Receiving the Atonement of Christ

In a recent podcast Elder Bruce C. Hafen said this about Adam, Eve, and the atonement of the Savior: “The story of the life of Christ is the story of giving the Atonement. The story of Adam and Eve is the story of receiving the Atonement.” He continued, “The story of Adam and Eve is the story of receiving the Atonement. That's us. We can look at them in the temple over and over and say, ‘That's me, that's the story of my life.’ Good, because we're in the temple to receive the Atonement.” I love that perspective—we should look to the lives of our first parents for insight into how we receive the atoning power of Christ in our lives. Surely God sent them first for a reason, and they are the first examples to us of how to successfully navigate this life by following the Savior and receiving His power into our lives.

                In the book of Moses we see how Adam and Eve obeyed, repented, prayed, sacrificed, and made covenants with Him. Through these actions they received the atonement of Christ to bring them back to the Father. We see first off that after they left the garden they were obedient to the Lord: “And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.” They made sacrifices to the Lord even when they didn’t fully understand what the purpose was. When the angel came to teach them, they learned more fully how they were to act: “Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore” (Moses 5:5-8). He and Eve learned that they needed to focus all of their actions on the Son of God, continually repent, and pray always to the Lord. We also learn from Enoch’s teachings how Adam entered the covenant of baptism. God told him this: “If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.” He made a covenant with the Lord through baptism just as we do today after believing and repenting. Adam also received the greatest gift we can have in this life, even the Gift of the Holy Ghost: “He was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man. And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost.” Through the atonement of Christ Adam was cleansed and received the Spirit of the Lord as he made the covenant of baptism. The Lord then summarized the effect of all of these actions in these words: “Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons” (Moses 6:52, 65-68). Through obedience, prayer, sacrifice, repentance, and making covenants with the Lord, Adam and Eve received the atonement of Christ. And this made them “at one” with God, become His son and daughter fit to return in His presence. Their example invites us to do the same thing in our lives and to receive the atoning power of Jesus Christ through our obedience and sacrifice and repentance.