The Book of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ, is the religious history of a people that inhabited the Americas from around 600 BC to 400 AD. It was translated by Joseph Smith from an ancient record by the gift and power of God. As its title indicates, its teachings about Jesus Christ combine with the teachings of the Old and New Testaments to help form the foundation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the nickname “Mormons” comes from its title. In the Book of Mormon, Jesus himself talks about how He no longer requires animal sacrifices. Instead, He requires the sacrifice of a broken heart:

I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost…

Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin (The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 9:18-21).

In his new book, Enabled by the Power of Christ, E. Richard Packham describes how a broken heart can bring us to our Savior, Jesus Christ:

One day a number of years ago, I was using an unabridged dictionary to look up the spelling of a particular word. As my finger ran down the column of words, all of a sudden a very familiar term jumped out: broken heart. I could not help but stop and see what Mr. Webster had to contribute to my understanding. One concept proposed that the term meant, “A theological term meaning to be crushed spiritually.” The thought ran through my mind, “What is there in the gospel that would cause us to be crushed spiritually?” Every gospel principle that is taught brings joy and happiness—eternal marriage, the resurrection, the Plan of Sa1vation, and so forth. All of a sudden, the thought filled my being that perhaps as people, we come to understand the profound suffering of the Savior’s Atonement by realizing that we personally contributed to that suffering. We then are “drawn to Christ.” In this realization, it breaks our hearts and brings a contrition of spirit, increasing the commitment to a changed life that can come in no other way. It penetrates us to the point of not wanting to make that great offering of love, an offering made in vain. It produces godly sorrow to the point of breaking our hard hearts, opening ourselves to the commit-ment, and changing our lives to be completely submissive to Him who gave so much…

I obtained permission from Lynn McKinley, a retired professor at BYU, to quote a sacred, personal experience that profoundly describes this process as it happened to him:

Such laboring in the spirit I have never known before. My wife and children were away for an hour or so, visiting her mother, and I was in the house alone. I felt the old familiar earthborn loneliness but was entirely unprepared for that which came. I knelt down beside the couch, began to pray to draw the Spirit to my breast for comfort and relief. But soon I felt an overwhelming power fill my being—not a power of light and exaltation which I wanted and expected, that I’d tasted measurably before at times, but a power that seemed almost to bruise my flesh and crush my spirit with the awful knowledge of my earthly guilt. The shameful vivid memories of sins that I had committed—tore my heart apart as they passed before my eyes and settled in my bosom. I could almost feel the anguish that the Master bore for me there in Gethsemane; the aching sorrow that I felt, to know with burning knowledge every sin I had committed or—God help me—I might yet commit, had of necessity to be absolved by bitter pain within his own pure, perfect, patient body. How the sobs tore through my throat. My spirit groaned with grief. With all the strength in me I bared my soul, confessed as deeply as my consciousness could stretch and still beyond, and plead forgiveness at the feet of him, my Savior and my King. I offered him my life, whatever it was worth to him. He bought it with his blood, the blood that oozed from every pore.

Could such a total commitment come without an awareness of the incomprehensible suffering of the Savior? Truly, a broken heart is the final capstone in the repentance process that provides the commitment, the purging, and the cleansing that allows a knowledge of forgiveness to come. (Enabled by the Power of Christ, by E. Richard Packham. 2008. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc.)

When we truly allow ourselves to experience the effects of the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, it will break our hearts with a knowledge of our sins. But when our hearts are broken, they can also finally be purged and healed through His marvelous love and power as we turn our lives completely over to Him.

In Humility, Our Savior

In humility, our Savior,

Grant thy Spirit here, we pray,

As we bless the bread and water

In thy name this holy day.

Let me not forget, O Savior,

thou didst bleed and die for me

When thy heart was stilled and broken

On the cross at Calvary.

Fill our hearts with sweet forgiving;

Teach us tolerance and love.

Let our prayers find access to thee

In thy holy courts above.

Then, when we have proven worthy

Of thy sacrifice divine,

Lord, let us regain thy presence;

Let thy glory ’round us shine.

(“In Humility, Our Savior,” by Mabel Jones Gabbott and Roland Prichard, Hymns #172)

Additional Resources:

Jesus Christ is the Way

A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit

Jesus Christ

by Nora

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ kept the passover with His disciples. He spoke to them with great love as He comforted them concerning His impending death. He blessed them with His peace:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27).

After washing their feet, sharing this special meal with them, teaching them, expressing His love for them, and praying for them, the Lord Jesus Christ left for the Garden of Gethsemane, where the suffering of the Atonement began. Jesus’s disciples, who did not really understand that He was about to suffer and die for mankind, felt great anguish and despair as they watched Him die and be laid in the tomb. Where could they find peace?

Hurricanes rage and tsunamis flood, killing people and destroying homes. Dictators oppress their people; destitute children beg in the streets of major cities throughout the world. Loved ones die, and family members suffer. If God is loving, we may ask, why is there suffering in the world?

God Himself has answered these questions in the scriptures. Every moment of every day, He remembers us:

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands… (Isaiah49:15-16)

But still the question remains: if He remembers us and loves us so completely, why does He allow us to suffer?

God loves us, so He sent us to earth to choose between good and evil

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called “The Mormon Church” by the media) teaches that God has a plan for us. In The Pearl of Great Price, which contains ancient writings of Abraham and Moses as well as modern revelation, God explains that we are His work and His glory:

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (The Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:39)

Mortal life is not the beginning of our existence, and it is not the end. As the literal spirit children of God, our Heavenly Father, we lived with Him before we came to earth. We are here because of His loving plan for us to learn, grow, and become more like Him, so that we can have eternal life and experience the fulness of joy that He experiences. To be like Him, we need physical bodies like His, and the opportunity to choose between good and evil. God loves us so much that  He allows the natural processes of the world to go forward so we can fully experience mortal life and the ultimate gift of eternal life. He loves each of His children, even those who choose evil and cause others to suffer. Because He loves us so much, He allows us to suffer at the the hands of others so that we each can experience fully the consequences of choosing good or evil. Because He loves each one of His children so much, He allows everyone to choose good or evil, to make real decisions with real consequences.

In this environment, we are required to act for ourselves and prove to ourselves and to God whether we would keep all of His commandments and overcome sin and opposition…The Father’s desire is to provide all of us with the opportunity to receive a fulness of joy, even the fulness that He possesses in His perfected and glorified state.(Christoffel Golden Jr., Our Father’s Plan, October 2001 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

By choosing to overcome evil and opposition, our natures can eventually become like His, thus allowing us to feel as He feels and live as He lives.

God loves us, so He sent Jesus Christ to atone for us

Because God loves us enough to let us each choose, the choices other people make often cause us pain and suffering. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to provide a way for us to overcome the suffering others may cause us to experience, as well as the suffering we bring upon ourselves though sin. The atonement of Jesus Christ mitigates the effects of sin and suffering in our lives if we learn to choose good by repenting of our sins and keeping His commandments. The gift of the Savior is the greatest evidence of all of God’s love for us:

For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of the Father in the flesh, willingly took upon Him the suffering of all men because of His great love for us. Our Savior, who had committed no sin, suffered beyond our ability to comprehend and died for our sins. In The New Testament and in The Doctrine and Covenants, a book of revelations to modern prophets, Christ describes His love and His sufferings. No greater love could ever be shown (see John 15:13 and Doctrine and Covenants 18:10-13). Jesus Christ’s sufferings in Gethsemane and on the cross paid the price for our sins, on condition of repentance; His resurrection from the dead broke the bands of death and physical suffering for all men. The atonement protects us from being destroyed by the struggles of our lives. Because of our Savior’s sacrifice, we can have our burdens lifted in mortality and return to God to live with Him eternally.

We can personally experience God’s love here on earth

Through our faith in Jesus Christ, we can feel the great love God has for us here on earth. Many Christians throughout history can testify of the joy and healing they have felt as they have experienced God’s love. The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, is the modern translation of some records of God’s dealings with an ancient people in the Americas. One story contained in it is the story of Alma the younger, who was the son of the prophet of an ancient people. Alma caused great pain to his father and others by actively going about, seeking to destroy the faith of the Christians who lived during his time. One day while he was traveling with his companions, he experienced a vision similar to Paul’s in which he was commanded to cease his work of destruction. He suddenly realized the terrible harm he had done to his people, and he fell to the ground, unable to move, consumed by despair. For three days he was wracked with torment at the thought of his sins. But at the end of the three days, he remembered the things he had been taught concerning the atonement of Christ. He called upon Jesus Christ for help and for forgiveness:

Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.

And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.

And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy. (The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma 36:18-23)

When we are overwhelmed with sin or despair, we too can call upon our loving Heavenly Father for help. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can feel His great love and be healed. Other Book of Mormon prophets described a Tree of Life, whose fruit represented the love of God. They described God’s love as filling their souls with great joy (1 Nephi 8:12), and being “most precious, …sweet above all that is sweet, and pure above all that is pure,” (Alma 32:42) so that by feasting upon it, they hungered and thirsted no more.

talk more about how we suffer for others’ sins, agency

Additional Resources:

Jesus Christ, Our Savior

Finding Ourselves in Lehi’s Dream

Amazing Grace: Sarah’s Story

As a young member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (inadvertently called “The Mormon Church” by the media), I learned about the atonement of Jesus Christ at a very young age. I prayed in His name, was baptized in His name, and partook of the bread and water of the sacrament weekly, just as He did with his disciples before his crucifixion (Luke 22:18-19). In my prayers, I promised God that I would follow Jesus and serve Him with my life; if I had broken one of His commandments, I asked forgiveness. I worshipped and asked for help every day. In my early 20′s, I went to the temple, where members of The Church of Jesus Christ (Mormons) covenant to follow Christ, keep His commandments, and sacrifice all they have to Him. Yet it was not until I reached the age of 31 that I truly came to understand what Jesus did for me when He suffered in Gethsemane, died on the cross, and was resurrected.

Needing the Savior

I spent Christmas of 1991 in the hospital, fighting for the lives of my unborn twin daughters. They were not due for 12 more weeks, but because of serious complications their lives were in danger. I had blown up like a balloon and was at constant risk of going into labor. My husband and I prayed constantly for our babies’ health and safety, but still felt continual fear. Our three little boys could not understand why Mommy was not home for Christmas.

Three days after Christmas, one of the twins died, and the other was delivered by Caesarian section. Her life, too, hung in the balance as she was rushed to a nearby children’s hospital, given three full units of blood, and placed on life support. In shock and pain, grieving the loss of her sister, we continued to pray for the miracle of health for our remaining daughter, whom we named Sarah.

In a few weeks the verdict was in: Sarah, although healthy in body, had suffered an almost complete loss of mental capacity. Her brain was damaged beyond repair, with only enough healthy tissue left to keep her heart beating and her lungs breathing as the rest slowly died and disappeared. We were devastated. How could God have treated us this way? We were His beloved children, and we worshipped Him and followed our Savior, Jesus Christ, who had miraculously healed the sick and brought the dead to life! Where was the Lord when we needed Him?

As we brought home our tiny, four-pound premie, I tried to settle into life as the mother of a profoundly handicapped child. Sarah required round-the-clock feeding and attention. She did not sleep normally; she fed listlessly; she could not keep her tiny meals down; she cried and arched her back painfully whenever she was not being held. With three other young children who needed me and a still grieving heart, I felt completely overwhelmed. Again I sought help from God through prayer. One day, as I was reading in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, I came across the following lines in Mosiah 24:13-15. Jesus Christ said to a group of ancient Christians who were enslaved to their enemies:

“Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; …and I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs.”

The Miracle of Grace: Lifting our Burdens

Grace is the miracle the Lord God offers to us, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, that lifts us to Him beyond anything we can do or ever hope to do in this life. “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:23). We must put forth our very best efforts all through our lives to keep the Lord’s commandments–but we will inevitably fall far short. Grace is the gift through which God strengthens us along the way and makes up the difference. One of the three essential gifts we receive by grace through the atonement of Jesus Christ is the gift of comfort and healing. Alma, an ancient prophet, calls it “succor:”

And [Jesus Christ] 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 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 (Book of Mormon, Alma 7:11-12).

Relief and hope flooded my heart as I read the words of the Lord. I began to pray differently: not that my Savior would remove my burdens, but that, through the atonement, he would “ease my burdens” and provide succor for my soul. It was then that our miracle began–not a miracle of the flesh, but a miracle of the heart. I began to sense the presence of my tiny daughter’s pure, magnificent soul, and the presence of the angelic spirits who tended to her as she endured her physical trials. Earthly angels entered my life in the guise of loving friends, wise doctors, and understanding social workers who eased my burdens of worry and exhaustion. By the time a few months had passed, I was rejoicing in the opportunity to nurture my beautiful daughter.

 

The Miracle of Healing our Bodies

In order to heal, I needed a second gift of grace. As a Mormon, I believed Sarah’s damaged body housed an immortal spirit that was a literal spirit child of God the Father. Although her brain could not function, her spirit was still experiencing mortal life through her body. When she felt pain, I suffered, knowing she could not remember or anticipate it. Nor could she organize the continual bombardment she experienced through her senses. She could not, for example, tolerate both a breeze and a song at the same time. Nevertheless, her mortal experience was important to her eternal life. I had faith that after this life, she would remember and learn essential truths from what she experienced here. I sang to her, and her spirit responded to the sounds. She would relax in my arms, a rare blessingfor her, as I sang her  a favorite children’s song from a songbook published by The Church of Jesus Christ:

          I Will Follow God’s Plan

My life is a gift; my life has a plan.

My life has a purpose; in heaven it began.

My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth

And seek for God’s light to direct me from birth.

I will follow God’s plan for me,

Holding fast to his words and his love.

I will work, and I will pray.

I will always walk in his way.

Then I will be happy on earth

And in my home above.

“I Will Follow God’s Plan,” by Vanya Watkins

I had faith in my heart that, through the grace of the resurrection of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ, Sarah would one day fully experience life in a healthy, perfect immortal body. By understanding her past as a spirit daughter of God, her present mortal experience, and the perfection to which she would one day be raised, I found comfort despite her occasional sufferings.

On a trip to visit family just seven months after her birth, Sarah contracted a sudden, severe case of pneumonia. In the whirlwind of rushing her to the emergency room trying to help her breathe, I was forced to decide if the doctors should use oxygen or a ventilator in order to save her life. Visions of her early suffering in the NICU arose in my mind. There was no time to calmly review each choice, and although we prayed, answers were not immediately evident. I tried to see my daughter’s life in terms of the learning and growth of her immortal spirit, and made a decision to withhold treatment. She died in our arms at home just a few hours later, breaking my heart once again.

The Miracle of Forgiveness

The last grace I needed through the atonement of Jesus Christ was perhaps the most serious of all. While I had made the best decision I could, I had made an irrevocable choice in allowing my daughter to move on in her eternal life by leaving this one. If that was a mistake, it was a big one. Like all parents, I agonized over my imperfections. Like all mortals, I was lost unless my Redeemer intervened in my behalf. Without the Savior’s atonement, Sarah was gone forever; and I was cut off from God unless Jesus Christ atoned for all my sins. I reached up and grasped His promises with both hands. Isaiah’s promise was a light in the darkness to me: 

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18

Amazing Grace: The Atonement of Jesus Christ

The world has never been the same for me since Sarah lived and died. Sarah brought me face to face with suffering, sin, and death, and my own great need for a Savior and Redeemer. Despite my best efforts, in the depths of my need, I was indeed lost. Through the sacrifice of the blood and body of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I was strengthened, healed, forgiven, and found. He has paid my debt, and I owe every breath of my life to Him. I live in hope of a glorious resurrection where Sarah will be reunited with our family, our physical bodies made perfect, to continue to grow in God’s presence for all eternity. Through Jesus’ grace we have been saved, after all we could do. It is indeed Amazing Grace to me.

Nora Moore Hess

          Nora Moore Hess is a writer and musician living in Lindon, Utah. She is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon). Nora and her husband, Bret, are the parents of seven biological and three adopted children.

Additional Resources: 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God

Jesus Christ, Our Savior

The Living Christ

Amazing Grace Video

Experiencing Our Debt

The realization of our powerlessness without the Lord Jesus Christ‘s divine help allows us to rely on His grace as our true source of strength. The words of the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of every Blessing” emphasize how easy it is for human souls to stray and how indebted we are to our Savior’s grace to bind our wandering souls to Him.

O to grace how great a debtor

Daily I’m constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the god I love;

Here’s my heart, o take and seal it,

Seal it for thy courts above.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called the “Mormon Church” by friends of other faiths), we believe that we are all debtors to our Savior’s infinite grace—a debt we can never repay. We are all lost sheep in need of our shepherd’s constant guidance. Even as members of Jesus Christ’s restored Church we are lost sheep, prone to wander because we often overemphasize our finite part in the gospel covenant. In doing so, we are in danger of overlooking the fact that we are wholly reliant on our Savior’s grace.

Many of us misinterpret Nephi’s statement (Nephi is a prophet in the Book of Mormon), “For we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). Some have interpreted this verse to say that we must do everything we possibly can to perfect ourselves; then, once we have exhausted every ounce of self-sufficiency, self-discipline, and self-righteousness, the Lord will complete whatever perfecting is left over.

When we do this, we are in danger of taking an almost anti-Christ position by placing our reliance on the god of self. We seem to be saying that most of the merit for our salvation goes to ourselves. It also seems to be saying that we should try everything in our power to not need the Savior’s help; however, if we should fall a little short, we will gladly allow Him to make up the difference. This reveals a very shallow understanding of the Lord’s infinite contribution to our covenant relationship. Only by being in a covenant relationship with Christ, an infinite being, can our spiritual account reflect the infinite merits sufficient to save and exalt us. Our finite part will never begin to be sufficient.

A formula that might assist us in understanding the drastic difference between our insufficient (finite) part in the covenant and the Savior’s sufficient (infinite) part, is this: I – F = I. In other words, the difference between that which is infinite and that, which is finite, is always an infinite difference. The difference between what we do and what the Savior does for us will always be infinite. Even if we took F and raised it to the one-hundredth power, the difference would be the same—infinite.

No matter how big F becomes, the difference between something infinite and something finite will always be an infinite difference. No matter how much effort we put into our part of the covenant, we will still be completely reliant on the Savior’s infinite power to save us. As fallen mortals, we are always “unprofitable servants” (Mosiah 2:21).

We should give Jesus Christ all the glory for His infinite contribution to our salvation. We should rejoice in knowing that He carried out the infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice for us. We should praise and worship Him for his amazing grace. It is an infinite gift that we could never provide for ourselves.

What do we think we can accomplish by ourselves, anyway? Although our willing participation is essential, nothing we do will ever be sufficient. All we can do is come to Jesus Christ, partake of His saving grace, and be reconciled to our Father through His atoning blood. We are, of course, completely reliant on His grace as He enables us even in taking those steps. We are dependent on His grace to enable us in exercising faith. We are dependent on His grace to enable us in our strivings to obey His commandments. We are debtors to His grace every step of the way.

Jacob (a Book of Mormon prophet), who had seen the Savior in his youth, taught of our reliance on the Savior’s grace: “Reconcile yourselves to the will of god, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto god, that it is only in and through the grace of god that ye are saved” (2 Nephi 10:24).

Moroni (another prophet who testified of Christ in the Book of Mormon) testified that salvation is available when we come to Jesus Christ and let the enabling power of His grace work in us to complete and perfect us. He said, “yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love god with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of god ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of god” (Moroni 10:32).

Sydney Reynolds, speaking at a Brigham Young University (BYU) Women’s Conference, said, “The kind of perfection Moroni was talking about when he invites us to come unto Christ has nothing to do with flawless accomplishment. It does not even have anything to do with exceptional competence or skill in a given area, but it has everything to do with having faith in the Lord, repenting of sin, and keeping the Lord’s commandments.”6 As Neal A Maxwell said, “The Church is ‘for perfecting the Saints’ (Ephesians 4:12); it is not a well-provisioned rest home for the already perfected.”7

Notice that Moroni did not say, “Perfect yourself first, and then you can come unto Christ.” We have absolutely no power as fallen men to make or keep ourselves worthy without the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are told to first come to Christ, and He will begin the process of perfecting and completing us in Him. Then is His grace sufficient to enable us to deny ourselves of ungodliness. His grace, then, continues to work in us by sanctifying us and making us holy without spot. This is done only in and through His grace and His atoning blood.

Moroni continues: “And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of god, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is is the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:33).

Additional Resources:

For more information about Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement and grace, please visit the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church“).

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is paramount to the beliefs of the Mormons.

Source:

R. Brown, Experiencing Christ, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., 2009), 41-44.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”) believe that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer and Lord over all mankind. He was born of the virgin Mary and was conceived and brought forth by the power of God. Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus Christ was the literal son of God in the flesh, and that Jesus Christ suffered for all the sins of mankind so that all people might be able to repent and be made clean from their sins in order to return back to live with God our Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ came forth as the resurrected Lord on the 3rd day after His death. He lives today, and leads and directs the affairs of His kingdom on this earth.

The Divinity of Jesus Christ and His Atonement

The subtitle of the Book of Mormon is “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” The Old Testament in the Bible contains prophesies of the birth, ministry, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Then in the New Testament are found four eyewitness accounts of the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies, making the Bible a powerful testament that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Savior of the world. The Book of Mormon contains numerous, inspired prophecies and testimonies of the birth, ministry, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as well as the account of the visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ in ancient America shortly after His ascension in Jerusalem, and thus fulfills the law of witnesses by joining the Bible as “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”

The Book of Mormon is full of prophecies of the Savior’s life and mission. Consider the following powerful statements of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Between 600 and 592 bc, Nephi recorded a vision he had of the birth and baptism of the Savior:

I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. . . . And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! . . . And I looked, and beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him. . . . And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove. (1 Nephi 11:13, 21, 24, 27)

Nephi also witnessed the Savior’s ministry and His crucifixion:

And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them. And I also beheld twelve others following him. . . . And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out. . . . And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world. . . . And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. (1 Nephi 11:28–29, 31–33)

In addition to this amazing prophecy of the ministry and crucifixion of the Savior, Nephi also recorded a masterful testimony by his younger brother Jacob in 2 Nephi 9. This chapter contains 54 verses and beautifully explains how the “infinite atonement” of Jesus Christ ransoms mankind from the Fall of Adam and eve.

O how great the goodness of our God, who pre- pareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. . . . O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell…which is endless torment….And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men . . . who belong to the family of Adam. And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day. And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. . . . O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation. (2 Nephi 9:10, 19, 21–23, 45)

Repeated readings of 2 Nephi 9 with sincere prayer and pondering could motivate a grievous sinner to repent and receive mercy and forgiveness through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, an apostle of Jesus Christ, called Jacob’s discourse, “one of the most enlightening discourses ever delivered in regard to the atonement. . . . It should be carefully read by every person seeking salvation.”1

The first four hundred pages of the Book of Mormon contain the prophecies of more than a dozen different prophets who testified of the birth and saving Atonement of Jesus Christ. Consider the specificity of the following prophecy given by Nephi, given around 545 bc, shortly before his death: “There is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews. For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (2 Nephi 25:18–19).

How could it be clearer? To help us understand how important the knowledge of the Savior was to Nephi and his people, he explained: “We labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ. . . . And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:23, 26).

Various Book of Mormon prophets prophesied and bore testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ from hundreds of years before the Savior’s birth right up to 5 bc:

• Enos—Between 544 and 421 bc (enos 1:26–27) • Amaleki—Between 279 and 130 bc (omni 1:26) • King Benjamin—About 124 bc (Mosiah 3:5–8, 17) • Abinadi—About 150 bc (Mosiah 16:6–13) • Alma the Elder—Between 100 and 92 bc (Mosiah 26:22–26—words of the Savior) • Alma the Younger—Between 83–73 bc (Alma 5:48; 7:7–14; 34:4–8; 36:17–20) 38 • Aaron—About 90 bc (Alma 22:12–14) Helaman, son of Helaman—About 30 bc (Helaman 5:9–12) Samuel the Lamanite—5 bc (Helaman 14:2–8)

The Book of Mormon contains the sacred account of the visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of ancient America, after his crucifixion and resurrection in Jerusalem. The following was recorded by another prophet named Nephi, who lived on the American continent in ad 34, as he related the account of a group of people gathered in the land called Bountiful:

They heard a voice as if it came out of heaven . . . and it said unto them: Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him. And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multi- tude were turned upon him. . . . And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. . . . And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come. And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him (3 Nephi 11:3, 6–10, 15 –17).

The resurrected Lord and Redeemer then taught these people his gospel, called twelve special witnesses, gave them power and authority to baptize, organized His Church, instituted the sacrament, and ministered among the people for three days. Third Nephi chapters 12–30 is the account of the resurrected Christ’s ministry among the Nephites in America in ad 34. Third Nephi contains the actual teachings of the resurrected Christ and may be referred to as the fifth Gospel, along with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Following the Savior’s ministry in America the people enjoyed, an unprecedented, millennial-like era that lasted for nearly two hundred years. The four-page book of Fourth Nephi is a brief account of this peaceful time during which “there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God” (4 Nephi 1:15–16).

The prophet Mormon lived about ad 310–385. At age ten, he was recognized as a serious-minded youth, and at age fifteen he became a military leader among the Nephites. Mormon was selected by the Lord to make an abridgment of the sacred history of his people and was the principle recorder of the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. Mormon was a great prophet and witnessed the downfall of his people. He prophesied that the record he made on plates of gold would be brought to light in the latter days. Of this record, Mormon declared,

Now these things are written . . . to be hid up unto the Lord that they may come forth in his own due time . . . they shall come forth according to the commandment of the Lord. And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God . . . unto the fulfilling of his covenant; and also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel (Mormon 5:12–15).

Mormon’s son, Moroni, the last of the Book of Mormon prophets, recorded his testimony of Jesus Christ before burying the plates in the hill Cumorah: “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32).

“The principal and commanding figure in the Book of Mormon, from first chapter to last, is the Lord Jesus Christ. In its unparalleled focus on the Messianic message of the Savior of the world, the Book of Mormon is rightly referred to as . . . ‘another testament’ of Jesus Christ.”2

The Book of Mormon testifies of the redeeming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ by relating accounts of the change of heart experienced by the “most vile” of sinners. The list includes Alma the elder, Alma the younger, the four sons of king Mosiah, king Lamoni’s father, and Zeezrom, a wicked lawyer.

Additional Resources:

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is paramount to the beliefs of Mormons. Learn more at the official site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. Request a free copy today.

Attend a local meetinghouse.

Source:

T. Rose, How to Know the Book of Mormon is True, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., 2010), 35-41.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons”) believe that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all of us will be resurrected (have our bodies restored into an immortal state), and those who exercise faith and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ will receive eternal life. He performed this Atonement through suffering in the garden of Gethsemane, His death on the cross, and His resurrection. I offer my personal witness that I know Jesus Christ lives. I know that He died to save all of mankind. As I live the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, I feel the power of His Atonement heal me and lift me beyond my own capability. He lives and He loves us. D. Lauritsen, a Mormon professor, gives an explanation bellow, of the Atonement of Jesus Christ so others can understand our beliefs better and know that Mormons truly believe in Jesus Christ:

Do Mormons Believe in the Atonement of Jesus Christ?

Brief Answer: Yes, absolutely.

Detailed Answer: “The word [Atonement] means the setting ‘at one’ of those who have been estranged, and denotes the reconciliation of man to God. Sin is the cause of the estrangement.”1 Without the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the purpose of the Creation of the earth would have been rendered useless by the Fall of Adam and Eve, for neither they nor their descendants could have been redeemed from sin nor resurrected. Hence, without Jesus’ Atonement, none of his Father’s children could have been saved from hell, much less have inherited eternal life.

Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God and the only sinless person to live on this earth, was the only one capable of making an atonement for mankind. By his . . . divine Sonship, his sinless life, the shedding of his blood in the garden of Gethsemane, his death on the cross and subsequent bodily resurrection from the grave, he made a perfect atonement for all mankind. All are covered unconditionally as pertaining to the fall of Adam. Hence, all shall rise from the dead with immortal bodies, because of Jesus’ atonement. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22), and all little children are innocent at birth. The Atonement is conditional, however, so far as each person’s sins are concerned, and touches every one to the degree that he has faith in Jesus Christ, repents of his sins, and obeys the gospel.

Additional Resources:

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is paramount to the beliefs of Mormons. Learn more at the official site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”).

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and a companion to the Bible. Request a free copy today.

Attend a local meetinghouse.

Notes:

1. Bible Dictionary, “Atonement,” 617. 2. Ibid.

Source:

D. Lauritsen, Mormons Under a Microscope, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., 2010), 115-116.

We are not left alone on this earth. Jesus Christ was sent to this earth to give us the strength to overcome challenges, problems, and sin. To overcome sin. He asks us to look to Him with faith that He knows what is best for us. There is a pathway that the Lord Jesus Christ has provided for us so that we might be able to find peace in this life and eternal life in the next life. He has given us the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord prospers all those who follow the gospel of Jesus Christ. In The Book of Mormon, a record of the teachings of Jesus Christ that God gave to the ancient inhabitants of the American continent, it says:

And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

In the Holy Bible Jesus Christ said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (John 13:34).” I have found that some of my greatest joys in life come from serving other people. As I try to show the love for others as the Savior did for me, He blesses me with peace, and He helps me love others even more. I know that true happiness only comes to those who seek to love and serve God and all His children. Listen to these words of a modern day apostle of Jesus Christ.

Additional Resources:

Get a free copy of the Holy Bible.

Read a modern apostles words on becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ at the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”).

Learn about how a belief in Jesus Christ can help you.

In this world full of trouble, sin, hardship and challenges, it would seem that there is no hope. That there is nothing to hold on to or rely on. But I testify that this is not true. The Lord Jesus Christ came down to this earth and took upon himself our pains, sins, sufferings and death. He made it possible for all wrongs to be made right. Because of Him we will all be resurrected from the dead. Because of Him we can find peace even in the most difficult and distressing times of our life. It is through the gospel of Jesus Christ that we can find safety for the soul and peace. In the Book of Mormon, a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the American continent, it testifies of Jesus Christ and His mission. It says:

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.

I testify that Jesus Christ lives and that because He lives, we don’t need to be afraid. When we turn our lives to Him we can feel of His love and power and strength. I have felt this strength when I put my trust in Him and follow the gospel that He has given to all of us so that we might find peace.

Additional Resources:

Find a church meetinghouse.

Learn more about the peace that Jesus Christ has to offer us at an official website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”).

Learn more about God’s plan of happiness for us in this life and the next life.

Marcus is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths, the “Mormon Church”). Tried by adversity as a teenager, he now shares his story of healing. Marcus has also enjoyed filming a nationally televised commercial and traveling to South America.

Everyone has challenges. It doesn’t matter where we’re from, what religion we are, how much money we have or our status in society. Nothing in this world can make a person immune from the difficulties of life.

Some of the greatest challenges I have faced in my life came at an early age. At 12 I was diagnosed with a hereditary condition which caused my body to not produce enough of a chemical called Serotonin. The result of not having enough of this chemical produced in your body is depression. I was then diagnosed with severe social anxiety and had to drop out of school. My parents divorced when I was 15 years old and by the age of 17, my mother stopped talking to me. Her last words to me were “I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore” before she moved away without telling me where she was going.

Between the ages of 12 and 18, my life was a mess. Our family physician said that my parent’s divorce would destroy me and the countless psychiatrists I visited gave up on me. Most of the time I wanted to be left alone and I stayed in my room. I felt as though I was a burden to everyone else and I was less then pleasant to be around. When my mom left, I locked myself in my room for 3 days and wept. As sad as this all may sound, it was during these times that my relationship with God and my faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ grew and strengthened.

Looking back on that difficult period of my life I now realize that I didn’t go to the Jesus Christ for help. It was the Lord who came to help me.  As it says in the book of John, third chapter, 16^th and 17^th verses:

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

The Atonement of Jesus Christ doesn’t only apply to the salvation of my soul, the atonement also applies to my life at every moment. I needed then, more than ever, for someone to save me and it was through the Atonement and the love of my Savior that my salvation came. At a time when it seemed as though the world was against me, I felt deep inside of me  knowledge of the truth that even if the entire world despised me, the Lord came into this world with the single purpose of helping me.

Somehow, through the fog of my depression and despite the inexperience of my youth, I was able to feel inspired and strengthened. I prayed to God on a regular basis and asked him for help. It seemed as though the more I talked to the Lord, the stronger I felt. The peace and comfort that came to me began to heal me from the inside and after a few years, I was able to stop taking my medication.

When my mother left I wept but I also prayed. I told the Lord how alone I was feeling and how sad I was. It felt like a piece of me had been removed and now I had a gaping hole in my soul. It was then that I felt like I should go to the scriptures for my comfort. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly misnamed the “Mormon Church”) I read from The Book of Mormon, which is an ancient record of holy scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ. When I went to read, I happened to open The Book of Mormon, to a scripture that I must have read multiple times but constantly overlooked. 1 Nephi, 21^st chapter and 15^th verse states:

“For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.”

Although I hurt inside, I knew that the Lord Jesus Christ would always love me and remember me. In that moment, the healing began to take place and I have never felt alone since that time.

We all suffer and feel pain from time to time. Sometimes we can feel so overwhelmed that there seems to be no way out of that pit of despair. It’s then that the atonement can serve as a ladder for us to climb out of the dark pit and into the light of day, and it’s the Savior who extends that ladder to us. It will take energy and work but I know that it’s worth the effort and I am so grateful that I chose to make that climb.

Additional Resources:

Learn more about how Jesus Christ is our Savior at an official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Learn more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Get a free copy of The Book of Mormon.