From "The Supernal Gift of the Atonement" James E. Faust Ensign, Nov. 1988, p. 12
"It is literally at-one-ment." (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 47th ed., Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,1924, p. 75.)
Like the Apostles of old, this knowledge and belief should transform all of us to be confident, settled, unafraid, and at peace in our lives as followers of the divine Christ. It should help us carry all burdens, bear any sorrows, and also fully savor all joys and happiness that can be found in this life. The disciples who walked with the Savior on the road to Emmaus said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32.)
The vacating of the tomb transcended all other events in the history of the world, for it attested that Jesus had not died, but that death itself had been overcome.
From "The Atonement" by Russell M. Nelson Ensign, Nov. 1996, p. 33
The Atonement Enabled the Purpose of the Creation to Be Accomplished The Creation required the Fall. The Fall required the Atonement. The Atonement enabled the purpose of the Creation to be accomplished. Eternal life, made possible by the Atonement, is the supreme purpose of the Creation.
That is why we respond to our own calls from the Lord. When we comprehend His voluntary Atonement, any sense of sacrifice on our part becomes completely overshadowed by a profound sense of gratitude for the privilege of serving Him.
From "What Think Ye of Christ" by Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov. 1988, p. 65
The Messiah's atoning sacrifice is the central message of the prophets of all ages. It was prefigured by the animal sacrifices prescribed by the law of Moses, whose whole meaning, one prophet explained, "point[ed] to that great and last sacrifice [of] the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal." (Alma 34:14.) The Atonement was promised and predicted by the Old Testament prophets.
As President Benson has said, the Book of Mormon "provides the most complete explanation of the doctrine of the Atonement," and "its testimony of the Master is clear, undiluted, and full of power." (Ensign, Nov. 1986, p. 5.)
we must labor diligently to persuade everyone "to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Ne. 25:23.)
The Book of Mormon puts us right. It teaches that "salvation doth not come by the law alone" (Mosiah 13:28); that is, salvation does not come by keeping the commandments alone. "By the law no flesh is justified." ( 2 Ne. 2:5.) Even those who serve God with their whole souls are unprofitable servants. (See Mosiah 2:21.) Man cannot earn his own salvation.
What think we of Christ? As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we testify with the Book of Mormon prophet-king Benjamin that "there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent, "For behold, salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ." (Mosiah 3:17-18.)
I used this in a High Council talk on the 3rd and 4th Article of Faith, March 16, 2003.
Soon after my son Daniel return from his mission to Panama I asked him what he learned on his mission. One of the things that he said he learned was what the atonement really means. He had been a diligent Seminary student and learned all about the atonement before his mission. However, things were different after having seen the change that comes into peoples lives as they let Christ's atonement touch their lives. He saw people who only thought about themselves changed so that they put the gospel and other peoples need first in their lives. He also saw the workings of the atonement in his own life to overcome his fears and weakness. When I asked him how we could teach the youth so they could learn about the atonement earlier, he thought about it for a little while, then said that he would probably use about the same words to describe the atonement now as he had before. However, now these same words were more than just words they had real meaning.