Musings of An Intellectual Mind

The greatest expression of love that has ever been shown to us was the atonement, the very moment when man through Jesus Christ was reconciled to God the Father. I do not pretend to know all there is to know about the atonement. I do know something about it. I know that God’s laws are unbreakable, meaning they are infinite and eternal. They do not bend with the trends of popular opinion and they certainly don’t bend or are breakable with time. They are not an outdated collection of “suggestions”. They are given to men and women for their happiness (more on this at a different time). There is freedom in following them, however no matter how hard we try, no matter what we do we will at one time or another break at least one if not several of his laws.

Therein lies the problem, God’s laws are infinite and eternal and must be adhered to with absolute obedience, yet we cannot follow them with the obedience which is required of us. No amount of obedience after the fact is going to make up the difference either. Just as in school no amount of “A’s” will ever make up the difference after receiving even one “B”. No matter how we try we will never have a straight “A” average again. In statistics we learn that in order for an average to increase the number that is added and then averaged must needs be greater than the average prior to the addition. This is important because we all have “B’s” in our lives; we are simply not perfect despite even our best efforts. It would take getting something greater than an “A” to raise our average back to an “A”. There is nothing in this life that we can humanly do to raise our average. Yet it a perfect score or a straight “A” average that is required for us to gain eternal life. Nothing less than perfection will allow us to return to live with God the Father.

So we have a problem, perfection is what is required of us and there is no way we can be perfect. Our Heavenly Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ to atone for the sins of the world. He was “..the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name.” (Alma 5:48) He is the only one perfect enough to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I am not completely sure of how the atonement works, however I do know that through Jesus Christ’s atonement we are able to receive the necessary increase of our average that will allow us into God’s Kingdom. He makes up the difference between what is required of us and what we are lacking. Let me emphasis the point that although I am using averages as a comparison tool, it is by no means definitive.

I think that John said it best, “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.” (John 3:16) God the Father sacrificed his only begotten son, so that you and I would be able to return to him and have “everlasting life.” He knew that we would need a Savior and he lovingly provided one for us. Through the atonement the demands of justice (perfect obedience to God’s laws) can be satisfied and mercy (i.e. forgiveness of our disobedience or sins) can be granted “to those who believe on his name”. (Helaman 14:2)

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