Atonement and Forgiveness

I have been pondering on the atonement lately. I have felt the power of the atonement as I have been forgiven, as I have been strengthened to make changes in my life, and as I have learned to feel more real love for, and interest in, others. What has stumped me, though, is how it works. There are several analogies to the atonement: buying a bicycle, paying for a broken window, taking a whipping for classmate, a child on a railroad bridge, and etc. All seem to revolve around a view of the atonement that is based in “paying a price” or some form of vicarious suffering for another’s sins.

There is no mention in scripture of “pay a price” for sin. The words simply are not there. That does not mean they are wrong, just not scriptural. And, I cannot imagine a God the Father who requires a “price” for each sin. So, if not God, then who demands the price? Who is the price paid to? How did Jesus know the correct number of pain units to suffer, or what amount of price to pay, in Gethsemane? What if He underpaid or overpaid? And, ultimately, if the price of my sin was paid by Jesus’ suffering and death, why would I consent to his death to pay for my sins?

To see and know Jesus is to see and know the Father. And, Jesus is the epitome of mercy. So, the Father must equally embody mercy. I have been praying, studying and pondering to see if there is a different view of the atonement that still satisfies justice, allows for mercy, is based in Jesus’ atonement, and makes more sense to me. So, let me share some things I have come across and see what you think. The atonement is difficult to fully understand, but maybe these ideas will add some insight.

Accusers

Let’s go back to the beginning and see what happened before we entered mortality. In the JST of Revelation 12 we find:

  6 And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought against Michael;
  7 And the dragon prevailed not against Michael, neither the child, nor the woman which was the church of God, who had been delivered of her pains, and brought forth the kingdom of our God and his Christ.

In this war, the dragon (Satan, the devil) and his angels tried, but did not prevail against, Michael, or the church of God, or the kingdom of our God and his Christ.

  8 Neither was there place found in heaven for the great dragon, who was cast out; that old serpent called the devil, and also called Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into earth; and his angels were cast out with him.
  9 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ;

Notice that once Satan and his angels are cast out, the voice says “Now …” In other words, with Satan and his angels gone, the conditions are achieved so that something important is come. What has happened? Salvation is come. Strength, the kingdom of God, and the power of Christ are all come once Satan and his angels are cast out.

  10 For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

The first word of verse ten is “For …” In other words, now we will be given the reason that salvation, strength, the kingdom of God and the power of Christ are come when Satan and his angels are cast out. The reason is that the accuser of our brethren is cast down. Those who accused our brethren (maybe even accused us) before God, day and night, is cast out of heaven.

  11 For they have overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; for they loved not their own lives, but kept the testimony even unto death. Therefore, rejoice O heavens, and ye that dwell in them.

Again, this sentence starts with “For …” and is explaining how casting the accuser out of heaven accomplished these things. Satan and his angels, and their accusations, were overcome by the blood of the Lamb. And, in addition, by the word of their testimony which they kept even unto death. I wonder if this is a very brief statement that Jesus’ willingness to be killed rather than give testimony as an accuser is what overcame Satan? We are like Jesus when we, too, are willing to offer our own lives and keep our testimony against others to ourselves, even unto death, rather than become accusers. If so, then we can rejoice and we belong in heaven.

Justice is served because there is no accusation. With no accusation of a victim, or from God, there is no punishment for sin. Mercy is offered so that we can make mistakes and learn by our own experience to prefer the things of God to the things of this world. We learn to prize the good over the bitter (See Moses 6:55). It seems that the key to entering the kingdom of God is forgiveness. Not just receiving forgiveness, but forgiving others. Then, there are no accusers, and salvation, strength, the kingdom of God and the power of Christ are come.

Adam, Eve, and the Fall

Next, consider the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan comes and begins to work on Adam and Eve. He convinces them to see the forbidden fruit as desirable and they partake. Recall from Moses 4:

  14 And they heard the voice of the Lord God, as they were walking in the garden, in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife went to hide themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
  15 And I, the Lord God, called unto Adam, and said unto him: Where goest thou?
  16 And he said: I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself.
  17 And I, the Lord God, said unto Adam: Who told thee thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, if so thou shouldst surely die?
  18 And the man said: The woman thou gavest me, and commandest that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat.
  19 And I, the Lord God, said unto the woman: What is this thing which thou hast done? And the woman said: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
  20 And I, the Lord God, said unto the serpent: Because thou hast done this thou shalt be cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life;

God does not come into the garden saying to Adam and Eve, "Now look what you have done!" Rather, He asks, in essence, "Where are you?" and "What have you done?" Adam's response is to accuse Eve and Eve's response is to accuse the serpent. Once again, the accuser (Satan) has infiltrated God's creation. Accusation entered the garden. Adam and Eve felt naked and exposed before God so they tried to cover themselves by accusing others for their choice. But, they had exercised agency and would learn by their own experience.

One other observation seems important to me. God does not correct them in their views. Rather, he asks questions and then allows consequence to be the instructor. Adam and Eve (and Satan) are each told the consequence of their choice and, importantly, each of them have fallen from the presence of God. Thus, being an accuser is a prelude to falling from God’s presence.

In mortality, Jesus set the example of not accusing and set a pattern for repentance and learning from sin and experience. A woman was brought to Jesus by men who testified that she was taken in the act of adultery. They wanted to know how Jesus would deal with her. They played the role of accusers under the law of Moses. Jesus simply taught them the injustice of accusing others when we, ourselves, have much for which we would like to be forgiven. After the men left, Jesus said, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” She said, “No man, Lord.” And Jesus said unto her, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more (John 8:10-11).” So, while justice under the law would require a punishment for sin, Jesus taught that we are all condemned if justice is applied. Instead, Jesus did not condemn and sent her on her way with the injunction to “sin no more.” Thus, while there may be consequences to her sin, condemnation by Jesus is not one of them. And, she has the chance to learn and change as a result of this experience.

Becoming Perfect

In John 17:23 Jesus refers to being made perfect. Earlier in His ministry he taught about what it means to be perfect in the way that the Father is perfect. Often we focus on Matt. 5:48 in isolation. But, in the text of the chapter, verses 43-48 are a single textual unit. The paragraph mark (¶) at the start of verse 43 indicates the beginning of a block of text and that block continues through verse 48. So, consider 43-48 as an entire statement of an idea.

  43 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
  44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Jesus is inviting us to love not only those who are easy to love, but also those who would mistreat us. We are not just to absorb their abuse, but actually do good for and pray for them.

  45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Why should we love our enemies in this way? “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven.” The next phrase begins with “for…” and tells us how this makes us like our Father. He gives His sunlight and rain on both the good and the evil, the just and the unjust. What He offers as blessing, he provides to all people regardless of their merit.

  46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
  47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
  48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

So, being perfect, even as our Father, involves loving those who mistreat us and giving what we have to offer regardless of merit. We must be willing to forgive not just those who we love, but even those who mistreat us in any way. We see this in a similar passage in Luke 6:

  35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
  36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
  37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
  38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

To me, this seems like it could be summed up by saying that we should forgive all offenses because we will be subject to the justice we demand to have applied to others. Thus, if we forgive, we will be forgiven. Jesus was the ultimate example of this. He was rejected by many of His covenant people. He was accused, tried, and crucified by the very priests who were supposed to prepare Israel for their Messiah. Yet, in all this, Jesus did not judge or accuse. He said, in John 12:

  47 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
  48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

And, in a related statement, Jesus said in John 5:

  45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
  46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

Jesus did not come into mortality to judge or accuse. But, He did come to teach truth. He suffered every illness, offense, wrong, or pain. And, He did it so that we could learn from the experience. Despite what He suffered, He does not accuse. Rather, He forgives! And, even during the suffering of the cross, Jesus lived this example when He said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).” Moses also did not directly accuse. Rather, the truths he taught will condemn those who do not accept them. Ultimately, it is how we respond to the truths revealed by God that will judge us. And, central to those truths are that we love God, and love our neighbor by forgiving rather than accusing.

Unity

One of the core purposes for Jesus to come into our fallen mortal world is to reunite us with God. This is atonement. He invites us to become one with Him in order to become one with the Father. Thus, the fall that we have experienced can be overcome. In John 15 Jesus describes Himself as a vine in a parable of our relationship to Him and to the Father. He says:

  1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
  2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
  3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
  4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
  5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

We are invited into a relationship with Jesus that is analogous to being a branch on a vine. The vine has roots and provides life and nourishment to the branches. Likewise, we are invited into a unity with the Savior where He provides the life and the nourishment to us. This is likely a parable of what is taught in D&C 88:13 about Christ being, “the light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.” The light of Christ seems to be the means of us being a branch in Christ’s vine. It is how we receive life and nourishment from God. In Lecture 5 of Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith teaches us that it is through this Holy Spirit that the Father and the Son are one. And, it is by that same Holy Spirit that we are invited to become one with Jesus and the Father.

More than just being part of the vine, the branches are to bring forth fruit. Thus, there is work for us to do as a branch in Jesus’ vine. The intercessory prayer in John 17 continues the theme of unity with God and with one another.

  18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

Jesus sends us into the world in a manner like unto how He was sent into the world by the father. His work is our work.

  19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Jesus’s sanctification is for us. It is through His sanctifying himself that we become sanctified by the truth (God’s word, knowledge of things as they are, were, and are to come.)

  20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

Just as Christ delivered God’s word to us, we are to deliver God’s word to others so that they may believe. That is our work.

  21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
  22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
  23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

The outcome of Jesus’ work is that we become one with Him as He is one with the Father. And, we are sent out to invite others to join Christ, as well. Our goal is to become one by becoming one with Christ. If Jesus is the vine and the life of the vine is the light of Christ, then we become one with Christ through the light of Christ. And, if I am a branch of the vine and you are a branch of the vine, then we can be one, as well. I love you as myself because when we are both branches of Christ’s vine, we are one.

My belief is that Zion, and heaven, will be populated with people who are pure in heart and doing their best. They will not be so homogenous and boring as to never say or do something that could be taken wrong. It is simply impossible to never give offense unless nobody is willing to be offended. It seems to me that Zion will be Zion because it will be filled with people who cannot be offended and who forgive and do not demand justice. They will be one with Christ and with the Father. They will be one because of the principles of love, never accusing, forgiving all sin, becoming one, and blessing one another generously with what we have to offer.

There is not a price to pay for sin unless somebody is demanding a price. And, that person who demands justice for others is excluded from Zion or heaven by the very act of accusing somebody else and demanding a price.