The Plan of Salvation
"God said, For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."(Moses 1:39) But how would He complete this task?
Heavenly Father, in his infinite wisdom, formulated a plan whereby his children could experience a physical existence of mortality, and then return to live in his presence in eternal glory. The Father is the author of this Plan; and Jesus Christ is its chief advocate.
Three events ordained and instituted by God before the creation of the Earth constitute the Plan of Salvation. These are the creation, the Fall of Adam, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Bruce R. McConkie taught that "these three divine eventsÍÕhe three pillars of eternityÍÂre inseparably woven together into one grand tapestry known as the Eternal Plan of Salvation."
A Council in Heaven was held of all of the spirit children of Heavenly Father. He presented the plan. His plan included the need for a redeemer. Two individuals volunteered to serve as the redeemer. The first was Jehovah (or the pre-mortal Jesus) and the second was Lucifer, a son of the morning. Jehovah stepped forward and volunteered to give his life as payment for all sins. He set no plan or conditions of his own, but said, "Father, thy will be done and the glory be thine forever." (Moses 4:2) Lucifer then proposed another plan: I will "redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor." Heavenly Father selected Jehovah.
When Lucifer would not accept the Father's choice of Jehovah, he was cast out for rebellion, along with a third of the hosts of heaven who followed him. Lucifer, now Satan, "seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself" for when one rebels against God, he can not be happy. (2 Nephi 2:27; Alma 41:10)
Ecclesiastes states that "whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever." (Eccl. 3:14) Heavenly Father organized or created the earth in a deathless state. Lehi said that if Adam and Eve had not transgressed and fallen, "all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained for ever, and had no end." (2 Nephi 2:22)
A deathless earth did not fulfill the conditions needed for the progression of God's children. Lehi taught that "there must needs be an opposition in all things." (2 Nephi 2:11) Adam and Eve were in a state where there was no death, sin, sorrow, or pain. Heavenly Father gave Lucifer and his followers access to those on earth so that everyone could be enticed by both good and evil to understand what joy is.
Eve was beguiled by Satan to partake of the forbidden fruit. Adam chose also to partake, realizing that if he did not, Eve and he would be separated and the command to multiply and replenish the earth would be impossible. Therefore, "Adam fell that men might be." (2 Nephi 2:21)
The Fall was part of God's plan and came as no surprise. "All things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things." (2 Nephi 2:24) Joseph Feilding Smith explained, "If Adam did not fall, there was no Christ, because the Atonement of Jesus Christ is based on the Fall of Adam."
The Atonement is the crowning pillar of the Plan of Salvation. Without it, all else would have been without purpose and all would have been lost. Atonement literally means "at-one-ment." It carries the idea of reconciliation, the reuniting of the human family with Heavenly Father.
In Gethsemane, Christ took upon himself the burden of the sins of the world and suffered for them in a way that is incomprehensible to us. "He suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam." (2 Nephi 9:21) His agony was so great that it caused Him, "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 19:18) God's great plan of redemption was completed. Justice was not robbed by mercy, but rather was paid in full by the atoning blood of a Perfect Man. Jesus Christ gave us salvation by grace. Without Christ's Atonement, nothing any mortal could do would suffice. (Eph. 2:8-9)
After Christ had atoned for our sins in Gethsemane, He was crucified at the hands of hard-hearted men. Because Jesus was the literal son of Heavenly Father, he had the power to walk away from his grave. By some incomprehensible way, this opened the gate to all men to be resurrected and brought back into the presence of God for judgment regardless of the kind of lives they may have lived. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (I Corinthians 15:22)
Adam and Eve fell to bring to pass our existence. We have the opportunity to experience joy as we use our agency to make good and bad decisions. Because we all die, and make bad decisions, a Savior was needed to redeem us from both death and our sins. Jesus, who is that Savior, did what was needed to give us all the gift of immortality and the chance to have eternal life with Heavenly Father by repenting of our sins and doing everything He asks.
The fall of Adam and the atonement of Jesus Christ make up God's plan of salvation for us to be brought back into His presence and to be more like he is. It gives us the potential to inherit all that he has and become like him in everyway. I bear witness of this, and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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