Area Leadership Message
Jesus Christ Atoned ‘Once for All’
Over his nearly 40 years as a special witness of the Lord, President Russell M. Nelson has regularly shared his constant and unwavering testimony of The Atonement of Jesus Christ. Here we review some of his powerful messages about our Saviour’s ultimate sacrifice.
Understanding the Plan of Salvation
“Before we can comprehend the Atonement of Christ . . . we must first understand the Fall of Adam. And before we can understand the Fall of Adam, we must first understand the Creation. These three crucial components of the plan of salvation relate to each other.”
In his October 1996 general conference address, President Nelson explained:
“The Creation culminated with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden . . . [It] was a paradisiacal creation, one that required a significant change before they could fulfil the commandment to have children and thus provide earthly bodies for premortal spirit sons and daughters of God. . . .
“The Fall of Adam (and Eve) constituted the mortal creation and brought about the required changes in their bodies, including the circulation of blood and other modifications as well. They were now able to have children. They and their posterity also became subject to injury, disease, and death. …
“Probation, procreation, and aging were all components of—and physical death was essential to—God’s ‘great plan of happiness.’
“But mortal life, glorious as it is, was never the ultimate objective of God’s plan. Life and death here on planet Earth were merely means to an end.”
Quoting from Paul, President Nelson continues:
“‘As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ The Atonement of Jesus Christ became the immortal creation. He volunteered to answer the ends of a law previously transgressed. And by the shedding of His blood, His and our physical bodies could become perfected. . . . Paul taught that ‘flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; . . . this mortal must put on immortality.’”1
The Magnificent Mission of Jesus Christ
President Nelson was speaking at a BYU devotional a couple of years later when he expressed his eternal gratitude for the gift that only our Saviour Jesus Christ could have offered.
“During his relatively brief sojourn in mortality, the Savior accomplished two overarching objectives: One was his ‘work and [his] glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’ . . .
“[This objective] we know as the Atonement. . . .
“That mission was uniquely his. Born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father, he was the only one who could voluntarily lay down his life and take it up again. The glorious consequences of his Atonement were infinite and eternal. He took the sting out of death and made temporary the grief of the grave. His responsibility for the Atonement was known even before the Creation and the Fall. Not only was it to provide for the resurrection and immortality of all humankind, it was to enable us to be forgiven of our sins—upon conditions established by him. And his Atonement opened the way by which we could be united with him and with our families eternally. This prospect we esteem as eternal life—the greatest gift of God to man.
“No one else could effect the Atonement. No other person, even of the greatest wealth and power, could ever save one soul—not even his own. And no other individual will be required or permitted to shed blood for the eternal salvation of another human being. Jesus did it ‘once for all.’”2
The Great News of God’s Plan
President Nelson’s powerful testimony of Jesus Christ is unrelenting. He spoke at the October 2023 general conference while recovering from an injury to his back.
“As I have wrestled with the intense pain caused by my recent injury, I have felt even deeper appreciation for Jesus Christ and the incomprehensible gift of His Atonement. Think of it! The Savior suffered ‘pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind’ so that He can comfort us, heal us, rescue us in times of need. Jesus Christ described His experience in Gethsemane and on Calvary: ‘Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore.’ My injury has caused me to reflect again and again on ‘the greatness of the Holy One of Israel.’ During my healing, the Lord has manifested His divine power in peaceful and unmistakable ways.
“Because of Jesus Christ’s infinite Atonement, our Heavenly Father’s plan is a perfect plan! An understanding of God’s fabulous plan takes the mystery out of life and the uncertainty out of our future. It allows each of us to choose how we will live here on earth and where we will live forever.”3
President Nelson promised that we can find strength and peace in our turbulent world if we learn to think celestial, to be spiritually minded and live in a way that qualifies for the blessings of eternity.
“So, my dear brothers and sisters,” he entreats, “how and where and with whom do you want to live forever? You get to choose.
“When you make choices, I invite you to take the long view—an eternal view. Put Jesus Christ first because your eternal life is dependent upon your faith in Him and in His Atonement. It is also dependent upon your obedience to His laws. Obedience paves the way for a joyful life for you today and a grand, eternal reward tomorrow.”4