Sunday School Lesson Recap: The Atonement: Questions about Becoming Like God

My wife, my oldest son and I spoke in Sacrament Meeting today on the Atonement (outlines of our talks coming when I get the time), so in Sunday School we held another question and answer session about the Godhead, the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement. Two week ago, one of the students had asked a question that we didn't have time to discuss adequately, and I told them we would do so in a different lesson - so we started with that question.

1) When we talk about becoming like God, do we mean that we will end up as "equals" to Heavenly Father - or is Heavenly Father the "top God", so we always will be subject to / below Him?

First, I asked how the students would answer that question - if any of them had a particularly strong belief one way or the other. Two of the students said they tend to see it as becoming like God but always being subordinate to Heavenly Father, and one of them used the example of studying Greek mythology and how Zeus, Poseidon and Hades were the "ruling Gods" among the broader group of gods. I mentioned how interesting it is that our Godhead / Trinity concept is so similar in that regard, being composed of three gods, and then I described how members differ in how they answer the question - that, like so many other topics, faithful members can disagree or reach different conclusions.

2) Where does God live? Isn't there something in the scriptures that talks about a planet where God lives? Will we live on our own planets and create / manage our own universes?

We read from Abraham about Kolob, and I pointed out that it is said to be "near unto God" - NOT the actual dwelling place of God. We talked about our Article of Faith that mentions the fate of this Earth - that it will become a paradise and that we tend to interpret that to mean that it will become the Celestial Kingdom for those who lived on it. I mentioned the Church's recent statement that says we don't teach officially that each couple will get their own planet, and I said that we have no idea, really, if Heavenly Father lives somewhere with Heavenly Mother on a planet of their own - or if they were once human (the famous couplet) and live somewhere with other God-couples who also lived on whatever "Earth" was their mortal home - or if there is some other arrangement for them and us. I had mentioned in my Sacrament Meetings talk Elder Maxwell's quote about the dimensions of the cross not being as important as what happened on it, and I told them that this sort of discussion was a great example of not getting so caught up in the details that we miss the central message - that it's FAR more important that we believe in becoming like God than exactly where and in what situation we will be living.

3) When I mentioned the quote about the cross, that lead to a discussion of different views about the cross - why it happened that way, questions about the form of the cross used, where the cross fits in our theology, etc.

The main take-away from the discussion that I want to record here was that we do NOT reject the cross and shouldn't reject or ridicule others' use of the cross as a symbol of their faith, even if we don't use it as much as or like they do. I told them that the cross for most faithful Christians is like our temple garment - that they wear it as a manifestation and reminder of their faith. I told them that if we don't want people to mock the temple garment, we shouldn't mock their use of the cross.

That ended our question and answer period, so I used the remaining time to discuss again the Beatitudes and what they mean in our lives - since the main point of my Sacrament Meeting talk was that Jesus' life is just as important a part of the Atonement as the Garden of Gethsemane and Golgotha - and that we limit the Atonement and miss one of the most powerful elements of it when we focus exclusively on the Garden and the Cross, as important as they are.

My Sunday School Lesson Recap: The Role of the Cross in the Atonement

Today was the last lesson of the month, so it was the last lesson about the Atonement. Before summarizing the lesson, I just want to say how wonderful it has been to have five straight lessons through which we could dig deeply into the concept of the Atonement. It's been the best church calling experience of my life.

Today we focused on the role of the cross in the Atonement.

I started by listing a few key moments or periods in Jesus' life in the process of atonement: 1) Pre-mortal volunteering to fill the central role; 2) Birth; 3) Personal Life; 4) Mortal Ministry; 5) Garden of Gethsemane; 6) Golgotha; 7) Post-mortal ministry. I mentioned explicitly that we have not talked much this month about Gethsemane and told them that I made that decision entirely because we focus so much on it in every other setting at church that I wanted to focus this month on the elements of the Atonement that we tend to address rarely - or even ignore. Thus, a lesson about divine accountability, one about Jesus' mortal life and ministry and the one today about the cross.

I asked them to estimate, as a percentage, how often we talk about Gethsemane compared to Golgotha (the garden compared to the cross). The consensus was over 90% Garden and under 10% Cross - and perhaps 99%-1% when all is said and done. I told them I think I know why we focus so much on the garden (since so many other denominations focus almost exclusively on the cross), but I told them I think that is a shame - that we miss SO much of the overall message when we ignore Golgotha.

As an example, I asked if it's OK to wear a cross - and why we generally don't do that. I got the standard answers - and one I'd never heard and actually like. (That garments include the symbolism of our worship, so we don't need outwardly visible symbols like a necklace with a cross.) I talked about how symbols can be misused and corrupted if we can't worship or pray without them, but I told the students clearly that I have no problem with using a cross as a symbol of faith in Christ and would support my daughters fully if they chose, for example, to wear a necklace with a cross.

We opened the Topical Guide to "Cross", and each student read a verse in that section - and we discussed each verse as we read it. We talked about why Paul described the "glory" of the cross, why the cross was "foolishness" to unbelievers, what it means to "take up your cross and follow me", etc. We talked about exactly what happened with the cross, particularly the fact that Jesus literally had to carry his cross as part of his suffering - and that it was too much for him in his weakened state - that someone else had to "take up" Jesus' cross and walk with him.

I emphasized that the Garden of Gethsemane is where we teach that Jesus suffered for our sins but that our sins and iniquities are only two of the dozen or so things our scriptures list for which he suffered. He experienced everything else throughout his life and on the cross - including the final, most powerful suffering he endured.

We read in Luke where an angel strengthened him in Gethsemane and where the man strengthened him on the road to Golgotha by sharing the load of the cross. We read his final statements recorded in the Gospels:

"My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

"It is finished. Into thy hands I commend my spirit."

I pointed out that the cross was the first time in our record where Jesus was "forsaken" - the only time he was abandoned and left completely on his own. None of the students has ever felt totally alone and forsaken, and they all agreed that they couldn't imagine how that would feel. I pointed out that Jesus wasn't just killed; he was tortured to death in a particularly cruel, sadistic way. I reiterated that he might not have felt every single pain know to mankind, but I'm sure he got sick throughout his life - and broke bones (or, as a carpenter's son, smashed fingers) - and lost loved ones - etc. - but it was at Golgotha that he experienced non-sin suffering, to the deepest degree, and atoned for so many of the non-spiritual suffering we experience. I told them that we talk about overcoming physical and spiritual death, but we focus so much on Jesus overcoming sin (spiritual suffering and death) that we often devalue Jesus overcoming transgression (including all of our physical, mental, emotional, social, etc. suffering and death).





We read Matthew 5:48, substituting "complete, whole, fully developed" for "perfect" and I pointed out that it was only at the end, on the cross, when Jesus could say, "It is finished" - to say, in essence, "I now am perfect." 

I ended with a plea that they not fall into the trap of disparaging the cross in any way and that, as they continue in the LDS Church, that they find ways to help others understand and value the cross properly.

He Is Not Here, for He Is Risen: Why We Should Embrace the Cross

In lieu of a New Year's Resolution post this weekend, since it it Easter tomorrow I want to re-post something I wrote two years ago about how I, as a Mormon, view the cross.  I believe we have done a serious disservice to that potent symbol in our attempts to distinguish ourselves from other Christians and focus almost exclusively on the garden.  I do not mean to de-emphasize that garden experience in any way; rather, I simply mean to offer a reason why I believe we err in not teaching the importance of the cross more explicitly and centrally along with the garden.

When I talk about the Atonement, I also reference the Sermon on the Mount – and I emphasize the command to be perfect. The wording in verse 48 says, “Be ye therefore perfect.” In the overall context of Chapter 5, I agree that this conclusion means that we become “perfect” by becoming the type of “blessed” person described in the opening verses of the sermon - the Beatitudes. Further, our footnotes for verse 48 define being perfect as being “complete, whole, fully developed” – and, in connection specifically to the garden and the cross, I re-word that as “finished”.

It only was at the end of his time on the cross that Jesus declared, “It is finished” – just before he “gave up the ghost”. In other words, it only was after the cross that the Atonement was complete – that Jesus fulfilled his own command to “be ye therefore perfect.”

I honor Gethsemane, but when we ignore Golgotha we worship an incomplete, partially developed, imperfect Savior and Redeemer.

There have been any number of pronouncements in the history of this world that carried special significance for those beyond the people to whom they were addressed. Among them, within just our Christian heritage, are the following:

"Multiply and replenish the earth."

"Moses, my son."

"For unto us a child is born."

"Thou art blessed among women."

"This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him."

"It is finished."

All of these have grave import, but the greatest pronouncement in the history of the world might be simply:

"He is not here, for he is risen."

I simply add my voice here and state, with my own conviction, that, in a very real and powerful and important way:

He can be here, for he is risen.