--- title: "The Plan of Salvation & Atonement of Christ" date: 2025-11-10T09:02:00-07:00 author: Matt Bloomfield canonical_url: "https://www.mlj.one/church/talks/the-plan-of-salvation-atonement-of-christ" section: Blog --- [ ← Church Talks ](https://www.mlj.one/church/talks) Talk November 10, 2025 # The Plan of Salvation & Atonement of Christ I gave this talk on October 22, 2023 in the Snowflake 10th Ward Sacrament Meeting at the Temple View Chapel in Snowflake, Arizona, per an assignment from President Todd Burk. I was blessed to speak alongside my wife, Jenni, who joined me for that assignment. --- As a missionary I became an expert at teaching about the plan of salvation. I could teach it front to back, back to front, upside down and sideways. Start in the middle, hop around, I could do it. So imagine my shock when one day I was stopped dead in my tracks as my mission president asked, when you teach about the plan of salvation, do you bear testimony of the Savior throughout? Do you teach about his atonement and how it is central to the whole plan? I was shocked because the answer, sadly, was no. When I bring up the plan of salvation, many of us probably picture a diagram. A nice flow chart showing our path from pre-mortal life to post-mortal exaltation. We probably think back to our days of test memorization and remember “Sea Turtle”: CElestial, TERestial, TELestial. And although this is helpful and informative information; in a vacuum, it’s completely meaningless. The only reason any of this matters - the only reason there is a plan at all - is because of the selfless, infinite sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And once we remember that, perhaps we can start unpacking the plan of salvation as a flowchart and begin understanding the daily, even constant implications of this wonderful plan of happiness. My prayer is that the Holy Ghost will be with us as we consider the meaning of this plan and ultimate sacrifice in each of our lives and that it will transform the way we think about our days. — ### Premortal Life Long before we were born on this earth we lived with our Heavenly Father. We don’t know much about this time, but we do know despite God being the literal father of our spirits, we were not yet like him. He had a body of flesh and we were bodies of spirits. Ostensibly, we had progressed to that point as we were first created as intelligences. God revealed to Moses that his whole purpose, his work and his glory, was to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. As he is an unchanging God, this must have been his purpose even at that time. Therefore, he knew that we needed bodies and experience to progress. ### The Plan Revealed We know that a plan was presented to accomplish this progress and that this resulted in a clash, a war in heaven. Jesus Christ and Satan had opposing views on this plan, the latter believing that it would be better to save everyone regardless of their heart and intent. Jesus Christ championed the idea of Agency, or freedom to choose. This is, according to Preach My Gospel, one of God’s greatest gifts to man. Our eternal progression thus depends on our ability to use this gift. ### Adam and Eve To put the plan into motion we had to be separated from our Father. He instructed Jesus to create an earth where we could come and be tested. “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” He put Adam and Eve, our first parents, on this earth and gave them instructions. In the story as old as time, they chose to disobey and were cast out from the garden. But this was part of God’s plan - it enabled each of us to be here today! It also, however, cut us off from him. “The Fall,” as it is called, was two-fold. First, it cuts us off physically, giving us imperfect bodies subject to disease and death. Secondly, it cuts us off spiritually, allowing us to sin and subjecting us to spiritual death. So here we are today with two great obstacles. Physical Death and Spiritual Death. To return to live with God we must be perfect, both in body and spirit. So, in essence, we’re stuck here. It’s hopeless, because each of us have sinned. Except, we’re not, because we’ve skipped the most important part of the plan. The central, key piece. ### The Atonement of Jesus Christ Christ came to the earth as a sinless, literal Son of God, and then used his agency to give of his life as a sacrifice for all of us. This life-altering accomplishment makes it possible for each of us, no matter who we are or what we have done, to return to live with our Father. The power in that statement cannot be overstated. Our whole goal to “return to live with God and be like he is” would have been completely impossible if not for Christ’s willingness to stand as an intermediary and plead to the Father on our behalf. For those who are endowed in the Holy Temple, you have tasted what this experience is like. As you stand at the veil to symbolically access God’s presence through Jesus Christ, “Father, behold the suffering and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou was well pleased. Behold the blood of thy son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified. Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on thy name that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.” Even the garment that we wear each day symbolizes the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. “The temple garment is a physical reminder of sacred promises we have made with \[our| Heavenly Father, and it reminds \[us\] of the blessings we can receive if we\] honor \[our\] commitments." - What is the Temple Garment (churchofjesuschrist.org) The garment also helps us to honor the covenant that we just renewed with the Sacrament, that we will “Always remember him.” Recently, President of the Church Russell M Nelson taught, “Your garment is symbolic of the veil \[of the temple; the veil is symbolic of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when you put on your garment, you may feel that you are truly putting upon yourself the very sacred symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ - His life, His ministry and His mission, which was to atone for every daughter and son of God.” - Russell M Nelson ### Sin But what about sin? Isn’t there some type of limit to the number of mistakes we can make? Of course, we know that Christ’s atonement makes certain a resurrection of our bodies to a perfect state, but sin is based on our own choices, right? I think we do ourselves a disservice when we allow ourselves to enter into the muddy waters of guilt and shame for too long. Of course those feelings are natural consequences of sin, but that does not mean we are meant to wallow in them for days, months, or years. Just as there is no magic number of sins we are allowed, there is no minimum time frame for going to the Lord and repenting. At times, as instructed by a priesthood leader, there may be timeframes set in the process of forgiveness, but there is never a restriction to jumping to our knees the moment we realize our error and humbly begging the Lord for forgiveness. President Nelson has repeatedly called for daily repentance. So should it surprise us when we are sinning and making mistakes on a daily basis? Of course not! As Elder Neil L Andersen taught, “Repentance is not the backup plan; it is the plan.” And so is becoming clean. Each week as we partake of the sacrament we renew our covenant with the Lord while he restores our cleanliness as if we were just walking out of the waters of baptism. At times, our sins require us to obtain priesthood authority to help us through the process of forgiveness. Bishops stand eager to help in those cases and want nothing but your success and peace. Remember this plan of salvation is often called a merciful plan or plan of happiness. “Men are that they might have joy!” As we feel the joy of repentance and the burden of sin being lifted from our souls our love for Christ can be strengthened. If we choose to follow him we will continue to feel that joy and return to live with God again. ### Spirit World Of course, there are many people who will not choose Christ in this life, or may not even know about Him. After this life, in the Spirit World, the gospel will continue to be taught to all people. Each will have opportunities to repent, change, and choose to follow Christ. The plan of salvation is equitable and accessible to all, regardless of where or when they were born. ### Judgment Finally, we will be judged. God rewards us according to our works and desires. Because God rewards everyone according to their desires and their deeds done on earth, there are different kingdoms of glory to which we may be assigned after the Judgment. Those who have repented of their sins, received the ordinances of the gospel, and kept the associated covenants will be cleansed by the Atonement of Christ. They will be saved in the celestial kingdom. This also includes those who have died before the age of accountability. ### Some comments on the atonement from family As we consider this plan together I hope it brings new light to your daily life. The purpose of our existence extends far beyond the daily chores and mundane work we all do. We are children of a loving Heavenly Father and our purpose is to come back and live with him. He wants us to learn, making mistakes is part of the plan. We are never alone and never forsaken. Nothing we have done is outside of the bounds of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In preparing for this talk I asked my family what they would share about the atonement if they had to narrow it down to one thing. Here are a few answers. - The atonement covers all pain and anguish, not just sin, but physical pain and depression, abuse and hopelessness etc. it is the recipe for feeling hope and happiness. - for me it would be the power to change. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ I am given the chance to repent, be forgiven, and the strength to change my behavior moving forward. - Along with Kathi, hope. In a time of darkness and despair there is hope. - The opportunity to change who we are ### Invitation As we end together I invite you to study the plan of salvation as individuals and with your families. Take time to study the purpose of being here, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and think celestial. I bear my solemn testimony of Him, His wonderous plan, and His ability to fulfill his promises to us. Amen.