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The Atonement of Jesus Christ

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Audio: "The Atonement of Jesus Christ"
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At our most recent general conference, President Russell M. Nelson extended the following invitation: “I urge you to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” [1]

The Savior’s Atonement included His suffering in Gethsemane, His suffering and death on the cross of Calvary, and His emergence from the tomb of Arimathea or His resurrection. Jesus Christ suffered the penalty for our sins so that we can become clean and be reconciled to God. Because of His Atonement, all will be resurrected, and those who strive to be His disciples and obey His gospel will receive the gift of eternal life with God.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the single most important event in the history of the world. Prophets have said that “there is nothing so wonderful, so majestic, so tremendous as this act of grace.” [2] Apostles have said, the Atonement of Christ “is the most transcendent event that ever has or ever will occur from Creation’s dawn through all the ages of a never-ending eternity.” [3] And other Church leaders have said, “[The Savior’s Atonement] is the most supernal, mind-expanding, passionate doctrine this world or universe has ever known.” [4]

The Atonement of Jesus Christ lies at the very heart of all that we believe, it is foundational to everything that we hold true as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith emphasized it this way: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” [5]

As central as the Atonement of Christ is to what we believe and who we are, I am confident that my understanding of it, and perhaps yours, is incomplete. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, one who was known to be both insightful and direct, said, “Now, the Atonement of Christ is the most basic and fundamental doctrine of the gospel, and it is the least understood of all our revealed truths.” [6]

The eternal significance of the doctrine combined with our limited understanding of it may be why President Nelson has invited us to spend time each week, for the rest of our lives, increasing our understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

A full understanding of the Atonement of Christ begins with understanding the Creation and the Fall of Adam. As an Apostle, then-Elder Russell M. Nelson said, “Before we can comprehend the Atonement of Christ, … we must first understand the Fall of Adam. And before we can understand the Fall of Adam, we must first understand the Creation.” [7]

When Jennifer and I were at the Missionary Training Center preparing for our service as mission leaders in the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission, then-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland delivered a masterful address on the Atonement of Christ in which he invited us to consider four issues that Adam and Eve faced after the Creation while in the garden and how those issues changed after the Fall. [8]

Those issues, or conditions, were one, their presence relative to God; two, their mortality, or the issue of life and death; three, their ability to progress and experience joy, and; four, their ability to have children and create a family.

Some of those conditions were positive and some were negative, depending on whether it was before or after the Fall.

The culmination of the Creation was the creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. While in the garden, Adam and Eve were in the presence of God in a tangible, physical way. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that, while in the garden, Adam and Eve “heard God’s voice, walked before him and gazed upon his glory.” [9] They literally walked and talked with God, and that was certainly a positive.

Another positive condition while in the garden was that they were not subject to death. [10] Additionally, they were not subject to the frailties of mortality, like pain and sickness.

If we stopped there with our review of life in the Garden of Eden, we would think that it was a perfect place. But there is more to explore.

President Holland has said that progress is “at the heart of the plan of salvation.” [11] And Adam and Eve did not have the ability to progress while in the Garden. Lehi explained the condition: “And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen … And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created.” [12] Remaining in the “same state” is another way to say that they would have been damned with no hope of progress. Lehi then added that Adam and Eve “would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy.” [13] So, we have a negative condition in the garden.

And then comes the matter of children and family. First, a personal story. Shortly after Jennifer and I learned that she was pregnant with our fifth child, we sat our four children down to tell them that we were having another baby. The younger three were ecstatic. But our oldest son, seven-year-old Chase, seemed very reserved about what we all thought was great news. We were a bit concerned by his reaction, or lack of, and asked him how he really felt. He looked at the floor for a bit, then looked up at us, and said, in a somber tone, “Well, I guess it’s OK. God did say to multiply and punish the earth with children.”

Adam and Eve were commanded to “multiply, and replenish the earth” [14] with children, but they could not do so in the Garden of Eden, which was another negative condition.

You will remember that Adam transgressed, and he and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. We call that the Fall of Adam or the Fall of Man, and we could refer to it as a fortunate fall. Elder Tad R. Callister said, “The Fall was not a tragic step backward; to the contrary, it was a painful but nonetheless giant step forward in our eternal journey.” [15] The Fall “has a twofold direction—downward yet forward.” [16] When Adam fell, each of those four conditions reversed. The positive conditions became negative, but the negative conditions became positive.

After the Fall, Adam and Eve were no longer in the presence of God. And once out of the garden, they became subject to death and the vulnerabilities of mortality. But on the positive side, they were able to progress and experience joy. And they were also able to have children and create a family.

Elder Holland taught, “The answer to the Fall of Man, with its maze of pluses and minuses, is the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.” [17] As Preach My Gospel states, “All that is unfair in life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” [18] In the eternal realm, the negative effects of the Fall can be restored to beautiful positives, and the positives of our mortal life are magnificently amplified, all because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

We will return to be with God once again. We will be back in His presence. There are not enough pluses to reflect that great blessing.

We will be raised up in the resurrection as immortal beings with bodies restored to a “perfect frame.” I rejoice in Alma’s teaching: “The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.” [19]

Because of the Atonement of Christ, our eternal life will be one of progress and joy. The faithful will become, as Paul taught, “joint-heirs with Christ,” [20] which entails celestial progress and unending joy.

And finally, we will be able to be with our families forever, because God loves us so much that He has made it possible for us to be together forever with those who we love so much.

All of the positives of eternal life are available to us because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The blessings of the Atonement of Christ are not only for the next life, but also enrich and uplift us in our mortal journey.

Most of us are familiar with the cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Scriptures provide the promise that sins that are as scarlet can become white as snow, [21] and “he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven.” [22] I am deeply grateful for the peace and purity that comes, in this life, from being cleansed and made whole through Christ. If there are any here today who feel that they have strayed too far or slipped too many times, I testify to you that the Atonement of Christ is infinite in both its reach and power.

I also want to emphasize that the Atonement of Christ not only blesses us when we falter, but also enables and strengthens us in our times of need. President Nelson said, “Jesus Christ took upon Himself your sins, your pains, your heartaches, and your infirmities.” [23] Jesus Himself declared to those in Nazareth that He was sent to “heal the brokenhearted.” [24] So the Atonement is not just for sinners, but it is also for Saints … it is for all of us.

I invite you to act on the inspired encouragement of President Nelson: “I urge you to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”

I leave my witness with you of the infinite blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am eternally indebted and grateful that He, as President Nelson has said, paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay. [25] The Lord Jesus Christ is my and our Savior and Redeemer. May we all be strengthened in our resolve to be His disciples. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


Notes

[1] Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Liahona, Nov. 2024, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/10/57nelson.

[2] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2000/12/the-wondrous-and-true-story-of-christmas?lang=eng

[3] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1985/04/the-purifying-power-of-gethsemane?lang=eng

[4] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/45callister?lang=eng

[5] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 121

[6] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1985/04/the-purifying-power-of-gethsemane?lang=eng

[7] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1996/10/the-atonement?lang=eng

[8] Jeffrey R. Holland, Missionary Training Center, June 23, 2019

[9] Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith, 13

[10] See Alma 12:21–23

[11] Jeffrey R. Holland, Missionary Training Center, June 23, 2019

[12] 2 Nephi 2:22

[13] 2 Nephi 2:23

[14] Genesis 1:28

[15] Tad R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2020).

[16] https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/fall-of-adam-and-eve?lang=eng ; also see https://rsc.byu.edu/no-weapon-shall-prosper/fortunate-fall-adam-eve

[17] Jeffrey R. Holland, Missionary Training Center, June 23, 2019

[18] Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2018), 52

[19] Alma 40:23, emphasis added.

[20] See Romans 8:17

[21] See Isaiah 1:18

[22] See Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-42

[23] Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Liahona, Nov. 2024, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/10/57nelson.

[24] See Luke 4:18

[25] Russell M. Nelson, in Handel’s Messiah: Debtor’s Prison (video), ChurchofJesusChrist.org/media-library.