In his essay "Christ" in the book, The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism: The Great Divide Between Mormonism and Christianity (Eugene, Oreg.: Harvest House Publishers, 1998), Ron Rhodes make the false claim that LDS theology teaches Jesus atoned for Adam's transgression merely (pp. 135-36). While many texts can be used to refute such a charge (see Barry Bickmore’s review of Rhodes’ essay, Not Completely Worthless [PDF]), note the following from Joseph Fielding Smith, one of the most conservative authors and leaders in the history of the Church:
The Savior never committed any sin nor carried any troubled conscience. He hadn’t been under the necessity of repenting as you and I have; but in some way that I can not understand, he carried the weight of my transgressions and yours and the transgressions of every soul who comes into this Church from the days of Adam to our present time. He came and offered himself as a sacrifice to pay the debt for the things I have done that are wrong and that each of you individually have done that are wrong, and each other person who has been willing to repent of his sins and return to Jesus Christ and keep his commandments. He paid the price. Think of it if you can. Think of what one man can suffer for his wrongdoing. The Savior carried that burden in some way beyond our comprehension. But he carried it. I know that because I accept his word. And the great weight of the torments he went through to save us from the torment was so great that he plead with his Father that if it were possible he may not drink the bitter cup and shrink—“but nevertheless thy will be done.” The answer he got from his Father was, “You have to drink it.”
Can I help loving him? No, I can’t. Do you love him? Then keep his commandments. If you don’t, you will have to answer for them yourselves. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
How often we think, “Oh, this is such a little thing. Surely the Lord will forgive us. We will only do it this once, just this once.” When we do it once, it is rather easy to do it again. When we do it the second time, it is easy to do the third time, and so it goes. (Joseph Fielding Smith, Take Heed to Yourselves! Gospel Discourses of Joseph Fielding Smith [comp. Joseph Fielding Smith, jr.; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 281-82)
The Savior’s Great Suffering
And what was so terrible about it? Hanging on a cross with nails in his hands and feet and left to die must be something terrifically excruciating, but thousands died that way. Not only were some hung on the cross, nailed to them, but fire set under them, being scorched to death. That was terrible. But the punishment the Savior took upon himself was not only that torture, but one more terrific. It was the punishment of the spirit and soul. It was the carrying of a burden that is so great and dreadful that I can not comprehend it.
What was that burden? The wrongs that I have done, that you have done and every other man and woman, every person who has repented of his sins and is willing now to keep the commandments of God and honor the Son of God Jesus paid our debt. That punishment caused the blood to ooze from every pore. He had a terrific punishment, punishment of mind, of soul, before he ever got to the cross. And he was paying the debt that I owe and that you owe. Or I should put that in the past—the debt we owed because he paid it for us and he did that on one condition and that is that we keep his commandments. And brothers and sisters, how many of us forget?
Now we have partaken of the sacrament tonight. Most of us have partaken of the sacrament time and time again. What did we do? We renewed again our covenants. What covenants? Three of them: That we take upon us the name of Jesus Christ, that we would always remember him, and that we would always keep his commandments. And each time we eat that break and drink that water we covenant with our Father in the name of his Son that we will do these things, and then we go out and violate the Sabbath day and break the commandments in other ways and forget. Many of us do the things we promise we will not do because we don’t comprehend the nature of the covenants which we take. But it is the most serious thing in all the world. And when we eat that bread and drink that water we covenant that we will take upon us the name of Jesus Christ—we are called by his name, that we will keep his commandments, that we remember what he did for us. And then we go out and don’t do these things. We go out and violate immediately, sometimes, the Sabbath day and don’t keep it holy. He has given us commandments and sometimes we don’t set them aside because we have inclinations to do something else. (Ibid., 295-96)
