*personal thoughts on the atonement*

The following are not doctrine, but rather personal thoughts and understanding on various aspects of the atonement:


We could have been ransomed through the atonement without having Christ experience our afflictions, temptations, and sicknesses; his overcoming of sin and death would have sufficed in allowing us to return to God again. The added sacrifice of experiencing affliction, temptations, and sickness were experienced solely so that he would know how to help us in time of need.

Since the atonement required someone to suffer in all physical capacities, it would have killed any mortal during such an attempt. Thus, mortals could not have performed it; it required a god. Hence, only one that had power over death such as a god could complete it. However, Heavenly Father could not personally do it as his resurrected body can no longer be sacrificed.

No one killed Jesus. Since he had power over death during mortality, he could not be killed. He willingly gave his life, as the atonement was a perfect sacrifice of charity--Godly love. Thus, this perfect sacrifice had to include a full consecration of everything he had--even his whole life.

Christ has experienced every deprivation we shall ever experience. Though it is impossible for us to fathom, he perfectly knows what the falsely accused, the ruthlessly abused, and the completely deprived feel, for he has personally felt it. He knows the anxiety associated with being a single father with five young children that is just laid off, He knows the pain and anguish an expecting mother has as a greatly-anticipated child is born stillborn, and He knows the betrayal felt when a twenty-five year marriage is suddenly ended by the actions of an unfaithful spouse. He knows because he has personally felt each and every one.

Christ's thoughts, feelings, and emotions are perfect; they are the exact same as those of the Father. Thus, when Christ asked that the cup pass from Him, the Father felt the same plea inside. The Father felt the inward desire to have the atonement accomplished through another way. However, both knew that this was the only way. Hence, no other way nor means could have possibly been devised at any point through the eternities that would have created another means for accomplishing the purposes of the atonement. If thee had been, the Father's desire of such would have brought that method about instead.

While perfect obedience brings great knowledge, Christ's perfect obedience still did not bring him to a perfect knowledge of the suffering, afflictions, and trials of others. To gain this type of knowledge, Christ had to vicariously experience the suffering, afflictions, and trials of others firsthand. He then knew how to succor us (run to our aid). For us to gain this knowledge, we shall have to vicariously experience the suffering, afflictions, and trials of the atonement--at a later time. We shall have a future time (after our deaths so that we do not die in such an attempt) where we will need to vicariously experience the suffering, afflictions, and trials of all others--that we will be perfectly understanding and compassionate to our future spirit children. It is the only way to gain such knowledge.

Christ assumed the situation of the very most vile of sinners. For an instant within the garden and at Golgotha, he knew what it was like to be the thief, the serial killer, or the adulterer. He knew because he experienced every event each of those individuals would ever experience--throughout every instance of that person's life. Without such, he could not be the perfect judge. Without such, he could not know how to succor (run to the aid of) such an individual.

Every individual has the opportunity to repent. However, those that have committed the unpardonable sin have sinned out of their life the light of Christ and will no longer desire to seek His redemptive forgiveness. He is there for those individuals, but repentance will not occur because they will not be willing to come home to Him again.

Premortality brought agency; if it were not such, Satan could not have rebelled. With agency there, each of us chose both right and wrong. Some became more obedient and valiant, from which God chose His rulers. Obedience also brought priesthood foreordinations. Some of His children were less obedient. However, since Jesus became a god while yet in premortality, we understand that He chose perfectly--even there. Hence, when the Father presented His plan, all eyes must have fallen on Jesus, as he was the only perfect child of Elohim that could have been sacrificed as an eternally blemishless ransom. Each of us had already lost such an opportunity through making less-than-perfect choices prior to the heavenly council.

In order to come to the earth, God's children had to express the willingness to follow God's plan. God's plan included the application of the atonement of Jesus. Hence, all that came into mortality had already sustained Jesus as the redeemer and promised to apply the atonement while they were yet in premortality. When 1/3 of God's children refused to sustain Jesus and apply the atonement, they denied themselves the opportunity of becoming pure in mortality. (If they would not agree to it while having a perfect knowledge of the plan, they certainly wouldn't after the mortal veil was brought upon their minds.) Since they would eternally be unwilling to apply the atonement, the purpose of becoming mortal was void. Since they could not progress without the atonement, there was no longer any reason for obtaining a physical body. Hence, their being denied bodies was a natural consequence of them denying themselves the only way of becoming pure.