There are two aspects of justice:
- Obedience to law results in blessings that bring joy (see D&C 130:20–21).
- Disobedience to law results in punishments that bring sorrow (see Alma 42:22).
There are two ways to satisfy justice:
- Never violate the law.
- If you do violate the law, pay the penalty.
Problem: No flesh is justified by the law (see 2 Nephi 2:5); everyone has sinned (see Romans 3:23). Thus, a penalty must be paid.
There are two effects of sin:
- By temporal law we are cut off—justice is violated (see Alma 42:14).
- By spiritual law we perish—“there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God” (1 Nephi 15:34).
Jesus “offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law” (2 Nephi 2:7).
Christ initiated the law of mercy, but how?
- He kept the law perfectly and was without sin. He was justified by the law.
- In the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, He suffered and paid the price for the penalty as though He was guilty of every sin ever committed.
- He is our Advocate with the Father (see Alma 33:11; D&C 45:3–5).