The Atonement - At One Ment

Romans 3: 23

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

3 Nephi 27: 19

“And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. “

Alma 42:15

“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.”

I was given the talk by Boyd K. Packer titled “Atonement, Agency, Accountability” in the May 1988 Ensign and was told to speak on the Atonement.

In the talk, Boyd K. Packer states,

“The Lord had come from Gethsemane; before Him was His crucifixion. At the moment of betrayal, Peter drew his sword against Malchus, a servant of the high priest. Jesus said ‘Put up again thy sword into his place.’

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt 26:52-53)

During all of the taunting, the abuse, the scourging, and the final torture of crucifixion, the Lord remained silent and submissive. Except, that is, for one moment of intense drama which reveals the essence of Christian doctrine.
That moment came during the trial. Pilate, now afraid, said to Jesus, ‘Speak thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release the?’ (John 19:10).

One can only imagine the quiet majesty when the Lord spoke, ‘Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.’ (John 19:11)

What happened thereafter did not come because Pilate had power to impose it, but because the Lord had the will to accept it.

‘I lay down my life,’ the Lord said, ‘that I might take it again.’

‘No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.’ (John 10:17-18)

Before the Crucifixion and afterward, many men have willingly given their lives in selfless acts of heroism. But none faced what the Christ endured. Upon Him was the burden of all human transgression, all human guilt.

And hanging in the balance was the Atonement. Through His willing act, mercy and justice could be reconciled, eternal law sustained, and that mediation achieved without which mortal man could not be redeemed.

He, by choice, accepted the penalty for all mankind for the sum total of all wickedness and depravity; for brutality, immorality, perversion, and corruption; for addiction; for the killings and torture and terror – for all of it that ever had been or all that ever would be enacted upon this earth.

In choosing, He faced the awesome power of the evil one who was not confined to flesh nor subject to mortal pain. That was Gethsemane!

How the atonement was wrought, we do not know. No mortal watched as evil turned away and hid in shame before the light of that pure being.

All wickedness could not quench that light. When what was done was done, the ransom had been paid. Both death and hell forsook their claim on all who would repent. Men at last were free. Then every soul who ever lived could choose to touch that light and be redeemed.

By this infinite sacrifice, through this atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.”

I’m assuming it is just as hard for you to grasp everything that Jesus did as it is for me. Although, I cannot comprehend all the details, I do know that it happened and I know that Jesus had His free agency to choose to go through with the plan. Many times Jesus chose parables so that the people could understand. I have chosen three modern day parables so that we can get a glimpse of what the atonement means.


The Parable of the Bicycle by Stephen E. Robinson

One afternoon after work as I sat reading the newspaper, our oldest daughter, Sarah, who was then seven years old, came up to me and said, “Daddy, can I get a bike? I’m the only kid in our neighborhood who doesn’t have a bike.” I mumbled some kind of general and nonspecific assent, but Sarah lifted up the paper and looked me in the eye. “How and when?” she asked.

Now it would not have been easy for us financially to buy Sarah a bicycle at that particular time, so I tried to stall her. “I’ll tell you what, Sarah,” I said. “You save all your pennies, and pretty soon you’ll have enough for a bike.”
“OK,” she said, and she went away – I was off the hook. A few weeks went by, and I was once again sitting in my chair after work, reading the newspaper. This time I was aware of Sarah doing some chore for her mother and being paid for it. Then she went into her bedroom, and I heard a sound like “clink, clink.”

“Sarah, what are you doing?” I asked. She came out of her bedroom with a little jar in her hand. It had once been a maraschino cherry jar, but she had cleaned it up and cut a slot in the lid. On the bottom of the jar were a bunch of coins. Sarah showed me the jar and said, “You promised that if I saved all my pennies, pretty soon I’d have enough to get a bike. And Daddy, I’ve saved every single one!”
Well, she’s my daughter, and I love her. I hadn’t actually lied to her. If she saved all of her pennies, eventually she would have enough for a bike. But by then, she would probably want a car. In the meantime, sweet little Sarah was doing everything in her power to follow my instructions, but her needs were still not being met. I was overwhelmed. “Ok, Sarah,” I said, “let’s go downtown and look at bikes.”

We went to every store in Williamsport. Finally, in one of the discount stores, we found it” the Perfect Bicycle (probably the one she knew in the premortal life). From halfway across the store, she knew it was The One. She ran and jumped up on the bike and said, “Dad, this is it. This is just the one I want.” She was thrilled. Then she noticed the price tag hanging down between the handlebars, and with a smile, she reached down and turned it over. At first she just stared at it; then the smile disappeared. Her face clouded up, and she started to cry. “Oh Daddy,” she said in despair, “I’ll never have enough for a bicycle.” It was her first bitter dose of adult reality.

The bike, as I recall, cost over one hundred dollars. It was hopelessly beyond her means. But because Sarah is my daughter and I love her, I have an interest in her happiness. So I asked, “Sarah, how much money do you have?”
“Sixty-one cents,” she answered forlornly.

“Then I’ll tell you what, dear. Let’s try a different arrangement. You give me everything you’ve got, the whole sixty-one cents, and a hug and a kiss, and this bike is yours.”

Well, she’s never been stupid. She gave me a big hug and a kiss and handed over the sixty-one cents. Then I had to drive home very slowly because she wouldn’t get off the bike. She rode it home on the sidewalk (it was only a few blocks), and I drove along side her. And as I drove, it occurred to me that this was a parable for the atonement of Christ.

You see, we all want something desperately, but it’s not a bicycle. We want the kingdom of God. We want to go home to our Heavenly parents worthy and clean. But the horrible price – perfect performance – is hopelessly beyond our means. At some point in our spiritual progress, we realize what the full price of admission into that kingdom is, and we also realize that we cannot pay it. And then we despair...
But only at this point, when we finally realize our inability to perfect and save ourselves, when we finally realize our truly desperate situation here in mortality and our need to be saved from it by some outside intervention – only then can we fully appreciate the One who comes to save.

At that point, the Savior steps in and says, “So you’ve done all you can do, but it’s not enough. Well, don’t despair. I’ll tell you what, let’s try a different arrangement. How much do you have? How much can fairly be expected of you? You give me exactly that much (the whole sixty-one cents) and do all you can do, and I will provide the rest for now. You give me all you’ve got and a hug and a kiss (that is, make a personal relationship), and the kingdom is yours! Perfection will still be our ultimate goal, but until you can get it on your own, I’ll let you use mine. What do you say? You do everything you can do, and I’ll do what you can’t yet do. Between the two of us, we’ll have it all covered. You will be one hundred percent justified.”

The Parable of the Donuts

There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending Seminary in Utah. In this seminary classes are held during school hours. Brother Christianson taught seminary at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's seminary class.

Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he sat in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Br.Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?"

Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do."

Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time."

"Do you think you could?" asked Brother Christianson again.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," Brother Christianson said.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it."

Brother Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited – it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.
Br. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?"

Cynthia said, "Yes, please."

Br. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Br. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.
Br. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Sure." Br. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push- ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups. Joe got a donut.

And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Br. Christianson came to Scott.
Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. Then Br. Christianson asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

Br. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Br. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" Br. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Br. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.
Br. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Jenny said, "No."

Then Br. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten. Jenny got a donut.

By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Br. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Br. Christianson started down the fourth row.

During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Br. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Br. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Br. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"
Br. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want." And Br. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Br. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him."

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in."

Br. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

"Yes."

"Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Br. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Br. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Br. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Br. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Br. Christianson, can I help him?"
Br. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said. "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He collapsed on the cross and died. And, like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.

When everyone in the classroom heard what the teacher meant by it and realized everything. Steve smiled on the ground where he lay in his own sweat and began to cry.

Another parable that I received by email - The School Rules

Years ago there was a little one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough that no teacher had been able to handle them.

“A young, inexperienced teacher applied, and the old director scanned him and asked: ‘Young fellow, do you know that you are asking for an awful beating? Every teacher that we have had here for years has had to take one.’

‘I will risk it,’ he replied.

“The first day of school came, and the teacher appeared for duty. One big fellow named Tom whispered: ‘I won’t need any help with this one. I can lick him myself.’
“The teacher said, ‘Good morning, boys, we have come to conduct school.’ They yelled and made fun at the top of their voices. ‘Now, I want a good school, but I confess that I do not know how unless you help me. Suppose we have a few rules. You tell me, and I will write them on the blackboard.’

“One fellow yelled, ‘No stealing!’ Another yelled, ‘On time.’ Finally, ten rules appeared on the blackboard.

“ ‘Now,’ said the teacher, ‘a law is not good unless there is a penalty attached. What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’

“ ‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response from the class.

“ ‘That is pretty severe, boys. Are you sure that you are ready to stand by it?’ Another yelled, ‘I second the motion,’ and the teacher said, ‘All right, we will live by them! Class, come to order!’

“In a day or so, ‘Big Tom’ found that his lunch had been stolen. The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old. ‘We have found the thief and he must be punished according to your rule—ten stripes across the back. Jim, come up here!’ the teacher said.

“The little fellow, trembling, came up slowly with a big coat fastened up to his neck and pleaded, ‘Teacher, you can lick me as hard as you like, but please, don’t take my coat off!’

“ ‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’

“ ‘Oh, teacher, don’t make me!’ He began to unbutton, and what did the teacher see? The boy had no shirt on, and revealed a bony little crippled body.

“ ‘How can I whip this child?’ he thought. ‘But I must, I must do something if I am to keep this school.’ Everything was quiet as death.

“ ‘How come you aren’t wearing a shirt, Jim?’

“He replied, ‘My father died and my mother is very poor. I have only one shirt and she is washing it today, and I wore my brother’s big coat to keep me warm.’

“The teacher, with rod in hand, hesitated. Just then ‘Big Tom’ jumped to his feet and said, ‘Teacher, if you don’t object, I will take Jim’s licking for him.’

“ ‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’

“Off came Tom’s coat, and after five strokes the rod broke! The teacher bowed his head in his hands and thought, ‘How can I finish this awful task?’ Then he heard the class sobbing, and what did he see? Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. ‘Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’ ”

To lift a phrase from this simple story, Jesus, my Redeemer, has taken “my licking for me” and yours for you.

I would like to elaborate on this topic. So many times, we look at the atonement. We realize what the Savior has done for us. We see our shortcomings and we know if we repent and do all that we can do then Jesus will pay the final price and forgive us of our sins.

I would like to share one more story to further the thoughts on the atonement.
Most of us know the story of Jonah. He was a prophet of God that was told to go to Nineveh and preach the gospel. Jonah was scared of the people of Nineveh. He didn’t think they deserved to be saved. They were barbarians in heart and mind. Jonah disobeyed. Instead of traveling to Nineveh he got on a ship and headed to Tarshish. A storm came and everyone was afraid for their lives. The men decided the gods were angry. They cast lots and Jonah was found to be the culprit. He knew he was the cause of the storm and asked to be thrown overboard so that the people on the ship would be saved. A large fish swallowed Jonah and spit him out on the shores after three days. Jonah struggled believing the people on Nineveh did not deserve to be saved. Reluctantly, Jonah goes and warns the Ninevites. To his surprise, the Ninevites repent and are saved. Jonah leaves and watches from the edge of the city. He is upset that God did not destroy the city. God then asks him a question. “Should not I spare Nineveh?”

The Peacegiver written by James L. Ferrel sums the story up in 6 short sentences.

1. The Lord commands Jonah to preach against the wicked Ninevites.
2. Jonah sins, not wanting Nineveh to be saved.
3. Jonah repents and the Lord saves Jonah.
3. Nineveh repents and the Lord saves Nineveh.
2. Jonah sins, not wanting Nineveh to be saved.
1. The Lord asks Jonah a question: Should not I spare Nineveh?

Many times we forget that the atonement applies to everyone. Jesus has even atoned for the sins of those that we believe have wronged us. He has taken on their sins as well. When we hold grudges we are basically saying that we believe we are more worthy than they are.
In Matthew 18:21-22

When asked by Peter how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Jesus has already taken upon him the sins of our trespassers and by withholding forgiveness we are basically saying we will not forgive Jesus. This is ludicrous. We cannot stop others from experiencing the atonement and Jesus is sinless.

In this month’s Ensign there is a short article titled The Other Part of Forgiveness by Becky Dastrop. She states that she was having a hard time forgiving others. She asked a friend. “How can I let my bad feelings go – not just ignore them but actually let them go?” She learned that she needed to pray for them which despitefully use you. (Matthew 5:44) When we pray for those that have wronged us we can’t help but feel kindness and love toward them.

This month while we are remembering and celebrating Christ and while we are enjoying and giving gifts to our loved ones, let’s remember His atonement, and let’s give the gift of forgiving especially those that we feel have wronged us. I say all this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.