In the final paragraph of Chapter 3, I note:
Other than Himself, Christ had no savior on whom to rely for salvation. Therefore, He answered the Perfection end of the law for Himself. Having answered this demand, the law could make no further requirements of Him. Notwithstanding, He voluntarily chose to answer the other end of the law—that end which requires uncompromising punishment for broken law. The objective of this chapter is consider the demand that justice exacted of our Savior and the manner in which He satisfied it.
To understand the need for redemption, we must first accept that we are fallen. President Ezra Taft Benson (1988) explained: “Just as man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ. No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the fall and its effects upon mankind” (p. 33). Unfortunately, when we look in the mirror, it is almost too easy to conclude that our fallen nature was designed to be an obstacle in our eternal progression. However, although the fall was contrary to God’s character, it was not contrary to His purposes. Rather, it was a divinely orchestrated event[1] that not only paved the highway to hell, but also set before us the pathway to perfection. “The aggregate of scriptures certifies that his transgression in the garden of Eden, although designated as a ‘fall’ was necessary to the advancement and spiritual progress of humanity on this earth, and Adam rightly should be honored, not denigrated” [2] Moroni and Paul therefore taught that God “gave unto men weakness” (see Ether 12:27) that His strength may be “made perfect in weakness” (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). In our “weakness,” salvation is made perfect whereby we experience the rich rewards of God’s grace.
Paradoxically, it is the fall that brought about the conditions for redemption. It is in the curse of Adam that our eyes are opened and we experience joy in this life. Were it not for his transgression, there would be neither children nor knowledge of good and evil. Importantly, there would be no eternal life which God gives unto all the obedient (see Moses 5:10-11; compare 2 Nephi 2:22-25). Notwithstanding, it remains that, because Adam yielded, man’s nature became evil continually (see Ether 3:2) and subject to the will of the devil (see D&C 29:40). Hence, with one glorious exception, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “All are hardened,” Amulek recounted, “yea, all are fallen and lost” (Alma 34:9). As a result, every mortal experiences a two-fold fallen nature—one unconditional and another conditional. First, as a result of Adam’s choice, we unconditionally experience a first spiritual death for, at birth, all mankind are “cut off from the presence of the Lord and are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual” (Helaman 14:16). Second, because of the fall we are conditionally subject to a second spiritual death when we are judged to have knowingly transgressed God’s law and withdrawn from His Spirit that it may have no place in us (see Mosiah 2:36).
Fundamentally, these first and second spiritual deaths are alike as both result in departure from God to one degree or another. Indeed, the first spiritual death is “that same death which is the last death, which is spiritual” (D&C 29:41). However, the first death is only temporary and incomplete[3] as we receive of the presence of God through the agency that gives life to all things. Further, because we are unconditionally cut off from the presence of God at birth and because this spiritual isolation results from Adam’s choice and not from any choice of our own, justice demands the atonement unconditionally restore us back to our primeval association with God. “Herein is a lawful adjustment between justice and mercy,” noted Elder James E. Talmage (1919). “We are mortal through no personal fault; we shall be made immortal without personal merit” (p. 50). Thus, this restoration back into the presence of God is universal; it comes to all of His children whether or not it is merited. Wrote the prophet Samuel: For behold, it . . . becometh expedient that [Christ] dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.
Yea, behold, [Christ’s] death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first [spiritual] death . . . .
. . . yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord (Helaman 14:15-17).
Confirming that this universal restoration to God’s presence extends equally to the wicked and the righteous, Moroni wrote:
And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death (Mormon 9:13).
As redemption from Adam’s transgression will restore us back to the presence of God and that sphere in which we were originally placed, only complete redemption from our personal sins will allow us to remain. Unlike redemption from Adam’s transgression, “Christ’s plan for saving the souls of men contemplates no universal or unconditional remission of sins” (Talmage, Vitality, 1919, p. 51). This redemption is conditional. “And then,” wrote Moroni, “cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still” (Mormon 9:14).[4] For those declared “filthy still,” then cometh the second death “which is a spiritual death; then is the time that whosoever died in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death” (Alma 12:16) for “they cannot be redeemed from the spiritual fall, because they repent not” (D&C 29:44). Therefore, “whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire . . . for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness” (Helaman 14:18).
Unlike the first spiritual death, the second death is permanent—worlds without end, those who are made full partakers[5] thereof will be cast out never to be brought back into the presence of God (see D&C 76:31-37, 44-49) “for do ye suppose,” wrote Mormon, “that ye can get rid of the justice of an offended God, who hath been trampled under feet of men, that thereby salvation may come” (3 Nephi 28:35)? Such will be condemned to endure a torment that never ends because they persist in their own carnal nature and go on in the ways of sin and rebellion. Over such, the devil has all power and they are as though there was no redemption made (see Mosiah 16:5).[6] These are they who “abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, [therefore they] cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still” (D&C 88:35). Neither conformance to gospel law (see D&C 88:21), nor the mercies of Christ (see Moses 7:39), nor suffering the penalty of justice and judgment (see D&C 82:4)[7] will sanctify to the least degree these filthy souls. Wherefore, Christ saves all except them (see D&C 76:44), for all the remainder will be heirs of salvation (see D&C 76:88)[8] and consigned to that kingdom, the conditions of the law of which they are willing to abide (see D&C 88:20-24, 38-39).
Sin is defined as the transgression[9] or avoidance[10] of law and, in the strictest sense, may be committed inadvertently or in ignorance. President Harold B. Lee (Conference Report, 1973) described sin as “the heaviest burden that one has to bear in this life” (p. 177). Unfortunately, this fact is not always self-evident, especially to those buried in the pleasures of sinful living.[11] More often than not, the price of sin is delayed, thereby, veiling the toll of wickedness for a season (see 3 Nephi 24:13-15). But although the wheels of justice may grind slowly, they grind exceedingly fine and none shall escape.
As reassuring as it is to know that justice will someday avenge the blood of the righteous, infinitely more comforting is the doctrine that justice will not stand as a witness against those ignorant of God’s laws—that “where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation” (2 Nephi 9:25). Considering the fact that each has come to this earth fully ignorant of God’s laws, this doctrine ought to lend substantial comfort. Elder James E. Talmage (1984) explained:
[I]t is plain from the scriptural doctrine of human responsibility and the unerring justice of God, that in his transgressions . . . man will be judged according to his ability to comprehend and obey law. To him who has never been made acquainted with a higher law the requirements of that law do not apply in their fulness. For sins committed without knowledge—that is, for laws violated in ignorance—a propitiation has been provided in the atonement wrought through the sacrifice of the Savior; and sinners of this class do not stand condemned, but shall be given opportunity yet to learn and to accept or reject the principles of the Gospel (pp. 52-53).
Be this as it may, sins of any sort, whether inadvertently committed or maliciously intended, cannot be ignored in the economy of God’s plan. Every sin exacts a cost and every sin must be counted and paid for. Even little children must rely on the merits of Christ; for by nature, King Benjamin taught, they become carnal (see Alma 42:10):
And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins.
And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent (Mosiah 3:16-17).
Little children and those who have no law are alive in Christ (see Moroni 8:22) and in Him they are spiritually quickened and sanctified (see D&C 74:7), for as by nature they fall, even so in Christ is the curse of Adam taken from them (see Moroni 8:8). Indeed, the little ones have no need for repentance because Christ will save them (see JST Matthew 18:11).
On the other hand, when individuals violate their conscience and act contrary to, or fail to act in accord with, the light and knowledge they’ve received, they are under condemnation. Thus, where understanding exists and gospel laws are broken or avoided despite that understanding, no unconditional propitiation exists and other conditional terms must apply. Emphasizing this provisional nature of the atonement, Jesus said to certain Jews: “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9:41).
Whether salvation comes through a conditional or unconditional propitiation in the atonement, the fact remains that all are guilty until declared innocent through the blood of Christ. That declaration has already been made for certain souls, like little children who die in infancy, whereas, it is pending the outcome of mortality for others who, like us, must place their trust in the Lord, be diligent in keeping His commandments, and continue in faith even until they are, at last, safely dead (see Mosiah 4:6-7).
Almost from birth, we possess sinful tendencies. As Brigham Young (1854-1886) correctly noted, “there are no persons without evil passions to embitter their life” (pp. 160, Vol. 8). Consequently, we often find ourselves opening the door to temptation (see Moses 5:23), even if only to look upon it. In microscopic, almost imperceptible, ways, each of us at one time or another, and in some degree or another, participates in unholy thoughts or errant behavior, all of which constitute sin. We don’t have to commit the heinous crime of murder to be guilty of the rather transparent sin of anger; we don’t have to overtly commit adultery to be guilty of private immoral thoughts; and we don’t have to curse God to be guilty of prayers that lack real intent (see Moroni 7:9). .png)
This proclivity to sin has caused me to wonder: “Does my fallen nature mean that I am irrevocably disposed to sin?” Frankly, this seems like a shallow question as perfection seems so far removed. Although the customary response to this question is “nobody’s perfect,” Joseph Smith (1980) pointed out that “although it was foreordained [that man] should fall, and be redeemed, yet after the redemption it was not foreordained that he should again sin” (p. 33).[12]
In other words, Joseph taught that the first spiritual and temporal deaths stemming from Adam’s transgression were the only divinely-intended and orchestrated results of the fall—personal sin was not a part of God’s plan.[13] Rather, personal sin is contrary to His plan even though patience and longsuffering can be shown to the one entrenched in it. Jesus is our Prototype and, as such, has shown that “it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin.” (1891, pp. 2, Lecture 5). We are therefore commanded to choose God as our Father (see Moses 7:33) and avoid evil of every kind (see Alma 12:32). Indeed, we are commanded to be perfect and are reminded that God cannot wink at iniquity, much less tolerate it (see D&C 1:31).[14]
In other words, Joseph taught that the first spiritual and temporal deaths stemming from Adam’s transgression were the only divinely-intended and orchestrated results of the fall—personal sin was not a part of God’s plan.[13] Rather, personal sin is contrary to His plan even though patience and longsuffering can be shown to the one entrenched in it. Jesus is our Prototype and, as such, has shown that “it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin.” (1891, pp. 2, Lecture 5). We are therefore commanded to choose God as our Father (see Moses 7:33) and avoid evil of every kind (see Alma 12:32). Indeed, we are commanded to be perfect and are reminded that God cannot wink at iniquity, much less tolerate it (see D&C 1:31).[14]
Concerning sin and the demands of justice, Hyrum Andrus (2003) writes: “The rule of law requires a strict enforcement of justice when it has claim on transgressors . . . . [W]henever a law is broken a payment must be made—somewhere, somehow, sometime—according to the penalty[15] prescribed by the truth and equity of law” (p. 190). This payment is always exacted in the form of a mandatory and unyielding punishment. “Unlike the changeable laws of man, the laws of God are fixed and permanent,” declares Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “‘irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world’ (D&C 130:20).” Continuing, Elder Oaks (2002) explains: “These laws are likewise concerned with justice . . . . According to eternal law, the consequences that follow from the justice of God are severe and permanent. When a commandment is broken, a commensurate punishment is imposed. This happens automatically. Punishment prescribed by the laws of man only follow the judge’s actions, but under the laws of God the consequences and penalties are inherent in the act” (pp. 114-115).
Acting alone, justice is uncompromising; if law is broken, a punishment must be suffered by the offender. The ultimate penalty for offending gospel law is to suffer a complete spiritual death wherein we become “like unto [the devil], and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God” (2 Nephi 9:9) worlds without end. Such is our final destiny so long as our personal sins are upon us.
Is there any possible escape from this awful penalty and judgment? Is there any provision in the Father’s plan that tempers or averts this ultimate penalty for personal sin? In the total arithmetic of justice, there is no escape from the penalty and punishment inflicted for broken law. No sin, however secret or minute, will bypass Him who knows all things, including the heart and mind of man. As Lehi taught, the punishment is affixed and must be suffered. However, although there is no escape from justice, its penalty can be placed on another not guilty of the offense; on one who is willing and qualified to suffer that penalty in the offender’s place. It is by proxy that justice was satisfied and we escape the full punishment of law.
.png)
Christ, chosen and born of an Eternal Being and possessing grace for grace all of His Father’s attributes, was the only One fully sanctioned, willing, and qualified to answer the full penalty for broken law. It required someone unique to suffer such a burden for it exacted suffering even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death, “for behold,” taught King Benjamin, “blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7). “The cumulative weight,” confirmed Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1985), “of all mortal sins—past, present, and future—pressed upon that perfect, sinless, and sensitive Soul! All our infirmities and sicknesses were somehow, too, a part of the awful arithmetic of the Atonement (p. 92)” Thus, Amulek concluded that this great and last sacrifice could not be “a sacrifice of man . . . but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice” (Alma 34:10). It must be the sacrifice of God.[16]
Christ’s atonement is infinite—infinite in suffering, scope, and time; infinite because it lasts for all time;[17] infinite because it extends to an infinite number of God’s children of every color, race, creed, and nation; infinite because, with few exceptions, it covers sin of every kind and degree; infinite because it was performed by Christ, an Infinite Being! If it were not for His person and character, there would have been no atonement. Describing the nature of the atonement, Elder Russell M. Nelson remarks:
It was . . . infinite in that all humankind would be saved from never-ending death. It was infinite in terms of His immense suffering. It was infinite in time, putting an end to the preceding prototype of animal sacrifice. It was infinite in scope—it was to be done once for all. And the mercy of the Atonement extends not only to an infinite number of people, but also to an infinite number of worlds created by Him. It was infinite beyond any human scale of measurement or mortal comprehension.
Jesus was the only one who could offer such an infinite atonement, since He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. Because of that unique birthright, Jesus was an infinite Being.[18]
.jpg)
Notwithstanding His sinless and perfect life, Christ set His face like flint (see Isaiah 50:7) and suffered the full, uncompromising penalty for broken law. Justice and Judgment passed over His soul, declared Him clean every whit, and then exacted a punishment that only He could bear, “even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of the Almighty God” (see D&C 88:106).[19] Thus, Christ’s ordeal in the Garden and on the Cross was not the proximate result of a contest between good and evil, even though the terrors and temptations of Satan no doubt added to the price paid to appease justice and to carry sicknesses, pains, sorrows, and afflictions of every kind. Rather, this was a holy sacrifice wherein He willingly descended below all things. He suffered the sentence of justice and not the verdict of an evil foe.[20] He accepted and suffered the penalty as predetermined and enforced by His Father. That is what makes this affair all the more difficult to think on.
From the beginning, the shedding of Christ’s blood was in the covenant of the Father (see Moroni 10:33). It was God who gave His Son (see John 3:16)[21] and the Son who gave His life, thereby, concluding the awful accord reached between two Gods in the beginning.[22] And although all created things act and exist by virtue of this pivotal event (see 2 Nephi 2:12-13), it was concluded in solitude and without pomp and circumstance. Even His nearest friends (see John 15:13-16) remained in the outer court (see Matthew 26:38) as the great High Priest “went a little further” (Matthew 26:39) into the holy place[23] to offer Himself without spot to His Father (see Hebrews 9:6-18). It was then that He stood in our place as if we were there and suffered the precise penalty and punishment we would have suffered as if He were guilty. His lips touched the very cup from which the wicked shall drink, even the cup of the wrath of God (see Mosiah 3:26). Truly, He “eateth and drinketh with . . . sinners” (Mark 2:16). Yet, by so doing, the enmity that resulted from the fall was slain and peace with God was made for us (see Ephesians 2:15-17).[24] Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Surely He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. And surely, the Lord laid on Him the iniquities of us all (see Mosiah 14:4-6).[25]
Keith H. Meservy (Draper, 1990) writes: “Justice is satisfied when the Messiah bears our griefs, carries our sorrows, is wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, bears our chastisement, has our iniquities laid on him, is oppressed and taken from prison and judgment, fathoms our travail of soul, and bears our iniquities. Suffering for us, he satisfies justice, which makes the pleasure of the Lord prosper” (p. 168). Why is justice satisfied by the infinite sacrifice? Because Christ is infinite and because His offering was voluntary! A freewill offering was necessary to preserve justice in the eternal sacrifice. The divine offering could not be an instance wherein the wrath of Almighty God was imposed upon an unwilling soul—for this Soul was pure and sin-free. Thus, although Christ was chosen from the beginning (see Moses 4:2), it was requisite that He also declare, “Here am I, Send me,” (see Abraham 3:27) to show forth His willingness. “He was not coerced or required to make this sacrifice,” declared Elder Hugh B. Brown (1962). “His . . . agency was in no way infringed or trammeled. It was a freewill, love-inspired offer, which could have been withdrawn at any time. It was optional until the very time of his crucifixion” (p. 108).[26] Until he spoke the final words, “It is finished (see John 19:30); Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,” (see Luke 23:46) the offering remained revocable and incomplete. Appropriately and reverently, we sing the sacred tune: His precious blood he freely spilt; His life he freely gave,
A sinless sacrifice for guilt, a dying world to save (Snow E. R., 1985, p. 195).
Possessing attributes of mortality, Christ suffered all that a mortal can endure. Possessing attributes of immortality, He suffered all that God can endure “which suffering caused . . . [Him], the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit” (D&C 19:18). Of His pains, we have nothing to compare. “The suffering he undertook to endure, and which he did endure,” noted President Marion G. Romney (1969), “equaled the combined suffering of all men” (p. 57). Commensurate with the truth, light, and power He possessed, Christ suffered the “pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam” (2 Nephi 9:21).[27] And more so—He bore the sins of the entire universe that through Him all might be saved whom the Father has put into His power and made by Him (see D&C 76:41-42), even all the worlds that are and were created (see D&C 76:24) “whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last, are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours” (Smith J. , Times and Seasons, 1843, p. 83). Of Christ’s agony, Elder James E. Talmage (1982) provides this unique perspective:
In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world . . ..
From the terrible conflict in Gethsemane, Christ emerged a victor. Though in the dark tribulation of that fearful hour He had pleaded that the bitter cup be removed from His lips, the request, however oft repeated, was always conditional; the accomplishment of the Father's will was never lost sight of as the object of the Son’s supreme desire. The further tragedy of the night, and the cruel inflictions that awaited Him on the morrow, to culminate in the frightful tortures of the cross, could not exceed the bitter anguish through which He had successfully passed (pp. 568-569).
By His suffering, justice was satisfied and the end of the law that required a punishment for sin was answered for those who repent and believe on His name. And when He answered the ends of the law, Lehi taught that He also answered the ends of the atonement (see 2 Nephi 2:10). It is this doctrine which I address in the following chapters.
WORKS CITED
Andrus, H. L. (2003). Doctrinal Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price (Revised ed.). Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
Benson, E. T. (1988). A Witness and a Warning. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
Brown, H. B. (1962, April 6, 7, and 8). Conference Report, 106-108.
Draper, R. D. (Ed.). (1990). A Witness of Jesus Christ: The 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Old Testament. Salt Lake City: Deserert Book Company.
Lee, H. B. (1973, April 8). Conference Report.
Maxwell, N. A. (1985, April 7). Conference Report.
Oaks, D. H. (2002). With Full Purpose of Heart. Salt Lake City, UT, United States: Deseret Book Company.
Romney, M. G. (1969, October 4). Conference Report.
Smith, J. (1843, February 1). Times and Seasons.
Smith, J. (1891). The Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, Co., Printers and Publishers.
Smith, J. (1980). The Words of Joseph Smith: The contemporary accounts of the Nauvoo discourses of the Prophet Joseph. (A. F. Ehat, & L. W. Cook, Eds.) Provo: BYU Religious Studies Center.
Snow, E. R. (1985). How Great the Wisdom and the Love. Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Talmage, J. E. (1919). The Vitality of Mormonism. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
Talmage, J. E. (1982). Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission according to Holy Scriptures both Ancient and Modern. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
Talmage, J. E. (1984). A Study of the Articles of Faith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
Young, B. (1854-1886). Journal of Discourses (Vol. 21). Liverpool, London, England: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot.
ENDNOTES
[1] It is instrumental to recall that the tree of knowledge of good and evil was planted by God (see Moses 3:9).
[19] Compare 3 Nephi 11:11.
[25] Compare Isaiah 53:4-6 and D&C 18:11.
[2] See LDS Bible Dictionary under the heading “Adam,” 604.
[3] But for the atonement, this “first judgment [of a spiritual and temporal death] which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration” (2 Nephi 9:7).
[4] In this verse, I believe all the revealed kingdoms are illustrated. I suggest that they who are righteous are those of a celestial nature, whereas, those who are happy appear to be those of a terrestrial nature. I further suggest that they who are unhappy are those of a telestial nature, whereas, they who are filthy still are clearly those sons of perdition who inherit a kingdom of no glory (compare D&C 88:96-102).
[5] There are those who will have “their part” in the second death. These are they of the telestial glory. For them, this second death will not be permanent (see D&C 63:17-18).
[6] In the final sense, this second death will be pronounced only upon the wicked following their resurrection and judgment.
[8] Compare D&C 138:59.
[9] Such as sins of commission (see 1 John 3:4).
[10] Such as sins of omission (see James 4:17).
[11] Even to the righteous, the pleasures of sinful living may seem a little unfair. Malachi wrote: “And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered” (Malachi 3:15).
[12] Compare Moses 6:53-54.
[13] Nevertheless, according to the foreknowledge of God, provision was made to redeem us from personal sin on conditions of repentance (see D&C 138:19).
[14] Compare Alma 45:16.
[15] The imposition of a penalty is necessary to encourage compliance to law. In an article entitled, Morality and Marriage in the Book of Mormon, Rodney Turner states: “An unenforced law has no practical existence; it is only a façade of justice. Worse, not enforcing a law tends to cloud the legitimacy of all laws” (Nyman & Tate, The Book of Mormon: Jacob Through Words of Mormon, To Learn With Joy, 1990, p. 273). In connection, Elder Orson Pratt (1854-1886) posed the following question: “could He not give a commandment, without affixing a penalty?” In response, Elder Pratt continued: “He could not: it would be folly, even worse than folly, for God to give a law to an intelligent being, without affixing a penalty . . . . Why? Because all intelligent beings would discard the very idea of a law being given, which might be broken at pleasure, without the individuals breaking it being punished for their transgression” (pp. 283, Vol. 1).
[16] “Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another,” stated Amulek. “Therefore, there can be nothing short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world” (Alma 34:11-12).
[17] Just because the atonement is infinite does not mean Christ’s must suffer forever. Contrary, such suffering seems to have been reserved for the sons of perdition, not the Son of God. I don’t know where or how these rumors get started, but lately I have heard it taught that Christ suffers every time someone sins as if the vicarious work of Christ’s atonement will never end. No doubt the Lord may “groan within himself” and be “troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel” (see 3 Nephi 17:14). Notwithstanding, the pains that Christ faced in Gethsemane and on Golgotha were “once suffered” (see 1 Peter 3:18). It was there and then that He “partook and finished” His preparations unto the children of men (see D&C 19:19). The apostle Paul wrote: “Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world; but now once in the meridian of time hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die . . . ; So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many . . .” (Hebrews 9:25-28).
[18] Nelson, “The Atonement,” Ensign, November 1996, 35. [19] Compare 3 Nephi 11:11.
[20] Apparently, Satan interjected himself into the events of that night to exact all his awful terrors whilst Christ undertook to gain the victory. Concerning this ‘supreme contest with the powers of evil,’ Elder James E. Talmage wrote: “In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, the ‘prince of this world’ could inflict. The frightful struggle incident to the temptations immediately following the Lord’s baptism was surpassed and overshadowed by this supreme contest with the powers of evil” (see Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 613). Elder Boyd K. Packer likewise notes: “He, by choice accepted the penalty for all mankind for the sum total of all wickedness and depravity . . . . In choosing, He faced the awesome power of the evil one who was not confined to flesh nor subject to mortal pain. That was Gethsemane” (see Packer, Ensign, May 1988, 69).
[21] Compare D&C 45:4 and D&C 20:21.
[22] If, as expressed by Jacob, the offering of Isaac by his father Abraham was a “similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son,” (see Jacob 4:5) then we may suppose that the atonement wrought out by Jesus Christ was as much a trial for the Father as it was for His Son. Recalling the words of the Apostle Paul, “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac,” gives us a glimpse that more than one God was tried by the awfulness of the atonement. How difficult it must have been for the Father to allow His Most-Beloved’s triple pleading, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me,” (see Matthew 26:39, 42, 44) to go unanswered. Such apparent forsaking for our sakes makes us love Him all the more and Jesus no less. Elder Melvin J. Ballard provided this interesting sentiment concerning the Father’s response to His Son’s sacrifice: “In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room, so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head, and hid in some part of his universe, his great heart almost breaking for the love that he had for his Son. Oh, in that moment when he might have saved his Son. I thank him and praise him that he did not fail us, for he had not only the love of his Son in mind, but he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere, and that his love for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the sufferings of his Son and give him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without him, without his sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into his presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in Heaven to give the gift of his Son unto men” (Hinckley B. S., p. 155).
[23] “This sacred spot,” said Elder McConkie (1985), “like Eden where Adam dwelt, like Sinai from where Jehovah gave his laws, like Calvary where the Son of God gave his life a ransom for many, this holy ground is where the sinless Son of the Everlasting Father took upon himself the sins of all men on condition of repentance” (p. 9).
[24] Compare Colossians 1:20. [25] Compare Isaiah 53:4-6 and D&C 18:11.
[26] Notwithstanding the voluntary nature of His offering, the Savior declared that He was commanded of His Father to lay His life down that He might take it again: “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:17-18).
[27] Compare D&C 18:11 and 1 John 2:2.