Welcome to the third part of our Easter Advent celebration of the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. This set of six days will be focused on why Christ’s Atonement is so vital and necessary. We will start in the Pre-Mortal Life and the presentation of the Plan of Salvation as it is there that Jesus became the Christ before He, or we, were ever born. The we will trace the events of our cosmic history that have necessitated us having a Savior. And it will lead into the next set of days, Holy Week itself, hopefully magnifying our appreciation for Christ and all that the events of that week mean for us.
Day 13
Scripture: The Prophet Abraham was given a vision by the Lord Jehovah, the pre-Earth life Jesus of Nazareth, wherein the prophet was shown the events of the Grand Council in Heaven, when Christ (the one “like unto the Son of Man”) became our chosen Savior:
Thus I, Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with another; and he told me of the works which his hands had made; And he said unto me: My son, my son (and his hand was stretched out), behold I will show you all these. And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof.
…Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
Abraham 3:11-12, 22-28
Latter-day Prophets: In his October 2020 General Conference address, Apostle Henry B. Eyring taught this regarding our acceptance of God’s plan in the Pre-Mortal Life and the comfort and healing that comes to us through the Savior:
You and I accepted that invitation to be tested and to prove that we would choose to keep the commandments of God when we would no longer be in the presence of our Heavenly Father.
…Those of us who accepted the plan did so because of our faith in Jesus Christ, who offered to become our Savior and Redeemer. We must have believed then that whatever mortal weaknesses we would have and whatever evil forces would be against us, the forces of good would be overwhelmingly greater.
…You might reasonably wonder why a loving and all-powerful God allows our mortal test to be so hard. It is because He knows that we must grow in spiritual cleanliness and stature to be able to live in His presence in families forever. To make that possible, Heavenly Father gave us a Savior and the power to choose for ourselves by faith to keep His commandments and to repent and so come unto Him.
The Father’s plan of happiness has at its center our becoming ever more like His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. In all things, the Savior’s example is our best guide. He was not exempt from the need to prove Himself. He endured for all of Heavenly Father’s children, paying the price for all our sins. He felt the suffering of all who have and will come into mortality.
When you wonder how much pain you can endure well, remember Him. He suffered what you suffer so that He would know how to lift you up. He may not remove the burden, but He will give you strength, comfort, and hope. He knows the way. He drank the bitter cup. He endured the suffering of all.
You are being nourished and comforted by a loving Savior, who knows how to succor you in whatever tests you face.
Tested, Proved, and Polished
Hymn: #189 O Thou, Before the World Began (link to church Hymns website.)
Below is a YouTube video playing the music for the hymn instrumentally with lyrics so you can sing along.
Activity: Print out and color this Plan of Salvation coloring page. Walk your children through each stage and help them to understand that this is the plan they accepted with joy in the Pre-Mortal Life. Help them understand how it flows and why they should be happy about it now.
You may even consider printing out this free and full color Plan of Salvation poster and look the different parts of the Plan of Salvation in detail. Put it up in your home so that your entire family can be reminded of the plan that God has for each of them individually and together as a family. That knowledge can give them hope and strengthen their faith at every step in their lives, especially the hard times. (Ether 12:4)
Day 14
Scripture: As the Lord explained to Abraham and as President Eyring further explained, the purpose of existence is so that we can experience the adventure of mortality and, by our own experience, choose (and become) good or evil by our personal encounter and response to the challenges of mortality. But not all accepted this wonderful plan. Indeed, many actively rebelled against God over it and sought to overthrow Heaven. The Lord Jehovah taught Moses about the origin and purpose of these beings:
And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
Moses 4:1-4
Latter-day Prophets: In his April 2015 General Conference Address, Elder Ulisses Soares taught that Satan’s war against Heaven continues today and is aimed at us:
The war of good against evil will continue throughout our lives since the adversary’s purpose is to make all people as miserable as he is. Satan and his angels will try to shroud our thoughts and assert control by tempting us to sin. If they can, they will corrupt all that is good. Nevertheless, it is essential to understand that they will have power over us only if we allow it.
The scriptures also contain several examples of those who gave that permission to the adversary and ended up becoming confused and even destroyed, like Nehor, Korihor, and Sherem. We need to be alert to this danger. We cannot allow ourselves to be confused by popular messages that are easily accepted by the world and that contradict the doctrine and true principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of these worldly messages represent nothing more than an attempt of our society to justify sin. We need to remember that, at the end, all will stand before Christ to be judged of our works, whether they are good or whether they are evil. As we encounter these worldly messages, great courage and a solid knowledge of the plan of our Heavenly Father will be required to choose the right.
Yes, We Can and Will Win!
Hymn: #7 Israel, Israel, God Is Calling (link to church Hymns website.)
Below is a YouTube video playing the music for the hymn instrumentally with lyrics so you can sing along.
Activity: Help your children to understand that the reason they are here on Earth with bodies is because they chose to follow Heavenly Father and Jehovah. Your children rejected Lucifer and his lies then and they can reject him and his lies now. This coloring page is designed to help them think about how they can continue to choose Heavenly father and Jehovah/Jesus Christ today and the rest of their lives. The page at the link may be larger and print better than this one here.
Day 15
Scripture: As life is inaugurated, the Gods (Abraham 4) complete the crowning achievement of Creation and bring forth Man and Woman, placing them in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden, Adam and Eve choose to obey Satan and break God’s commandment by eating the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The scripture below picks up with them facing the consequences of their choices:
Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground—for thou shalt surely die—for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return.
So I drove out the man, and I placed at the east of the Garden of Eden, cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.
Moses 4:22-25, 31
Latter-day Prophets: In his February 1981 BYU address, Apostle Bruce R. McConkie explained that there were five major consequences of the Fall of Adam and Eve, some of which we enjoy and others which we suffer from:
The fall of Adam brought temporal and spiritual death into the world, and the atonement of Christ ransomed men from these two deaths by bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. This makes the fall as essential a part of the plan of salvation as the very atonement itself.
There are, in fact, five things that came into being and continue to exist because of the fall. None of these things would have existed if there had been no fall, and all of them are essential parts of the divine plan of salvation. They are:
1. Temporal death. This is the natural death; it occurs when body and spirit separate; it results in corruption and decay. Because of the atonement of Christ all men will be raised from corruption to incorruption, from mortality to immortality, thence to live everlastingly in a resurrected state.
2. Spiritual death. This is death as pertaining to the things of the Spirit. It is death as pertaining to things of righteousness. It is to be cast out of the presence of the Lord. It is a way of life which is in opposition to that of the Father of us all. Because of the atonement, because the Lord Jesus bore our sins on conditions of repentance, we have power to gain eternal life, which is spiritual life, which is a life of righteousness, which is life in the presence of our God.
3. Mortality. Mortal life comes because of the fall. If there had been no fall, there would be no mortal life of any sort on earth. Mortal life is life where there is death. Death must enter the world to bring mortality into being.
4. Procreation. Before the fall there was no procreation. I repeat, for thus saith the Holy Word, before the fall there was no procreation. Adam and Eve, in their Edenic state, could not have children, nor, as we shall see, could any form of life when first placed on the newly created paradisiacal earth.
5. A probationary estate. We are here to be tried and tested, to see if we will believe the truths of salvation and keep the commandments while we walk by faith. After the fall men became carnal, sensual, and devilish by nature, and the plan of salvation calls upon them to put off these worldly snares and to put on Christ.
The Three Pillars of Eternity
Hymn: #122 Though Deepening Trials (link to church Hymns website.)
Below is a YouTube video playing the music for the hymn instrumentally with lyrics so you can sing along.
Activity: Complete and color this maze about the consequences of the Fall to Adam and Eve. Talk about the good consequences versus the bad ones. Testify to the goodness of and happiness brought by working, keeping the commandments, and raising a family. Help your family experience the joy of their redemption.
Day 16
Scripture: In a prophecy of the coming Messiah, the Prophet Abinadi explained how Christ saves us from the dire consequences of the Fall:
Yea, even so he [Jesus] shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.
And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men-Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.
…For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished. But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead.
Mosiah 15:7-9, 19-20
Latter-day Prophets: In his April 2019 General Conference address, Elder Tad R. Callister explained how the Atonement of Jesus Christ solved the problems created by the Fall that Apostle Bruce R. McConkie outlined in the quote from yesterday:
If we have faith in Jesus Christ and repent (meaning we do our part and pull the rip cord), then the protective powers of the Savior are unleashed on our behalf and we can land spiritually unharmed.
This is possible, however, only because the Savior overcame the four obstacles that can prevent our spiritual progress.
1. Death. He overcame death through His glorious Resurrection. The Apostle Paul taught, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
2. Sin. The Savior overcame sin and guilt for all those who repent. So deep and expansive is His cleansing power that Isaiah promised, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” …
3. Afflictions and Infirmities. Alma prophesied that Christ “shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind.” Why? “That his bowels may be filled with mercy, … that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”
How does He accomplish this? Sometimes He removes the affliction, sometimes He strengthens us to endure, and sometimes He gives us an eternal perspective to better understand their temporary nature….
4. Weaknesses and Imperfections. Because of His Atonement, the Savior has enabling powers, sometimes referred to as grace, that can help us overcome our weaknesses and imperfections and thus assist us in our pursuit to become more like Him.
Moroni so taught: “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, … that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.” There seem at least two channels or means of availing ourselves of those enabling powers that can refine—even perfect—us.
First, the saving ordinances. The scriptures tell us, “In the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.” Sometimes we may think of ordinances as a checklist—necessary for exaltation; but in truth each unleashes a godly power that helps us become more like Christ.
A second channel for these enabling powers is the gifts of the Spirit. Because of Christ’s Atonement, we are eligible to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and its accompanying spiritual gifts. These gifts are attributes of godliness; therefore, each time we acquire a gift of the Spirit, we become more like God. No doubt that is why the scriptures enjoin us on multiple occasions to seek these gifts.
The Atonement of Jesus Christ
Hymn: #1001 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (link to church Hymns website.)
I also want to offer an alternative set of lyrics, as arranged by Mack Wilberg, a composer and conductor who has been the music director of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square since 2008. This is the version you have most likely heard in General Conference and which I think is the best version of this song composed. It differs from the one in the official hymn book in that Wilberg turned some of the lyrics into a chorus for the song. The lyrics are as follows:
Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love.Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I come,
And I hope by thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God.
He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His precious blood.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.O to grace, how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
Seal it for thy courts above.
Below is a YouTube video playing the music for the hymn instrumentally with lyrics so you can sing along.
Activity: This coloring picture is designed to help you and your children understand what it means to walk the covenant path to the Celestial Kingdom. Color it and highlight the specific points where we make covenants with God through the ordinances of the Restored Gospel and talk about what it means to endure to the end. Help your children know the power that comes into your life as you make and keep your covenants with the Lord.
Point out to them the generational nature of the image, with the children in the lower part making covenants and growing up and starting families of their own in the upper part of the image. The covenant path creates and binds families together even as those covenants bind each of us to our Heavenly Father.
Day 17
Scripture: In the following quotation, the Prophet Alma teaches not only that the Messiah will be the Son of God who will atone for the sins of mankind, but that He will suffering the pains and sufferings of each individual person in all of history:
And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, 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.
Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless 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; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
Alma 7:10-13
Latter-day Prophets: In his May 2014 General Conference address, Apostle David A. Bednar taught why knowing that Christ suffered for our pains and infirmities and not just our sins is such a vital restored truth. Elder Bednar explained that you are never alone in your suffering because God Himself has suffered it with you and knows how to heal you personally:
Thus, the Savior has suffered not just for our sins and iniquities—but also for our physical pains and anguish, our weaknesses and shortcomings, our fears and frustrations, our disappointments and discouragement, our regrets and remorse, our despair and desperation, the injustices and inequities we experience, and the emotional distresses that beset us.
There is no physical pain, no spiritual wound, no anguish of soul or heartache, no infirmity or weakness you or I ever confront in mortality that the Savior did not experience first. In a moment of weakness we may cry out, “No one knows what it is like. No one understands.” But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He has felt and borne our individual burdens. And because of His infinite and eternal sacrifice (see Alma 34:14), He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy. He can reach out, touch, succor, heal, and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do relying only upon our own power. Indeed, His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease
Hymn: #129 Where Can I Turn for Peace? (link to church Hymns website.)
Below is a YouTube video playing the music for the hymn instrumentally with lyrics so you can sing along.
Activity: This coloring page will give you the opportunity to talk to your children/with your family about the healing power of Christ, both His ability to heal our physical pains and His power to heal our emotional, mental, and spiritual pain as well.
Day 18
Scripture: The ultimate point of the plan that God presented to us and through which we travel is not to simply come to Earth, sin, and be redeemed to return to Heaven now with bodies. If that were the case then God could have just given us physical forms and mortal life would be stupid and meaningless. The purpose of the Plan of God is that through the experiences of mortality and the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can become like our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother – we can become gods and goddesses. This is done, as Elder Callister explained on Day 16, through the power of the ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.
As the Lord Jesus Christ declared in modern revelation:
And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
D&C 132:19-20
Latter-day Prophets: The Prophet Joseph Smith explained that becoming gods and goddesses is the very meaning of eternal life:
Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power. And I want you to know that God, in the last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming His name, is not trifling with you or me.
These are the first principles of consolation. How consoling to the mourners when they are called to part with a husband, wife, father, mother, child, or dear relative, to know that, although the earthly tabernacle is laid down and dissolved, they shall rise again to dwell in everlasting burnings in immortal glory, not to sorrow, suffer, or die any more, but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a god, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before.
The King Follet Discourse
Hymn: #284 If You Could Hie to Kolob (link to church Hymns website.)
Below is a YouTube video playing the music for the hymn instrumentally with lyrics so you can sing along.
Activity: As you color this page with your children, tell them about the importance of temple marriage. Help them understand why it is so desperately important to them by emphasizing how essentially important it is for your family. If you are sealed, testify to the power of that covenant and the way that it ensures they continue as a heavenly, eternal family. If you are not yet sealed, testified to why you want to be and the blessings that come from it.
