Mormons and Atonement

Okay, this morning while I was listening to one of my radio podcasts, the host stated that Mormons do not have an atonement. I have to clear this up a bit, because the way that Mormons use the term atonement is different than the way that Christians use the word Atonement. Here is what I was taught about the word atonement:

Atonement: To be "at one" with Christ. I was raised believing that the atonement meant in one aspect, while Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, He experienced every sin that anyone has ever committed. This meant that He could sympathize with us and help us through every struggle that we had as we were striving to become perfect. According to the Mormon belief, Jesus took on the sins of all other mortals which caused him to bleed from every pore suffering in both body and spirit. (Mormon's Doctrine and Covenants 19:18, "Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— ")

"We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. " (Mormon's Article of Faith #3)

For an idea of what the Mormons teach, you can review the Atonement of Jesus lesson plan or this more detailed atonement lesson plan on their website.

One thing that struck me as interesting as I was thinking about this earlier, is the fact that according to Mormons, through the atonement, you can become at one with Christ just as He is at one with "Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost" -- Three personages, One purpose.

At this point I need to tell you that even though most of you who read this information will see the fallacies in the teachings, as I delve into the material to post, I struggle to keep Mormon beliefs separated from Christian beliefs. Even now, after being free from the Mormon church, if I spend too much time reviewing their theology, it starts to seem familiar again... remind you of a bible verse? (hint: "familiar spirits").

The things that Mormonism teaches can so easily seem right ("There is a way that seems right to a man..." Proverbs 14:12), but they are fallacies twisted with just enough of the truth to confuse and send you off the narrow way.

I am going to wrap this post up with one last thought about Mormon's beliefs about the atonement... According to Mormon belief, our sins are our spiritual debt and without Jesus we would pay for our sins with a spiritual death. Oh, and one last thing, Mormons believe that Everlasting Torment, etc. is temporary. How do they explain it? Well, Everlasting is a name for God, therefore it is Everlasting's Torment... make sense...?

P.S. for more information, CARM has a great article about Mormons and the Atonement.