Reflection About Atonement

“No regrets!” Those are two simple words that are used frequently in our day. It is a bit

of an ironic phrase, considering all of us do things that bring regret. I mean, do you think that

any imperfect person can honestly say that they lived or are living a perfect life with ZERO

regrets? I think we all know that is a distant fantasy. One that cannot come true in this world.

Regret is a terrible thing. It causes foul feelings and is never pleasant to endure. We are all

going to make mistakes that cause these feelings, but it should not cause us to give up hope or to

lose sight of the bigger picture. Unfortunately that seems to be the trend these days. People put

in effort, fall short, and then give up hope because they don’t see

These experiences

didn’t phase me of course, because I had partaken in the beautiful peace and joy that is contained

in Christ’s Atonement. But for all those people that said no and didn’t listen, they just don’t know

enough to understand the Atonement, it’s reality, and why it happened.

There are many key elements that build this Atonement and give it the structure it has.

The Atonement wasn’t just a random short event, it was a process performed by Jesus Christ. It

was something that was orchestrated at the beginning of time by our All Knowing Father (God).

In my eyes, the Atonement is broken up into three different main sections. Christ’s life and

mission and how the Atonement physically took place for Him, the actual meaning and depth of

the Atonement and how it helps us be cleansed of our sins and qualify for eternal salvation, and

lastly how it enables us to receive perfected and glorified, immortal bodies. This tool is so

perfectly explained by the Savior in the all forms of scripture. However, I am going to focus

specifically how the doctrine is taught in the Book of Mormon and why it must be

These names all have similar roots. Each one representing who

Jesus Christ is and what He does.

There seems to be a lot of controversy amongst people and what the atoning sacrifice

encompasses. It started with Jesus Christ’s entire mission. What was His mission? What was He

hoping to accomplish? In Jacob 5 there is an allegory of tame and wild olive trees. The purpose

of the story is to reveal an even deeper lesson. Verse 4 says “And it came to pass that the master

of the vineyard went forth, and he saw that his olive tree began to decay; and he said: I will

prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that perhaps it may shoot forth young and tender

branches, and it perish not.” The hidden message in this scripture demonstrates Christ’s mission.

He came forth to the earth so that he could visit the children of God and help them “become

healthy trees” so that they can be kingdom builders. That’s what He came to do. To help us. It

was a life of service and selflessness. Jesus Christ preached the gospel with His twelve disciples

and called everyone unto repentance until He was killed. The last portion of Christ’s life was the

most