Easter

In the Enos blog a few days ago, I wrote about how Enos might have been wondering about the mechanics behind the atonement. I thought today would be a great time to dive deeper into that the best I can.

And as funny as it sounds, it I think it's best explained by one of the more confusing scriptures in the Book of Mormon.

But first, enjoy this little genealogy chart I made and just remember that Jesus uniquely inherited traits from his Heavenly Father (Divinity, Immortality, Life) and his earthly mother (Humanity, Mortality, Death).

                   _Heavenly Father

Jesus____/

                  \  Mary_______

Now read Mosiah 15 with that in mind. Abinadi is not trying to teach the nature of the Godhead right here. So when you see "The Father", he is not speaking about God our Heavenly Father. In this context, Abinadi is teaching about the atonement, and uses the two uniquely inherited sides of Jesus Christ.

He could have called these two sides:

• His Divinity and His humanity
• His divine side and His mortal side
• His side from God and His side from Mary

Instead, Abinadi calls them the Father side, and the Son side.

Just like you argue whether your baby has your nose or your spouse's eyes.. Christ's traits just go a little deeper.

So I've highlighted these two sides below.

• Yellow, the side He inherited from His father.
• Blue, the side He inherited from His mother.

Here's the kicker:

These two sides of Him, gave him "the power to make intercession for the children of men".

Intercession is "the action of intervening on behalf of another."

So there we have the ground work. The atonement is only possible because of who Jesus Christ inherently is.

It's humbling to know that the divine side of Him did not lessen what the mortal side was feeling…. It actually intensified it.

If it was solely up to the son of Mary, his physical body would have broke under the pressure, gone unconscious and given up.

But the Son of God in him, bore him up, until every sin had been paid  in full. He was able to push back the welcomed oblivion until he could say "it is finished".

In our Heavenly Father's plan for our salvation, I think there was a minimum requirement of what Jesus had to do in gethsemane. To qualify as Savior he certainly had to pay for our:

Isaiah 53:5

• Transgressions
• Iniquities

Alma 7:10-13

• Death
• Sins
• Transgressions

But I like to think that Jesus went above and beyond, and suffered our:

Isaiah 53:4

• Griefs
• Sorrows

Alma 7:10-13

• Pains
• Afflictions
• Temptations
• Sicknesses

Because if you're going to think about this logically, we could have gotten by if He just paid for our sins, transgressions, and death. We would have the ability to overcome physical and spiritual death, and return to live with God.

But Jesus Christ took upon himself (notice it doesn't say thrusted upon) their infirmities, pains, afflictions and temptations that he may have empathy for and succor his people, instead of just forgiving them.

I hope this doesn't sound blasphemous, but put yourself in his shoes for a second.

If all I felt about someone is the price I had to pay to free them, I'd probably feel bitter, disgust, anger, righteous indignation. "How could they do this? They have no idea what I had to do to make up for them."

I'm sure he went above and beyond what was required because in his perfect wisdom, he knew that this would allow him to acquire perfect love. He would know experientially and not just cognitively.

I imagine Christ saying something like this in the pre-earth life: "I don't want to hate them. I want to understand them.

So yes I will suffer their sins, transgressions, and iniquities. but father will you add their grief and their sorrow? I want to know the strength of their temptations and the weaknesses of their will. Their sicknesses and infirmities. I want to descend below all things. So I can remove from any sense of solitude, as if they were the only ones to understand what they're going through. "

Again, he took these things upon him. They weren't thrust upon him.

The scriptures tell us that when Christ volunteered for this role, every angel in heaven shouted with Joy. And while the scriptures don't speak much on what the heavens were doing during this dark hour in Gethsemane… I'm sure we were all watching. Maybe in horror, in awe, or in disbelief.. But certainly it was a moment in time when the heavens stood still and viewed His death. I mean, what else would you have been doing?

This thought came as I read a few weeks back in Jacob 1:8.

He persuade all men to not rebel against god, believe in Christ, and to VIEW HIS DEATH.

How do you view his death?

Hollywood and the Church have both tried to portray this in movies. Thankfully they never could. It's probably good for us that they don't, because to bleed from every pore… just think of the matted hair, the streaks down his face, the blood red robe, the dirt under his fingernails from clawing at the ground..

Keep in mind, at the time when Jacob wrote this, there was no Hollywood. In fact, Christ hadn't even died yet. So how did he expect us to view it?

Maybe it's more of an invitation to ponder than to visibly watch Him. If I could watch with him one hour, and see how many drops of blood were shed for me… how would this change me?

There is a price to be paid to view his death. And if you think it's 10 bucks and a soft theater seat… you're wrong.

My institute teacher said it beautifully: "There is purpose in Gethsemane. And we see it every time we look in the mirror. "

I think the reason, or at least a reason, why we are asked to view his death, is that Gethsemane was our garden, just as Calvary was our cross, and the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea was our tomb. Jesus was willing to take our place, allowing us to take his place along side our Heavenly Father in glory.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that He loves us. I know the descended below it all so that we never have to. I love studying the atonement and I learn so much each time I do! Hope you enjoyed it!

Onward and upward