The Three Pillars of Eternity

(Always Remember Him when Seeking to Understand the Three Pillars of Eternity)

Saturday – Friday, December 17 - December 23, 2022

Jeremiah 29:13

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

McConkie, Bruce R., (Brigham Young University Devotional, February 17, 1981)

“The three pillars of eternity, three events, preeminent and transcendent above all others, are

the creation, the fall, and the atonement. These three are the foundations upon which all things rest.

Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the planning design of

Deity would come to naught.

If there had been no creation, we would not be, neither the earth, nor any form of life upon its

face. All things, all the primal elements would be without form and void. God would have no spirit

children; there would be no mortal probation; and none of us would be on the way to immortality and

eternal life.

If there had been no fall of man, there would not be a mortal probation. Mortal man would not

be, nor would there be animals or fouls or fishes or life of any sort upon the earth. And, we repeat, none

of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

If there had been no atonement of Christ, all things would be lost. The purposes of creation

would vanish away. Lucifer would triumph over man and become the captain of their souls. And, we say

it again, none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.”

Creation

3 Nephi 9:15

“Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that

in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in

me hath of Father glorified his name.”

Doctrine and Covenants 76:24

“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants

thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.”

Fall of Man

2 Nephi 2:22

“. . . [I]f Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in

the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which

they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.”

2 Nephi 9:6-7

“For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there

must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto men by reason of the

fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off

from the presence of the Lord.

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.”

Alma 12:22, 24

“. . . Now we see that Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the

word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people.

And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death . . . Which is the temporal death;

nevertheless, there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a

probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has

been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.”

Alma 42:9, 15

“Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as

well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off in the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind

should be reclaimed from this spiritual death. . . .

And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made;

therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the

demands of justice, God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.”

Moses 5:11

“Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed and never should have known

good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the

obedient.”

The Atonement of Jesus Christ

Moses 4:2

“But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me –

Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.”

John 10:15, 17-18

”As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to

take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”

McConkie (Supra.)

“Let us gaze first at a scene of sorrow and suffering in a garden called Gethsemane, the garden

of the oil press . . . . [W]e see the Son of God in sorrow and agony beyond compare. He has fallen on his

face. We hear his pleading words: “Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:

nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39).

We see great gouts of blood drop from every pore. An angel – surely it is mighty Michael himself

– comes down from heaven and strengthens him. He trembles because of pain and suffers both body and

spirit. He comes off triumphant; and in a way incomprehensible to us, he bears the sins of all men on

conditions of repentance. . . .

And thus it is that salvation is in Christ, that his atoning sacrifice is the heart and core and

center of revealed religion, and that he – in Gethsemane of sorrowful memory and on the cross of

Calvary – put into full operation all the terms and conditions of his Father’s plan.”

Moses 6:54

“Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original

guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children for they are

whole from the foundation of the world.”

Mosiah 3:11

“For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the

transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them or who have

ignorantly sinned.”

Alma 7:11-12

“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this

that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people.

And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people;

and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the

flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”

Temple Presidency Blessing

We bless you, and your families, to receive a sure knowledge that under the direction of the Father,

Jesus Christ created this earth, the fall of Adam brought temporal and spiritual death into the world,

and the Atonement of Jesus Christ ransomed man from these two deaths by bringing to pass the

immortality and eternal life of man. We pray that this knowledge will be a source of strength to you and

your loved ones as you continue on the covenant path and prepare for the return of our Lord and Savior,

Jesus Christ. This blessing we bestow upon you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.