Jesus Christ: His Atoning Sacrifice

"The atoning sacrifice had to be carried out by the sinless Son of God, for fallen man could not atone for his own sins. The Atonement had to be infinite and eternal―to cover all men throughout all eternity."

See the complete discourse: "The Miracle of the Atonement," by Elder Scott Grow, April 2011 General Conference

References

1. 
   
   1.  Luke 15:17.
2.  
   2.  Doctrine and Covenants 58:42–43.
3.  
   3. See 2 Nephi 2:25–26.
4.  
   4. See Alma 34:14.
5.  
   5.  Alma 42:15.
6.  
   6. See Alma 34:11.
7.  
   7. See Alma 34:10.
8.  
   8. See Alma 22:14.
9.  
   9.  Mosiah 15:7.
10.  
    10.  Mosiah 14:10.
11.  
    11.  Mosiah 3:7.
12.  
    12.  Alma 7:11–12.
13.  
    13.  Mosiah 14:4.
14.  
    14.  Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2004), 2.
15.  
    15.  Doctrine and Covenants 18:12.
16.  
    16.  Doctrine and Covenants 19:15–18.
17.  
    17.  3 Nephi 9:13.
18.  
    18.  Doctrine and Covenants 88:74.
19.  
    19.  Doctrine and Covenants 45:4–5.
20.  
    20.  2 Nephi 2:27.
21.  
    21.  3 Nephi 9:13.

Jesus Christ's Infinite Atonement

Atonement: Infinity vs Finite

In preparatory times of the Old Testament, the practice of atonement was finite—meaning it had an end. It was a symbolic forecast of the definitiveAtonement of Jesus the Christ. His Atonement is infinite—without an end. It was also 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.

Creation-Fall-Atonement
The Atonement, October 1996 General Conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson

JESUS CHRIST: LOVE ONE ANOTHER

And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.

--Mosiah 3:8

Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, the creator of all things from the beginning. He is the Savior of the world and Redeemer of Mankind. Beside Him there is no other Savior or Redeemer. Jesus was tortured, beaten, spit upon, scourged, mocked, and crucified to carry out the infinite and perfect atonement. Only Jesus could carry out this ultimate atonement. Our part is to live all His commandments, including having charity for all people. Charity is the pure love of Christ, loving as He loved. May we all love one another.

JESUS CHRIST: GLORY and HONOR

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

--Hebrews 2:9

Jesus suffered death, even death of the cross. He finished the infinite Atonement for all, and in doing so, He was crowned with glory and honor. His atonement made it possible for everyone capable of sinning to repent and receive forgiveness of sins. His perfect atonement suffered pain, agony, and sorrows for all. He suffered for the sins, sicknesses, diseases, and afflictions of people everywhere. His atonement is infinite and eternal.

JESUS CHRIST: LIGHT AND LIFE

The Bitter Cup

Jesus said, “And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.”

--Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 11:11

Jesus is the light and life of all created beings and things. His light is within every individual soul, animal, planet, the sun, the moon, star, tree, all things that were created by the Father through Jesus Christ. Jesus drunk from the bitter cup; He suffered pain and agony in Gethsemane and on the cross to glorify the Father and to fulfill the Father’s plan of salvation and exaltation. Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world from ages past to eternities to come-no ending. His atonement was infinite and eternal. His influence extends in the past to no beginning and to the future to no ending. His life and atonement is unlimited and never-ending. He is the Great Atoner.

JESUS CHRIST: HIS NEVER-ENDING INFLUENCE

Mosiah 15:10-11

10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed?

11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.

God the Eternal Father sacrificed His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, for all the sins of the world, and Jesus humbly and willingly accepted this sacrifice, the infinite and eternal sacrifice. He is the only one qualified to make such an never-ending sacrifice whose influence would stretch beyond no boundaries. Jesus is the Great Atoner, the Holy One of Israel. As we learn the Savior’s gospel and heed His teachings, we become His sons and daughters, His seed forever as long as we obey all His commandments. We become heirs of His kingdom everlasting. Eternal life is the greatest gift that God the Father can grant unto us as His children, for we are His spirit offspring, and Jesus is our Brother, for He too is a Son of God.

Jesus Christ: The Lamb of God the Eternal Father

1 Nephi 13:40

“The Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.”

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God the Eternal Father. He is God the Father’s Son, His Only Begotten Son in the flesh. He is the one Lamb that followed His shepherd, God the Eternal Father, perfectly. He is the Savior of this world and all worlds created without number. Our finite numbering system isn’t capable of calculating the large number of worlds that have been created. The only mathematical concept that comes close to counting the number of worlds God has created is the idea of infinity: never-ending. Jesus’ atonement was infinite. The Great Atoner’s  influence reaches into infinity, endless.

Jesus is the model, the exemplar for all of us to follow and pattern our lives after. He is supreme. Seeking to improve our lives is to become more like Christ. As we are in the process of becoming more as Christ is, then we are coming unto Christ. We are coming closer to the standard of living that the Christ-like life reflects. Coming unto Christ brings us nearer the goal of eternal life, being saved. “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do” (See 2 Nephi 25:23). The grace of Christ finally saves us. Grace is God’s help, His divine assistance. Without Him, the Lamb of God, we could not make it back home to live in His and the Father’s presence.

Jesus: His Atoning Influence

What is the most important commandment?

1 John 2:1-2

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus is our Advocate (Helper, Comforter, Intercessor) with the Father. All have sinned and continue to sin. Disobedience to God’s commandments distances us from Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Thus, we must constantly repent and improve our souls by obeying all God’s laws and statutes and especially work on those that we are having trouble living with exactness.

President Harold B. Lee said, “The most important of all the commandments of God is that one that you're having the most difficulty keeping today. If it's one of dishonesty, if it's one of unchastity, if it's one of falsifying, not telling the truth, today is the day for you to work on that until you've been able to conquer that weakness. Then you start on the next one that's most difficult for you to keep.”  (President Harold B. Lee, Church News, May 5, 1973, p. 3)

Our disobedience separates us from the presence of God, and Jesus, the mediator, reconciles us to the Father, restores God’s peace to our hearts, since He is our Advocate. Jesus propitiates (calms and soothes) us as we repent of our wrongs. This applies to all people through the entire world and the countless worlds beyond this mortal earth. For this earth is only one of the worlds without number Jesus has created under the direction of the Father. His atonement is infinite, which means there are no ends to His atoning influence.

Seek to sin not.