After having conversations with a number of people, over the course of several months, on the subject of the Atonement of Christ, and finding that in nearly every case there is either lack of time or lack of interest, it never seeming possible to fully explore the subject in a discussion, I have felt inclined to carefully produce all of my thoughts on the subject here.
Before I begin, I acknowledge my immaturity in gospel understanding in general, and of the Atonement (which is largely incomprehensible to the veiled mind) in particular. My intent is neither to present a scholarly or exhaustive explanation of the Atonement, nor to speak authoritatively, but rather to put down, in writing, those things which I have gleaned through study and prayer. You should also know that I am writing as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and therefore hold the words of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and of modern prophets and apostles in the aforementioned church, in equal esteem with the words of the ancient prophets whose words are recorded in the Old and New Testaments.
The knowledge and testimony I have gained of these things are, to me, most sacred; second only to my witness of the divinity and power of that Jesus which is called Christ. What I share, I share in humility, gratitude, reverence, and respect.
The Atonement of Christ is the most profound principle of the revealed gospel. As such, it has greater power to bless and strengthen us than any other doctrine or principle revealed to the saints. The more about it we understand, the more power, faith, and determination we have to do right things and to follow in the footsteps of the Master. Why? Because “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior... That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel"; (Boyd K. Packer “Little Children,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17).
In seeking to explain the way the Atonement works some have thought that what Christ was required to do was to meet a 'suffering quota'; that there was 'X' amount of suffering given in payment for 'X' amount of sinning. In other words, it is sometimes supposed that for Christ to "pay the price of sin" (a nonscriptural phrase) He literally took upon Himself the punishment which we ourselves would have to suffer if we should fail to meet the requirement to inherit Eternal Life in the Kingdom of God. The scriptures plainly teach that this is not how the Savior atoned for our sins. To assume that the Atonement was merely the fulfilling of the law of quid pro quo is demonstrative of a failure to understand the nature of the Law, Justice and Mercy, and the God we worship.
What is the Law? The Law with which we are dealing was best described by Paul when he wrote to the Galations: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (italics added for emphasis) (Gal 5:19-21) Or as King Benjamin explained "...the natural man is an enemy to God..." (Mosiah 3:19) Those who yield to the natural man and do the works of the flesh shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the "law [which is] given, and [the] punishment affixed" to the law. (Alma 42:22) Eternal separation from Father in Heaven is the consequence of sin. "[For] no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever." (1 Ne 10:21) "For, behold, I [God] am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore— Eternal punishment is God’s punishment. Endless punishment is God’s punishment. (D&C 19:10-12) "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;" (D&C 1:31).
Having established what the law is, eternal separation from the Father and forfeiture of an inheritance in the celestial kingdom as joint heirs with Christ of all the Father hath, it becomes increasingly clear that it was an impossibility for the Savior to have actually paid the same price of sin which we will have to pay if we fail to qualify for eternal life. Were this so, Christ should have gone to hell in our place and remained there forever and ever, this being the same fate we would face. But we know, and testify, that this is not so. He is the risen Lord; "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Rev 19:16). He, it was, who said "Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool," (Acts 7:49) and "he shall reign for ever and ever." (Rev 11:15) If not "pay the price of sin", as we are so wont to say, what exactly did He do? To understand the answer to this, it is necessary to first establish some truths about the nature of the workings of God and the universe we live in.
The Nature of Our Spiritual and Physical Bodies
The soul of man, which is the spirit and the body joined together (D&C 88:15), is made up of two substantive elements: "things to act and things to be acted upon." (2 Ne 2:14) Housed within our tabernacles of flesh (D&C 93:4) resides a spirit whose lineage and birthright are divine, and "each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny." (The Family: A Proclamation to the World) Our spirits are defined in the revelations as intelligences. (Abr. 3:21-22) The materials which make up our physical bodies are called element (D&C 93:33&35) or matter (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7 p. 2). That which acts is called intelligence, (D&C 93:29-30) "and matter is capacitated to receive intelligence." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7 p. 2) And here is part of the mystery of creation: the bonding of intelligence with element. So it is with all of creation. "For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth." (Moses 3:5) And, "verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual..." (D&C 29:34)
We know from the prophetic records that the intelligences are organized and graded, and some elements receive greater intelligence, and some receive less. (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7 p. 3) The greatest intelligences, the "noble and great ones", were given spirit bodies in the image of God, this being their first estate. Those who kept their first estate were afforded an opportunity to receive a second and third estate. (Abr. 3:21-28) Lesser bodies receive lesser intelligences, and greater bodies receive greater intelligences. (1 Cor 15:38-39; Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7 p. 3) All matter which has part in this creation, has bonded to it an intelligence appropriate to the need and ability of the physical tabernacle it is to inhabit, and "God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." (1 Cor 15:38-39)
The Workings of God
In this mortal existence, when we want something to move or change, we inflict force upon it. The engine of a vehicle moves because an explosion in the engine forces the piston to move, which in turn forces other things to move, which at length force the axle to rotate and the wheels to turn. But God does not work by force. He talks to things, and they honor and obey Him. (D&C 29:36) Remember the scriptural depiction of the creation: "And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the earth come up dry; and it was so as they ordered; And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed. (italics added) (Abr. 4:9-10) "And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also; And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to cause to divide the light from the darkness. And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed." (italics added) (Abr. 4:16-18; see also Abr. 4:7,21,25)
Dirt doesn't have the capacity to obey if it is just "stuff". But all matter caught up in creation has a particle of intelligence assigned to it, and this intelligent matter has the capacity to act; and thus they obey. Once we understand this, much of the mystery is gone out of the miracles performed by the faithful in all dispensations. Mary asked Jesus to help when the wedding feast ran out of wine. After asking for pots of water to be brought to Him, Jesus talked to the intelligences in the elements which made up the water and asked them to adjust their organization so they would become wine. In obeyence to the will of the Son of God, the water reorganized itself, adjusting the size, shape, and nature of it's atoms and molecules. And suddenly, instead of water there was wine, fine wine at that. By this same principle, God organized the earth and all things which are in it; (Abr 3:24) and by it men and women of faith move mountains, turn away rivers, cause the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear "by the power of the word of God which was in them." (4 Ne 1:30, italics added for emphasis) Parenthetically speaking, I find it a delightful coincidence that those who believe in creation by the hand of God believe in an "intelligent design."
The Lord revealed a profound, and not widely understood, priesthood principle to Joseph Smith in the 29th section of the Doctrine and Covenants when He explained "behold, the devil was before Adam, for he (the devil) rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; (italics added for emphasis). The source of God's power is honor. Among the words used to define honor are: fulfill, observe, keep, obey, heed, follow, carry out, discharge, implement, execute... etc. All of creation honors and obeys our Father in Heaven. Why? Because He is the perfect Arbiter of all things, the perfect keeper of eternal law, perfectly just, and universally and infinitely loving of all His creations. He is honored because all of intelligent creation has absolute confidence in Him to perfectly administer justice and uphold eternal truth. Consider the implications of what God is saying when He tells us "[I] delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth..." (D&C 76:5, italics added.)
Bound By Law
While we know that God has all power in heaven and in earth, we must also remember that He is a God of Law, and that He does not violate these laws. (D&C 1:38) Book of Mormon prophets taught that it is theoretically possible for God to fall. (see Alma 42:13, 23, 25; Morm 9:19) He is not going to, but how could this be possible? How could He lose His power?
If Father were to sweep us back into the safety of His presence after passing through this life where "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23), He would thwart the law of justice, and also violate the agency of man, causing the sense of justice in all intelligences to be pricked. They would lose confidence in Him and no longer honor Him as a perfect being. There would follow the rapid disintegration of all organized and created things into chaos. It was this principle, that Lehi was teaching his son Jacob when he explained, "if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away. And now... I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon." (2 Nephi 2:13-14) The Father could not bring us back to Him this way and still uphold eternal law and maintain divinity and creation. There needed to be a plan which was not based on either the law or on justice, for by neither can any man be saved. (Gal 2:16; 2 Ne 2:5)
The Need for a Savior
The Father could not send us to this mortal realm, where we would gain needed experience and progression, and simultaneously be the means of bringing us back from it. He asked for someone who would be willing to be a Savior for His children who would venture into mortality. He asked for one who would live a perfect, sinless life, and then would be willing to be so terribly tortured and experience so much agony, in His role as the Messiah, for no other reason than that He loved us, that the sense of mercy and compassion in every intelligence would be awakened sufficient to overcome the demands of justice in every intelligence infinitely and eternally. This is what Amulek taught to the Zoramites. He explained that there must be a great and last sacrifice, "and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal. And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance." (Alma 34:14-15, italics added for emphasis.) In other words, through His suffering He gained power to touch the heart of compassion in every intelligence across all the vastness of space, for all time and all eternity, sufficient to overcome the demand for justice and allow Him to extend mercy and forgiveness to those who will repent. "And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety." (Alma 34:16)
It was Jesus Christ, our elder Brother, the First Born Son of the Father, who volunteered and was chosen for this assignment. He accomplished that greatest of all tasks; and He did it for none other reason than that He loved His Father and He loved us. And thus He says to us "Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him— Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life." (D&C 45:3-5)
Wrought By Love
After coming to understand that the atonement was wrought and works only by the power of the love of Christ, I understood and appreciated the following scripture passage with new eyes.
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail— But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." (Moroni 7:46-48)
Truly, "We love him, because he first loved us" with that love which gave Him power to redeem. (1 John 4:19)
Let me now relate a story which demonstrates how the bowels of mercy can overcome the demand for justice. The story I will relate was shared by Cleon Skousen in an address he gave to a mission conference. The address is recorded and published as 'A Personal Search for the Meaning of the Atonement.' For clarity and brevity, I shall here only paraphrase what was shared in that meeting.
A young man assigned to sentry duty during the civil war fell asleep at his post. That very day the opposing forces moved against the young man's regiment. Without warning from the sleeping young man, the regiment suffered heavy casualties, losing an entire flank of men, including some of the young man's closest associates. But he survived. He was court martialed, and sentenced to be executed. President Lincoln, who was known as an exceptionally forgiving President, frequently pardoning young men during war time, was prepared to sign this young man's death sentence. Then the boy's mother appears on the scene. She approached the President directly and explained to him that when the war started she had a husband and six sons; that first she lost her husband to the war, and then one by one she lost five of her sons. The man condemned to die was all she had left. She asked President Lincoln if he would spare her son, not for the boy's sake, but for her sake. President Lincoln said, "For your sake, little mother, I will spare him."
This is what has happened for us. Christ's power to save is real. He shall stand as advocate for us before the Father and all creation, and He shall plead for those who have covenanted with Him. And Christ shall prevail; His suffering and death giving Him such persuasive power that the sense of compassion and mercy shall be awakened in all things, justice shall be assuaged, and all thing shall say, as it were, "This man, or this woman, whom You speak for, was not perfect and of their own merit do not deserve to come unto heaven; but if they mean that much to You, that You would go through all you did for them, for Your sake let them come up." And herein is revealed the great miracle of the atonement. Thanks be to God! For "in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way" (Ether 12:11) by which we may be saved; not by law, but by love.
Having worked all of this out, I would be remiss if I failed to address what the Brethren have termed the "enabling power of the Atonement;" for it is also by Christ's power to grant mercy that we receive that strengthening and enabling help from Him.
The Book of Mormon prophet Alma taught that "[Christ] shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me." (Alma 7:11-13)
Christ experienced everything which a person can suffer, and knows perfectly how to bless and succor His people if they will come unto Him. As our mediator with the Father, Christ has power to extend the rewards of justice to us in those things wherein we have been wronged. But He also has power to extend help to us when we don't merit it. When justice would require his brutal, exacting price of us, Christ has power to overcome those demands and extend mercy, help, and blessings. That same power which allows Him to forgive sin also allows Him to send help when we do not deserve it, and without which we could not prepare to return to God. The atonement, therefore, is all encompassing in it's scope, granting power to Christ to bless and heal those who deserve it and those who don't. Thus, He has become our perfect, loving and merciful Savior, ready to lift us from the sorrows of the world, and free us from sin and death. (1 Cor 15:55-57; Matt 5:45)
I have come to know for myself, independent of any earthly force, persuasion, study or instruction, that Jesus is the Christ. He has manifest Himself unto me, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and I witness that He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. "Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." (Psalm 130:7-8) Because of Jesus Christ I know that "goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." (Psalm 23:6)
