Saturday, March 14, 2009

Does the atonement cover other pain?

Question: I know Christ took upon himself our sins but did He also take upon Himself our other sufferings such as illness, pain caused us by others, grief, and humiliation?

Answer: Yes, He took upon Himself all of our anguish, whether self-inflicted by our own sinning, inflicted by others through their sinning, or other pain and anguish which exist simply because we live in a mortal world.
See Alma 7:11-12

During Christ's suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, when scourged and humiliated, or later on the cross, He took upon Himself all of the pains of all who have lived on the earth. Through this process, He felt all of our individual pains and understands exactly what we feel because He already felt it for us. Because He descended below all things He understands all things. There is nothing we can feel that he has not already felt for us. See D&C 88:6

The suffering Joseph Smith experienced in the Liberty Jail was not a result of his own sinning but a result of others sinning against him and against God's people. Remember what God said, "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" See D&C 122:8

We must beware of not only holding on to our sins but also holding on to our sufferings. Some of us hold on to our sufferings as tightly as some of us hold on to our sins. Holding on to either is a personal rejection of the atonement of Christ as it applies to our own lives. If we do not cast our burdens on the Lord, as He has asked us to do, is it not possible that we are causing His suffering for us to be in vain? The whole point of the atonement, or the good news in general, is that we all fall short and need to accept the grace of God, or in other words, the atonement of Christ, as it applies to us individually. See Helaman 3:27-30

Christ's sacrifice for sin is not only applicable to our sins but to the sins of others who have sinned against us. See 2 Nephi 2:6-10

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