Atonement

“It is a fundamental truth that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be cleansed. We can become virtuous and pure. However, sometimes our poor choices leave us with long-term consequences. One of the vital steps to complete repentance is to bear the short- and long-term consequences of our past sins.”
-              Elder Richard G. Scott, October 2013 General Conference, “Personal Strength Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ,”    https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/personal-strength-through-the-atonement-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

“No matter what our transgressions have been, no matter how much our actions may have hurt others, that guilt can all be wiped out. To me, perhaps the most beautiful phrase in all scripture is when the Lord said, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”  That is the promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement: to take anyone who comes, anyone who will join, and put them through an experience so that at the end of their life, they can go through the veil having repented of their sins and having been washed clean through the blood of Christ.”
-              President Boyd K. Packer, October 2012 General Conference, “The Atonement” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-atonement?lang=eng

“The Atonement was absolutely essential for men to cleanse themselves from sin and overcome the second death, which is the spiritual death, which is separation from our Father in Heaven. For the scriptures tell us, seven times they tell us, that no unclean thing may enter the presence of God.”
-              Boyd K. Packer, April 1988 General Conference, “Atonement, Agency, Accountability” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/04/atonement-agency-accountability?lang=eng&query=agency

“We have a champion, a Savior, who walked through the valley of the shadow of death on our behalf. He gave Himself as a ransom for our sins. No one has ever had greater love than this—Jesus Christ, the Lamb without blemish, willingly laid Himself on the altar of sacrifice and paid the price for our sins to “the uttermost farthing.” He took upon Himself our suffering. He took our burdens, our guilt upon His shoulders. My dear friends, when we decide to come to Him, when we take upon ourselves His name and boldly walk in the path of discipleship, then through the Atonement we are promised not only happiness and “peace in this world” but also “eternal life in the world to come.”
-              President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2013 General Conference, “You Can Do It Now!” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/you-can-do-it-now?lang=eng

“Sometimes in the depth of pain, we are tempted to ask, “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?” I testify the answer is yes, there is a physician. The Atonement of Jesus Christ covers all these conditions and purposes of mortality.”
-              Kent F. Richards, April 2011 General Conference, “The Atonement Covers All Pain” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/the-atonement-covers-all-pain

“But do we also understand that the Atonement is for faithful men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully? I wonder if we fail to fully acknowledge this strengthening aspect of the Atonement in our lives and mistakenly believe we must carry our load all alone—through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline and with our obviously limited capacities.

“It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to the earth to die for us. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to enliven us—not only to guide but also to strengthen and heal us.”
-              David A. Bednar, April 2014 General Conference, “Bear Up Their Burdens With Ease” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/bear-up-their-burdens-with-ease

“There is no physical pain, no spiritual wound, no anguish of soul or heartache, no infirmity or weakness you or I ever confront in mortality that the Savior did not experience first. In a moment of weakness we may cry out, “No one knows what it is like. No one understands.” But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He has felt and borne our individual burdens. And because of His infinite and eternal sacrifice (see Alma 34:14), He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy. He can reach out, touch, succor, heal, and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do relying only upon our own power. Indeed, His yoke is easy and His burden is light.”
-              David A. Bednar, April 2014 General Conference, “Bear Up Their Burdens With Ease” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/bear-up-their-burdens-with-ease

“That brings us to the Atonement. Paul said, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” The Atonement of Jesus Christ became the immortal creation. He volunteered to answer the ends of a law previously transgressed.  And by the shedding of His blood, His and our physical bodies could become perfected. They could again function without blood, just as Adam’s and Eve’s did in their paradisiacal form. Paul taught that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; … this mortal must put on immortality.”
-              Russell M. Nelson, October 1996 General Conference, “The Atonement” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/the-atonement?lang=eng&query=atonement

“The Creation required the Fall. The Fall required the Atonement. The Atonement enabled the purpose of the Creation to be accomplished. Eternal life, made possible by the Atonement, is the supreme purpose of the Creation. To phrase that statement in its negative form, if families were not sealed in holy temples, the whole earth would be utterly wasted. 

“The purposes of the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement all converge on the sacred work done in temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The earth was created and the Church was restored to make possible the sealing of wife to husband, children to parents, families to progenitors, worlds without end.”
-              Russell M. Nelson, October 1996 General Conference, “The Atonement” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/the-atonement?lang=eng&query=atonement

“May the Atonement of Jesus Christ cause a “mighty change” to be wrought in our hearts.  As we awaken to this doctrine, declared by an angel of God to be “glad tidings of great joy,” I promise that we will feel as King Benjamin’s people felt. After they had prayed mightily that the Atonement would be applied in their lives, “they were filled with joy” and were “willing to enter into a covenant with … God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things.” Making, keeping, and rejoicing in our covenants will be the evidence that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is truly written in our hearts. Please remember these three principles, sisters:

1. “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”

2. There is power in the Atonement to enable us to overcome the natural man or woman and become true disciples of Jesus Christ.

3. The Atonement is the greatest evidence we have of the Father’s love for His children.”
-              Linda K. Burton, October 2012 General Conference, “Is Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in Our Hearts?” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/is-faith-in-the-atonement-of-jesus-christ-written-in-our-hearts?lang=eng&query=atonement

Position Statement:

The Atonement is the greatest of all gifts.  Our Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered for all our sins and transgressions, all our pains and disappointments.  He understands our struggles.  He has borne our burdens.  Not only does the Atonement allow us to become clean again, it can strengthen and guide us throughout our lives.  Christ paid the price and made it possible for us to return to our Father in Heaven.  We should never take this gift for granted.  The gift of forgiveness that comes through the Atonement is available to us if we apply it.  The strengthening power we can find through Christ is offered to all.