Article 3.—We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
THE ATONEMENT.
1. The Atonement of Christ is taught as a leading doctrine by all sects professing Christianity. The expression is so common a one, and the essential point of its signification is so generally admitted, that definitions may appear to be superfluous; nevertheless, there is a peculiar importance attached to the use of the word atonement, in a theological sense. The doctrine of the atonement comprises proof of the divinity of Christ's earthly ministry; and the vicarious nature of His death, as a fore-ordained and voluntary sacrifice, intended for and efficacious as a propitiation for the sins of mankind, thus becoming the means whereby salvation may be obtained.
2. The New Testament, which is properly regarded as the scripture of Christ's mission among men, is imbued throughout with the doctrine of salvation through the work of atonement wrought by the Savior; and yet the word atonement, occurs but once in the whole record; and in that single instance, according to the opinion of most biblical authorities, it is confessedly misused. The instance referred to is found in the words of Paul addressed to the saints at Rome:—"But we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."[191] The marginal rendering gives, instead of atonement, reconciliation, and of this word a related form is used in the preceding verse. A consistent translation, giving a full agreement between the English and the Greek, would make the verse quoted, and that immediately preceding it, read in this way:—"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation."[192] The term atonement occurs repeatedly in the Old Testament, and with marked frequency in three of the books of the Pentateuch, viz.: Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; and the sense in which it is employed is invariably that of a sacrifice of propitiation, usually associated with the death of an acceptable victim, whereby reconciliation was to be effected between God and His creatures.
3. The structure of the word in its present form is suggestive of this, the true meaning; it is literally at-one-ment, "denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into agreement of those who have been estranged."[193] And such is the significance of the saving sacrifice of the Redeemer, whereby He expiated the transgression of the Fall, through which came death into the world, and provided ready and efficient means for man's attainment of immortality through reconciliation with God.
4. Nature of the Atonement.—The atonement wrought by Jesus Christ is a necessary sequence of the transgression of Adam; and, as the infinite foreknowledge of God made clear to Him the one even before Adam was placed on earth, so the Father's boundless mercy prepared a Savior for mankind before the world was framed. Through the Fall, Adam and Eve have entailed the conditions of mortality upon their descendants; therefore all beings born of earthly parents are subject to bodily death. The sentence of banishment from the presence of God was in the nature of a spiritual death; and that penalty, which was visited upon our first parents in the day of their transgression, has likewise followed as the common heritage of humanity. As this penalty came into the world through an individual act, it would be manifestly unjust to cause all to eternally suffer therefrom, without a chance of deliverance. Therefore was the promised sacrifice of Jesus Christ ordained as a propitiation for broken law, whereby Justice could be fully satisfied, and Mercy be left free to exercise her beneficent influence over the souls of mankind.[194] All the details of the glorious plan, by which the salvation of the human family is assured, may not lie within the understanding of man; but surely man has learned, from his futile attempts to fathom the primary cause of the phenomena of nature, that his powers of comprehension are limited; and he will admit, that to deny an effect because of his inability to elucidate its cause, would be to forfeit his claims as an observing and reasoning being.
5. Simple as is the plan of redemption in its general features, it is confessedly a mystery to the finite mind in detail. President John Taylor has written in this wise:—"In some mysterious, incomprehensible way, Jesus assumed the responsibility which naturally would have devolved upon Adam; but which could only be accomplished through the mediation of Himself; and by taking upon Himself their sorrows, assuming their responsibilities, and bearing their transgressions or sins. In a manner to us incomprehensible and inexplicable, He bore the weight of the sins of the whole world, not only of Adam, but of his posterity; and in doing that, opened the kingdom of heaven, not only to all believers and all who obeyed the law of God, but to more than one half of the human family who die before they come to years of maturity, as well as to the heathen, who, having died without law, will through His mediation be resurrected without law, and be judged without law, and thus participate, according to their capacity, works, and worth, in the blessings of His atonement."[195]
6. But, however incomplete may be our comprehension of the scheme of redemption through Christ's vicarious sacrifice in all its parts, we cannot reject it without becoming infidel; for it stands as the fundamental doctrine of all scripture, the very essence of the spirit of prophecy and revelation, the most prominent of all the declarations of God unto man.
7. The Atonement a Vicarious Sacrifice.—It is to many a matter of surpassing wonder that the voluntary sacrifice of a single being could be made to operate as a means of ransom for the rest of mankind. In this, as in other things, the scriptures are explicable only by the spirit of scriptural interpretation. The sacred writings of ancient times, the words of modern prophets, the traditions of mankind, the rites of sacrifice, and even the sacrileges of heathen idolatries, involve the idea of vicarious atonement. God has never refused to accept an offering made by one who is authorized on behalf of those who are in any way incapable of doing the required service themselves. The scape-goat,[196] and the altar victim[197] of ancient Israel, if offered with repentance and contrition, were accepted by the Lord in mitigation of the sins of the people. It is interesting to note, that while the ceremonies of sacrifice formed so large and so essential a part of the Mosaic requirements, these rites long ante-dated the establishment of Israel as a distinct people; for, as already shown, altar sacrifice was rendered by Adam.[198] The symbolism of the sacrificing of animals as a prototype of the great sacrifice to follow on Calvary was thus instituted with the beginning of human history.
8. The many kinds of sacrifice prescribed by the Mosaic law are clearly classified under the headings bloody and bloodless. Offerings of the first order only, involving the infliction of death, were acceptable in propitiation or atonement for sin, and the victim had to be clean, healthy, and without spot or blemish. And so for the great sacrifice, the effects of which were to be infinite, only an innocent subject could be accepted. It was Christ's right, as the only sinless Being on earth, and as the Only Begotten of the Father, and above all as the One ordained to this mission in the heavens, to be the Redeemer of mankind; and though the exercise of this right involved a sacrifice, the extent of which man cannot comprehend, yet Christ made that sacrifice willingly and voluntarily. To the last He had the means of terminating the tortures of His persecutors, by a simple exercise of His powers as one of the Godhead.[199] In some way, though that way may be inexplicable to us, Christ took upon Himself the sins of mankind. The means may be to our finite minds a mystery, yet the results are our salvation.
9. Something of the Savior's agony as He groaned under this load of guilt, which to Him, as a type of purity, must have been in itself repulsive, He has told us through the prophet's words in this day: "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit; and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink:—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."[200] Further instances of the validity of vicarious service are found in the ordinances of baptism for the dead[201] as taught in apostolic and modern times, and in the institution of other temple ceremonies[202] in the present dispensation.
10. Christ's Sacrifice was Voluntary and Love-inspired.—We have noted in passing that Christ gave His life willingly and voluntarily for the redemption of mankind. He offered Himself, in the great Council of the Gods, as the subject of the atoning sacrifice made necessary by the fore-seen transgression of the first man; and the free agency shown and exercised in this, the early stage of His saving mission, was retained to the very last of the agonizing fulfillment of the accepted plan. Though He lived on earth a man in every particular that concerns us in our regard for Him as an example of Godliness in humanity, yet it is to be remembered that, though born of a mortal mother, he was begotten by an immortal Sire; and so had combined within His being the capacity to die, and the power to set death at defiance. He gave His life; it was not taken from Him. Note the significance of His own declaration:—"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up 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."[203] On another occasion Jesus testified of Himself in this way:—"For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man."[204] And then amid the tragic scenes of the betrayal, when one who had been a professed follower and friend gave Him with a traitorous kiss to His persecutors, when Peter, with a rashness prompted by righteous zeal, drew and used the sword in His defence, the Master said:—"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"[205] And on to the bitter end, marked by the expiring though triumphant cry "It is finished," the incarnated God held in subjection within Himself the power to thwart His murderers, had He so willed.
11. The motive inspiring and sustaining Him through all the scenes of His mission, from the time of His primeval ordination to the moment of victorious consummation on the cross, was two-fold; first, the desire to do His Father's will, in accomplishing the salvation of man; second, His love for humanity, of whose welfare and destiny He had assumed charge. Far from cherishing the least feeling of vindictiveness against those, who, in defiance of the laws of God and man, put Him to ignominious death, He entertained for them compassion to the last. Hear Him in the hour of supreme agony, praying aloud, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."[206] Not less is the Father's love, as shown by His accepting the Son's offer, and permitting Him whom He delighted to call His Beloved, to suffer as only a God could suffer:—"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."[207] And further, we hear the teaching of the apostle, whom the Savior loved so well, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him."[208]
12. The Atonement Fore-ordained and Fore-told.—As already shown, the plan of the Father to open a way for the redemption of mankind, then to leave all men free to exercise their own agency, was adopted by the Council in heaven to the rejection of Lucifer's plan of compulsion. Even at that remote period, Christ was thus ordained as a Mediator for all mankind; in fact, "a covenant was entered into between Him and His Father, in which He agreed to atone for the sins of the world, and He thus, as stated, became a 'Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.'"[209] The prophets of old, many of whom lived centuries before the time of Christ's coming in the flesh, testified of Him and of the great work He had been ordained to perform. These men of God had been permitted to behold in prophetic visions many of the scenes incident to the Savior's earthly mission; and they solemnly bore record of the manifestations. Indeed, the testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy, and without it no person can rightly claim the distinction of being a prophet of God. Adam's despair, on being driven from Eden, was changed to joy when, through revelation, he learned of the plan of redemption to be wrought by the Son of God in the flesh.[210] Righteous Enoch taught the same truths, which had been declared to him from the heavens.[211] This testimony was borne by Moses,[212] Job,[213] David,[214] Zechariah,[215] Isaiah,[216] and Micah.[217] The same declaration was made by John the Baptist,[218] the prophet of the Highest, designated by the Savior as more than a prophet; he it was who baptized the Christ, and who witnessed the Father's words associated with the visible sign of the Holy Ghost, concerning the mission of the Son.
13. Should there be any doubt as to the application of such prophecies, we have the conclusive testimony of Christ that they refer to Himself. On that memorable day, immediately following His resurrection, while walking incognito with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus, He taught them the scriptures that had been written concerning the Son of God; "Beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."[219] A few hours after this event, the Lord appeared to the Eleven at Jerusalem. He operated upon their minds "that they might understand the scriptures; and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,"[220] in this way testifying that He was fulfilling a previously ordained plan. Peter, one of the Savior's most intimate earthly associates, refers to Him as "a Lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world."[221] In his epistle to the Romans, Paul characterizes Christ as the one "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past."[222] These are but a few of the biblical evidences of Christ's appointment and fore-ordination; both Old and New Testament[223] writings abound in proofs of the Messiah's great work.
14. Book of Mormon prophets are characterized by their full testimonies concerning the Messiah. Because of his purity of faith, the brother of Jared was permitted to behold the Savior of mankind, twenty-two centuries prior to the meridian of time, and to be shown that man was created after the image of the Lord, at the same time being taught of the Father's purpose that the Son take upon Himself flesh and dwell on earth.[224] Note the personal declaration of the fore-ordained Redeemer to this prophet:—"Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters."[225]
15. Nephi records the prophecy of his father Lehi concerning the future appearing of the Son in the flesh, His baptism, death, and resurrection; this prophetic utterance specifies the exact date of the Savior's birth, viz., six hundred years after the time of Lehi's exodus from Jerusalem. The mission of John the Baptist is described, and even the place of baptism is designated.[226] Shortly after the time of Lehi's vision, Nephi was shown by the Spirit the same things, as also many others, some of which he has written, but the greater part of which he was forbidden to write, as another, the Apostle John, had been ordained to set them forth in a book which should form part of the Bible. But, from his partial account of his vision, we learn that he saw in Nazareth, Mary the Virgin, first alone, and shortly afterward with a child in her arms; the demonstrator of the vision informed him that the infant was the Lamb of God, the Son of the Eternal Father. Then Nephi beheld the Son ministering among the children of men, proclaiming the word, healing the sick, and working many other wondrous miracles; he saw John, the prophet of the wilderness, going before Him; he beheld the Savior baptized of John, and the Holy Ghost descending upon Him with the visible sign of the dove. Then he saw and prophesied that twelve chosen apostles would follow the Savior in His ministry; that the Son would be taken and judged of men, and finally be slain. Piercing the future, even beyond the time of the crucifixion, Nephi beheld the strife of the world against the apostles of the Lamb, and the final triumph of God's cause.[227]
16. Jacob, the brother of Nephi, prophesied to his brethren that Christ would appear in the flesh among the Jews, and that He would be scourged and crucified of them.[228] King Benjamin lifted his voice in support of the same testimony, and preached unto his people the righteous condescension of God.[229] So also declared Abinadi,[230] Alma,[231] Amulek,[232] and Samuel the Lamanite prophet.[233] The literal fulfillment of these prophecies furnishes unquestionable proof of their truth. The wondrous signs indicative of Christ's birth[234] and death were all realized,[235] and after His death and ascension the Savior manifested Himself among the Nephites, as the Father announced Him to the multitude.[236]
17. The ancient scriptures, then, are plain in declaring that Christ came upon the earth to do a work previously allotted. He lived, suffered and died, in accordance with a plan which was framed in righteousness for the redemption of the children of Adam, even before the world was. Equally important and explicit is the word of modern revelation through which the Son has declared Himself as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, man's Advocate with the Father, the universal Redeemer.[237] Let us consider a single citation from the many revelations concerning Christ given in the present dispensation:—"Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday and forever. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one."[238]
18. The Extent of the Atonement is infinite, applying alike to all descendants of Adam. Even the unbeliever, and the heathen, and the child who dies before reaching the years of discretion, are redeemed by the Savior's self-sacrifice from all the consequences of the Fall.[239] It is conclusively proved by the scripture that the resurrection of the body is one of the victories achieved by Christ through His atoning sacrifice. He Himself proclaimed the eternal truth, "I am the resurrection and the life;"[240] and He among men came first forth from the grave,—"the first fruits of them that slept."[241] Now, the scriptures leave no room for doubt concerning the fact that the resurrection will be universal. The Savior announced to his apostles the beginning of this work of deliverance from the tomb; hear His words, "Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that done evil unto the resurrection of damnation;"[242] or, as the latter part of the declaration has been rendered through inspiration in the present day, "They who have done good, in the resurrection of the just: and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust."[243]
19. Paul refers to the doctrine of a universal resurrection as being so well proved that even his accusers had to admit the truth, "that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."[244] On another occasion he said "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."[245] Furthermore, John the Revelator testifies of his vision concerning futurity, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.... And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them."[246] Thus it is plain that the effect of the atonement, as far as it applies to the victory over temporal or bodily death, involves the entire race. It is equally clear that the release from Adam's legacy of spiritual death, or banishment from the presence of God, will be similarly universal; so that if any man lose salvation, such loss will be due to himself, and in no way be dependent upon the Fall. The doctrine that the gift of redemption through Christ is free to all men, was specifically taught by the apostles of old. Thus Paul says:—"Therefore, as by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to the justification of life."[247] And further:—there is "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all."[248] John spoke of the Redeemer's sacrifice, saying:—"And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."[249]
20. The same great truths were taught among the Nephites. Benjamin, the righteous king, preached of "the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were ever since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world."[250] In revelation of the present day we read of Christ's having come into the world, to suffer and to die, "That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him."[251]
21. But besides this universal application of the atonement, whereby all men are redeemed from the effects of Adam's transgression, both with respect to the death of the body and the taint of inherited sin, there is a special application of the same great sacrifice, as a means of propitiation for individual sins, through the faith and good works of the sinner. This two-fold effect of the atonement is implied in the article of our faith now under consideration. The first effect is to secure to all mankind alike, exemption from the otherwise terrible effects of the Fall, thus providing a plan of General Salvation. The second effect is to open a way for Individual Salvation whereby mankind may secure forgiveness of personal sins. As these sins are the result of individual acts, it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements,—"obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel."
22. The General Effect of the Atonement, so far as it applies to all who have arrived at years of accountability and judgment, has been made sufficiently clear perhaps from the scriptures already quoted. Its application to children may properly receive our further attention. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches as a doctrine founded on reason, justice, and scripture, that all children are innocent in the sight of God, and that, until they reach an age of personal responsibility, baptism is not requisite or proper in their behalf; that, in short, they are saved through the atonement of Christ. To a degree, children are born heirs to the good or evil natures of their parents; the effects of heredity in determining character are readily recognized. Good and evil tendencies, blessings and curses, are transmitted from generation to generation. Through this divinely appointed order, the justice of which is plain in the revealed light of knowledge concerning the pre-existent state of the spirits of mankind, the children of Adam are natural heirs to the calamities of mortality; but through Christ's atonement they are all redeemed from the curses of this fallen state; the debt, which comes to them as a legacy, is paid for them, and thus are they left free. Children who die free of sin are entirely innocent in the eyes of God, even though they be the offspring of transgressors. We read in the Book of Mormon:—"Little children cannot repent; wherefore it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy.... For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all that have no law."[252]
23. The prophet Mormon writing to his son Moroni expressed in the following manner his conviction of children's innocence:—"Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance: the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore, the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them.... Behold I say unto you, That this thing shall ye teach, repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children. And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins. But little children are alive in Christ even from the foundation of the world."[253]
24. And in a revelation through the prophet Joseph Smith in this dispensation, the Lord has said:—"But behold I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; wherefore they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children until they begin to become accountable before me."[254] President John Taylor, after citing instances of Christ's affection for little children, and proofs of the innocent condition in which they are regarded in heaven, says:—"Without Adam's transgression, those children could not have existed; through the atonement they are placed in a state of salvation without any act of their own. These would embrace, according to the opinion of statisticians, more than one half of the human family, who can attribute their salvation only to the mediation and atonement of the Savior."[255]
25. The Special or Individual Effect of the Atonement makes it possible for any and every soul to obtain absolution from the dread effect of personal sins, through the mediation of Christ; but such saving intercession is to be invoked by individual effort as manifested through faith, repentance, and continued works of righteousness. The laws under which individual salvation is obtainable have been prescribed by Christ, whose right it is to say how the blessings of His own sacrifice shall be administered. All men are in need of the Savior's mediation, for all are transgressors. So taught the apostles of old:—"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."[256] And again:—"If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."[257] Now, that the blessing of redemption from individual sins, while free for all to attain, is nevertheless conditioned on individual effort, is as plainly declared as is the truth of unconditional redemption from the effects of the Fall. There is a judgment ordained for all, and all will be judged "according to their works." The free agency of man enables him to choose or reject, to follow the path of life, or the road that leads to destruction; it is but just that he be held to answer for the exercise of his freedom, and that he meet the results of his acts.
26. Hence the justice of the scriptural doctrine that salvation comes to the individual only through obedience. "He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him"[258] said Paul of the Christ. And further:—God "will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who, by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God."[259] To these may be added the words of the risen Lord, "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned."[260]
27. Consider further the prophecy of King Benjamin proclaimed to the Nephite multitude:—Christ's blood "atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died, not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God; for salvation cometh to none such, except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ."[261] But why multiply scriptural citations when the whole tenor of sacred writ supports the doctrine? Without Christ no man can be saved, and the salvation provided at the cost of Christ's sufferings and bodily death is offered upon certain clearly defined conditions only; and these are summarized under "obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel."
28. Salvation and Exaltation.—Some degree of salvation will come to all who have not forfeited their right to it; exaltation is given to those only who by active labors have won a claim to God's merciful liberality by which it is bestowed. Of the saved, not all will be exalted to the higher glories; rewards will not be bestowed in violation of justice; punishments will not be meted out to the ignoring of mercy's claims. No one can be admitted to any order of glory, in short, no soul can be saved until justice has been satisfied for violated law. Our belief in the universal application of the atonement implies no supposition that all mankind will be saved with like endowments of glory and power. In the kingdom of God there are numerous degrees or gradations provided for those who are worthy of them; in the house of our Father there are many mansions, into which only those who are prepared are admitted. The old sectarian idea, that in the hereafter there will be but two places for the souls of mankind,—heaven and hell, with the same glory in all parts of the one, and the same terrors throughout the other,—is wholly untenable in the light of divine revelation. Through the direct word of the Lord we learn of varied degrees of glory.
29. Degrees of Glory.—The revelations of God have defined the following principal kingdoms or degrees of glory, as prepared through Christ for the children of men:
I. The Celestial Glory.[262]—There are some who have striven to obey all the Divine commandments, who have accepted the testimony of Christ, and received the Holy Spirit; these are they who have overcome evil by godly works, and who are therefore entitled to the highest glory; these belong to the Church of the First Born, unto whom the Father has given all things; they are made Kings and Priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchisedek; they possess celestial bodies, "whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical;" they indeed are admitted to the celestial company, being crowned with the celestial glory, which makes them Gods.
II. The Terrestrial Glory.[263]—We read of those who receive glory of a secondary order, differing from the highest as "the moon differs from the sun in the firmament;" these are they who, though honorable, were still in darkness, blinded by the craftiness of men, and unable to receive and obey the higher laws of God, they proved "not valiant in the testimony of Jesus," and therefore are not entitled to the fulness of glory.
III. The Telestial Glory.—We learn of a still lower kind of glory, differing from the higher orders as the stars differ from the brighter orbs of the firmament; this is given to those who received not the testimony of Christ, but who still did not deny the Holy Spirit; who have led lives exempting them from the heaviest punishment, yet whose redemption will be delayed till the last resurrection. In the telestial world there are innumerable degrees of glory, comparable to the varying lustre of the stars.[264] Yet all who receive of any one of these orders of glory are at last saved, and upon them Satan will finally have no claim. Even the telestial glory, as we are told by those who have been permitted to gaze upon it, "surpasses all understanding; and no man knows it except him to whom God has revealed it."[265] Then there are those who have lost all claim upon the immediate mercy of God; whose deeds have numbered them with Perdition and his angels.[266]
NOTES.
1. The Atonement Proved by Evidence.—"It is often asked: 'How is it that through the sacrifice of one who is innocent salvation may be purchased for those under the dominion of death?' We observe in passing that what should most concern man is not so much how it is that such is the case, but is it a fact?... To that question the blood sprinkled upon a thousand Jewish altars, and the smoke that darkened the heavens for ages from burnt offerings, answer yes.... Even the mythology of heathen nations retains the idea of an atonement that either has been, or is to be made for mankind. Fantastic, distorted, confused, buried under the rubbish of savage superstition it may be, but it nevertheless exists. So easily traced, so distinct is this feature of heathen mythology, that some writers have endeavored to prove that the gospel plan of redemption was derived from heathen mythology. Whereas the fact is that the gospel was understood and extensively preached in the earliest ages; men retained in their tradition a knowledge of those principles or parts of them, and however much they have been distorted, traces of them may still be found in nearly all the mythologies of the world. The prophets of the Jewish scriptures answer the question in the affirmative. The writers of the New Testament make Christ's atonement the principal theme of their discourses and epistles. The Book of Mormon, speaking as the voice of an entire continent of people whose prophets and righteous men sought and found God, testifies to the same great fact. The revelations of God as given through the Prophet Joseph Smith are replete with passages confirming this doctrine."—Roberts' Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, Section viii, 6.
2. Redemption from the Fall Universal and Unconditional.—"We believe that through the sufferings, death, and atonement of Jesus Christ all mankind, without one exception, are to be completely and fully redeemed, both body and spirit, from the endless banishment and curse to which they were consigned by Adam's transgression; and that this universal salvation and redemption of the whole human family from the endless penalty of the original sin, is effected without any conditions whatever on their part; that is, they are not required to believe or repent, or be baptized, or do anything else, in order to be redeemed from that penalty; for whether they believe or disbelieve; whether they repent or remain impenitent, whether they are baptized or unbaptized, whether they keep the commandments or break them, whether they are righteous or unrighteous, it will make no difference in relation to their redemption, both soul and body, from the penalty of Adam's transgression. The most righteous man that ever lived on the earth, and the most wicked wretch of the whole human family, were both placed under the same curse without any transgression or agency of their own, and they both alike will be redeemed from that curse, without any agency or conditions on their part."—Apostle Orson Pratt in Remarkable Visions.
3. Christ the Author of our Salvation.—President John Taylor speaks of the death of Christ as an expiatory sacrifice, and adds:—"The Savior thus becomes master of the situation,—the debt is paid, the redemption made, the covenant fulfilled, justice satisfied, the will of God done, and all power is now given into the hands of the Son of God,—the power of the resurrection, the power of the redemption, the power of salvation, the power to enact laws for the carrying out and accomplishment of this design.... The plan, the arrangement, the agreement, the covenant was made, entered into and accepted, before the foundation of the world; it was prefigured by sacrifices, and was carried out and consummated on the Cross. Hence, being the Mediator between God and man, He becomes by right the Dictator and Director on earth and in heaven for the living and for the dead, for the past, the present, and the future, pertaining to man as associated with this earth or the heavens, in time or eternity, the Captain of our salvation, the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, the Lord and Giver of life."—Mediation and Atonement, Pres. John Taylor, p. 171.
4. The Atonement Inaugurated by Christ.—"The Apostle Paul quite comprehensively sums up the results of Christ's death and resurrection: 'But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive' (I Cor. xv, 21-22). That is, death having come on all men through the disobedience of Adam, so must all be raised to immortality and eternal life through the death and resurrection of Christ. Paul also asserted that 'the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death' (verse 26). John the Revelator declares that he saw death and hell cast into the lake of fire (Rev. xx, 14). The atonement, as wrought out by Jesus Christ, further signifies that He has opened up the way for man's redemption from his own sins, through faith in Christ's sufferings, death, and resurrection. The Apostle Paul well expresses this: 'For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God' (Romans iii, 23-26). These passages evidence that redemption from death, through the sufferings of Christ, is for all men, both the righteous and the wicked; for this earth, and for all things created upon it. The whole tenor of the scriptures assures us that, while they may be sure of resurrection from death, regardless of their personal acts, yet they will be rewarded for their works, whether they be good or evil, and that redemption from personal sins can only be obtained through obedience to the requirements of the Gospel, and a life of good works. The transgression of Adam being infinite in its consequences, those consequences cannot be averted, except through an infinite atonement."—Compendium, F. D. Richards & J. A. Little, pp. 8-9.
5. The Atonement Necessary.—"In the economy of God and the plan proposed by the Almighty, it was provided that man was to be placed under a law apparently simple in itself, yet the test of that law was fraught with the gravest consequences. The observance of that law would secure eternal life, and the penalty for the violation of that law was death.... If the law had not been broken, man would have lived; but would man thus living have been capable of perpetuating his species, and of thus fulfilling the designs of God in preparing tabernacles for the spirits which had been created in the spirit world? And further, could they have had the need of a mediator, who was to act as a propitiation for the violation of this law, which it would appear from the circumstances was destined to be broken; or could the eternal increase and perpetuity of man have been continued, and his high exaltation to the Godhead been accomplished, without the propitiatory atonement and sacrifice of the Son of God?"—Mediation and Atonement, Pres. John Taylor, pp. 128-129.
6. The Need of a Redeemer.—For special treatment of this topic see "Jesus the Christ," pp. 17-31.
