Brothers and sisters, friends and family, aloha. President Russell M. Nelson taught, "I urge you to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ." [1] I would love to spend time with you today trying to increase our understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
The Atonement Changes Everything. Christ’s Atonement is the pivot point of all eternity. Today, we will explore three ways it changed reality: how it changed the world, how it changed the Savior, and how it can change us.
Part 1: How the Atonement Changed the World
To understand how the Atonement changed the world, we have to look at what "problem" it solves. In our faith, we often speak of the Fall of Adam and Eve as a fall forward. While we know the Fall was necessary for us to come to earth and have families, we must never forget that without a Savior, the Fall would have destroyed the Plan of Happiness.
The First Death: Adam’s Choice
Samuel the Lamanite gives us a very clear explanation of the Fall. In the book of Helaman, he describes the "first death." He says:
"Yea, behold, [the] death [of Jesus Christ] bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death;”
Often, we think of the first death that came upon mankind as a temporal or physical death. That is not how Samuel saw it. He wrote, “. . . [the] death [of Jesus Christ] bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual." [2]
This first death is a universal separation from God. It is both a physical and a spiritual death. A death caused by Adam and Eve through no fault of our own. Because of Adam and Eve’s transgression, they became mortal, and they were cast out of the physical presence of our heavenly parents. In a like manner, every person born on this earth is physically separated from our heavenly home. Our bodies will die, and our spirits are born into a world where our heavenly parents are not physically present.
Think about how hopeless the world would be if there were no way to fix this. If the story ended with Adam and Eve, we would all be "cut off" forever. The prophet Jacob taught that if there were no Atonement, our spirits would have become "subject to that angel who fell... and became the devil". [3] We would have spent eternity in misery.
The Universal Rescue
This is the first way the Atonement changed the world. Jesus Christ came to fix the problem that the Fall caused. Because of His Resurrection, that "first death" is completely defeated for every human being.
Samuel the Lamanite testified:
"But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.” [4]
My dear sisters and brothers, if you are worried and wondering if you will be saved in a kingdom of glory, there is no reason for you to have this fear. Trust in Christ. Believe Christ. The scriptures testify that He has redeemed all mankind. President Dallin H. Oaks testified, “The revealed doctrine of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all the children of God—with exceptions too limited to consider here—will ultimately inherit one of three kingdoms of glory, even the least of which ‘surpasses all understanding.’” [5] President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught, “Because of [Christ’s] grace, we will all be resurrected and saved in a kingdom of glory.” [6]
This is a world-changing truth. It means that every single person—good or bad—will be resurrected. Every person will be brought back into the presence of our heavenly parents. The Atonement ensures that the separation caused by the Fall is only temporary. It changed the world from a place of permanent death into a place of universal hope. Now, if we decide to stay in the presence of our heavenly parents, is a different story. And we shall address that in a moment.
Liberty to the Captives
But, when thinking of how the Atonement of Jesus Christ changed the world, we should also consider the spirit world. Before Jesus’ resurrection, no one could be resurrected from the spirit world, no one could progress. [7]
Even the most righteous people were in a type of "bondage" because they did not yet have the power of the Resurrection. [8] When Jesus died and went into the spirit world, He gave them “power to come forth, after his resurrection from the dead, to enter into his Father’s kingdom.” [9] The souls had literally been stopped in their progress, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, opened the doors for their progression.
To summarize how the Atonement of Jesus Christ changed the world, one must understand that the Fall is only a good thing because of the Atonement. "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy," [10] but that joy does not come from the Fall. It comes from the Atonement of Christ.
Part 2: How the Atonement Changed Jesus
We often talk about how the Atonement changes us, but it is equally important to understand how the mission of the Atonement changed Jesus Christ. By coming to earth, the Savior went through a transformation that makes Him the perfect Being He is today.
Empathy and Atonement
One way the Atonement changed Jesus was by giving Him the experiential knowledge to succor us, and to be our Advocate with the Father. In the October 2025 general conference, President Henry B. Eyring taught:
"Because of His glorious Atonement, Jesus Christ can strengthen us in our times of trial. He knows how to succor us because He has felt all the challenges that we will ever feel in mortality. 'He will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people … that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.'" [11]
Why is it that, because of the Atonement, Jesus can strengthen, comfort and succor us? To understand this, we can look at the Epistle to the Hebrews.
In Hebrews, the author explains the role of a high priest. In ancient times, a high priest was someone chosen from among the people to make atonement for them. [12] The author of Hebrews says that a high priest is effective because he:
"...can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity". [13]
In other words, a high priest can help people because he is one of them, because he has the same human experience as them. He knows what it is like to be weak.
Hebrews shows that for this same reason it was absolutely necessary for Jesus to become human so that He could be our Great High Priest. He "took not on him the nature of angels;" but instead He took on the "seed of Abraham". [14] In other words, Jehovah condescended to become human. He chose to be "made like unto his brethren that He [could] be a merciful and faithful high priest . . . For in that he Himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted." [15]
The scripture teaches that it is because Jesus was tempted as a human that He can comfort us as humans.
"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." [16]
The Atonement changed Him by giving Him this power to "succor" us. He learned things as a Son. As a Spirit, He knew our trials perfectly through His divine knowledge. But after the Atonement, He knows them "according to the flesh."
The prophet Alma taught a similar idea in the Book of Mormon. He explained that Jesus went forth suffering "pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind". [17] Alma testifies that Jesus would take upon Him human infirmities too, so that:
"...his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities" [18]
Sins and Judgement
Of course, Jesus did not simply take upon himself our infirmities, but more importantly, our sins. This too changed Jesus.
We have already discussed how Samuel the Lamanite testified that, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all people would be redeemed from the Fall and return to God’s presence. What Samuel also testifies is that not all people will be able to stay in the Celestial presence. There is a second spiritual death. A death caused by our personal sins, by our own rebellion. [19] To overcome this second death, we must follow the doctrine of Christ. We must have faith in Christ, we must repent, we must sincerely try to walk the covenant path. But who is to determine if we have sincerely tried to walk that path? Who can know the sincerity of our desires?
John 5:22 reads, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” [20]
The Book of Mormon testifies of this truth clearly in 3 Nephi 27:14-15:
“And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil— And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.” [21]
Notice how this scripture testifies that the cause, or reason, why the Father sent the Son was so that the Son could draw all men unto Him, and thereby judge humanity “according to their works.”
In order to avoid the second Spiritual death, the death caused by our own rebellion and sins, we must sincerely repent. Repentance is about having a change of heart. It is about, not only our actions, but our desires. To be truly righteously judged according to our works, we need to have someone who truly knows, not only what we have done, but why we have done it, and how we feel about that now. This is why Jesus, our Great High Priest, the one who has experienced all that we have done, is also our judge. So that we may be judged fairly. So that we may be judged justly. Thereby Jesus knows if He should blot-out our sins—get rid of them, or if He should hold us accountable for them.
Alma wrote, “. . .the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance.” [22] Jesus knows how to cover your sins, to blot them out, to remember them no more, and He knows exactly when this is the just thing to do. This is how the Atonement of Jesus Christ changed Him.
Part 3: How the Atonement Changes Us Today
Finally, we must ask: How does Jesus Christ’s Atonement change your life right now? Because we have a world that has been redeemed from the Fall, and a Savior who perfectly understands us, who can blot out our sins, we can be changed.
Hope Leads to Faith
Understanding Jesus’s Atonement gives us hope. Moroni asks: "And what is it that ye shall hope for?" He answers:
"Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him". [23]
This hope is a powerful force. When you know that you are not lost and that you are not alone, and that your sins can be forgiven, you have the courage to act. That principle of action is faith. Faith in Jesus Christ—a hope in the reality of a life beyond this—is what leads us to repent.
The Power to Change
President Nelson taught:
“The word for repentance in the Greek New Testament is metanoeo. The prefix meta- means “change.” The suffix -noeo is related to Greek words that mean “mind,” “knowledge,” “spirit,” and “breath.”
“Thus, when Jesus asks you and me to “repent,” He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies.” [24]
To repent is to change.
Amulek taught that we should:
"...begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you". [25]
Repentance is how we apply the Atonement to our own lives. It is the only way to avoid that "second death" or spiritual separation caused by our own sins. When we turn to Him, He uses the empathy and knowledge He gained during the Atonement to heal us. He knows that our repentance is sincere and our efforts are good enough. He knows how to justly judge us.
Personal Story
Like many of you, I am a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I joined the Church when I was 18 years old. I would like to share with you how the Atonement of Jesus Christ has changed me personally.
I was raised by “goodly parents”. [26] They taught me about God and a Savior. We attended religious services every week and on special Holy Days. I attended religious training appropriate to my age. We had prayer at home. I would say we were a family of faith.
Yet, when I was in high school, I began to question my faith. It was at this same time that I had many friends from high school who were Latter-day Saints. Just after I graduated high school, the week before I left for college, one of those friends gave to me this copy of the Book of Mormon. “I will never ask you if you have read it,” she said. “But feel free to bring it up with me if you like.” Not the best missionary invitation!
As I packed my bags for college, I tossed the book into my suitcase and brought it with me. My parents and younger sister flew with me across the United States from California, where we lived, to New York, where I would start University. The dorms were not yet available, so we spent that first night in a hotel. As I sat in that hotel, I remember wondering if I should read the Book of Mormon. I was uncertain. It might be a cult? I realized I had never read the entire Bible, and I decided that before I read some new book, I should first read the Bible, get to know my own religion. I had not packed a Bible. But, having traveled a lot, I knew it was not uncommon for hotels to have a copy of the Bible in the nightstand drawer. As I opened the drawer to read the Bible, I was shocked to discover a Book of Mormon in the drawer next to the Bible! Yes, we were at a Marriott. But, I did not know that Mr. Marriott was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To me, this was a sign. I was to read the Book of Mormon. And so I began that very night.
Over the next few months, as other freshmen were exploring the delights of New York City, I spent many hours in my dorm room reading the Book of Mormon. On my dorm floor I gained the nickname “Dan-dan the Morman.”
My high school friend had not marked any specific passages to read and so I began at the beginning. I must confess, that I did not start with the greatest of faith. I recall my attitude being something like, “let us see what this Joe Smith guy wrote, that makes my LDS friends act so weird.” I continued reading with this attitude until I was 289 pages into the book. Almost halfway through. Then I read:
“But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves— It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” [27]
At that moment, I felt those swelling motions. I realized that I had been feeling them. I began to know that this book was true. And that knowledge changed everything. I was not baptized that day, or even that month, and I had many more confirmations along the way, but that is a story for another day.
What is relevant today, is that seed. In Alma 33, he explains what the seed is that should be planted in your hearts:
“. . . begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works. And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith.” [28]
Planting the seed of the story of the Atonement, that Jesus overcame the Fall, that he is my perfect judge, and that I can be forgiven, has changed me. I knew that story from my youth, but the Book of Mormon, and the teachings of the restored Church, gave me a deeper understanding of Christ’s Atonement, and that changed me, and it can change you too.
Understanding the Escape from Sin
We conclude where we began, with the words of President Russell M. Nelson:
"I urge you to devote time each week—for the rest of your life—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” But why should we do that? President Nelson continues:
“My heart aches for those who are mired in sin and don’t know how to get out. I weep for those who struggle spiritually or who carry heavy burdens alone because they do not understand what Jesus Christ did for them." [29]
We study the Atonement not merely as an intellectual exercise, but because understanding the Atonement, the progress and hope that an empathetic Savior provides, can give us hope to change. It can comfort us. It will heal us. Of that, I testify.
If you are struggling today, if, like a dog returns to its vomit, you return to the same sin which doth so easily beset you, do not give up hope. Do not think that you cannot change. Know that Christ understands your efforts. You are not lost. You are not alone. You are redeemed from the Fall. You will inherit a Kingdom of Glory, and as long as you continue to turn your life to Christ, that Kingdom will be Celestial. If you feel like you do not deserve to be in the Celestial Kingdom, that you do not merit that reward, you are correct. But the good news [or the Gospel message] is, you do not have to. You never did. You must rely “alone upon the merits of Christ, who is the author and the finisher of [your] faith”. [30] Walk the covenant path—a path that allows for daily repentance—and He will reward you for your efforts. This is my hope. This is my faith. This is my understanding of our redemption, made possible through the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes:
[1] Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Liahona, November 2024, 121
[2] Helaman 14:16
[3] 2 Nephi 9:8
[4] Helaman 14:17
[5] Dallin H. Oaks, “Kingdoms of Glory,” Liahona, November 2023, 26
[6] Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “It Works Wonderfully!,” Ensign or Liahona, November 2015, 23
[7] 1 Corinthians15:23
[8] Doctrine and Covenants 138:50
[9] Doctrine and Covenants138:51
[10] 2 Nephi 2:25
[11] Henry B. Eyring, "Proved and Strengthened in Christ," Liahona, November 2025 emphasis added
[12] Hebrews 5:1
[13] Hebrews 5:2
[14] Hebrews 2:16
[15] Hebrews 2:17-18
[16] Hebrews 5:8–9
[17] Alma 7:11
[18] Alma 7:12
[19] Helaman 14:17-18
[20] John 5:22
[21] 3 Nephi 27:14-15, emphasis added
[22] Alma 7:13
[23] Moroni 7:41
[24] Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 67
[25] Alma 34:17
[26] 1Nephi 1:1
[27] Alma 32:27-28
[28] Alma 33:22-23
[29] Russell M. Nelson, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again,” Liahona, November 2024, 121
[30] Moroni 6:4