I had it nailed down. Nobody had complained before.

I answer the phone anyway to hear a panicked voice tell me he had confused the due date of our project and missed the deadline. Luckily, the professor was merciful and offered to accept our project this morning. He was in the middle of a shift at work on campus, and could not deliver the hard drive containing our project to our professor. He asked me to deliver it for him. I agreed.

The place of his work was hosting a bagel party anyway, so I picked up the drive and then went to get myself some bagels. That's when this same boy marched up to me while my husband's back was turned.

 "Do it now," he told me, "or else we'll be docked points off our project."

My first reaction was the play the part of submissive child, look down, and say "Okay! Okay!"

He turned on his heels and walked away. I looked back down. Okay? Was that okay with me?

I marched right back into his office, disregarded all the other secretaries within earshot and made eye contact with him through a furrowed brow.

"I don't like the way you talked to me out there." I told him. "I don't have to do this. I'm being nice by doing this for you. This was your job."

"Yeah I know. I'm sorry I'm just stressed because I took on this project all by myself-"

"Don't pull that!" I almost laughed. "I asked you time and time again if you needed help you could call me. I did everything you asked me to do. If you needed help, you should have said."

At this point, I think he was embarrassed that I would point out this flaw of his in front of the other secretaries, and wanted to get out of the situation.

"I can just take it. Do you want me to take it?"

I rolled my eyes. Why in the world would he call me to deliver it if he was perfectly capable of doing it himself?

"No. I'll take it." I stared at him in silence a little longer, and took off to deliver the memory card.

When I got to the professor's office, I broke down.

I thought it was likely that a single tear would roll down my cheek as I explained the situation, but I started to sob. I was gasping for air for nearly a minute straight before I could gather composure to tell them what had happened. I didn't just feel sad or disrespected, but I felt mad.

"I'm not trying to get pity in order to raise my grade," I told them between sniffles. "I am happy with the project. I am happy with my grade even if this project is marked late. I just need to get something off my chest."

As I told the story, at times they looked at my awfully pitifully or chuckled. But they sincerely listened. After I told them my story, I reiterated my purpose: "I don't care if I lose points. But it seems like this boy cares very much. I don't know if he's on scholarship or anything, and must maintain a certain GPA, but I know he's stressed. So please take it easy on him. But I am happy with my project. This boy just cares more about his grade than how he treats his group members."

They assured me they would not dock his points. It wasn't until I was out of their office that my breathing finally returned to normal. I was embarrassed that I couldn't just get my message out. I was embarrassed that two professors I looked up to had seen me sob.

The Relief Society lesson this week is titled: "The Atonement of Jesus Christ: Vast in Its Reach, Intimate in Its Effect." Anyone can read it themselves online in the book "Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley." It is free and accessible to anybody, whether they're a Latter-Day Saint or not.

I was still mad. I needed to read this: "Without [the Atonement] life is meaningless. It is the keystone in the arch of our existence." Life really would be meaningless without the Atonement. If there was no hope for me to receive forgiveness, I would give up trying. If I could never be forgiven of my shortcomings, I would keep them forever. This boy would always know me as "The Girl Who Didn't Work on the Group Project as Hard as I Did." I would always know this boy as "The Boy Who Cares More About A Grade Than a Friend." This is not the case! We can forgive as we are forgiven by Christ.


Jesus Christ, living a perfect life, is the only One who can judge righteously, without hypocrisy. If He can forgive the people who killed Him, I think I can forgive this boy for rudely speaking to me.

I cannot find it in myself to forgive him, but in Christ. Corrie Ten Boom, a survivor of the concentration camps of World War II has said: "When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself." This has to be true. I am not so big a person, so mature, to forgive someone on the spot. My love and forgiveness for that person is a gift from God. Every time I find it in Him to forgive someone, I am more sure that He lives.


"Jesus is the Christ, the foreordained Son of God who condescended to come to earth, who was born in a manger, in a conquered nation among a vassal of people, the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, the Firstborn of the Father and the Author of our salvation. He is our Redeemer, our Savior, through whose Atonement eternal life is made possible for all who will walk in obedience to His teachings-"not necessarily only to those with an impeccable GPA.

(You're welcome for prepping you for this Sunday's lesson.)