The Place of
Jesus the Christ in the Plan. (Mosiah
4:7; Alma 22;13; D. & C. 20;26; 76:69; Romans 5:11.) The act of Adam brought
all mankind under the ban of death, by which the body becomes separated from
the spirit. Yet a main purpose of earth-life is to secure a material body for
eternal association with the spiritual body. Something was needed to recover
the bodies laid down in the grave under the law of the earth. A higher law must
be brought into action to free men from the consequences of Adam’s act. It must
be a law of wide extent since all men were to be affected by it.
Jesus, the Christ, was selected to perform
this necessary act of restoration or redemption, and he accepted His high commission.
It was required and he accepted His high commission. It was required that He
die as a sacrifice for all men, that all men might regain their bodies, and
receive eternal joy. This He actually did, for in the meridian of time Jesus
came upon earth, was crucified, and rose from the grave, as all men will in the
due time of the Lord.
Such vicarious service is among the commonest
of human experience. One runs an errand for another. The farmer plows and reaps
so that the city man may have bread. One man may cut the wires that furnish
light to a whole city; and one may courageously unite them and restore the light.
In immeasurable ways, one man may vicariously serve many.
Every human being will be resurrected through
the atonement of Jesus Christ. That is, saint and sinner shall be placed equally
on the highway of eternal progression. Nevertheless, all must pay some price
for their past deeds. The atonement does no provide release from all punishment
for our individual errors.
Jesus the Christ performed and performs
other functions in behalf of humankind. He was commissioned to create the
earth, which He did with the association of Adam and other heavenly beings. He
is also the Mediator between God and man, thereby converting the claim of
justice into the law of mercy. He is the Redeemer in that He died for humanity’s
cause, and provided universal resurrection. It is impossible for the mortal
mind to comprehend the service and suffering of the God who hung upon the cross
at Golgotha.
Jesus the Christ, then, is the central
figure of the plan of salvation. The heads of the various dispensations on earth,
will render their stewardships to Adam, the first man, who in turn will present
them to Jesus the Christ. All things are His. Then, the First Born, having
accomplished the work he was commissioned to do, will render a full accounting
to God, his Father and our Father. Therefore, we pray to God in the name of His
Son, Jesus Christ. (Teachings of Joseph Smith, p. 122.) (John A. Widtsoe, Program
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: The
Deseret News Press, 1937], 208-9)