"Our salvation depends on believing in and accepting the Atonement. Such acceptance requires a continual effort to understand it more fully. The Atonement advances our mortal course of learning by making it possible for our natures to become perfect. All of us have sinned and need to repent to fully pay our part of the debt. When we sincerely repent, the Savior’s magnificent Atonement pays the rest of that debt." Faust, J. E. (2001, October). The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/10/the-atonement-our-greatest-hope?lang=eng&query=Atonement
"TheAtonement cleanses us of sin on condition of our repentance. Repentance is the condition on which mercy is extended. After all we can do to pay to the uttermost farthing and make right our wrongs, the Savior’s grace is activated in our lives through the Atonement, which purifies us and can perfect us." Faust, J. E. (2001, October). The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/10/the-atonement-our-greatest-hope?lang=eng&query=Atonement
"Central to that plan of salvation is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In premortal councils He was foreordained by His Father to atone for our sins and break the bands of physical and spiritual death. Jesus declared: “I . . . was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. . . . In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name” (Ether 3:14). Faith and Families. (2005, February 6). Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved from http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1419
“Not only does the Atonement of Jesus Christ overcome the effects of the Fall of Adam and make possible the remission of our individual sins and transgressions, but His Atonement also enables us to do good and become better in ways that stretch far beyond our mortal capacities. Most of us know that when we do things wrong and need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has made it possible for us to become clean through His redeeming power. But do we also understand that the Atonement is for faithful men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully? I wonder if we fail to fully acknowledge this strengthening aspect of the Atonement in our lives and mistakenly believe we must carry our load all alone—through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline and with our obviously limited capacities.” Bednar, David A. Bear up Their Burdens with Ease. Salt Lake City, April 2014. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/bear-up-their-burdens-with-ease?lang=eng>.
“Thus, the Savior has suffered not just for our sins and iniquities—but also for our physical pains and anguish, our weaknesses and shortcomings, our fears and frustrations, our disappointments and discouragement, our regrets and remorse, our despair and desperation, the injustices and inequities we experience, and the emotional distresses that beset us.
There is no physical pain, no spiritual wound, no anguish of soul or heartache, no infirmity or weakness you or I ever confront in mortality that the Savior did not experience first. In a moment of weakness we may cry out, “No one knows what it is like. No one understands.” But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He has felt and borne our individual burdens. And because of His infinite and eternal sacrifice (see Alma 34:14), He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy. He can reach out, touch, succor, heal, and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do relying only upon our own power.” Bednar, David A. Bear up Their Burdens with Ease. Salt Lake City, April 2014. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/bear-up-their-burdens-with-ease?lang=eng>.
“The gospel is centered on the Atonement of our Lord and Savior. The Atonement provides the power to wash away sins, to heal, and to grant eternal life. All the imponderable blessings of the Atonement can be given only to those who live the principles and receive the ordinances of the gospel—faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.” Perry, L. Tom. Bring Souls Unto Me. Salt Lake City, April 2009. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/bring-souls-unto-me?lang=eng>.
“Concerning the importance of the Atonement, in Alma we learn, “For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; … or else all mankind must unavoidably perish.”
If you have made no mistakes, then you do not need the Atonement. If you have made mistakes, and all of us have, whether minor or serious, then you have an enormous need to find out how they can be erased so that you are no longer in darkness.” Packer, Boyd K. The Atonement. Salt Lake City, October 2012. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-atonement?lang=eng>.
“President Joseph F. Smith taught: “Men cannot forgive their own sins; they cannot cleanse themselves from the consequences of their sins. Men can stop sinning and can do right in the future, and so far [as] their acts are acceptable before the Lord [become] worthy of consideration. But who shall repair the wrongs they have done to themselves and to others, which it seems impossible for them to repair themselves? By the atonement of Jesus Christ the sins of the repentant shall be washed away; though they be crimson they shall be made white as wool [see Isaiah 1:18]. This is the promise given to you.” Packer, Boyd K. The Atonement. Salt Lake City, October 2012. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-atonement?lang=eng>.
“It has been almost two thousand years since the wondrous occasion when death was conquered. We still do not know how the Savior was able to take upon Himself and bear our transgressions, our foolishness, our grief, our sorrows, and our burdens. It was indefinable and unfathomable. It was almost unbearable. The indescribable agony was so great in Gethsemane that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44.) The haunting cry on the cross, in a loud voice in His native Aramaic, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) gives but a mere glimpse of His suffering and humiliation. One cannot help wondering how many of those drops of precious blood each of us may be responsible for.” Faust, James E. The Supernal Gift of the Atonement. Salt Lake City, October 1988. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/10/the-supernal-gift-of-the-atonement?lang=eng>.
"The act of the Atonement is, in its simplest terms, a reconciliation of man with his God. The word atonement means to be at one. “It is literally at-one-ment.” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 47th ed., Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1924, p. 75.) Because of their transgression, Adam and Eve, having chosen to leave their state of innocence (see 2 Ne. 2:23–25), were banished from the presence of God. This is referred to in Christendom as the Fall, or Adam’s transgression. It is a spiritual death because Adam and Eve were separated from the presence of God and given agency “to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.” (2 Ne. 2:26.) They were also given the great power of procreation, so that they could keep the commandment to “multiply, and replenish the earth” and have joy in their posterity. (Gen. 1:28.)
All of their posterity were likewise banished from the presence of God. (See 2 Ne. 2:22–26.) However, the posterity of Adam and Eve were innocent of the original sin because they had no part in it. It was therefore unfair for all of humanity to suffer eternally for the transgressions of our first parents, Adam and Eve. It became necessary to settle this injustice; hence the need for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus in his role as the Savior and Redeemer. Because of the transcendent act of the Atonement, it is possible for every soul to obtain forgiveness of sins, to have them washed away and be forgotten. (See 2 Ne. 9:6–9; Talmage, Articles of Faith, p. 89.) This forgiveness comes about, however, on condition of repentance and personal righteousness.
Faust, James E. The Supernal Gift of the Atonement. Salt Lake City, October 1988. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/10/the-supernal-gift-of-the-atonement?lang=eng>.
"TheAtonement cleanses us of sin on condition of our repentance. Repentance is the condition on which mercy is extended. After all we can do to pay to the uttermost farthing and make right our wrongs, the Savior’s grace is activated in our lives through the Atonement, which purifies us and can perfect us." Faust, J. E. (2001, October). The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope. Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/10/the-atonement-our-greatest-hope?lang=eng&query=Atonement
"Central to that plan of salvation is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In premortal councils He was foreordained by His Father to atone for our sins and break the bands of physical and spiritual death. Jesus declared: “I . . . was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. . . . In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name” (Ether 3:14). Faith and Families. (2005, February 6). Salt Lake City, UT. Retrieved from http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1419
“Not only does the Atonement of Jesus Christ overcome the effects of the Fall of Adam and make possible the remission of our individual sins and transgressions, but His Atonement also enables us to do good and become better in ways that stretch far beyond our mortal capacities. Most of us know that when we do things wrong and need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has made it possible for us to become clean through His redeeming power. But do we also understand that the Atonement is for faithful men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully? I wonder if we fail to fully acknowledge this strengthening aspect of the Atonement in our lives and mistakenly believe we must carry our load all alone—through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline and with our obviously limited capacities.” Bednar, David A. Bear up Their Burdens with Ease. Salt Lake City, April 2014. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/bear-up-their-burdens-with-ease?lang=eng>.
“Thus, the Savior has suffered not just for our sins and iniquities—but also for our physical pains and anguish, our weaknesses and shortcomings, our fears and frustrations, our disappointments and discouragement, our regrets and remorse, our despair and desperation, the injustices and inequities we experience, and the emotional distresses that beset us.
There is no physical pain, no spiritual wound, no anguish of soul or heartache, no infirmity or weakness you or I ever confront in mortality that the Savior did not experience first. In a moment of weakness we may cry out, “No one knows what it is like. No one understands.” But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He has felt and borne our individual burdens. And because of His infinite and eternal sacrifice (see Alma 34:14), He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy. He can reach out, touch, succor, heal, and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do relying only upon our own power.” Bednar, David A. Bear up Their Burdens with Ease. Salt Lake City, April 2014. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/bear-up-their-burdens-with-ease?lang=eng>.
“The gospel is centered on the Atonement of our Lord and Savior. The Atonement provides the power to wash away sins, to heal, and to grant eternal life. All the imponderable blessings of the Atonement can be given only to those who live the principles and receive the ordinances of the gospel—faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.” Perry, L. Tom. Bring Souls Unto Me. Salt Lake City, April 2009. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/bring-souls-unto-me?lang=eng>.
“Concerning the importance of the Atonement, in Alma we learn, “For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; … or else all mankind must unavoidably perish.”
If you have made no mistakes, then you do not need the Atonement. If you have made mistakes, and all of us have, whether minor or serious, then you have an enormous need to find out how they can be erased so that you are no longer in darkness.” Packer, Boyd K. The Atonement. Salt Lake City, October 2012. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-atonement?lang=eng>.
“President Joseph F. Smith taught: “Men cannot forgive their own sins; they cannot cleanse themselves from the consequences of their sins. Men can stop sinning and can do right in the future, and so far [as] their acts are acceptable before the Lord [become] worthy of consideration. But who shall repair the wrongs they have done to themselves and to others, which it seems impossible for them to repair themselves? By the atonement of Jesus Christ the sins of the repentant shall be washed away; though they be crimson they shall be made white as wool [see Isaiah 1:18]. This is the promise given to you.” Packer, Boyd K. The Atonement. Salt Lake City, October 2012. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-atonement?lang=eng>.
“It has been almost two thousand years since the wondrous occasion when death was conquered. We still do not know how the Savior was able to take upon Himself and bear our transgressions, our foolishness, our grief, our sorrows, and our burdens. It was indefinable and unfathomable. It was almost unbearable. The indescribable agony was so great in Gethsemane that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44.) The haunting cry on the cross, in a loud voice in His native Aramaic, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) gives but a mere glimpse of His suffering and humiliation. One cannot help wondering how many of those drops of precious blood each of us may be responsible for.” Faust, James E. The Supernal Gift of the Atonement. Salt Lake City, October 1988. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/10/the-supernal-gift-of-the-atonement?lang=eng>.
"The act of the Atonement is, in its simplest terms, a reconciliation of man with his God. The word atonement means to be at one. “It is literally at-one-ment.” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 47th ed., Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1924, p. 75.) Because of their transgression, Adam and Eve, having chosen to leave their state of innocence (see 2 Ne. 2:23–25), were banished from the presence of God. This is referred to in Christendom as the Fall, or Adam’s transgression. It is a spiritual death because Adam and Eve were separated from the presence of God and given agency “to act for themselves and not to be acted upon.” (2 Ne. 2:26.) They were also given the great power of procreation, so that they could keep the commandment to “multiply, and replenish the earth” and have joy in their posterity. (Gen. 1:28.)
All of their posterity were likewise banished from the presence of God. (See 2 Ne. 2:22–26.) However, the posterity of Adam and Eve were innocent of the original sin because they had no part in it. It was therefore unfair for all of humanity to suffer eternally for the transgressions of our first parents, Adam and Eve. It became necessary to settle this injustice; hence the need for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus in his role as the Savior and Redeemer. Because of the transcendent act of the Atonement, it is possible for every soul to obtain forgiveness of sins, to have them washed away and be forgotten. (See 2 Ne. 9:6–9; Talmage, Articles of Faith, p. 89.) This forgiveness comes about, however, on condition of repentance and personal righteousness.
Faust, James E. The Supernal Gift of the Atonement. Salt Lake City, October 1988. <https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/10/the-supernal-gift-of-the-atonement?lang=eng>.