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!
