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Two Minutes to Eternal Life My God-Story
Did Jesus Christ Die on the
Cross to Pay for Our Sins?
A Survey of Mormon Teachings
on the Atonement of Christ
__________________
__________
by
Cky J. Carrigan, Ph.D.
North American
Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary
ccarrigan@namb.net ~
www.ontruth.com
ABBREVIATIONS
AV Authorized Version of the Holy Bible
BMCT Book of Mormon Critical Text
BMCT-A No changes according to the BMCT
BMCT-B Inconsequential changes according to the BMCT
BMCT-C Moderate consequential changes according to the BMCT
BMCT-D Severe consequential changes according to the BMCT
BOM Book of Mormon
BYU
C1 Category one authority
C2 Category two authority
C3 Category three authority
C4 Category four authority
CR Conference Reports
D&C Doctrine and Covenants
DGSM Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual
FARMS The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies
GP Gospel Principles
JD Journal of Discourses
JST Joseph Smith Translation
JTC Jesus the Christ
LDS Latter-day Saint(s)
LDPS Latter-day Prophets Speak
MGSP Missionary Gospel Study Program
MOFP Messages of the First Presidency
MPPS Melchizedek Priesthood Personal Study
NKJV New King James Version of the Holy Bible
PGP
TETB Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson
TLDP Teachings of the Latter-day Prophets
TPJS Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
UMC United
Precis: According to Mormon doctrine, Jesus
did not die on the cross to pay for our sins. The death of Jesus itself was of
no consequence and his atoning act of suffering and bleeding did not pay for
our sins.
The Christology of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is vastly different from evangelical
Christology in many ways and one distinctive feature of LDS Christology is the
Mormon doctrine of the atonement.[1] The
LDS Doctrine of the Extent of the
Atonement of the Son of God
The Mormon Church affirms a universal and unconditional application of the atonement of the Son for Adam’s transgression. The Church teaches that the sacrificial atonement of the Son produces redemption for all earth-born humans (universal) with no regard for the individual’s beliefs or conduct (unconditional) in the second estate.[3] The kind of salvation universally produced by the atonement of the Son is called redemption. Redemption, however, is the least complete kind of salvation in the LDS program.
The sacrificial atonement of the Son of God is not universally and unconditionally applied to all sins, according to Mormonism. The sacrificial atonement of the Son is only universally and unconditionally operative for reversing human mortality, which is the result of Adam’s transgression. All earth-born humans will be redeemed from the penalty of Adam’s transgression and will enjoy the state of immortality because of their obedience in the first estate and the universal unconditional sacrificial atonement of the Son for Adam’s transgression. This is as far as the universal and unconditional atonement extends. There is an individual conditional application of the atonement as well.
The individual conditional aspect of the atonement relates to the degree of glory one may achieve on condition of repentance and obedience. The kind of immortal body one receives at the resurrection, and the eternal realm to which one is assigned, are conditionally granted on the basis of the degree of one’s repentance and obedience to the Mormon Gospel.[4]
There is another distinct feature of the LDS doctrine that is associated with the individual conditional application of the atonement of the Son. The conditional application of the atonement of the Son is extended to all earth-born humans who have died after reaching the age of eight without hearing the LDS Gospel. In the LDS program these earth-born humans are given another period of probation in the realm of the dead. At the resurrection they will be issued a kind of body and assigned to a realm of glory consistent with their level of belief and obedience in the realm of the dead.
Some early LDS authorities seem to have taught that individual sins are not atoned for by the sacrifice of the Son. Others taught that some kinds of individual sins are atoned for by the sacrifice of the Son on condition of repentance and obedience, while some gross kinds of sins can only be atoned for by individual atonement.[5]
The atonement of the Son of God is also extended to all children who die before reaching eight years of age and the mentally impaired whose mental age is less than the mental age of a normal eight year old. In the Mormon program these two kinds of earth-born humans are permitted to enjoy exaltation in the celestial realm without having proven themselves worthy in the mortal probation.[6]
LDS Doctrine of the Manner of the
Atonement of the Son of God
In addition to teaching a different
doctrine of the extent of the atonement of the Son of God, the Mormon Church
also affirms a different doctrine on the manner of the atonement of the Son.
The Church teaches that the sacrificial atonement of the Son occurred in
Category One Statements on the Extent of
the Atonement of the Son of God[7]
LDS authorities employ several
biblical passages to support their doctrine on the extent of the atonement of the
Son of God. The most important passages for this doctrine are 1 Corinthians
15:20-23; Hebrews 5:8-9 and
But now is Christ risen from the dead, [and] become the firstfruits of them that slept.
For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. For
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.[8]
Hebrews 5:8-9 reads,
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
Mormon authorities also rely heavily upon the Book of Mormon for their doctrine of the atonement of the Son. There are many BOM passages that reportedly support their doctrine, but consider the following selections from 2 Nephi 9-10, Mosiah 3, Alma 42 and Mormon 9. A portion of 2 Nephi 9-10 reads,
For it behooveth the great Creator
that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for
all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death hath passed
upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must
needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man
by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and
because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement--save it should be an
infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore,
the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless
duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its
mother earth, to rise no more. . . . The spirits of men will be restored one to
the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of
A portion of Mosiah 3 reads,
For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ. . . . For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.[10]
A portion of
And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence. And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. . . . But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God. But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice. For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.[11]
A portion of Mormon 9 reads,
Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.[12]
These four representative selections from the Book of Mormon reportedly teach that the Son of God atoned or paid for Adam’s transgression, which brought both physical death (mortality) and spiritual death (estrangement from the Father) to all men. His atonement was an act of grace and mercy that will result in immortality (resurrection) for all earth-born men without regard for their beliefs or conduct. These selections also reportedly teach that there is a conditional aspect of the atonement as well. The full benefits of the atonement of the Son are available only to the “truly penitent.”
The complex LDS doctrines of the atonement of the Son are not found in the
Bible and the Book of Mormon alone. Joseph Smith’s alleged revelation recorded in
D&C 19 explicitly taught a conditional aspect of the atonement of the Son. Speaking for God, Smith said,
Endless punishment is God’s punishment. Wherefore, I command you to repent, and keep the commandments which you have received by the hand of my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., in my name; And it is by my almighty power that you have received them; Therefore I command you to repent--repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore--how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I.[13]
Another alleged revelation from God recorded in D&C 29 reads,
Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed. But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son. And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation--that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe.[14]
President
Joseph F. Smith (6) allegedly received a revelation on
In addition
to the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, LDS
authorities also rely upon two selections from the Pearl of Great Price
to support the Mormon doctrine of the atonement of the Son. Moses
The third article of the Articles of Faith in the PGP is also said to teach the LDS view of the extent of the atonement of the Son. It reads, “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances
of the Gospel.”[18] This LDS revelation does not seem, however, to teach the unconditional aspect of the atonement of the Son despite Mormon claims to the contrary. The phrase, “may be saved,” seems to ascribe conditional and limited aspects to the atonement of the Son, as does the phrase that begins, “by obedience.”
The above evidence demonstrates that the LDS standard works do not, in themselves alone, clearly describe the present state of the LDS doctrine of the atonement of the Son, nor do they easily align in every case with present Mormon teachings on this doctrine. The teachings of the founding prophet and the early presidents are also not wholly in alignment with the present state of the LDS doctrine on the atonement. The current LDS doctrine of the atonement of the Son did not achieve its present state of development until the turn of the twentieth century through the work of James E. Talmage (1911).[19]
Category Two Statements on the Extent
of the Atonement of the Son
Many LDS presidents have remarked on the atonement of the Son, but consider the following statements by Brigham Young (2), John Taylor (3) and Joseph Fielding Smith (10). President Brigham Young taught that the atonement of the Son extends to inhabitants of every earth, or world, in the system controlled by Elohim.[20] The second president said,
The Father of our spirits, provided this sacrifice and sent his Son to die for us; and it is also a great fact that the Son came to do the will of the Father, and that he has paid the debt, in fulfilment of the Scripture which says, “He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Is it so on any other earth? On every earth. How many earths are there? . . . Sin is upon every earth that ever was created . . . Consequently every earth has its redeemer, and every earth has its tempter; and every earth, and the people thereof, in their turn and time, receive all that we receive, and pass through all the ordeals that we are passing through.[21]
President John Taylor (3) affirmed a universal application of the suffering or
atonement of the Son. He also affirmed that the Son atoned
for the individual sins of all men and not only Adam’s transgression. In the
citation below, however,
President Joseph Fielding Smith (10) taught the twofold result of the atonement of the Son. He taught that the atonement of the Son will result in the resurrection of all men unto immortality (universal). He also taught that the atonement of the Son would result in eternal life (exaltation) only for those who believe and obey (conditional). He wrote,
We believe that he [Christ] came into the world to ransom men from the temporal and spiritual death brought into the world through the fall of Adam, and we have in our hearts unbounded gratitude that through the shedding of his blood all men are raised in immortality, while those who believe and obey his laws are raised also unto eternal life.[23]
Category Three Statements on the Extent
of the Atonement of the Son
Apostle Joseph F. Smith (1866) professed that the atonement of the Son secured the resurrection of every earth-born human (universal) without regard for one’s measure of goodness, knowledge or societal status (unconditional). In January 1895, the Apostle delivered a discourse that was published in the Millennial Star. He said,
Every creature that is born in the image of God will be resurrected from the dead . . . just as sure as we go down into the grave, through the transgression of our first parents, by whom death came into the world, so sure will we be resurrected from the dead by the power of Jesus Christ. It matters not whether we have done well or ill, whether we have been intelligent or ignorant, or whether we have been bondsmen or slaves or free-men, all men will be raised from the dead.[24]
James E. Talmage was commissioned by the Church to write a treatise on the Articles of Faith before he joined the ranks of the Twelve. In 1899, the Church published Talmage’s work entitled, Articles of Faith. Talmage helped put a finer point on the LDS doctrine of the atonement of the Son. He taught that the atonement of the Son has both a universal application and an individual application. The universal application of the atonement is unconditional and the individual application is conditional, according to Talmage. The individual application of the atonement of the Son depends on one’s obedience to the laws of the Gospel. Talmage wrote,
But besides this universal application of the atonement, whereby all men are redeemed from the effects of Adam’s transgression both with respect to the death of the body and inherited sin, there is application of the same great sacrifice as a means of propitiation for individual sins through the faith and good works of the sinner. This twofold effect of the atonement is implied in the article of our faith now under consideration. The first effect is to secure to all mankind alike, exemption from the penalty of the fall, thus providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure remission of personal sins. As these sins are the result of individual acts it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements—“obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”[25]
After becoming an Apostle, Talmage (1911) also wrote, “The Co-operative Plan of Salvation.” With the possible exception of the statement above from Articles of Faith, this exposition is, perhaps, the earliest complete explanation of the LDS doctrine of the extent of the atonement of the Son. Talmage set forth the LDS principles of universal and conditional atonement and declared that the atonement of the Son alone was unable to save a man from the consequences of his individual sins. He also set forth the fundamental distinction between universal unconditional “redemption” and conditional individual “salvation.” He wrote,
The effect of Christ’s Atonement upon the race is twofold: 1. The eventual resurrection of all men, whether righteous or wicked. This constitutes Redemption from the Fall, and, since the Fall came through individual transgression, in all justice relief therefrom must be made universal and unconditional. 2. The providing of a means whereby reparation may be made and forgiveness be obtained for individual sin. This constitutes Salvation, and is made available to all through Obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
Between
redemption from the power of death and salvation in the
Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith (1910) also described the atonement of the Son
as an infinite atonement and as an escape ladder that makes it possible for all men to escape from the consequences of personal sins on the condition of repentance. He wrote,
Justice made certain demands, and Adam could not pay the price, so mercy steps in. The Son of God says: “I will go down and pay the price. I will be the Redeemer and redeem men from Adam’s transgression. I will take upon me the sins of the world and redeem or save every soul from his own sins who will repent.” That is the only condition. The Savior does not save anybody from his individual sins only on condition of his repentance. So the effect of Adam’s transgression was to place all of us in the pit with him. Then the Savior comes along, not subject to that pit, and lowers the ladder. He comes down into the pit and makes it possible for us to use the ladder to escape. . . . Therefore, in his infinite mercy, the Father heard the cries of his children and sent his Only Begotten Son, who was not subject to death nor to sin, to provide the means of escape. This he did through his infinite atonement and the everlasting gospel.[27]
In the tradition of Apostle James E. Talmage, Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith
taught that the atonement of the Son is applied generally and individually. The former is universal and unconditional. The latter is conditional. He wrote,
Through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Salvation is twofold: General—that which comes to all men irrespective of a belief (in this life) in Christ—and, Individual—that which man
merits through his own acts through life and by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.[28]
Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith affirmed the doctrine taught by Joseph Smith in the D&C that there are some sins that are not covered by the atonement of the Son even on condition of repentance. In the case of murder and apostasy one must atone for himself by having his own blood shed (bloody capital punishment) in order to achieve exaltation. The Apostle wrote,
Joseph Smith taught that there were certain sins so grievous that man may commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement of Christ. If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only hope is to have their own blood shed to atone, as far as possible, in their behalf. This is scriptural doctrine, and is taught in all the standard works of the Church.[29]
Apostle Melvin J. Ballard (1919) taught that the application of the atonement would be measured out in three degrees consistent with the degree to which the individual complies with Mormon requirements. During a sermon, the Apostle said,
He [Christ] has purchased us; he has redeemed us; he has brought us; and we belong to him. And now he proposed to give back these bodies glorified. To those who keep
the full law he promises to give a celestial body, full of celestial power and glory and splendor; and to those who keep the terrestrial law, a body not so glorious, but still glorious and splendid; and telestial bodies to those who keep the telestial law, thus he extends to each this privilege. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for man.[30]
Apostle Marion G. Romney (1951) affirmed both the conditional and unconditional application of the atonement of the Son as well. During an address at the October 1953 general conference, Romney said,
In addition to atoning for Adam’s transgression, thereby bringing about the resurrection, the Savior by his suffering paid the debt for my personal sins. He paid the debt for your personal sins and for the personal sins of every living soul that ever dwelt upon the earth. But this he did conditionally.
The benefits of this suffering for our individual transgressions will not come to us unconditionally in the same sense that the resurrection will come, regardless of what we do. If we partake of the blessings of the atonement as far as our individual transgressions are concerned, we must obey the law.[31]
Apostle Spencer W. Kimball (1943) affirmed the conditional application of the atonement of the Son. He also affirmed that the atonement of the Son is not operative for all kinds of individual sins, presumably an allusion to the LDS doctrine of blood atonement. Kimball wrote,
Every normal individual is responsible for the sins he commits, and would be
similarly liable to the punishment attached to those broken laws. However, Christ’s death on the cross offers us exemption from the eternal punishment for most sins. He took upon himself the punishment for the sins of all the world, with the understanding that those who repent and come unto him will be forgiven of their sins and freed from the punishment.[32]
Apostle Bruce R. McConkie (1972) ridiculed the evangelical doctrine of the efficacy of the atonement of Christ in What Mormons Think of Christ.
He wrote,
Christians speak often of the blood of Christ and its cleansing power. Much that is believed and taught on this subject, however, is such utter nonsense and so palpably false that to believe it is to lose one’s salvation. Many go so far, for instance, as to pretend, at least, to believe that if we confess Christ with our lips and avow that we accept him as our personal Savior, we are thereby saved. His blood, without other act than mere belief, they say, makes us clean.[33]
Apostle McConkie rejected the evangelical view of the atonement of the Son of God, which affirms that the atonement is conditioned upon faith alone. McConkie favored the LDS view, which teaches that the atonement of the Son that produces complete salvation is conditioned upon faith together with a large number of actions. He wrote,
What is the true
doctrine of the blood of Christ? Salvation comes because of the atonement, and
the atonement was wrought out through the shedding of the blood of Christ. . .
. But there are certain conditions attached to the attainment of salvation
through his atoning blood. . . . Salvation in the
McConkie is quoted in Doctrines of the Gospel: Student Manual confirming Brigham Young’s teaching that the Son is the Savior of many worlds. McConkie wrote, “Now our Lord’s jurisdiction and power extend far beyond the limits of this one small earth on which we dwell. . . . The atonement of Christ, being literally and truly infinite,
applies to an infinite number of earths.”[35]
Gospel Principles also teaches the conditional application of the atonement of the Son of God. This Latter-day Saint publication asserts that the individual must become worthy of salvation (exaltation). It teaches a kind of cooperative arrangement between the sinner and the Savior. Gospel Principles reads, “When he became our Savior, he did his part to help us return to our heavenly home. It is now up to each of us to do our part and become worthy of exaltation.”[36]
Category Four Statements on the Extent
of the Atonement of the Son of God
Apostle
Amasa Mason Lyman (1842) delivered an address on
Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith (1910) taught that the atonement of the Son included both a universal unconditional nature and a conditional nature.
Resurrection and immortality comes to all earth-born men (universal) without condition (unconditional), but eternal life (exaltation) comes only to those who meet the condition of obedience (conditional). In the early 1950’s Smith wrote,
The atonement of Jesus Christ is of a twofold nature. Because of it, all men are redeemed from mortal death and the grave, and will rise in the resurrection to immortality of the soul. Then again, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the
gospel, man will receive remission
of individual sins, through the blood of Christ, and will inherit exaltation in
the
Apostle LeGrand Richards (1952) seems to have professed an imprecise doctrine on the atonement of the Son of God. He suggested that the atonement of the Son applied only to Adam’s sin, with no application of atonement toward the sins of the individual. This position seems to be at odds with Apostles Talmage and Joseph Fielding Smith, and others. Richards wrote, “Jesus Christ redeemed all from the fall; he paid the price; he offered himself as a ransom; he atoned for Adam’s sin, leaving us responsible only for our own sins.”[39]
Bruce R. McConkie, during his term on the First Council of the Seventy, stated that the atonement of the Son was a ransom that applied to Adam’s transgression and individual sins. It applied to Adam’s transgression on behalf of all men unconditionally and it applied to individual sins on condition of belief and obedience. McConkie wrote,
Thus the atonement of Christ is designed to ransom men from the effects of the fall of Adam in that both spiritual and temporal death are conquered; their lasting effect is nullified. The spiritual death of the fall is replaced by the spiritual life of the atonement, in that all who believe and obey the gospel law gain spiritual or eternal life--life in the presence of God where those who enjoy it are alive to things of righteousness or things of the Spirit. The temporal death of the fall is replaced by the state of immortality which comes because of the atonement and resurrection of our Lord. . . . Immortality comes as a free gift, by the grace of God alone, without works of righteousness. Eternal life is the reward for “obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”[40]
McConkie taught that the atonement of the Son applies to all children who die before the age of eight and the mentally impaired so as to guarantee that these
will enjoy both general salvation (immortality) and individual salvation (exaltation). They will all be resurrected and they will all enter the celestial realm without a period of probation in a post-mortal realm. He wrote,
Children and others who have not arrived at the years of accountability are automatically saved in the celestial kingdom by virtue of the atonement. . . . The curse of Adam includes both temporal and spiritual death, and accordingly neither of these is binding upon children and those who have “no understanding” (D. & C. 29:50), that is, those who are not accountable. All such will be raised in immortality and unto eternal life.[41]
According to McConkie, the atonement of the Son of God applies to many earths in addition to this one. He wrote, “And through the power of his atonement the inhabitants of these worlds, the revelation says, ‘are begotten sons and daughters unto God’ (D. & C. 76:24), which means that the atonement of Christ, being literally and truly infinite, applies to an infinite number of earths.”
Non-authoritative LDS
Statements on the Extent
of the Atonement of
the Son of God
Stephen E. Robinson sought to defend the proposition that Mormons are Christian in his 1991 book. One of his arguments for identifying Mormons as Christians is an argument against the charge that Latter-day Saints believe in a salvation by works. In other words, Robinson argued that Mormons are Christians because they do not believe in salvation by works. Perhaps what Robinson should have argued in order to provide a more complete explanation of this LDS doctrine is that Mormons are Christians because they do not believe in complete salvation (exaltation) by works alone.
While the entire LDS doctrine of the atonement and salvation is not fully developed in this book, Robinson made some remarks on theatonement. He posed that neither the atonement of the Son nor individual effort alone are sufficient to effect individual salvation (exaltation). He wrote,
Redemption can never come as the
result of an individual’s own efforts, but only through the atonement of Jesus
Christ. . . . There is no doctrine, ritual, principle, ordinance, law,
performance, church, belief, program, angel, or prophet that can save us in the
absence of the personal intervention in our lives of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. . . . The individual must be born again through the atonement of Jesus
Christ and become Christ’s spiritual offspring. . . . Even membership in the
Robert L. Millet posed a doctrine of the atonement of the Son that is very consistent with the doctrine taught by Apostles James E. Talmage and Joseph Fielding Smith. He wrote,
Latter-day Saints believe there are two types of salvation made available through the atonement of Jesus Christ—universal and individual. All who take a physical body—good or bad, evil or righteous—will be resurrected. . . . This is universal salvation. It is salvation from physical death, a salvation available to all. Immortality is salvation from the grave. It is endless life. It is a universal gift.
Individual salvation is another matter. Though all salvation is available through the goodness and grace of Christ, Latter-day Saints believe there are certain things that must be done in order for divine grace and mercy to be activated in the lives of individual followers of Christ. We must come unto him—accept him as Lord and Savior, have faith on his name, repent of sin, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and strive to keep God’s commandments to the end of our days. Eternal life, known also as salvation or exaltation, comes to those who believe and seek to remain true to the gospel covenant.[43]
Authoritative
Statements on the Manner
of the Atonement of
the Son of God
The Mormon Church teaches that the
atonement of the Son began to occur in the
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit--and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink--Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.[44]
President
John Taylor (3) may also have been instrumental in focusing Mormon attention on
the
The suffering of the Son of God was not simply the suffering of personal death; for in assuming the position that He did in making an atonement for the sins of the world He bore the weight, the responsibility, and the burden of the sins of all men, which, to us, is incomprehensible. . . . Groaning beneath this concentrated load, this intense, incomprehensible pressure, this terrible exaction of Divine justice, from which feeble humanity shrank, and through the agony thus experienced sweating great drops of blood, He was led to exclaim, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” He had wrestled with the superincumbent load in the wilderness, He had struggled against the powers of darkness that had been let loose upon him there; placed below all things, His mind surcharged with agony and pain, lonely and apparently helpless and forsaken, in his agony the blood oozed from His pores.[45]
As is the case for several christological doctrines, Apostle James E. Talmage (1911) was an important LDS influence on the doctrine that the atonement occurred in the Garden. Talmage taught that the death of the Son itself was not an act of suffering or atonement. Apostle Talmage wrote,
Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. The thought that He Suffered through fear of death is untenable. Death to Him was preliminary to resurrection and triumphal return to the Father from whom He had come, and to a state of glory even beyond what He had before possessed; and, moreover, it was within His power to lay down His life voluntarily. He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible.[46]
According to Talmage, the Son’s suffering and struggle with evil in the Garden was so great that it produced a flow of blood from his pores. He wrote,
It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his human organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have produced unconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, “the prince of this world” could inflict. The frightful struggle incident to the temptations immediately following the Lord’s baptism was surpassed and overshadowed by this supreme contest with the powers of evil.[47]
Still speaking in the context of
the
In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world. Modern revelation assists us to a partial understanding of the awful experience.[48]
Apostle Talmage also claimed that the suffering of the Son in the Garden was equal to, or perhaps even greater than, the sufferings of the cross. He wrote,
From the terrible conflict in
Apostle
Joseph Fielding Smith (1910) also taught that the atonement of the Son of God occurred
before the cross in the Garden. The Apostle claimed that the greatest suffering
took place in the
We get into the habit of thinking, I suppose, that his great suffering was when he was nailed to the cross by his hands and his feet and was left there to suffer until he died. As excruciating as that pain was, that was not the greatest suffering that he had to undergo, for in some way which I cannot understand, but which I accept on faith, and which you must accept on faith, he carried on his back the burden of the sins of the whole world. It is hard enough for me to carry my own sins. How is it with you? And yet he had to carry the sins of the whole world, as our Savior and the Redeemer of a fallen world, and so great was his suffering before he ever went to the cross, we are informed, that blood oozed from the pores of his body.[50]
Apostle
Marion G. Romney (1951) delivered an address at the October 1953 general
conference in which he spoke of the atonement and suffering of the Son in the
Garden. Romney claimed that the suffering of the Son in the
The atonement of the Master is the central point of world history. Without it, the whole purpose for the creation of earth and our living upon it would fail. . . . When Jesus was about to go through that terrible suffering incident to the atonement, he took his disciples with him to the Passover. . . . Then he took wine, blessed it, and gave of it to them, telling them to do this often in remembrance of his blood which was to be spilled for them.
Jesus then went into the
In Apostle Bruce R. McConkie’s Messiah
Series, he taught that the atonement of the Son of God occurred first in
the
McConkie also taught that the Son
took the sins of all men upon himself in the Garden. He wrote, “In the Garden
of Gethsemane, outside
It was on the cross that he
“suffered death in the flesh,” even as many have suffered agonizing deaths, but
it was in
Non-authoritative Statements on the Manner
of the Atonement of the Son of God
Robert L. Millet is representative of LDS scholarship on the manner of the atonement of the Son of God. Knowing how central the death of Christ and the cross are to evangelicals, LDS scholars like Millet usually comment on the atonement in ways that seem less distinct from evangelical Christology. A careful reading of Millet, however, reveals that he is wholly in step with authoritative statements on the manner of the atonement of the Son of God. Millet sees the atonement beginning in the Garden and concluding on the cross. Millet also does not directly associate the death of the Son with the atonement. He sees the suffering of the Son, which includes the withdrawal of the Father’s Spirit and the shedding of blood, as atoning events--not his death. Millet writes,
Mormons teach
that the atonement of Christ began in the
Stephen
Robinson associated the “infinite atonement” of the Son with the
Summary of LDS Doctrines
on the Atonement of
the Son of God
According
to Mormon doctrine, Jesus did not die on the cross to pay for our sins. The death
of Jesus itself was of no consequence and his atoning act of suffering and
bleeding did not pay for our sins. The following propositions are derived from
statements by LDS authorities on the atonement of the Son of God. These derived
propositions are this present writer’s attempt to state succinctly and
systematically what the research seems to indicate about distinctive,
authoritative LDS teachings on the atonement of the Son of God.
LDS Derived Propositions on the Application
of the Atonement of the Son of God
1. There are two applications of the atonement of the Son of God: universal-unconditional and individual-conditional.
2. The direct object of the universal-unconditional application of the atonement of the Son of God is the transgression of Adam, which resulted in death and separation from God for Adam and his entire family.
3. The indirect beneficiary of the universal-unconditional application of the atonement of the Son of God is the entire family of Adam.
4. The universal-unconditional application of the atonement of the Son of God produces immortality in the resurrection for the entire family of Adam.
5. The universal-unconditional application of the atonement of the Son of God does not produce the highest degree of salvation (eternal life) for any individual in the family of Adam.[57]
6. The individual-conditional application of the atonement of the Son of God applies only to those individuals who meet the conditions for eternal life.[58]
7. The conditions for eternal life are directly related to the individual’s degree of repentance and obedience. Those who repent and obey to a greater degree receive a greater kind of immortal body and are assigned to a greater realm at the resurrection. The reverse is true as well.
8. The individual-conditional application of the atonement of the Son of God also applies to earth-born humans who died after their eighth birthday never having heard the LDS Gospel. These persons are given the opportunity to meet the conditions for eternal life during a probationary period in the realm of the dead.
9. The individual-conditional application of the atonement of the Son of God does not apply to the individual sins of murder or apostasy.[59] The individual’s own blood must be shed to atone for these sins in order to merit eternal life.
10. The atonement of the Son of God does not result in the forensic justification of anyone.
LDS Derived
Propositions on the Manner
of the Atonement of
the Son of God
11. The atonement of the Son of God was not directly achieved by his death on the cross. The actual death of the Son was only a necessary event preceding his resurrection.
12. The atonement of the Son of God was directly related to his suffering and the flow of blood.
13. The atonement of the Son of God
occurred during the simultaneous suffering and bleeding of the Son in the
14. The suffering of the Son of God was primarily the result of the Father’s withdrawing of his Spirit from the Son. The Father withdrew his Spirit while the Son was in the Garden and on the cross.
15. The Son of God bled in the Garden and on the cross. The blood of the Son of God flowed from his pores in the Garden and from his wounds on the cross.
[1]
For stylistic reasons, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is also
identified herein as “the Church,” “the Mormon Church” or “the
[2] Contemporary American evangelical theologians are not entirely in agreement on the universality of the atonement, but all agree on the conditional nature of it. The benefits of the atonement of the Son are endowed only upon those who exercise genuine faith.
[3] The phrase “earth-born humans” is included to indicate that the atonement of the Son does not apply in any way to the offspring of Elohim who are not earth-born. The
offspring of Elohim that are not earth-born are Lucifer and one-third of the offspring of Elohim who rebelled against the Gospel in the first estate.
[4] Those who obey to a lesser
degree receive a lesser kind of immortal body and are assigned to a lesser realm.
Those who obey to a greater degree receive a greater kind of
immortal body and are assigned to a greater realm.
The best kind of immortal body one may receive is an exalted body and the
greatest realm to which one may be assigned is the celestial kingdom. The
lesser realm of glory is the telestial kingdom. Outer darkness, or perdition,
is the lowest realm to which a resurrected earth-born human may be assigned,
but it is not considered to be a realm “of glory.” Mormon apostates and extreme
sinners—those whose sin is beyond the benefit of the atoning sacrifice of the
Son of God—are assigned to outer darkness. The final state of these “sons of
perdition” is an unresolved subject.
[5] These gross sins include murder and apostasy. Individual atonement for these sins must include the shedding of blood unto death.
[6] This seems to be the common teaching among LDS authorities but some non-authoritative Mormons have taught that these persons must go through a period of probation in the post-mortal realm before the resurrection. Additionally, Mormon authorities do not explicitly associate either the unconditional or conditional application of the atonement of the Son with these two categories of earth-born humans.
[7] Authoritative Mormon christological statements are divided here into four categories in a manner similar to, but not exactly like, the method of James R. White, Is the Mormon My Brother (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1997). Category one statements include the LDS standard works. Category two statements are official remarks by individual president-prophets and corporate statements by the First Presidency. Category three statements come from documents published under the authority of the First Presidency or some agency under their supervision, and statements by individual general authorities made at general conferences. Sources for category four statements include remarks by individual general authorities in books, talks, and other publications.
[8] 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, AV [brackets in the original LDS edition of the AV].
[9] BOM,
2 Nephi 9:5-7, 12, 22;
[11] BOM,
Alma 42:14-15, 22-24 (BMCT-B). With reference to