Lessons on the Plan of Salvation
Lesson No. One
The Creator and Redeemer of Infinite Worlds
Christus – Adjacent is a picture of Thorvaldsen’s Christus located in the Rotunda of the North Visitors Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Elder Bruce R McConkie describes it:
“There we see the Creator in majestic marble standing in the midst of eternity. On the domed ceiling and the encircling walls are paintings of the sidereal heavens with their endless orbs, all moving through an organized cosmos. And as we gaze upon what the hand of mere man has made, our minds are opened to see in a limited manner the miracle of creation.
“There we also see the nail marks in his hands that healed and blessed, and also in the feet that trod the dusty lanes of that earth which his hands had made…. And our minds are opened, again in a limited manner, to see the miracle of redemption” (Ensign, June 1982, p. 15).
Jesus Christ is central to the plan of salvation for without the atonement the plan of salvation would only be a plan. The atonement puts the plan into operation, and makes it all possible.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator of an infinite number of worlds – “And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:33). In the scriptures infinite is “innumerable …unto man; but… numbered unto [God]” Moses 1:35).
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of those same worlds – The Lord gave the Prophet Joseph Smith a vision concerning the infinite nature of the atonement in D&C 76: 22-24:
“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
“For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
“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” (D&C 76: 22-24).
The last phrase of this scripture reads “the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (emphasis added). The word unto is significant. It is not of. We are all begotten sons and daughters of God. The word unto implies bringing us unto the Father through the gospel and the atonement. In other words, through our Savior, the inhabitants of all of Father’s worlds have the opportunity to be brought back to the Father and with him enjoy eternal life and exaltation. Thus, “begotten sons and daughters unto God” is another term for exaltation.
Joseph Smith enriched our understanding of D&C 76:24 by writing it in poetic form:
“By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made; Even all that career [orbit] in the heavens so broad.
“Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last; Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours;
“And of course, are begotten God’s daughters and sons; By the very same truths and the very same powers” (Millennial Star, Vol. 4, pages 49-55).
Testimony – The Christus is a powerful reminder of what I know to be true but can only begin to grasp – that He is the Creator and Redeemer of infinite worlds. An even greater wonder is that He knows and loves us individually, and invites us to “Come unto me” (Matthew 11:28).
“And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; and he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him” (D&C 84:37-38).