The Atonement of Christ

Brothers and sisters, I ask an interest in your faith and sympathy while I stand before you. We are gathered here, a great body of Latter-day Saints, to worship God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, and to lift up our voices in thanksgiving and praise for the! many blessings which we enjoy — to lift up our voices by prayer and testimony and exhortation and the voice of melody. ¶

Sacrifice and Burnt Offerings Typical of the Atonement of Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ has wrought out for us a great salvation by the shedding of blood. The atonement is many times referred to in the holy scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament; and, in fact, in the very beginning this important matter was emphasized. When Adam and Eve were thrust out of the Garden of Eden the Lord commanded them to worship him and to offer the firstlings of their flock upon an altar of sacrifice.. Adam was obedient to the commandment. Later an angel appeared to him and asked him why he was offering sacrifice, and he answered and said: "I know not, only that the Lord commanded: it." And then it was that the angel explained the matter in very striking language. This is what he said, as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price: ¶

"This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son,, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forever." ¶

Isaac was offered upon an altar of sacrifice by his father Abraham, and it seems that this was intended to test his faith and obedience. He readily responded, but the Lord would not suffer him to lay his hand upon the boy. Surely this offering of Abraham was typical of the great offering made by God himself, for it is said in the record that, God soi loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. ¶

Let me remind you that there was a deep significance in the burnt offerings of the children of Israel in the Wilderness and in Palestine, because it was through these burnt offerings that the children of Israel obtained forgiveness of their sins, for the burnt offerings were typical of the great atonement that would be made by the Lamb of God in later years. ¶

Isaiah, the Prophet, that mighty man of ancient times, speaks of the atonement in a very beautiful and expressive manner. Listen to the language of the Seer : ¶

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised> for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ¶

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. . . . ¶

"He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. . . . ¶

"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. ¶

"Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." ¶

And the subject is also referred to in the book of Revelation, in chapter five, where reference is made to the Savior of the world: ¶

"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." ¶

In the meridian of time the Lord required of his people a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and he introduced the sacrament saying: ¶

"And the Lord took the bread and gave thanks and blessed it, and he gave unto them saying: This is my body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me." ¶

"Likewise also the cup after supper, saying: ¶

"This cup is the new testament in my blood which is shed for you." ¶

REQUIREMENTS OF THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS CONCERNING THE ATONEMENT. ¶

And so, my brethren and sisters, it is in the dispensation of the fulness of times, for the Lord requires of us a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and the sacrament, which is regarded by the Church as a most holy ordinance, is again restored to the people of God. We are commanded to come together often and partake of the sacrament, in remembrance of him, of his suffering and death. Oh, how important is this subject. Again in one of the great revelations of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and to the people of the Church, the Lord refers to this subject in a most touching and beautiful manner. Give ear, brethren and sisters, to these words which were uttered by revelation, in 1831 : ¶

"Hearken, O ye people of my Church to whom the kingdom has been given. Hearken ye and give ear to him, who laid the foundations of the earth; who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live and move and have their being. And again I say, hearken unto my voice, lest death shall overtake you in an hour when you think not, and summer shall be past and the harvest ended and your souls not saved. Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him, saying: Father behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin in whom thou wast well pleased. Behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest ¶

that thyself might be glorified. Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life." ¶

The Atonement of Christ the Supreme Sacrifice

These passages which I have read, and many more that occur in the Holy Scriptures, give us to understand that the atonement made upon Mount Calvary was the supreme sacrifice ever made in all the world. Oh, the height and the depth of divine love, the love of God for his children here upon the earth! We are put under an obligation that we never can repay in this life or in the life to come. The greatness' of this sacrifice cannot be measured, cannot be fully understood by mortal man ; but, nevertheless, we can get the benefit of it by faith and obedience to the commandments of God. That is what he requires, and I was going to say how simple it is to keep the commandments of God, and yet it may not be so simple, and it may not be so easy, because Satan very well knows the mark of our high calling, and he is seeking continually to lead away the Saints of God from the path of rectitude and from the path of life, but after all, my brethren and sisters, through faith and prayer and diligence, we will surely prevail. ¶

May the Lord bless us to that end, may he give us a greater and a wider conception of the atonement wrought out by his beloved Son, I humbly ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶