Olive Picking and Pressing

Last week we picked olives from the olive trees around the center and this week we pressed them. I tried an olive. It was so bitter! However, I am so glad that I tried it because it gave me a new insight about the Atonement. Christ suffered the bitterness of the Atonement and bore the weight of the sins, pains, afflictions, temptations, and sorrows of every human being (which is comparable to the bitter olives being pressed). The outcome of His suffering is that each of us can repent, find forgiveness, live again and be resurrected, find joy despite our circumstances, be enabled to do good things, and the blessings go on and on (this is comparable to the sweetness of the olive oil after it is pressed and separated from the impurities).

Olive Picking

Olive Picking

Olives soaked in water

We are pushing the log connected to a large stone to crush the olives

Olives during the process of being pressed

Basket we put the crushed olives in

This device is used to press the oil out of the olives

The olive oil drains down into one whole

From there, the oil raises above the water and impurities and drains into the left hole. This is the point when the olive oil tastes sweet.

 

Just like the olives, each of us are pressed from the trials of life. We have the opportunity to choose how we will react to those trials. We can stay in a realm of bitterness and negativity (like the olive oil on the right side, that tastes bitter) or we can choose to separate ourselves from this realm and be optimistic and sweet (like the oil on the left side). The Atonement not only purifies us, but also enables us to have hope even during difficult times. Through the Atonement, we can pass through the bitter cup without becoming bitter. I encourage you to ponder the blessings of the Atonement that you have experienced in your own life. I am continually amazed as I learn more about and experience the blessings of the Atonement.