Atonement

"They had to redeem the cost of their passage—in a sense, purchase their freedom—by their labor." Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Redemption, April 2013 Conference

"First, it atones for Adam’s transgression and the consequent Fall of man by overcoming what could be called the direct effects of the Fall—physical death and spiritual death." Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Redemption, April 2013 Conference

"The Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane and His agony on the cross redeem us from sin by satisfying the demands that justice has upon us. He extends mercy and pardons those who repent. The Atonement also satisfies the debt justice owes to us by healing and compensating us for any suffering we innocently endure." Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Redemption, April 2013 Conference

"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.”" Elder Boyd K. Packer, The Atonement, October 2012 Conference

"To all such, I speak of the loneliest journey ever made and the unending blessings it brought to all in the human family. I speak of the Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burden of our salvation." Elder Jeffery R. Holland, None Were With Him, April 2009 Conference

"Returning from such anguished prayer, He found His three chief disciples asleep, prompting Him to ask, “Could ye not watch with me one hour?” So it happens two more times until on His third return He says compassionately, “Sleep on now, and take your rest,” though there would be no rest for Him." Elder Jeffery R. Holland, None Were With Him, April 2009 Conference

"Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to Atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”" Elder Jeffery R. Holland, None Were With Him, April 2009 Conference

"The good news that Jesus Christ has made the perfect Atonement for mankind, redeeming all from the grave and rewarding each individual according to his or her works, was the healing power which brought hope and peace back into my life." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Heeding the Voice of the Prophets, July 2008

"At the last moment the Master could have turned back. But He did not. He passed beneath all things that He might save all things: the human race, the earth, and all the life that ever inhabited it." President Thomas S. Monson, He Is Not Here, but Is Risen, April 2011

"No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord: “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen” (Luke 24:5–6).

With this pronouncement, those who have lived and died, those who now live and one day will die, and those yet to be born and yet to die had just been rescued." President Thomas S. Monson, He Is Not Here, but Is Risen, April 2011

The Atonement was one of the first things I studied at length when I left on my mission, one of the first things I really sought to understand. It's implications, it's meaning, it's power and influence on the world, all which so few people understand or are even aware of. To think that Christ not only paid the price for my sins, but endured my pains and infirmities is amazing. Understanding this as a young missionary brought an added measure of weight and guilt each time I made a mistake, thinking  that in so doing I had just added to what the Savior endured, and it reinforced my conviction to be obedient. Christ's perfect submissiveness, his love for his Father and for all of us is virtually unfathomable, and feeling even a degree of it is enough to fill me with happiness, and a desire to pass it on.