Christ reminds the multitude He came to be lifted up upon
the cross.
“And now it came to pass that when Jesus had ended these
sayings he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and said unto them:
Behold, ye have heard the things which I taught before I ascended to my Father;
therefore, whoso remembereth these sayings of mine and doeth them, him will I
raise up at the last day” (3 Nephi 15:1).
“And the Lord said unto Enoch: Look, and he looked and
beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men” (Moses
7:55).
“Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of
man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
“But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from
them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying” (Luke
9:44-45).
“And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain
for the sins of the world” (1 Nephi 11:33).
This was done to all men would be drawn to Him. “No man can
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him
up at the last day” (John 6:44).[1]
“Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show
himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that
it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth
himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all
men might become subject unto him” (2 Nephi 9:5).
“And if you do these last commandments of mine, which I have
given you, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; for my grace is
sufficient for you, and you shall be lifted up at the last day” (D&C 17:8).
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my
Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you,
and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful
until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen”
(D&C 27:18).
He goes on to tell them He had been lifted up by men. Then,
men will be lifted up to be judged by their works be they good or evil.
“The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord,
according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me” (Psalms
7:8).
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every
secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
“And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world,
that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind”
(John 9:39).
“To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which
are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just
men made perfect” (Hebrews 12:23).
“Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must
be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to
righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be
judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs
be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the
kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also” (1 Nephi 15:33).
“Have you ever noticed the difference in our view of the
atoning sacrifice and that of the Protestant or Catholic world? Ask a friend of
yours who is not a member of our faith where the atonement took place. From
their perspective, the answer would be, ‘On the cross.’ Ask most Mormons where
the atonement took place, and most Mormons would say, ‘In Gethsemane.’ The fact
of the matter is that both the answers are correct. What began in Gethsemane
was consummated on the cross. The atoning sacrifice by our Savior might have
begun to take place in the Garden, but it was consummated on Golgatha. He
didn't say that he came into the world just to go into the Garden. He says,
interestingly, that he came into the world to be lifted upon the cross. He
specifically says, ‘My Father sent me that I might be lifted upon the cross’ (3
Nephi 27:14). When our Lord and Savior went into Gethsemane to pray, he began
to feel the weight and burden of the sins of mankind. He began to have the
Father's Spirit withdrawn from him. He began to know the awful agony of an
atoning sacrifice. How long he experienced that, I don't think we know. But we
do know this: The next day on the cross, after ministering for sometime, the
Father's Spirit began to be withdrawn again, and as Elder Talmage suggests, all
the agonies of the night before returned.”[2]
Whomever repents and is baptized in His name and endures to
the end will be held guiltless before the Father at the day of judgement. “And
blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they
shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto
the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the
everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of
great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be” (1 Nephi 13:37).
“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he
that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22).
“Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and
endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end
will I give eternal life” (3 Nephi 15:9).
“But blessed are they who are faithful and endure, whether
in life or in death, for they shall inherit eternal life” (D&C 50:5).
What about those who fail to endure to the end? They will be
cast into the fire. No return is possible because of the Father’s justice.
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and
my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the
Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30).
“For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by
them that heard him” (Hebrews 2:2-3).
“By the power of the Resurrection, all of us will be restored
to the presence of God. That reality presents to us the fundamental question of
our lives. The fundamental question facing all of us is not whether we will
live but with whom we will live after we die. While every one of us will return
to the presence of God, not every one of us will remain with Him.”[3]
[1] “No man can come unto me, except he doeth the will of my Father
who hath sent me. And this is the will of him who hath sent me, that ye receive the Son;
for the Father beareth record of him; and he who receiveth the testimony, and
doeth the will of him who sent me, I will raise up in the resurrection
of the just” (JST John 6:44).
[2] The
Doctrine of the Risen Christ: Part 3, Robert L. Millet, Reprinted from FARMS Book of Mormon Lecture Series
[3] The
Sacrament and the Atonement, Elder James J. Hamula, October 2014 General
Conference.
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