The Living Christ

Click to read the testimony of modern day Apostles about The Living Christ

Access the Atonement

The Atonement and Resurrection

Book of Mormon--Alma 42:23

The atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God;

Since the atonement (payment for sins) brings to pass the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrection of the dead brings us back into the presence of God; THEN the atonement brings us back into the presence of God. Without the atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind would eventually perish and become as satan, full of evil and forever  miserable.

Christ’s atonement (payment for our sins) started in Gethsemane, continued on the cross, and culminated with the resurrection.  According to the Law of Justice, everyone would need to suffer for his/her sins. But to have our sins forgiven and to be resurrection after death required a sacrifice, but it needed to be an infinite and eternal sacrifice. Jesus Christ was the only one qualified to make this atoning sacrifice.

Birth is when the spirit enters the physical body. Death is the separation of the body and spirit, when the body goes to the grave to await the resurrection, and the spirit goes to the spirit world, the world where the spirits of all people go when they die. At the appointed resurrection time, your spirit and body will be re-united and come forth to meet Christ at the judgement bar. Here you will be judged according to your thoughts, desires, and works during mortality and the spirit world existence. If you have lived a good life, obeying all God’s commandments, you can receive a Celestial body and dwell with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, family members and friends in eternal life, exaltation, in the highest heaven of the Celestial world. All this is possible because of the resurrection and atonement of Jesus Christ, our elder Brother.

“For as in Adam, all die; even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Cor. 15:21-22).

Christ is the author and finisher of our salvation. Come unto Him and live!

Justice and Mercy

Book of Mormon--Alma 42:23

But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement

Just-Fair

Justice-Fairness

Mercy-Compassion, forgiveness

The Law of Justice-The Law of Mercy

God is a just God. He applies justice, fairness, 100% of the time. He also applies mercy (compassion and forgiveness) when they are due. God’s law of justice, fairness, is always in effect, if not so, God would cease to be God. God is also full of mercy (compassion and forgiveness). When we sin, we come short of the glory of God. The justice of God allows for us to be punished for our sins, and we will be punished because it is only fair. On the other hand, when we sin, in addition to our being punished, if we repent, God extends mercy (compassion and forgiveness) because He loves us. If there was no mercy (compassion and forgiveness), we would be miserable forever.
The Law of Mercy exists because of the Atonement (Payment) of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Great Atoner (Creditor). He atoned (paid) for our sins out of mercy (compassion), for us and the Father.
Will justice rob mercy? Never. Will merce rob justice? Never. If so, God would cease to be God, and He will not cease to be God; therefore, God is a God of Justice and a God of Mercy because of the Atonement (payment) of Jesus Christ.

Click to read more about The Justice and Mercy of God by an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ Atoned for Our Sins

Atonement of Jesus Christ

Book of Mormon, Alma 34:8

8 And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

To atone--to pay for, to reconcile, to make right.
Atonement--payment

Christ came into the world to take upon himself the sins and transgressions of all people, and to atone, to pay for, the sins of the world. According to the justice of the Father, when one sinned, there must be a punishment. In Gethsemane and on the cross, Jesus suffered the punishment  and paid the penalty for everyone’s sins. Our responsibility is to exercise faith in Christ, repent of our sins, and stop sinning.

Life is a constant process of repenting, being forgiven, and striving to cease sinning. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (I Philippians 4:13). By the grace and power of Christ, we can do it.  Grace is divine assistance, heavenly help, divine intervention.

Jesus said, (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19)16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

Therefore, come unto Christ and partake of His salvation.

Christ's Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane

Elder James E. Talmage taught: 

Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. … He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even con-ceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused him to suffer such torture as to produce an ex-trusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of expe-riencing. … In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world,’ could inflict. … In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehen-sible, the Savior took upon Him-self the burden of the sins of man-kind from Adam to the end of the world‖ (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 613). 

Christ in Gethsemane

Several years before Elder Orson F. Whitney was ordained an Apostle, he received a vision of the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane. Elder Whitney’s description of his vision: 

―I seemed to be in the Garden of Geth-semane, a witness of the Savior’s ago-ny. I saw Him as plainly as ever I have seen anyone. Standing behind a tree in the foreground, I beheld Jesus, with Peter, James and John, as they came through a little … gate at my right. Leaving the three Apostles there, af-ter telling them to kneel and pray, the Son of God passed over to the other side, where He also knelt and prayed. It was the same prayer with which all Bible readers are familiar: ‘Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ “As He prayed the tears streamed down his face, which was toward me. I was so moved at the sight that I also wept, out of pure sympathy. My whole heart went out to him; I loved him with all my soul, and longed to be with him as I longed for nothing else. “Presently He arose and walked to where those Apostles were kneeling—fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a tone of tender re-proach, untinctured by the least show of anger or impatience, asked them plaintively if they could not watch with him one hour. There He was, with the awful weight of the world’s sin upon his shoulders, with the pangs of every man, woman and child shooting through his sensitive soul—and they could not watch with him one poor hour! “Returning to his place, He offered up the same prayer as before; then went back and again found them sleeping. Again he awoke them, readmonished them, and once more returned and prayed. Three times this occurred‖ (Through Memory’s Halls [1930], 82).

The Pains, Afflictions, and Temptations of Jesus

Book of Mormon-Alma 7:11

And he 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.

Jesus suffered pains, afflictions, and temptations of every kind. Jesus said, "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations" (Luke 22:28). Through His atoning sacrifice, He knows what it is like to have cancer, a severe common cold, leukemia, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, toothache, hurt feelings, broken hearts, brain damage, heart attack, depression, stroke, leprosy, and all the other countless diseases that afflict mankind. In Gethsemane, He descended below all things, including the experiencing of every pain and disease and suffering and temptation. He knows what it is like to be tempted by Satan, and there isn’t anything He doesn’t know.

Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection constitute the Atonement. He is The Great Atoner. While hanging on the cross, the pains and sufferings of Gethsemane returned to Him. Yet, He never complained nor murmured against the Father. He accepted His role as The Great Atoner in perfect stride. He never forsook His responsibilities. He atoned out of His infinite love for His Father and all humankind.

Be Reconciled to GOD

Jacob 4:11

Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh.

We can be reconciled to God the Father through the application of Christ’s atoning blood in our lives. To reconcile is to restore peace, and in this scenario, having our hearts restored to feeling God’s peace. We lose this peace when we sin and violate covenants and choose the wrong, but we have His peace restored to us as we repent and look to Christ’s atonement. When we are in the process of repenting and improving, then we are in the process of becoming like God, which is the meaning of atonement; becoming one with God, even At-One-ment.

By the power of Christ’s resurrection, we can be resurrected and thus overcome physical death. “For as in Adam, all die. Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”(see 1 Cor. 15:20-22). Thus, since all must experience physical death due to the Fall, then all will be resurrected to fulfill the merciful plan of Heavenly Father.

Having Faith in God gives us hope, hope for a better life and a better world, hope for forgiveness of our sins and hope to be reconciled to God, even the Father through His Son Jesus Christ so that we can enjoy peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come.

Jesus Offereth Himself a Sacrifice for Sin

2 Nephi 2:7

7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

In the Law of Moss, people offered animals, fowl, and ox as sacrifices, symbolic of the future ultimate sacrifice that Christ would make. They would kill it, sacrifice it on the altar, and then they would sprinkle it's blood on the altar for reconciliation and atonement for the sins of the people.

Jesus offered HIMSELF as a sacrifice for the sins of the people. He didn't sacrifice animals, fowl or ox, but he sacrificed HIMSELF, His life and blood, willingly and humbly to do the Father's will for humankind. He chose to die at the moment he gave up the ghost. He suffered until His time was up. The Law of Moses sacrifices were finite and short-lived, but Jesus' sacrifice was Infinite and eternal.

The cross was Jesus's altar of sacrifice.

Be Valiant

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

October 1974 General Conference

Elder Henry B. Eyring: Jesus the Christ

The First Vision