An Examination into and an Elucidation of the Great Principle of the Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Excerpt: ... God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works; according to the law and justice; for behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved. What! do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God. And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and misery."--Alma, xlii, 1--26. In the first place, according to justice men could not have been redeemed from temporal death, except through the atonement of Jesus Christ; and in the second place, they could not be redeemed from spiritual death, only through obedience to His law. CHAPTER XXV. , The Resurrection--The Universality of the Atonement--The Promises to those who Overcome--The Gospel--Its First Principles--Faith, Repentance, Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost--Its Antiquity --It is Preached in Various Dispensations, from Adam until the Present--The Final Triumph of the Saints. i The great pre-requisites having been fulfilled, it now becomes our duty to enquire what next had to be done to consummate the great object obtainable through the fulfilment of this law,' or what was accomplished by the atonement. First, the Resurrection. The penalty of the broken law in Adam's day was death; and death is passed upon all. The word of the Lord was, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The atonement made by Jesus Christ brought about the resurrection from the dead, and restored life. And hence Jesus said: "I am the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live;" and Jesus Himself became the first fruits of those who slept. The next question that arises is, how far does this principle extend and to...