2 Nephi 9:7-10

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 9:7-10

7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

Quotes for Discussion

1. It is timeless—applies past, present, future—no end

2. It conquers the most universal reality—death

3. It applies to all the worlds created by Christ (D&C 765:24, 40-42

4. Christ is an infinite being (Alma 34:11-12, 14

5. Christ suffering immense and immeasurable

When the prophets speak of an infinite atonement, they mean just that. Its effects cover all men, the earth itself and all forms of life thereon, and reach out into the endless expanses of eternity….Now our Lord’s jurisdiction and power extend far beyond the limits of this one small earth on which we dwell. He is, under the Father, the Creator of worlds without number (Moses 1:33). And through the power of his atonement the inhabitants of these worlds, the revelation says, ‘are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:24), which means that the atonement of Christ, being literally and truly infinite, applies to an infinite number of earths.

Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 64-65

His Atonement is infinite—without an end. It was also infinite in that all humankind would be saved from never-ending death (see 2 Ne. 9:7; 25:16; Alma 34:10, 12, 14). It was infinite in terms of His immense suffering. It was infinite in time, putting an end to the preceding prototype of animal sacrifice. It was infinite in scope—it was to be done once for all (see Heb. 10:10). And the mercy of the atonement extends not only to an infinite number of people, but also to an infinite number of worlds created by Him (see D&C 76:24; Moses 1:33). It was infinite beyond any human scale of measurement or mortal comprehension. Jesus was the only one who could offer such an infinite atonement, since He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. Because of that unique birthright, Jesus was an infinite Being.

Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, Nov. 1996, p. 35

[speaking of Christ’s Infinite Atonement] Yet, to help us begin to grasp with our finite, mortal minds the enormous price required, consider a few rough indicators of how much sin there is in our world. If you look at the United States alone, there are now more than fifty murders committed every day (that’s nearly nineteen thousand per year). There are more than twenty-one thousand thefts reported every day, and more than fifty-five hundred reported cases of child neglect and abuse….Think of how many times on a single day adultery or some other violation of the law of chastity is committed somewhere in the world. How many cases of incest, child abuse, pornography, burglary, robbery? How many times in any one day is the name of God taken in vain? How many times are sacred things profaned? Then multiply these over the span of human history. And that takes into consideration only our world. We know that the Atonement extended to other worlds as well.

Gerald Lund, Doctrines of the Book of Mormon, 1991 Sperry Symposium, p. 86

The Atonement needed to be two-fold—a payment for the fall of Adam and also for our individual sins. It had to be made by someone not dominated by the Fall the way the rest of mankind is, and also by one who had not committed any sins. Therefore, the plan of salvation called for a god to do it—one who had no inherited either of the two deaths through Adam. Only in this way could one person’s suffering apply to forgiveness and payment for another’s sins, and thus become a savior to him.

How could a god come to the earth to suffer and die? Celestial gods neither suffer nor die. This is at least a major reason why Jesus came into the world as a child, the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, born of Mary who conceived him by the direct intervention of God the Father. Jesus inherited life from his Father just as the rest of us inherit death from our fathers. He was able to die because he had a mortal mother, but he was not dominated by death. Jesus voluntarily laid down his life—died both a physical and a spiritual death—for others….

An infinite atonement is an atonement by an infinite being—a god!

Since Jesus had not inherited spiritual death from Adam, and since he committed no sins himself, he was spiritually alive, experiencing no alienation from God, until he took upon himself our sins. He suffered spiritual agony and spiritual death in the Garden of Gethsemane, and shed his blood, which dropped like sweat, on our behalf. Later he suffered physical death on the cross in our behalf. By suffering these two deaths, he paid the debt legally and completely. He atoned for Adam’s transgressions unconditionally for all men; and he atoned for our sins on conditions of our repentance.

Robert J. Matthews, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ: 2 Nephi 9.” Studies in Scripture, Vol 2, p. 188-189

Jacob very clearly explains what would have happened to us if there had been no atoning sacrifice to bring about redemption from sin and resurrection from death. Because all men sin in this life (see Romans 3:23) and because no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God (see Moses 6:57) when a person died his spirit would thus be in a state of uncleanness forever. This would put him under the power and dominion of Satan. As Jacob says, “Our spirits must have become like unto him.” (2 Nephi 9:9.) Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said:

“The fall brought death. That is not a desirable condition. We do not want to be banished from the presence of God. We do not want to be subject forever to mortal conditions. We do not want to die and have our bodies turn to dust, and the spirits that possess these bodies by right, turned over to the realm of Satan and become subject to him.

But that was the condition; and if Christ had not come as the atoning sacrifice, in demand of the law of justice, to repair or to atone or to redeem us from the condition that Adam found himself in, and that we find ourselves in; then mortal death would have come; the body would have gone back to the dust from where it came; the spirit would have gone into the realms of Satan’s domain, and have been subject to him forever.” Doctrines of Salvation, 1:122.)

No wonder the thought of the alternative had there been no Atonement caused Jacob to exclaim, “O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster” (vs. 10).

BYU Book of Mormon Student Manual, p. 74-75

Why would it be that one would remain forever subject to Satan in the spirit world if there had been no resurrection? Would this also be true of a good man, one who had lived a life of morality and decency? Jacob’s testimony was firm and his doctrine sound: had Christ not risen from the dead, we would all spend eternity in hell and eventually become servants of the father of lies.

The Resurrection was the physical proof of our Lord’s divine Sonship, the outward evidence that he was all he and his anointed servants said he was—the Messiah. If Jesus did not have the power to rise from the tomb—power to save the body—he did not have power to save the soul, the power to forgive sins”

Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 1:240

Without the Atonement, being subject to the devil and his angels would have eventually worn all men down, and they would have become like him (v. 9). We cannot associate with evil and not be affected. The Fall left us to become like Satan, but the Atonement allows us to attain salvation and become like God.

Satan has the power to transform himself “nigh unto an angel of light,” but not into an angel of light. Those who have seen angels of light should not be deceived. Moses had seen God when God’s glory came upon him, but after, when Satan appeared to Moses, he asked “where is thy glory”…I can look upon thee in the natural man” (Moses 1:13-14). Since most have not had this experience, the devil is able to deceive them. Through such deception, Satan induces man to form “secret combinations, or murder and all manner of secret works of darkness” (v. 9).

Monte S. Nyman, I Nephi Wrote This Record, p. 494-495