“He Shall Suffer and Die to Atone for Their Sins”

Joseph F. McConkie, Robert L. Millet
Jacob expounded the doctrine of Christ as follows: “And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam. And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.” (2 Nephi 9:21-22; compare Mosiah 3:7; D&C 18:11; D&C 19:16.)

“He Shall Suffer and Die”

Alma then attests that all other doctrines of salvation grow out of the doctrine of Christ’s divine sonship. He cites the doctrines of atonement, resurrection, and judgment as natural appendages to the doctrine of divine sonship.

If Christ is literally the Son of the Eternal Father, he can work out an infinite and eternal atonement, he can lay down his life and take it up again, and by so doing he can lay claim to the right to sit in judgment upon all for whom he made that everlasting sacrifice. If, on the other hand, he is not the son of a mortal woman and an eternal and glorified Man, he is without the ability to take up his life again (for mortals have no such power). Thus there is no faith unto salvation save that faith which centers in Christ as God’s son.

Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

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