Church Leaders on the Importance of Christ’s Crucifixion
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5)
As we celebrate Good Friday, we reflect upon the life-giving sacrifice that the Savior gave upon the cross. Christ’s atoning sacrifice was accomplished as he hung on the cross and said “It is finished” (John 19:13), fulfilling the work that our Heavenly Father sent him to do.
Latter-day Saints believe that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is central to our faith, but sadly, most members greatly misunderstand how Christ atoned for our sins. Recent surveys conducted at Brigham Young University showed that the majority of Latter-day Saints think that the Atonement took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, and a significantly lower population saying that it happened on the cross or both (see. John Hilton III, Anthony R. Sweat, Joshua R. Stratford, "Latter-day Saints and Images of Christ's Crucifixion," BYU Studies Quarterly, 60.2 (2021): 49-79). In local wards or branches, the same happens, where members focus more on Gethsemane instead of focusing on all aspects of the Atonement of Jesus Christ including the cross, when such is not reflective of Church doctrine.
The cross is foundational for our faith in the same way Christ’s agony in Gethsemane and the Resurrection is foundational for our faith. Christ atonement took place in both the Garden of Gethsemane and the Cross of Calvary, with no one another emphasized over the other. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said that the emphasis of the Church is on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, with such reflective of the apostle Paul’s words that “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” (1Cor. 15:13-14, New Revised Standard Version).
One religious educator, John Hilton III (now a member of the Young Men General Advisory Committee) that It is important to note that sometimes emphasizing what is distinctive rather than what is held in common can be detrimental. Speaking about the Trinity, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland stated:
“Part of the reason we are so misunderstood by others in the Christian tradition is because in stressing the individual personages of the Godhead, we have not followed that up often enough by both conceding and insisting upon Their unity in virtually every other imaginable way. For this we have reaped needless criticism, and we have made our LDS position harder to be understood than it needs to be.”
“Knowing the Godhead,” Ensign 46 (January 2016): 37–38.
John Hilton III, in using Elder Holland’s wording said:
“We wonder if we could similarly paraphrase Elder Holland, saying: “Part of the reason we are so misunderstood by others in the Christian tradition is because in stressing the [importance of Gethsemane], we have not followed that up often enough by both conceding and insisting upon [the fact that Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins]. For this we have reaped needless criticism, and we have made our LDS position harder to be understood than it needs to be.”
The Scriptures, both ancient and modern—testify of the importance of the crucifixion as an atoning sacrifice, such as the following: John 3:14–15; 12:32; Romans 5:6, 8, 10; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:20–22; 2:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:10; Hebrews 9:15, 26; 10:10, 12; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; Revelation 5:8–9; 1 Nephi 11:33; 2 Nephi 2:7–8; 9:5; 26:24; Mosiah 14:12; 15:7–9, 12; 18:2; Alma 21:9; 22:14; 30:26; 33:22; 34:15; Helaman 14:15–16; 3 Nephi 9:21–22; 11:14; 27:14; Ether 12:33; Doctrine and Covenants 18:11; 20:23–25; 21:9; 35:2; 46:13; 53:2; 54:1; 76:41; 138:2, 35, 57; and Moses 7:47, 55; alongside two other verses that say Christ also atoned in Gethsemane (Mosiah 3:7; D&C 19:16-19). In important ordinances of the Church, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is being recalled. Such as baptism, where immersion symbolizes the death of Jesus Christ and the death of our previous life in sin (Rom. 6:1-7; Gal. 3:26-27; Col. 2:12). The breaking of the bread in the Sacrament reminds of how Christ’s body was broken, torn, and pierced. The endowment, which reminds us of how the veil in the temple was torn when Christ died on the cross (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). When of us say that they don't view the cross that much because they believe it is a symbol of Christ’s death, we miss how Christ’s death is symbolized in our ordinances. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said that we don't emphasize the cross as a symbol, but it does not mean that we must entirely reject Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. With this, Elder Holland said:
“Another reason for not using iconized crosses is our emphasis on the complete miracle of Christ’s mission—His glorious Resurrection as well as His sacrificial suffering and death.” (emphasis added)
In his address at the October 2022 General Conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland that in their weekly Thursday gatherings inside the temple, the room is decorated with two paintings of Christ: one is a depiction of Christ’s crucifixion and one is of the Resurrection (both made by Harry Anderson). This serves for them as reminders of how heavy the price the Christ paid, and the victory that Christ won. Such victory is also reflected on the official church logo, of Christ with his crucifixion wounds. The structure of the cross as an instrument was not used in the church, but the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was reflected in other ways (cf. D&C 6:36-37).
Below are a compilation of statements made by church leaders on the importance of Christ’s suffering on the cross:
Christ suffered both in Gethsemane and on Calvary
Elder Joseph Anderson:
“He died on the cross to atone for the sin of Adam, that we might receive forgiveness for our sins. . . . He arose from the tomb, the first fruits of the resurrection, thereby making possible that all mankind may live again in a resurrected state after mortal death.”
“A Testimony of Christ,” Ensign 4 (November 1974)
Elder Orson F. Whitney:
“The Crucifixion on Calvary, the self-immolation of a God, is the Rock upon which the gospel rests—the Everlasting Gospel, the ladder unto life eternal.”
Conference Report, 1927, 149.
Elder Alma Sonne:
“The atonement wrought out by the Lord on Calvary is the greatest contribution ever made to the human race.”
Conference Report 1969, 33.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie:
“A testimony in our day consists of three things: It consists of the knowledge that Jesus is the Lord, that he is the Son of the living God who was crucified for the sins of the world; it consists of the fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God . . . ; and it consists of knowing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth.”
“Gaining a Testimony of Jesus Christ,” Ensign 10 (December 1980): 15.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell:
“We can confidently cast our cares upon the Lord because, through the agonizing events of Gethsemane and Calvary, atoning Jesus is already familiar with our sins, sicknesses, and sorrows.”
“‘Yet Thou Art There,’” Ensign 17 (November 1987): 32.
President Gordon B. Hinckley:
“...the offering of His life on Calvary’s Hill, [Christ] expiated the sins of mankind, relieving us from the burden of sin if we will forsake evil and follow Him.”
“The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” Ensign 16 (November 1986): 50.
President (then Elder) Russell M. Nelson:
“...remember the Savior upon the cross suffering from the sins of the world.”
“Our Sacred Duty to Honor Women,” Ensign 29 (May 1999): 39.
Christ carried our burden from Gethsemane to the Cross
Similarly, Elder Marion G. Romney said that many others were crucified before Christ, and if Christ only suffered on the cross, his death is only like those of others. Elder Romney said that Christ's death on the cross became an atonement because of Gethsemane.
We know this because Jesus carried all of our sins, sorrows, and sicknesses, from Gethsemane to the Cross. This did not end when he was arrested, but he continued to carry it on the cross until he said “It is finished.”
Elder Bruce R. McConkie:
"We do not know, we cannot tell, no mortal mind can conceive the full import of what Christ did in Gethsemane. We know he sweat great gouts of blood from every pore as he drained the dregs of that bitter cup his Father had given him ...
And truly he was, for while he was hanging on the cross, ... all the infinite agonies and merciless pains of Gethsemane recurred.
And, finally, when the atoning agonies had taken their toll—when the victory had been won, when the Son of God had fulfilled the will of his Father in all things—then he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), and he voluntarily gave up the ghost."
"The Purifying Power of Gethsemane," Conference Report, April 1985
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
"The utter loneliness and excruciating pain of the Atonement begun in Gethsemane reached its zenith when, after unspeakable abuse at the hands of Roman soldiers and others, Christ cried from the cross, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
"The Atonement of Jesus Christ," Ensign, March 2008, 32-38.
Sister Wendy Nelson
Sister Wendy W. Nelson taught that there are three principal events in the Savior’s Atonement:
“First, … His incomprehensible suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. …
“Second, … His Crucifixion—during which time all the incomprehensible mental anguish, the immeasurable emotional grief, and the unimaginable physical pain of Gethsemane returned to Him. …
“Third, … His literal and glorious Resurrection from the garden tomb."
Wendy W. Nelson, The Heavens Are Open (2019), 105–7. (In John Hilton III, "Jesus Suffered, Died and Rose Again for Us," Liahona April 2021)
President Russell M. Nelson:
“In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Savior took upon Himself every pain, every sin, and all of the anguish and suffering ever experienced by you and me and by everyone who has ever lived or will ever live. … All of this suffering was intensified as He was cruelly crucified on Calvary’s cross.”
“The Correct Name of the Church,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 88.
Elder Neal A. Andersen:
“The pivotal event of all eternity began as Jesus went “unto a place called Gethsemane” (Matthew 26:36) in the Mount of Olives outside the city walls of Jerusalem. He said to His disciples, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38).
He prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). He returned to His disciples, found them asleep, went away again, and prayed a second time. “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. … And [He] prayed the third time, saying the same words” (Matthew 26:42, 44).
Jesus drank the bitter cup and suffered beyond our mortal comprehension both in the garden and on the cross. Without sin, He took upon Himself all our sins, that as we come unto Him and repent, our sins and burdens are lifted from us (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus’s suffering, death, and atoning sacrifice had long been anticipated. Speaking 700 years before Jesus’s birth, Isaiah prophesied that “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Jesus spoke of giving His life as “a ransom” (Matthew 20:28; see also 1 Timothy 2:6) “for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28) for all who would believe in Him and repent of their sins. Peter described how He “suffered for [our] sins” (1 Peter 3:18), that through His stripes we are healed (see 1 Peter 2:24). He did what no other could do to allow us to return to the presence of our Father. He was “bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5).
Following the suffering in Gethsemane, His agony continued—the betrayal by one who walked with Him, the ridicule before unjust rulers, the pain of His body being scourged, the crown of thorns pressed into His head by the cruel and unmerciful soldiers (see John 18:2–3, 12–14; Mark 15:15–20), and the heavy beam thrust upon the torn flesh of His back as He moved toward Golgotha (see John 19:16–17).
On the cross, the extreme agony felt in Gethsemane returned with an acuteness no human could endure. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, solitarily bore the divine commission by His Father to lay down His life. The soldiers and rulers could not take it from Him (see John 10:18). In reverence and humility, Jesus bowed His head and said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
The final moment of His mortal life was complete. There are no words to describe the magnitude of His precious gift. It will never be required of another. Jesus Christ suffered “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
“The Victory of Our Beloved Savior,” Liahona, April 2026.
Teaching that Christ suffered spiritually on Gethsemane and physically on the cross is false doctrine. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is a seamless whole.
Elder Gerald N. Lund
"The second doctrinal error is the idea that the suffering and death on the cross covered only the effects of physical death and that the suffering in the Garden covered only the effects of spiritual death. Such an explanation is not justified by scripture either. The agony in the Garden and the suffering on the cross were both integral parts of the atoning sacrifice. No where in the scriptures do we find indications that the cross alone overcame physical death or that the Garden alone overcame spiritual death."
Gerald N. Lund, “The Fall of Man and His Redemption,” in The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, the Doctrinal Structure, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (1989), 94. (In John Hilton III, "Jesus Suffered, Died and Rose Again for Us," Liahona, April 2021)
The Father withdrew the Spirit from Christ on the Cross
In 1989, Elder Neal A. Maxwell explained that:
“...this deprivation [which] had never happened to Christ before” was the means whereby “Jesus became a fully comprehending Christ and was enabled to be a fully succoring Savior,” and “His empathy [was] perfected.”
Neal A. Maxwell, “Irony: The Crust on the Bread of Adversity,” Ensign 19 (May 1989): 64.; “‘Apply the Atoning Blood of Christ,’” Ensign 27 (November 1997): 23.
Elder Charles W. Penrose said that the Father did "...[not] forsaken Him, but He left Him to bear the brunt, that He might feel the pain, . . . that He might be touched with a feeling for our infirmities, because He bore the pains of us all.” Charles W. Penrose, in Seventy-Sixth Annual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1906), 90.
Elder Melvin J. Ballard said when the Father saw the Son "... stretched upon the cross, and the nails driven into His flesh. He saw the quivering flesh, wounded and bleeding, of His beloved Son. Aye, He saw the life blood of His beloved Son streaming and gushing out, and He stopped it not. . . .”
“...I imagine that He had looked upon that Son until even the Father could not stand it, and He turned to some secluded spot and bowed and wept for the suffering of His Son, until, in the last agonizing throes of terrible suffering He [Jesus] cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” O I am so thankful in my heart that whatever doubts may have risen in His heart as He looked upon the suffering of His Son—“Shall I save him, or shall I allow him to suffer and die for the world?” O, I thank God that He decided in your favor and in my favor, and by that He has redeemed us."
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
"It is my personal belief that in all of Christ’s mortal ministry the Father may never have been closer to His Son than in these agonizing final moments of suffering. Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone. But Jesus held on. He pressed on."
“None Were with Him,” Ensign 39 (May 2009): 87–88.
The Individual Nature of Christ’s Suffering on the Cross
Elder Merill J. Bateman:
“For many years I thought of the Savior’s experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him. . . . However, my view has changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of people, as Jesus felt ‘our infirmities’ (Heb. 4:15), ‘[bore] our griefs, . . . carried our sorrows . . . [and] was bruised for our iniquities’ (Isa. 53:4–5). The Atonement was an intimate, personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to help each of us.”
"A Pattern for All,” Ensign 35 (November 2005): 75–76.
Elder Gerrit W. Gong:
“Christ was "...lifted up upon the cross that He might draw each of us, by name, to Him.”
“Always Remember Him,” Ensign 46 (May 2016): 110.
Elder John H. Groberg:
“I feel that as he hung upon the cross and looked out over the dark scene, he saw more than mocking soldiers and cruel taunters. . . . His huge, magnanimous, loving soul encompassed all eternity and took in all people and all times and all sins and all forgiveness and all everything. Yes, he saw down to you and to me and provided us an all-encompassing opportunity to escape the terrible consequences of death and sin.”
“The Beauty and Importance of the Sacrament,” Ensign 19 (May 1989): 39–40.
The Crucifixion and the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
President David O. McKay:
“When they met for worship they might meet as a body of brethren and sisters on the same level to partake of the sacrament in remembrance of the life and the death, particularly the death of their Lord.”
One Hundred Sixteenth Annual Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1946), 112.
Elder Charles W. Penrose:
“We take this sacrament . . . to witness that we believe in the atonement wrought out by the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Calvary.”
Charles W. Penrose, in Journal of Discourses, 22:83 (May 1, 1880).
President Joseph F. Smith:
“The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper . . . was instituted by the Savior in the place of the law of sacrifice which was given to Adam, and which continued . . . to the days of Christ, but which was fulfilled in his death, he being the great sacrifice for sin, of which the sacrifices enjoined in the law given to Adam were a similitude.”
Journal of Discourses, 15:324 (February 9, 1873)
Elder Boyd K. Packer:
“The Mosaic law of sacrifice was fulfilled with the crucifixion of Christ. Anciently they looked forward to the atonement of Christ through the ceremony of the sacrifice. We look back to that same event through the ordinance of the sacrament.”
“The Aaronic Priesthood,” Ensign 11 (November 1981): 31.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
“As we take up our crosses and follow Him, it would be tragic indeed if the weight of our challenges did not make us more empathetic for and more attentive to the burdens being carried by others. It is one of the most powerful paradoxes of the Crucifixion that the arms of the Savior were stretched wide open and then nailed there, unwittingly but accurately portraying that every man, woman, and child in the entire human family is not only welcome but invited into His redeeming, exalting embrace.
As the glorious Resurrection followed the agonizing Crucifixion, so blessings of every kind are poured out on those who are willing, as the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob says, to “believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross.” Sometimes these blessings come soon and sometimes they come later, but the marvelous conclusion to our personal via dolorosa is the promise from the Master Himself that they do and will come. To obtain such blessings, may we follow Him—unfailingly, never faltering nor fleeing, never flinching at the task, not when our crosses may be heavy and not when, for a time, the path may grow dark. For your strength, your loyalty, and your love, I give deep personal thanks. This day I bear apostolic witness of Him who was “lifted up” and of the eternal blessings He bestows to those “lifted up” with HHim, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.”
“Lifted Up Upon the Cross,” October 2022 General Conference
The Wounds of Jesus Christ
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
“When we stagger or stumble, He is there to steady and strengthen us. In the end He is there to save us, and for all this He gave His life. However dim our days may seem, they have been a lot darker for the Savior of the world. As a reminder of those days, Jesus has chosen, even in a resurrected, otherwise perfected body, to retain for the benefit of His disciples the wounds in His hands and in His feet and in His side—signs, if you will, that painful things happen even to the pure and the perfect; signs, if you will, that pain in this world is not evidence that God doesn’t love you; signs, if you will, that problems pass and happiness can be ours. . . . It is the wounded Christ who is the Captain of our souls, He who yet bears the scars of our forgiveness, the lesions of His love and humility, the torn flesh of obedience and sacrifice. These wounds are the principal way we are to recognize Him when He comes.”
Jeffrey R. Holland, “Teaching, Preaching, Healing,” Ensign, January 2003, 42.
