The Compensatory Power of Christ's Atonement

 Jesus Christ atoned for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to be paralyzed by our mistakes.

Once we realize that God is our loving Heavenly Father and that He is infinitely patient with our weaknesses, we quickly learn to stop fearing that lightning will strike us down every time we fall short of Christ’s example. We learn to find joy in the process of learning from our mistakes and turning back to Christ so that we can improve through His help. We feel gratitude that we are given many chances to improve and become better and holier.

But if we don’t fully understand the scope of what Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross of Calvary, and if we don’t really understand what it means that he paid the price of our sins, the effects of what we do on others can still paralyze us, even when God repeatedly tells us that we are forgiven and pleads for us to accept His gifts and move on.

Consider Kyle, who is striving to follow Christ. One day, in a particularly stressful situation, Kyle loses control and says something unkind to Brett. When he calms down, he realizes the harm done, feels sorrow, and wants to make it right. But while Kyle can apologize to Brett, buy Brett a nice meal, and befriend Brett, he can never unsay the words that were said and cancel the hurt that Brett felt at the time or completely remove the insecurities that Brett might feel afterwards. Despite knowing that Christ understands him and forgives him and that he can become better through him, the consequences of Kyle’s actions on Brett still weigh on his soul. This is a very simple example, but because we are imperfect and because our world is imperfect, we do plenty worse to each other every day.

What Kyle needs to know (and what we all need to remember) is that Christ not only suffered so that we could be forgiven; he also paid the full price of our sins so that he can compensate those that we have harmed, especially when we cannot do so ourselves. Because Christ suffered “the pains of every living creature” (2 Nephi 9:21), “afflictions and temptations of every kind” (Alma 7:11) and “pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death” (Mosiah 3:7), and because Christ has “borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Mosiah 14:4), there is surely no affliction that we can possibly inflict on others that God cannot “consecrate… for [their] gain” (2 Nephi 2:2). We can trust in the marvelous promise that because “Christ came to pay a debt he didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay,” those we have wronged “can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation” and “all that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ” (Preach My Gospel), even when we are directly responsible for that unfairness.

Why did Christ so willingly yet so excruciatingly offer such an amazing atonement and assurance to us? He knew that in the process of learning, growing, and becoming more like Him, we would necessarily make mistakes and wrong each other in the process. And he didn’t want us to be paralyzed in fear or guilt when we do so. While we should NEVER intentionally wrong God or another, when we inevitably do, we must remember that Christ “suffered these things for all, that [we] might not suffer if [we] would repent” (D&C 19:16). Rather than wallowing in shame, crouching in fear, or letting guilt consume our lives and our focus, the Lord would rather we immediately turn back to Him, thank Him for what He has done for us and those we have harmed, and put our full heart, might, mind, and strength into serving, blessing, and lifting others and trying again to be a little more like Him.

So if our mistakes have set a bad example for those we love, if our transgressions have prevented us from being there for people who needed us, or if we have more directly caused harm to others through our actions, let’s make sure that we “only let our [sins] trouble us, with that trouble which shall bring [us] down unto repentance” (Alma 42:29). Rather than feeling ashamed and unworthy, let us be grateful for Christ’s mercy to us and His compensation to others and let His goodness drive us to “labor without ceasing” (Alma 36:24) to bring souls unto Christ so that he may heal them.