Atonement of Jesus Christ, Temple Focuses on

Latter-day Saint temples focus on Jesus Christ and His Atonement. As President Russell M. Nelson testified, “Temple ordinances and covenants teach of the redeeming power of the Atonement.”26

In several ways, both ancient and modern temples convey the meaning of Jesus Christ’s Atonement to all of those who worship therein. In fact, temples dispense numerous teachings and symbols of the Atonement—the temple is indeed a sacred space where women and men make the Atonement a matter of significance in their lives. Demonstrating the connection between the Atonement and the ancient temple, the law of Moses uses the Hebrew word kpr (translated “to atone, atonement,” etc.) about eighty times in association with the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus, 10 times; Leviticus, 49 times; Numbers, 18 times; and Deuteronomy, 3 times). This fact establishes that the temple was an Atonement-focused institution.

Multiple components that teach regarding Jesus Christ’s Atonement in the ancient temple include the temple furniture (laver of brass, altars, horns of the altar, lampstand, ark of the covenant), priestly vestments, animal sacrifices, sacrificial blood, foods (portions of sacrificial offerings, shewbread), sacred objects (jar of manna, tablets of the law, rod of Aaron), and diverse parts of the temple, such as the veil. Leviticus 16:33 summarizes, the high priest “shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.”

Jesus Praying in Gethsemane by Harry Anderson.