Suffering for Our Sins on the Cross

We know from the scriptures and words of the prophets that Christ took upon us our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Luke told in his account that after the Savior went to the mount of Olives He “being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). 

The words of the angel to King Benjamin confirm this and explain why: “For behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7).  So from these two scriptures we learn that in Gethsemane Christ bled and suffered for the sins and wickedness of the world.  In Jesus the Christ, Elder Talmage described what happened in Gethsemane this way: “In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world” (613).  We often talk about this in the Church—how Christ suffered for our sins in Gethsemane—and rightly so.  What I think we don’t mention or perhaps think about as much is what happened on the cross.  In particular, Christ’s suffering on the cross was also for our sins.  He didn’t just suffer for our sins in Gethsemane but on the cross as well.  In fact, the scriptures are much clearer on the latter point than the former.  In other words, we can find many scriptural testimonies that Christ’s suffering on the cross was directly for our sins; there are far fewer which refer directly to Gethsemane.  Here are some of the teachings found in the Doctrine and Covenants about Christ’s sufferings on the cross:

·         “He who was crucified for the sins of the world” (D&C 54:1)

·         "Redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross" (D&C 138:35)

·         "Behold, I, the Lord, who was crucified for the sins of the world, give unto you a commandment that you shall forsake the world" (D&C 53:2).

·         "He was crucified for the sins of the world" (D&C 46:13)

·         “He came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world” (D&C 76:41)

·         “The Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart” (D&C 21:9)

·         “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God” (D&C 35:2)

Clearly from these verses we understand that the suffering on the cross did not just include the incredible pain of death by crucifixion, but it also included the incomprehensible spiritual agony that came from His suffering for our sins.  Elder Talmage put it this way: “It seems, that in addition to the fearful suffering incident to crucifixion, the agony of Gethsemane had recurred, intensified beyond human power to endure.”  He gained “the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death” (Jesus the Christ, 661).  Of course understanding that the atonement was indeed more than Gethsamene does not change what its power or effect in our lives, but I think it helps us gain a greater appreciation for the incomprehensible suffering that He endured all throughout that last day.