Amazed

By Melissa Ransom

It was a normal Sunday, just like any other. As usual, my family and I arrived at church just before sacrament meeting started. And as usual, as I sat there, my mind wandered. It felt good to be with my family, and I had a warm feeling of comfort. The sacrament hymn that day was “I Stand All Amazed.”

I began singing:

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,

That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

(Hymns, number 193)

When we came to the chorus, I started crying. My lips trembled, and tears ran down my face.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me enough to die for me!

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

I couldn’t finish the hymn; I put my head down as silent sobs shook my body.

And then, all of a sudden, I felt something I had never felt before. It was complete happiness and gratitude for my Savior. I looked at the sacrament table and realized how wonderful the sacrament really is.

It had become real to me. Jesus died for me! He suffered for my sins in the Garden of Gethsemane. He suffered for every one of us. He suffered so much pain that He bled from every pore—and He did it willingly. Through all of His suffering, His heart was filled with love for us, even for those who wronged Him. What a great and perfect example!

He did all of this because He loves us. And then the thought came—He loves me! He knows me! I had not been really sure if the Savior loved me or knew me. But all at once I knew.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me enough to die for me!

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

Detail from Jesus’Crown of Thorns, by Carl Heinrich Bloch, courtesy of Stratens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, photographed by Hans Petersen

Photograph by Welden C. Andersen; posed by model