The Atonement of Jesus Christ: Our Reconciliation with God

Another stellar article written by guest-writer Cody Bosch.

I would like to speak of the wonderful gift to mankind that is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cleverly phrased it, “Atonement is really three words:At-one-ment, meaning to set at one, one with God; to reconcile, to conciliate, to expiate.”

Elder Packer explains that the component parts of the word each have their own meaning. “At” as in place; “one” person, or God; and “ment” for a dictionary suffix which means to be at a state of condition due to action, or concrete result of action making, “to set” as it were. The atonement reconciles us with God.

“If punishment is the price repentance asks, it comes at bargain price. Consequences, even painful ones, protect us. So simple a thing as a child’s cry of pain when his finger touches fire can teach us that. Except for the pain, the child might be consumed.”

-Boyd K. Packer

Because of the fall of Adam and Eve--the descent of man from God's presence, to a fallen, sinful state--the Atonement was made necessary. The fall resulted in mankind being subject to death, temptation, and sin, conditions that one cannot overcome on their own. In order to reconcile us with God, a higher power needed to intervene.

The atonement was what Jesus Christ achieved in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. He suffered, bled, and died for the sins and pains of the world. When we engage our end of this Atonement by repenting and looking upon Christ, we can be forgiven. Thanks to Christ's triumph over death itself, we are able to live again as resurrected beings in the hereafter.

There are two types of death that humans can experience. These are physical and spiritual death. The atonement allows us to conquer both of these. Spiritual death is separation from God. You can experience this multiple times. This is through sin. When obeying the Lord's commandments and acting righteously, we are entitled to the Lord's presence, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Light of Christ. When in sin, we forfeit this sacred presence, and must repent to get it back.

“An atonement was made. Ever and always it offers amnesty from transgression and from death if we will but repent. Repentance is the escape clause in it all. Repentance is the key with which we can unlock the prison from inside. We hold that key within our hands, and agency is ours to use it...I readily confess that I would find no peace, neither happiness nor safety, in a world without repentance. I do not know what I should do if there were no way for me to erase my mistakes. The agony would be more than I could bear. It may be otherwise with you, but not with me.”-Boyd K. Packer

Amnesty means an act of authority in forgiving a person or group of people. Every person except Jesus commits sins and transgressions, therefore putting them in need of amnesty and forgiveness. Repentance is the key that unlocks us from our spirit prison.

What is a Covenant?

This article was written by guest-writer, Cody Bosch.

“A covenant is a sacred promise, as used in the scriptures, a solemn, enduring promise between God and man. The fullness of the gospel itself is defined as the new and everlasting covenant.”-Boyd K. Packer. 
In an April 1987 address to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Boyd K. Packer related the story of the recent death of his fellow apostle, Elder A. Theodore Tuttle .The people of the Church were asked to fast and pray that he would recover from an illness that had been plaguing him.  Even with prayers of millions of faithful, however, Elder Tuttle eventually succumbed to his illness. During his address, Elder Packer, lest someone's faith be shaken, pulled out a sheet of paper that he originally had planned to read at Elder Tuttle's funeral, but at the time couldn't bring himself to do it.  Elder Packer informed the congregation of Elder Tuttle's humility and faith during his trying illness. In a visit to to Elder Tuttle's hospital bed, Elder Packer had heard the man say that he had prayed to God that all the blessings coming his way would be passed along to someone else who was more needful, more deserving.

“No matter what citizenship or race, whether male or female, no matter what occupation, no matter your education, regardless of the generation in which one lives, life is a homeward journey for all of us, back to the presence of God in his celestial kingdom.”-Boyd K. Packer. 

A covenant, like the one made by the ailing Elder Tuttle, is essentially a two-way promise between God and man. In exchange for obedience to God and His commandments, the commensurate blessings based on those commandments can be awarded in the Lord's  time. One covenant that each must make is the covenant of baptism. By being baptized by the correct authority, we signify to God that we are willing to end our life of sin and start anew, taking upon ourselves the name of Christ. The Lord holds His end of the deal by washing us clean from our repented sins, and have the opportunity for repentance should we stumble later on.
If you would like to learn more about covenants and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can follow this link to chat live with actual missionaries. Mormon.org/chat

We All Have Need of the Atonement of Jesus Christ

The following was inspired by LDS Apostle, Boyd K. Packer's October 2012 talk, "The Atonement"

If there is one thing I know about life is that it is not easy. Many a time, life seems cold and indifferent to the suffering of those living it. Any well-experienced person will tell you that life is not with trial, not without pain, and not without struggle. But many of those people will also tell you something else; it's worth it.
Life may give us trouble, but we are not alone in the journey. For a start, we have each other. One of the greatest assets we have been given in this life is our fellow man, whom we can learn from, teach, and give and receive assistance. But more importantly, God has given us what is without a doubt the greatest gift ever given: the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

What is the Atonement?
As mortal human beings, we are imperfect. Try as we might, we are all prone to weakness, and will occasionally slip up, violating the commandments God has given us. But God has said,
"Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence." 
(Moses 6:57)
Being imperfect, we naturally are unclean, and therefore cannot dwell with God without repentance. But then comes the tricky part. Being the creations of a benevolent God, who decided to create us, and give us life, we are eternally in His debt. To repent, we must pay the price for our sins to God. But how can we expect to even begin to pay Him back?
But God is merciful. He knew that the predicament of mankind stood in this cosmic catch-22, and He graciously gave us a solution. He would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth, to obtain a body, live as we do, teach us on behalf of the Father and share with us the sacred power of God. He would live a perfect life, performing the impossible (for us) task of never sinning in His entire earthly life. And then, the Son of God would take upon Himself all the pains, afflictions, guilt, and sins of all mankind. He would bleed from every pore, be betrayed by those He called friends, be tortured, beaten and spat upon, and finally suffer the agony of death by crucifixion. Three days later, He would rise from the dead and ascend to His Heavenly Father.
In these actions, Jesus Christ performed what is called the "Atonement." Perfect, pure, and sinless He offered Himself as a sacrifice, a payment to God. Thanks to these selfless acts, we are able to repent, by admitting our faults to God, doing all that we can to fix the problem, and begging forgiveness from God and any we have wronged. Then, as we remember the body of Christ, which was broken for us, His blood, which was shed for us, we are able to lay our sins at the feet of Jesus Christ, and be made clean once more. The Lord, in His infinite mercy, gave us a way to become more than we are, to become clean, and able to once more dwell with our Father.
Is the Atonement just for our sins?
The Atonement covers much more than our sins. Looping back to the introduction, life inevitably holds trial. We all have our obstacles to face, and we all have our own unique challenges in life. In the midst of these times, it can be tempting to think that God does not understand, that this trial is just too much, and that our life isn't fair. But thanks to the atonement, this is not the case. The Savior Jesus Christ felt every pain, disappointment, and hardship we have ever felt, and more. He understands.
"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.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."
(Alma 7:11-12)
Armed with the knowledge of how we feel, of the intricacies and nuances of our circumstances, Jesus Christ will advocate with our Heavenly Father on our behalf come Judgement Day. Our judgement will be completely fair, just, and merciful. Through the Atonement, the Lord offers us all things. ensuring our salvation and exaltation if only we obey His commandments and remember His sacrifice with deep gratitude and humility. We are eternally indebted to God, yet He saw fit to give us the ultimate gift in His Son.