“We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, through his mercy and Grace, which leads us to obey the laws and principles, and obtain the ordinances of the Gospel.” -Article of Faith 3
By reading the Letter of the Bible alone (without the input of the Holy Spirit of Truth) and accepting it as the authority rather than God, men have formed a variety of erroneous ideas regarding the atonement. The Spirit of Truth alone can reveal the true meaning of Jesus Christ’s mission and work. The understanding of the Atonement has been corrupted over time. Some have supposed that once we have accepted Christ, we are fully saved and no there is further need for growth. Looking at history it is clear that merely accepting Jesus as one’s personal Savior has not taken sin, suffering, and death from the world. Therefore it must be that this understanding of being “once saved, always saved” has fallen short of the Truth.
At One Ment
Atonement: Reconciliation between God and Man through Christ; the uniting of our consciousness with the higher consciousness “Christ Consciousness.” Jesus became the way by which all who accept him may “pass over” to the higher consciousness. We have atonement through him. –Truth Unity
Spiritual understanding of the atonement shows that Jesus provided the way to deliverance from sin and consequently from all effects of sin. In proportion as people understand and have faith in Jesus Christ as their actual savior from sin, we are set free from appetite, passion, jealousy, prejudice and all selfishness. Wholeness of mind and body is the result. The ultimate of this knowledge comes as we, over time, grow in Grace through the daily practice in overcoming (even as Jesus himself overcame).
This is the path of teshuvah, and by walking it we are transformed into new beings that will demonstrate Eternal Life—the uplifting of the whole man; spirit, soul, body—into the Christ consciousness of oneness with the Father and the Mother. By means of atonement—reconciliation, or at-one-ment—that Jesus Christ re-established between God and man, we can regain our original estate, “our first estate” as sons of God here upon Earth. “therefore ye shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).
“To comprehend the atonement requires a deeper insight into the creative processes than the average man and the average woman have attained; not because of the lack of ability to understand, but because they have submerged their thinking power in a grosser thought stratum. So only those who study Being from the standpoint of pure mind can come into an understanding of the atonement and the part Jesus played in opening the way for humanity to enter into the glory that was theirs before the world was formed.” -Charles Fillmore, Metaphysical Dictionary p. 79
With the Keys
“And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven” -Doctrines of the Saints 1:10-11 (DaC 1:2c CoC/RLDS, 1:8 CJCLdS)
As I was preparing material to teach about the Fohatic Keys, I found scriptures that sums up how these keys were meant to be used as Christ described in Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying: ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’” These are the Fohatic Keys that were declared by Jesus to His disciples when He appeared after his resurrection.
In the Latter-day Saint theology, this is represented in the sealing power, which is used to unite the Heavens and the Earth: as above so below, as below so above (Matthew 16:18-19). This is the gift He gave to the children of God by His Atonement on the cross as he gave up the last “ghost” of the Not-self. The gift received and given to humanity was that power of sealing together heaven and earth. The power and the wherewithal to defeat the enemy at His call through us.
The Fohatic Keys being discussed were originally found in RLDS/CoC DaC 110 prior to 1990 World Conference. Also Note the significant ordinance restored to the Restoration were also removed when both Sections 109 and 110 were dismissed as irrelevant and removed from the CoC/RLDS scriptures. Significant references to these keys can also be found in Ether, used by the brother of Jared. They are seen throughout the scriptures. Enoch, Melchizedek, Elijah, and others had and used these keys as well.
Truth in Meaning
The Christian understanding of the atonement has, at times, been distorted by Christianity itself, through the fallen consciousness. There is a misunderstanding that Jesus merely died for our sins. Jesus DID NOT die for our sins (Alma 8:87-92 RAV, 11:34-37 OPV). He died to give us the power of Heaven and Earth over our sins to defeat the enemy, the fallen consciousness which is Ego and sin, through the right application of the Fohatic Keys as Jesus showed us through the examples written in the New Testament during His ministry.
This places responsibility for our salvation through Christ squarely on our own shoulders. For is must be through Grace and Works together that salvation is achieved. This is why we grow Grace by Grace, walking the path of teshuvah. This instruction removes the idea the Jesus’s atonement on the Cross automatically “saves our Souls” leaving us free to continue in sin. Yes, He washes us clean, allowing us to move forward as we can now forgive ourselves. And, we may lean on Him as we grow in Grace. He gifted us the Power to save ourselves and the means by which to do it. It is up to us, our responsibility as the scriptures describe, The Tibetan teachings, the Kabbalah and Ascended Master teachings also. They are all in alignment. They all speak of Christ pointing us to salvation.
One comment
Victoria, I have such a hard time reconciling “religion” with truth. It is clear to me that Jesus lived and taught to show us the way, and I think He died to, in effect, give His teaching wings – creating a mythology that would carry the truth, in a lasting way, to the world – across space and time. However, it is the truth that He taught that is important – the truth that we are shackled in this mortal existence by our fear, by our ego, by our desire to control and manipulate all things, including God Himself. It SEEMS TO ME that religion seeks to emphasize the person – the graven image – of Jesus, the Christ – rather than the truth that He sought to restore to our consciousness.
I engage in the sacrament using the Book of Mormon prayer 3 times a week. I have prayed about whether or not this remains appropriate. Jesus has made it clear to me that this remains pleasing to Him as a remembrance of the unimaginable pain and suffering that He chose to endure in order to perpetuate that truth. But even such ordinances are meaningless unless we understand the reason behind them. I needed a reason, and I have one.
This is just one example of the difficulty that I mentioned in opening – the getting past the tendency of religion to self-perpetuate – to keep a clear eye focused on the truth – an eye truly single to God’s glory.
Bless you, beautiful lady. Thanks in advance for indulging my sincere, open-hearted thoughts and confessions.