Question
Dear Gramps,
I read recently that the crucifixion of Christ didn’t atone for all sins. Some sins, such as murder, require a blood sacrifice. This is the idea behind capital punishment. I find this all very confusing. Could you possibly shed some light on the issue? Thanks,
ac
Answer
Dear ac,
There is NO sin for which the sacrifice of Christ did not atone. He paid the price through his unspeakable suffering for every sin that was or ever will be committed by every living being. There are no exceptions! His sacrifice was infinite in its scope. Being infinite, it was without bounds, without limits. The infinite nature of the great atoning sacrifice of the redeemer of mankind is revealed by Alma in the Book of Mormon:
For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made. For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice (Alma 34:9-10.)
And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal (Alma 34:14)
It is amazing how lying, false priests have distorted the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it was revealed to the prophet, Joseph Smith. The great sacrifice of the Savior was the blood sacrifice. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:7.) His suffering was so intense that it caused him to bleed at every pore.
For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit– (D&C 19:16-18.)
Evil and conspiring men in the early days of the Church distorted this pure doctrine, and with blasphemy accused the Lord’s Church of requiring the blood of the sinner to pay for his own sins. This blasphemous concept negates the infinite nature of the great sacrifice of the Savior, and is patently false, and never was nor could have been entertained by the Church that bears His name. Elder Bruce R. McConkie had the following to say on the subject:
“From the days of Joseph Smith to the present, wicked and evilly-disposed persons have fabricated false and slanderous stories to the effect that the Church, in the early days of this dispensation, engaged in a practice of blood atonement whereunder the blood of apostates and others was shed by the Church as an atonement for their sins. These claims are false and were known by their originators to be false. There is not one historical instance of so-called blood atonement in this dispensation, nor has there been one event or occurrence whatever, of any nature, from which the slightest inference arises that any such practice either existed or was taught” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 92.)
Gramps
