Salvation Through the Atonement

Reading: "The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope," James E. Faust, Liahona, Jan 2002

If we focus on the Savior by focusing on his teachings, then perhaps the most important teaching for us to understand is the Atonement.

The subtitle of this article reads:

Our salvation depends on believing in and accepting the Atonement. Such acceptance requires a continual effort to understand it more fully.

Often, I don't feel like I really understand or appreciate the Atonement. However, I'm not sure how to go about understanding it better. After all, I've been going to church my whole life and in that time learned many things about the Atonement. What more can I do than what I have done to understand and appreciate the Atonement? So, today I sought out information about the Atonement in an effort to deepen my understanding.

In the article President Faust outlines several facts about the atonement. He talks about:

• It is only through the Atonement that we are saved
• Learning about the Atonement brings us closer to the Savior
• Through the Atonement Christ pays the price we cannot pay for our sins
• Christ suffered greatly as part of the Atonement, both in spirit and body
• Only Christ could perform the atonement because of his divine attributes
• The Atonement requires us to do all that we can to repent and then makes up for what we lack
• No one can understand how much pain the Savior suffered through the Atonement because it is infinitely more than we can experience
• The Atonement also helps victims by helping them to forgive
• The ultimate blessing of the Atonement is to return to live with God

When I think about the Atonement it motivates me to repent. Appreciation for what the Savior has done motivates me to repent. And, the knowledge that it is the only way I can return to God motivates me to repent. When I repent I am then accepting the Atonement. So, having gone through that thought process I now realize how learning about the Atonement helps me to believe and accept and act on it.

Today I'm going to ponder what I understand about the Atonement. If I come up with anything that I would like to understand better, I will use it as future scripture study topics.

How does the Atonement affect your life? Not just on the big things, but in your day to day life? What would you like to understand better about the Atonement?