Jesus the Christ Chapter 3, The Need of a Redeemer

Born of a mortal mother He inherited the capacity to die; begotten by an immortal Sire He possessed as a heritage the power to withstand death indefinitely. He literally gave up His life Through the atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ, the way is opened for a reconciliation whereby man may come again into communion with God, and be made fit to dwell anew and forever in the presence of his Eternal Father. **Please number the paragraphs within the chapter, as this is how the study guide is laid out.** P1 It is undeniably essential to the eternal progression of Gods children that they be subjected to the influences of both good and evil, that they be tried and tested and proved withal Why? to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them. Free agency is necessary! o P2 - God understood the diverse natures and varied capacities of His spirit-offspring. He understood that with agency, every man would sin; therefore, it was necessary that a means of redemption be provided. That erring man might make amends, and by compliance with established law, achieve salvation and eventual exaltation. Heavenly Fathers foreknowledge is infinite He knows and sees each of us individually. P3 Foreknowledge does not determine destiny. ... He saw the evil into which His children would assuredly fall; and with infinite love and mercy did He ordain means to provide us redemption from sin and death. See Footnote 1, P2 Our Heavenly Father has a full knowledge of the nature and disposition of each of His children, a knowledge gained by long observation and experience in the past eternity of our primeval childhood God reads the future of child and children, of men individually and of men collectively He knows what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end from the beginning. P4 Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, instigating the fall of man whereby the mortal state, of which death is a part, was inaugurated. Adam realized the disparity that had been brought between him and his companion, and with some measure of understanding followed her course, thus becoming partner in bodily degeneracy. P5 Man and woman became mortal through indulgence in food unsuited to their nature and condition they became liable to the physical ailment and bodily frailties to which mankind has since been the natural heir. o Footnote 3, P1 This, [the Word of Wisdom] like other revelations that have come in the present dispensation, is not wholly new. It is as old as the human race All the essentials of the Word of Wisdom were made know until [Adam] in his immortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that made of it a thing of earth. We are to follow the Word as Wisdom to keep our bodies pure, and so our minds and spirits. It is essential to gaining eternal exaltation. The purposes of God are infinitely superior to the deepest designs of men or devils, and Satans scheme was thwarted before even the first man had been created in the flesh. P5-P6 The atonement to be wrought by Jesus Christ was ordained to overcome death and to provide a means of ransom from the power of Satan. P7 - since by the transgression of one man sin came into the world and death was entailed upon all, it is consistent with reason that the atonement thus made necessary should be wrought by one For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:21, 22) P8 The atonement was to be a vicarious [or substitute] sacrifice, voluntary and love inspired on the Saviors part universal in its application so far as men shall accept the means of deliverance

Jesus was the only Being worthy to fulfill the requirements of the atonement because: o He was the only sinless man o He was the Only Begotten of the Father and therefore the only being born to earth possessing in their fullness the attributes of both Godhood and manhood o As the One who had been chosen in the heavens and foreordained to this service\ P9 Christs absolute sinlessness made him eligible, His humility and willingness rendered Him acceptable to the Father, the atoning sacrifice whereby propitiation could be made for the sins of all men.

P10 Born of a mortal mother He inherited the capacity to die; begotten by an immortal Sire He possessed as a heritage the power to withstand death indefinitely. He literally gave up His life; to this effect is His own affirmation: Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. P12 The effect of the atonement may be conveniently considered as twofold: 1- The universal redemption of the human race from death invoked by the fall of our first parents; and, 2 Salvation, whereby mean of relief from the results of individual sin are provided. P14 - The resurrection is for everyone that has lived or has yet to live on this earth. o Directly following the Lords resurrection, other who had slept in the tomb arose and were seen of many as resurrected beings possessing immortalized bodies, (see Matt: 27:52, 53) o Even the heathen who have not known God shall be brought forth from their graves For these, a means of making the plan of salvation known unto them is provided, so that they can have part in the first resurrection. (see D&C 45:54) P15 Jacob taught the universality of the resurrection, and set forth the absolute need for a Redeemer, without whom the purposes of God in the creation of man would be rendered futile. His words constitute a concise and forceful summary of revealed truth P17 - There is no other name save that of Jesus Christ whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, said Paul of old, and John the apostle added his testimony in these words: If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. P18 Christ is the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him, and God will render to every man according to his deeds; P19 Such then is the need of a Redeemer, for without Him mankind would forever remain in a fallen state, and as to hope of eternal progression would be inevitably lost. The mortal probation is provided as an opportunity for advancement; but so great are the difficulties and the dangers, so strong is the influence of evil in the world, and so weak is man in resistance thereto, that without the aid of a power above that of humanity no soul would find its way back to God from whom it came. The need of a Redeemer lies in the inability of man to raise himself from the temporal to the spiritual plane P20 A Redeemer and Savior of mankind is beyond all question essential to the realization of the plan of the Eternal Father, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man; and that Redeemer and Savior is Jesus the Christ, beside whom there is and can be none other.