Christ took upon Himself the sin and guilt of all men who
have ever lived on the earth as well as all those who will ever live on the
earth. It is in our nature as mortal men and women to sin and to not keep all
the commandments all the time. Because of what Christ suffered in the Garden of
Gethsemane descending below everything and then being resurrected and ascending
above all, makes Christ our Savior and Redeemer. It is His atonement that gives
us power to overcome physical and spiritual death. He is our advocate with the
Father and asks is to “come unto him” in all that we do and say. As we remember
that our lives are bought with a price, may we make righteous decisions in all
that we do. KW
"...Should we fall short, our Savior has provided us with the precious gift of the Atonement and that, if we change our lives and our hearts and take advantage of the power of the Atonement, our sins and shortcomings will be forgiven and forgotten."
~President Thomas S. Monson, "Be a Light to the World" BYU Devotional Address 11/2011
"The gift of the resurrection and immortality is given freely through the loving grace of Jesus Christ to all people of all ages, regardless of their good or evil acts. And to those who choose to love the Lord and who show their love and faith in Him by keeping His commandments and qualifying for the full blessings of the Atonement, he offers the additional promise of exaltation and eternal live, which is the blessing of living in the presence of God and His Beloved Son forever."
~Elder M. Russell Ballard, "The Atonement and the Value of One Soul" General Conference 4/2004
"Our salvation depends on believing in and accepting
the Atonement. Such acceptance requires a continual effort to understand it
more fully. The Atonement advances our mortal course of learning by making it
possible for our natures to become perfect. All of us have sinned and need to
repent to fully pay our part of the debt. When we sincerely repent, the
Savior’s magnificent Atonement pays the rest of that debt."
~Elder James E. Faust, "The Atonement: OurGreatestHope" General Conference 10/2001
"I weep for joy when I contemplate the significance of
it all. To be redeemed is to be atoned-received in the close embrace of God
with an expression not only of His forgiveness, but of our oneness of heart and
mind. What a privilege! And what a comfort to those of us with loved ones who
have already passed from our family circle through the gateway we call
death!"
~Elder Russell M. Nelson, "The Atonement" General
Conference 10/1996
"[Christ], by choice, accepted the penalty for all
mankind for the sum total of all wickedness and depravity; for brutality,
immorality, perversion, and corruption; for addiction; for the killings and
torture and terror—for all of it that ever had been or all that ever would be
enacted upon this earth.
In choosing, He faced
the awesome power of the evil one who was not confined to flesh nor subject to
mortal pain. That was Gethsemane!
How the Atonement was wrought, we do not know. No mortal
watched as evil turned away and hid in shame before the light of that pure
being.
All wickedness could not quench that light. When what was
done was done, the ransom had been paid. Both death and hell forsook their
claim on all who would repent. Men at last were free. Then every soul who ever
lived could choose to touch that light and be redeemed.
By this infinite sacrifice, through this atonement of
Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the
gospel."
~President Boyd K. Packer, "Atonement, Agency,Accountability" General Conference 4/1988
"The Savior's Resurrection assures all of us that
someday we, too, will follow Him and experience our own resurrection. What
peace, what comfort this great gift is which comes through the loving grace of
Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind."
~Elder M. Russell Ballard, "The Atonement and the Valueof One Soul" General Conference 4/2004
"The Atonement of Jesus Christ causes each person to be
accountable for his or her individual sins. We will overcome the consequences
of individual sin by claiming the blessings and benefits of the Atonement.”
~President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Point of SafeReturn" General Conference 4/2007
"Without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, life would be a
dead-end road without the hope or future. With the Atonement, life is an
ennobling, inspiring journey of growth and development that leads to eternal
life in the presence of our Heavenly Father."
~President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Four Titles"
General Conference 4/2013
"The Savior's gift of immortality comes to all who have ever lived. But his gift of eternal life requires repentance and obedience to specific ordinances and covenants. Essential ordinances of the gospel symbolize the Atonement. Baptism by immersion is symbolic of the death, burial, and Resurrection of the Redeemer. Partaking of the sacrament renews baptismal covenants and also renews our memory of the Savior's broken flesh and of the blood He shed for us. Ordinances of the temple symbolize our reconciliation with the Lord and seal families together forever. Obedience to the sacred covenants made in temples qualifies us for eternal life-the greatest gift of God to man- the 'object and end of our existence.'"
~Elder Russell M. Nelson, "The Atonement" General
Conference 10/1996
“We long for the ultimate blessing of the Atonement—to
become one with Him, to be in His divine presence, to be called individually by
name as He warmly welcomes us home with a radiant smile, beckoning us with open
arms to be enfolded in His boundless love. How gloriously sublime this
experience will be if we can feel worthy enough to be in His presence! The free
gift of His great atoning sacrifice for each of us is the only way we can be
exalted enough to stand before Him and see Him face-to-face. The overwhelming
message of the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of
us. It is a love which is full of mercy, patience, grace, equity,
long-suffering, and, above all, forgiving.”
~President James E. Faust, “The Atonement: Our GreatestHope”
General Conference 10/2001
“Death is a necessary component of our eternal existence. No one knows when it will come, but it is essential to God’s great plan of happiness. Thanks to the Atonement of the Lord, eventual resurrection is a reality and eternal life is a possibility for all human kind. That possibility becomes reality as we obey God’s law."
~Elder Russell M. Nelson, "Now is the Time to Prepare" General Conference 4/2005
“Death is a necessary component of our eternal existence. No one knows when it will come, but it is essential to God’s great plan of happiness. Thanks to the Atonement of the Lord, eventual resurrection is a reality and eternal life is a possibility for all human kind. That possibility becomes reality as we obey God’s law."
~Elder Russell M. Nelson, "Now is the Time to Prepare" General Conference 4/2005
"Wherever you find yourselves on this journey through life, whatever trials you may face, there is always a point of safe return; there is always hope. You are the captain of your life, and God has prepared a plan to bring you safely back to Him, to your divine destination. The gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ provides us at all times and at all places with the blessings of repentance and forgiveness. Because of this gift, the opportunity to make a safe return from the disastrous course of sin is available to all of us.”
~President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Point of SafeReturn" General Conference 4/2007
