The Atonement

Last week, we finished the final lesson in the Doctrine and Covenants lesson manual. Next week, we will begin the new year's study of the Old Testament.

This week, we will have a lesson on The Atonement.

Reading 1 - Articles of Faith 3

[The Atonement of Christ] is the very root of Christian doctrine. You may know much about the gospel as it branches out from there, but if you only know the branches and those branches do not touch that root, if they have been cut free from that truth, there will be no life nor substance nor redemption in them. Boyd K. Packer, “The Mediator,” Ensign, May 1977, 54

Reading 2 – Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: Now the greatest and most important single thing there is in all eternity—the thing that transcends all others since the time of the creation of man and of the worlds—is the fact of the atoning sacrifice of Christ the Lord. He came into the world to live and to die—to live the perfect life and be the pattern, the similitude, the prototype for all men, and to crown his ministry in death, in the working out of the infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice. And by virtue of this atonement, all things pertaining to life and immortality, to existence, to glory and salvation, to honor and rewards hereafter, all things are given full force and efficacy and virtue. The Atonement is the central thing in the whole gospel system. Bruce R. McConkie, “Behold the Condescension of God,” New Era, Dec. 1984, 35    

I need thee every hour,

In joy or pain,

Come quickly and abide,

Or life is vain.

“I Need Thee Every Hour,” Hymns no. 98, Salt Lake City, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985

Reading 3 - Mosiah 3:19

C.S. Lewis captured the nature of our mortal tendency to oppose God when he wrote, “Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement; he is a rebel who must lay down his arms.”

Reading 4 - Elder Merrill J. Bateman said: "For many years I thought of the Savior's experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him. Through the words of Alma, Abinadi, Isaiah, and other prophets, however, my view has changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of people, as Jesus felt 'our infirmities,' "[bore] our griefs . . . carried our sorrows . . . [and] was bruised for our iniquities.' The Atonement was an intimate, personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to help each of us."  Merrill J. Bateman, “A Pattern for All,” Ensign, Nov 2005, 74

Reading 5 - John 21:4-7

Reading 6 – John 21-15-17

Reading 7 – Alma 7:11-12

Reading 8 – Mosiah 27:36-37

Reading 9 – President Gordon B. Hinkley said: [Jesus Christ’s] Atonement is the greatest event in human history. There is nothing to compare with it. It is the most fundamental part of our Father’s plan for the happiness of His children. (Gordon B. Hinckley, “Inspirational Thoughts,” Ensign, Sept 2007, 4–8)