Understanding the Atonement of Christ and its relationship to our eternal existence is the greatest knowledge we can have in our quest to return to God, our Eternal Father. The Atonement is the center of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we diligently apply its principles to our lives through the covenant process—through faith unto repentance, baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost—we become liberated from our fallen state. We become free through Christ by obedience (see Galatians 5:1). Yet “it is by (the) grace (of God) that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). We apply the Atonement to our lives through the gospel and through priesthood authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is this knowledge of the Atonement and Christ’s role in our lives that will motivate and cause us to change.
This is why the Book of Mormon was given to us as another witness and testament that Jesus is the Christ. The Lord said, “Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me …” (3 Nephi 27:13–14). It is by such means that the Atonement will draw us to the Lord. The reality of the Atonement demonstrates the tender mercy and the goodness of God: “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).
This gift becomes the key—the difference in our lives. When we understand this doctrine, when we appreciate it and apply it to our lives, we change. We become converted. And converted people are different people. They act differently. They are grateful. They feel indebted to the Lord their God for their very lives. (Ed J. Pinegar)