Sometimes when our faith is weak and we wonder whether all the
universe can be reduced to nothing but matter in motion, there is the mystery
of Christ's sacrifice and its duration above all else in the world. Surely a
materialistic philosophy will hardly explain how one executed long ago in a
small Roman province became finally the leading figure of the world. All of
worldly power and authority was against Him, yet finally the worst turned out
for the best. On that day of His crucifixion Pilate and Caiaphas believed they
were done with the Galilean that had bothered the peace of their day. He was
dead. The matter was closed. Can blind matter explain why the affair did not
end there? What kind of world is this, when on that day it appeared so clearly
that the worst triumphed over the best; a good young man was executed; ill will
prevailed over good will; ignorance and bigotry overcame wisdom; little men —
"small-scale individuals" — judged a supreme soul and committed him
to death; the ruthlessness of inhuman government, and the blind zeal of evil
religion all had their usual triumph. All that men have seen that blast faith
and kill their hopes were present there on that day at Calvary. Why did it not
remain so? Why is Imperial Rome and mighty Caesar of no consequence, while now
we cannot write a letter without paying tribute to the birth of that Galilean
Carpenter?
What will the stars remember
After the earth is gone,
What dreams will they carry with them
Into a nobler dawn?
A man who flung, unflinching,
A truth against a lie,
A dog at the grave of his master,
And a cross against the sky.
-Lilith Lorraine (“What Will The Stars Remember,” Christ in
Poetry, copyrighted by The National Board of Young Men’s Christian
Associations, 1952, published by the Association Press, N. Y., pp. 135-136)
In positive terms, what kind of world is it that finally, from that
tragic cross we understand better the right from wrong, that good will should
prevail over ill will, that wisdom ought not to lose out in its struggle with
ignorance and bigotry, that we now have a world to redeem from so much sin? Is
it not that there is a guiding mind and a power beyond man's evil which can
redeem tragedy itself? Is it not so, that the cross gives reason for a
confident faith in God? Surely a materialistic view of the universe has a
difficult problem here, while the triumph of a radiant and trusting faith in
God is justified.
The Third Article of Faith summarizes the doctrine of the atonement:
"We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be
saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."
Students of the atonement will find Church literature complete on this
important subject, some of which is quoted in the last section of this chapter.
It is important here to note that the above article of faith stresses
universality, all mankind, not just a few; no one need be lost. Christ died to
save all mankind. This is but one of the many expressions of the Latter-day
Saint faith that all men are eligible to be saved if they will live the laws
and ordinances of the Gospel. Such a faith in man was not held in most of
historical Christianity. Nor was the doctrine of universality — all men,
considered part of Christ's gospel.
There is a green hill far away,
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.
-Cecil F. Alexander (“There is a Green Hill Far Away”) (Obert C.
Tanner, Christ’s Ideals for Living: For Sunday Schools of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: The Deseret Sunday
School Union Board, 1955], 426-28)
