We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
“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.”
- -Isaiah 53:5
The Atonement of Jesus was, from a Christian standpoint, the most important event in history. In taking upon himself the sins of the world, Jesus gave his life to redeem humanity from the effects of the Fall. Before Christ’s sacrifice, all of humanity was lost. Through his Atonement, our sins can be forgiven. Mormons do not entirely disagree; the Book of Mormon teaches:
Behold, he [God] created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.[102]
However, they see Christ’s sacrifice differently. Christ went through suffering and torture that no normal man could bear leading up to his crucifixion, then freely gave his life for all of mankind. The focus of Christianity has always been upon Jesus’ teaching, his passion, death, and resurrection. Mormons maintain that the suffering of Christ mainly took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Christ prepared for the anguish he was about to undertake:
[Jesus suffered] the pains of all men, which he did, principally, in Gethsemane, the scene of his greatest agony.[103]
Ezra Taft Benson:
It was in Gethsemane that Jesus took on Himself the sins of the world, in Gethsemane that He descended below all things so that all could repent and come to Him.[104]
Bruce R. McConkie:
Forgiveness is available because of the atoning sacrifice of the Great Jehovah. Forgiveness is available because Christ the Lord sweat great drops of blood in Gethsemane as he bore the incalculable weight of the sins of all who ever had or ever would repent.[105]
In all but the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ suffering in the Garden was great, but it was in preparation for the Atonement, it wasn’t the Atonement itself. The Bible presents several instances of Apostles speaking of the cross, but none of them say that the Atonement took place in the Garden.[106] Christ himself spoke the cross, but not of the garden:
And if he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matt. 10:38)
Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Mark 8:34)
Go thy way, sell whatever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. (Mark 10:21)
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Four times in the Gospels, Jesus tells us to take up the cross to follow him; never once does he ask us to kneel in a garden to follow him. The Bible makes it plain that Jesus’ death on the cross was the focus of the early church:
Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.1 Corinthians 1:18
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.Colossians 1:20
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.Colossians 2:14
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;Galatians 6:12
As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.Galatians 6:14
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.Romans 5:10
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.
There are two types of Atonement in Mormonism. The first is the Atonement of Christ, which brings resurrection to all mankind. No faith or particular belief is required on the part of man; resurrection is automatic and guaranteed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ Atonement covered the basic sins of mankind, but there are sins that it doesn’t cover, which brings us to the second type, Blood Atonement. Blood Atonement comes into play when you have committed a sin so great as to be outside of Christ’s saving Grace, and your own blood must be shed for your sin(s) to be forgiven. In fairness, this doctrine is not spoken of much anymore, and could be on its way out, but it deserves mention.
In a sermon delivered in the Tabernacle at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on March 16, 1856, Brigham Young said:
Suppose you found your brother in bed with your wife, and put a javelin through both of them, you would be justified, and they would atone for their sins, and be received into the kingdom of God. I would at once do so in such a case; and under such circumstances, I have no wife[107] whom I love so well that I would not put a javelin through her heart, and I would do it with clean hands…There is not a man or woman, who violates the covenants made with their God, that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it; and the judgments of the Almighty will come, sooner or later, and every man and woman will have to atone for breaking their covenants.[108]
Elsewhere among Brigham Young’s sermons and writings, we find:
I could refer you to plenty of instances where men have been righteously slain, in order to atone for their sins.
This is loving our neighbor as ourselves; if he wants salvation and it is necessary to spill his blood on the earth in order that he may be saved, spill it. Any of you who understand the principles of eternity, if you have sinned a sin requiring the shedding of blood, except the sin unto death, would not be satisfied nor rest until your blood should be spilled, that you might gain that salvation you desire. That is the way to love mankind.[109]
This doctrine has caused much controversy between orthodox Christians and Latter-day Saints. Bruce R. McConkie accused “anti-Mormon” writers of concocting the quotations above by “taking one sentence on one page and another from a succeeding page,”[110] and “taking a part of a sentence on one page and a part of another found several pages away,”[110] He then goes on to explain,
[T]he true doctrine of blood atonement is simply this:
1. Jesus Christ worked out the infinite and eternal atonement by the shedding of his own blood. He came into the world for the purpose of dying on the cross for the sins of the world. By virtue of that atoning sacrifice immortality came as a free gift to all men, and all who would believe and obey his laws would in addition be cleansed from sin through his blood.[110]
In the above statement, McConkie generally agrees with the Christian community, though it could be argued that his statement that Christ “came into the world for the purpose of dying on the cross,” may contradict the theory of the Garden of Gethsemane as the site of the Atonement. He then supports Brigham Young and departs from his accusation against “anti-Mormons” by writing,
2. But under certain circumstances there are some serious sins for which the cleansing of Christ does not operate, and the law of God is that men must then have their own blood shed to atone for their sins.[110]
What sins would require the shedding of your own blood to atone for?[111]
Murder: [112]
“The founders of Utah incorporated in the laws of the Territory provisions for the capital punishment of those who willfully shed the blood of their fellow men. This law, which is now the law of the State, granted unto the condemned murderer the privilege of choosing for himself whether he die by hanging, or whether he be shot, and thus have his blood shed in harmony with the Law of God; and thus atone, so far as it is in his power to atone, for the death of his victim.” (Joseph Fielding Smith- Doctrines of Salvation 1:136) Adultery and Immorality:
“Modern governments do not take the life of the adulterer, and some of them have done away with the supreme penalty where murder is involved- all of which is further evidence of the direful apostasy that prevails among the peoples who call themselves Christians.” (Bruce R. McConkie- Mormon Doctrine, pg. 314) “The principle, the only one that beats and throbs through the heart of the entire inhabitants of this Territory, is simply this: The man who seduces his neighbor’s wife must die, and her nearest relative must kill him.” (George A. Smith- Journal of Discourses 1:97) Theft:
“If you want to know what to do with a thief that you may find stealing, I say kill him on the spot, and never suffer him to commit another iniquity.” (Brigham Young- Journal of Discourses 1:108) “Mixing blood” with Africans:
“Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty under the law of God is death on the spot. This will always be so.” (Brigham Young- Journal of Discourses 10:110) Breaking Covenants:
“We have those amongst us that are full of all manner of abominations, those who need to have their blood shed, for water will not do, their sins are of too deep a dye…I would ask how many covenant breakers there are in this city and in this kingdom. I believe that there are a great many; and if they are covenant breakers we need a place designated, where we can shed their blood…” (Jedediah M. Grant- Deseret News vol. 6, pg. 235) Apostasy:
“I say, rather than that apostates should flourish here, I will unsheathe my bowie knife, and conquer or die.” (Brigham Young- Journal of Discourses 1:83)
Other unforgivable sins include taking the Lord’s name in vain, not accepting or receiving the Gospel, lying, and counterfeiting. Another incredibly odious atrocity was having anything to supporting, approving of, or condoning the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was shot and killed along with his brother Hyrum in Carthage Jail, Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844. Apostle Abraham H. Cannon, in his private journal, wrote about Joseph F. Smith in December of 1889:
About 4:30pm this meeting adjourned and was followed by a meeting of Presidents Woodruff, Cannon and Smith and Bros. Lyman and Grant…Bro. Joseph F. Smith was traveling some years ago near Carthage when he met a man who said he had just arrived five minutes to late to see the Smiths killed. Instantly a dark cloud seemed to overshadow Bro. Smith and he asked how this man looked upon the deed. Bro. S. was oppressed by a most horrible feeling as he waited for a reply. After a brief pause the man answered, “Just as I have always looked upon it- that it was a d—d cold-blooded murder.” The cloud immediately lifted from Bro. Smith and he found that he had his open pocket knife grasped in his hand in his pocket, and he believes that had this man given his approval to that murder of the prophets he would have immediately struck him to the heart.[113]
It is also interesting to note that the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony contained an oath to avenge the blood of the prophets. In 1912 the “law of retribution” was described by David H. Cannon as a “prayer” rather than an oath. When it was removed from the ceremonies in 1924, Edward H. Snow explained that it was no longer necessary; the prayers had already been answered.
102
Book of Mormon, Mormon 9:12, pg. 485 (1981 edition)
103
Ensign, May 1982, pg. 6
104
The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, pg. 542
105
The Messiah Series, 1982
106
In fact, the Gospel of John doesn’t even mention the Garden of Gethsemane, except to say that Jesus was arrested in a “garden”; it says nothing about his suffering, and certainly doesn’t imply that the Atonement took place there.
107
Brigham Young was a polygamist, estimates of just how many wives he had vary considerably.
108
Journal of Discourses 3:247
109
Journal of Discourses 4:220
110
Mormon Doctrine, pg. 92 (1966 edition)
111
See Mormonism: Shadow or Reality?, pp. 398-404A
112
The idea that shedding your own blood would atone for a murder you committed contradicts the Book of Commandments Chapter XLIV:18, pg. 91, which states, “Thou shalt not kill; and he that killeth, shall not have forgiveness, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.”
113
Daily Journal of Abraham G. Cannon, Dec. 6, 1889, pp. 205-206 (Original at Brigham Young University Library Special Collections Dept./photocopies at Utah State Historical Society and the University of Utah Library.
