The Whole Meaning of the Law

As Amulek taught the Zoramites, he emphasized the need for the atonement of the Savior. He declared, “For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish…. Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, and then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood.” That great and last sacrifice was the Savior’s sacrifice in Gethsemane and on the cross as He atoned for the sins of the world in an infinite gift to each of us. It was to be the “last” sacrifice in the sense that there would be no more blood sacrifices under the law of Moses as they had been doing for centuries. Amulek continued with this powerful statement, “And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal” (Alma 34:9, 13-14). Everything in the law of Moses pointed towards to sacrifice of the Savior. The whole meaning of the complex laws that Jehovah gave to Moses was to prepare them and point them towards the Savior’s great atoning sacrifice.

                The Book of Mormon indeed declares that the purpose of the law fo Moses was to point the children of Israel to Christ. The angel taught King Benjamin, “Yet the Lord God saw that his people were a stiffnecked people, and he appointed unto them a law, even the law of Moses. And many signs, and wonders, and types, and shadows showed he unto them, concerning his coming; and also holy prophets spake unto them concerning his coming; and yet they hardened their hearts, and understood not that the law of Moses availeth nothing except it were through the atonement of his blood” (Mosiah 3:14-15). The law was in and of itself not able to offer salvation to the people; only through the atonement of His blood could they be saved. Abinadi taught as well that salvation did not come by the law of Moses: “And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses” (Mosiah 13:28). The people of Ammon also understood the correct purpose of the law of Moses: “But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them. Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation” (Alma 25:15-16). They kept the law to be obedient, but its purpose was to strengthen their faith in Christ by which salvation would come.

                Even though we no longer keep the law of Moses, surely this principle is applicable to us: the purpose of the laws and commandments of the gospel is to point us to Him and His great atoning sacrifice. All of the commandments that we observe today should help point us to that great and last sacrifice—whether it is the Word of Wisdom, tithing, the law of chastity, the law of the fast, or any other commandment the Lord has given us. As we make sacrifices to keep these laws they should point us to Him. If we feel it hard to keep any of these requirements of the Lord we should remember that it was infinitely harder for Him to offer up His life and atoning blood in our behalf. We have to be careful not to focus so much just on a list of things we should do and not do in the Church. Rather we should remember that “the whole meaning of the law, every whit” should point us to “that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God.” Everything should point us back to the Savior and His sacrifice as the true source of salvation.