“Jesus Christ Is Your Savior,” For the Strength of Youth, Apr. 2022.
Jesus Christ Is Your Savior
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is for you.
He Lives, by Simon Dewey
“He is not here: for he is risen” (Matthew 28:6).
These are some of the most meaningful words in the scriptures. They were spoken by angels near an empty tomb. They declared that the Lord Jesus Christ had overcome sin and death through His Atonement, culminating in His glorious Resurrection.
I want you to know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is for you! His life’s mission was for you! His sacrificial death was for you! And His Resurrection is for you! Sometimes it can be easy to feel that Jesus Christ did all of this for someone else. But I testify that He did it for you.
This is the message of the first Easter morning: God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son to help us. And His Son, Jesus Christ, gave His life for us.
Jesus Christ’s sacrifice affects the whole world—including you.
Foretold and Foreshadowed
From the very beginning, God taught people about the Savior. He sent an angel to instruct Adam and Eve, “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 forevermore” (Moses 5:8). From that day to the time of Jesus Christ, people sacrificed animals to help them look forward to the sacrifice that the Son of God would later make.
In addition, Jesus Christ’s Atonement had been foretold long before He was born in Bethlehem. Prophets had prophesied of it for many generations.
His Infinite Atonement and Resurrection
We cannot truly understand all that Jesus Christ did for us. We cannot grasp how great His suffering was and how far-reaching the effects of His sacrifice are. But you can feel the effects of His Atonement every day.
At Gethsemane and on the cross, He “suffered the pain of all men, that all … might repent and come unto him” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:11). He took upon Himself the weight of the sins of all people. Bearing such a massive load caused Him to bleed from every pore (see Luke 22:44; Doctrine and Covenants 19:18).
Later He was beaten and whipped. A crown of sharp thorns was thrust upon His head. Then He was forced to carry His own cross to Calvary, where the agony of the Atonement was completed as He was nailed to that cross and made to suffer unbearable pain. He did the will of His Father. He suffered and gave up His life.
The Crucifixion, by Harry Anderson
Just as He and His prophets had foretold, He rose from the grave on the third day. He became the first to be resurrected. Because of Him, all who have ever lived will receive the gift of resurrection. Thanks to Him, each body will be restored to its perfect frame.
The Savior paid the price for our sins and transgressions. Because of Him, all people can be redeemed from sin—if they will repent.
Jesus Christ’s Atonement was infinite. He saved all humankind from never-ending death. He suffered intensely, beyond what any mortal could suffer. His suffering was for all people existing on an infinite number of worlds created by Him (see Doctrine and Covenants 76:24; Moses 1:33).
Jesus was the only one who could offer such an infinite Atonement, because He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. That made Jesus an infinite Being—the only one who could choose to lay down His life and take it up again (see John 10:14–18). The Savior’s perfect life was also an important qualification for Him to be able to satisfy the demands of justice on our behalf (see Alma 34:8–14).
His mission on earth—which includes His Atoning sacrifice and His Resurrection from the dead—gives each one of us the opportunities for redemption from sin and a glorious resurrection! Our debt to Him cannot be measured.
Both Infinite and Personal
Jesus Christ’s Atonement is infinite. Yet it was also personal. In addition to the perfect love He had for His Father, He was also motivated by His love for each of Heavenly Father’s children. And His Atonement blesses each of us in a very personal way. Carefully read this explanation from the Savior:
“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” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16–19).
Jesus suffered deeply because He loves you deeply! He wants you to repent and be converted so that He can fully heal you.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ is for you. He took upon Himself your sins. He paid the price for your sins so that you can repent. He provides the power for you to move every mountain you will ever face. You obtain that power with your faith, trust, and willingness to follow Him.
As you pray and study with purpose, you can learn how His mission blesses you. And the Holy Ghost can teach and testify to you of the eternal significance of His Atonement.
I thank God for His Son, Jesus Christ. He is “the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25). He lives. With all my heart, I love Him, and I testify of Him. I testify that He is the Son of the living God. Jesus is the Christ—our Savior and Redeemer.