Articles of Faith: What Do Latter-day Saints Believe About the Atonement of Jesus Christ? 7

Article of Faith 3

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved,

by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

This is the seventh essay about the Atonement of Jesus Christ as stated in the third Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first week, I discussed the importance of understanding how the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as the third pillar of eternity, is essential to Heavenly Father’s plan for the eternal happiness of His children. The second week, the discussion was about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the nature of the atonement. The third week, the discussion concerned the Atonement of Jesus Christ as a vicarious sacrifice. The fourth week, the discussion was about Christ’s sacrifice being voluntary and love inspired. The fifth week, the discussion was about the Atonement being foreordained and foretold. The discussion for the sixth week was about extent of the Atonement of Christ. This week, the essay will use the words of Elder James E. Talmage to discuss the general effect of the Atonement of Jesus Christ (Articles of Faith [1913], 87-89).

The General Effect of the Atonement, so far as it applies to all who have arrived at years of accountability and judgment, has been demonstrated by the scriptures already quoted. Its application to children may properly receive attention. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches as a doctrine founded on reason, justice, and scripture, that all children are innocent in the sight of God, and that, until they reach an age of personal responsibility, baptism is neither requisite nor proper in their behalf; that, in short, they are saved through the atonement of Christ. To a degree, children are born heirs to the good or evil natures of their parents; the effects of heredity are admitted. Good and evil tendencies, blessings and curses, are transmitted from generation to generation. Through this divinely-appointed order, the justice of which is plain in the revealed light of knowledge concerning the antemortal state of the spirits of mankind, the children of Adam are natural heirs to the ills of mortality; but through Christ’s atonement they are all redeemed from the curse of this fallen state. The debt, which comes to them as a legacy, is paid for them and thus are they left free. Children who die before reaching the state of accountability for their acts are innocent in the eyes of God, even though they be the offspring of transgressors. We read in the Book of Mormon: “Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy…. For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law” (Moroni 8:19-22).

The prophet Mormon, writing to his son Moroni, expressed in the following manner his conviction of the innocence of children: “Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them…. Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach – repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children. And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins. But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world” (Moroni 8:8-12).

In a revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith in this dispensation, the Lord has said: “But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me” (D&C 29:46, 47). President John Taylor, after citing instances of Christ’s affection for little children, and proofs of the innocent condition in which they are regarded in heaven, says: “Without Adam’s transgression those children could not have existed; through the atonement they are placed in a state of salvation without any act of their own. These would embrace, according to the opinion of statisticians, more than one-half of the human family who can attribute their salvation only to the mediation and atonement of the Savior” (Mediation and Atonement, p. 148).

 

What Is the Situation with Ilhan Omar?

Under the principles of the U.S. Constitution, all American citizens live under the same rules. Democrats used the refrain “no one is above the law” to justify the illegal treatment of Donald Trump. Now one of their own is being treated the same as the Left treated Donald Trump and numerous supporters of him. David Harsanyi reported on the situation in his article published at the Daily Signal. 

One of the foundational ideals of a free nation is that all its citizens live under the same rules. Democrats know this. They’ve been lecturing us for years that “no one is above the law.”

So, what happens if a federal investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., provides incontrovertible evidence that she obtained citizenship by lying? Should we ignore it? Should Omar be given an exemption from the law because she’s in Congress? Or because she’s a Democrat?

Those on the left carping about the investigation into Omar being politically motivated can’t be taken seriously. Not after they spent a decade engaged in blatant lawfare – first by attempting to annul the 2016 election of Donald Trump by concocting one lurid conspiracy theory after the next, and then by trying to stop him from running for the presidency in 2024.

When you spend your time stripping away norms, you can’t expect the other side to unilaterally disarm.

The New York Times reported that the court and the Justice Department debated the warrant to search Omar’s residences for weeks before it was finally issued. Courts are in a separate branch of government for an important reason, and they should be highly suspicious of any case that appears to involve abuse of the legal system for political reasons.

But the fact that a Biden-appointed U.S. magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., believed there was probable cause for a raid tells us that there is at least something worth investigating. Or, as Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif. once said, before “a grand jury indicts anyone, they need evidence. Searches are a way to get evidence. Get it?” We do.

There are two issues at hand. The more serious one is whether Omar’s father obtained his citizenship by lying about both himself and his daughter.

Nur Omar Mohamed brought his Somali family members from a refugee camp in Kenya in 1995. The late patriarch’s story about fleeing persecution looks dubious. Indeed, he may well have been a soldier loyal to Somali dictator Siad Barre and a participant in the persecution.

More pertinently, he or his daughter may have lied about Ilhan’s age on immigration documents when he was naturalized in 2000. “I became a citizen actually before I turned 18,” Omar said in a 2018 interview. “My father became a citizen and so I got my citizenship through that process.”

As a 17-year-old minor, Omar was automatically given citizenship. If, in reality, she was 18 or 19, she would have been compelled to go through the naturalization process herself.

Under the law, even a child who derived citizenship through a parent could lose that status if the parent concealed or willfully misrepresented facts to obtain naturalization. And the fact that Omar’s staff appears to have changed the congresswoman’s date of birth after her election in 2019 could also suggest that she knew about the discrepancy.

The Wall Street Journal reports that all of this is aimed at building a case to strip Omar of her U.S. citizenship and ultimately deport her. Until the Trump administration, the crime of willfully lying during the process of obtaining citizenship had rarely been prosecuted at all, which is a shame.

Stripping an American of citizenship should be treated as an extraordinarily serious matter. The problem is that we haven’t been very serious when handing out citizenship.

If Omar gained her citizenship by lying, she, at the very minimum, should not be serving in Congress.

The other ongoing investigation concerns whether Omar inflated her net worth on congressional forms. In her disclosures filed in 2025, Omar reported that she and her husband, Tim Mynett, were worth between $6 million and $30 million, an impressive jump from $15,000-$51,000 the year before. Omar later amended her disclosure to claim that her household’s net worth was between $18,004 and $95,000.

It is unclear why Omar would lie or whether there is any underlying criminal act being investigated, but how plausible is it that a 40-something, college-educated congresswoman doesn’t know whether she is worth $30 million or $95,000?

You might recall that New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, claiming that his companies had fraudulently inflated their net worth. At the time, congressmen like Mondaire Jones pointed out that “no one is above that law, not even the former president of the United States and his crime family.”

Would Omar have been targeted if she weren’t in Congress? Probably not. Does that make her innocent? Hardly.

From my point of view, the argument that Omar would not be targeted if she were not in Congress is mute. Donald Trump would not have been targeted if he did not run for President of the United States. All of it would have gone away if he had been content to be a New York businessman. Also, I am quite certain that I would have known the difference between $30 million and $95,000.

  

Who Is Pope Leo XIV?

My VIP for this week is Cope Leo XIV, leader of the Catholic Church. There are two reasons for choosing him: (1) He holds a prominent position in the world and (2) his lung cancer.

According to an article by Lois M. Collins, Pope Leo XIV’s lung cancer diagnosis and surgery remind everyone of the dangers of lung cancer. Here are her three points to remember: (1) People who haven’t smoked can develop lung cancer. (2) Early detection can make a major difference. (3) Often there are no early symptoms of lung cancer. The article continued as follows. 

Friday, Dr. John Stringham, an Intermountain Health thoracic and oncology surgeon, briefed the media on other risk factors.

The American Cancer Society estimates just under 125,000 people die from lung cancer each year in the U.S., including smokers, former smokers and people who never smoked. While smoking is still responsible for most cases, between 15% and 20% of lung cancer cases are found in people who have never smoked, according to a 2025 JAMA study. [One of my brothers-in-law was not a smoker, but he had lung cancer.]

The pope’s cancer, which was pulmonary adenocarcinoma – a common form of non-small cell lung cancer – was found at the early stage and biopsied during surgery so those treating him said they were able to remove the lower lobe of his right lung.

It’s likely the surgeon removed nearby lymph nodes to make sure it hadn’t spread, as well, said Stringham, who was not involved in the pope’s treatment. He said reports suggest that surgery is likely the only treatment he will need. When cancer has spread to lymph nodes, “then we usually do talk about chemotherapy, sometimes radiation for those folks.”

In cases where the cancer is contained, Stringham said there’s an estimated 80% to 90% cancer-specific survival rate at five years. When lung cancer has metastasized, which means it spread to other parts of the body, the survival rate at the five-year benchmark drops.

Stringham also noted that the pontiff, who is 71, is physically active and known to swim and play tennis. “Most likely he’s going to have a good recovery if everything goes according to plan,” though he’ll be monitored. “most likely he’ll be going through CT scans for at least five years to make sure nothing comes back,” the doctor said.

Detected early, the recurrence rate is “actually pretty low,” he said. And those patients “recover from lung cancer surgery pretty well and pretty easily. I definitely have had patients where we take out a lower lob and t hey have gone on to do marathons, for example.”

About lung cancer and risks

But there’s a lot to know about lung cancer, which often is not diagnosed until it is much more advanced than that of the pope. Early cases are usually detected – as they were in his case – through an imaging test for something else.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the world, including in the U.S. Stringham said lung cancer is divided into two categories: small ell and non-small cell. Small cell lung cancers are more aggressive and spread more quickly, while non-small cell cancers are most typical and also more treatable.

The two main types of non-small cell are squamous-cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma – Pope Leo’s diagnosis – which is the most common among nonsmokers with lung cancer. Early-stage non-small cell lung cancers are typically treated with surgery as the mainstay, he said. A lobe is removed. If it had spread, there are other treatments that are “becoming more and more effective” due to better technology and better understanding of cancer. Early-stage non-small cell lung cancers are typically treated with surgery as the mainstay, he said. A lobe is removed. If it had spread, there are other treatments that are “becoming more and more effective” due to better technology and better understanding of cancer. It’s possible to look at the actual molecules cancers are expressing and use those molecules against them with immunotherapy, among other options.

Stringham urged smokers to stop smoking now and to stop “putting things in your lungs that shouldn’t be there.” However, there are other risks, including “secondhand smoke, exposure to substances such as solvents, chemicals, radon, and pollution.

“There are also genetic factors for lung cancer, including inherited mutations that pass down through the family.” Vaping is also a risk factor for lung cancer. Stringham suggested “wearing respiratory protection when working around pollutants, chemicals and irritants and keeping the area well ventilated. One should also “take care of yourself: exercise, eating well, seeing a doctor and other typical well-being advice all help ensure a person is as healthy as possible.

Detection and prevention

One of the challenges with lung cancer is that symptoms don’t really show up early. “Very often, lung cancer really doesn’t have any symptoms whatsoever,” according to Stringham, who noted maybe a cough sometimes or some sputum production. “But often it’s really quite asymptomatic until you actually get to a much higher stage….

When lung cancer spreads, it most often goes to lymph nodes in the middle of the chest, then outwards, though not always. After that, it can go “pretty much anywhere in the body,” he said, noting the spine and brain are not uncommon. Sometimes, it doesn’t go to the lymph nodes but does spread elsewhere….

Screening for smokers and former smokers

Lung cancer screening is now recommended for smokers and former smokers, using low-dose CT scan to make sure there are no nodules.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual screening for adults ages 50-80 with at least a “20 pack-year” smoking history who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. That means 20 cigarettes a day for 20 years or an equivalent amount.

It’s not recommended for others, who “don’t qualify for it at this time.” …

Will U.S. Totally End Birth Tourism?

The topic of discussion for this week concerns birth tourism. Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell explains the latest action taken by the Trump administration. “Trump’s Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has revoked more than 700 visas held by Chinese nationals since its launched in August. 

“The Chinese birth tourism industry should not be allowed to profit from the privileges of American citizenship while undermining the integrity of our immigration laws,” a State Department spokesperson told the Daily Signal. “President Trump and Secretary Rubio are putting American interests first, strengthening enforcement, and making clear that the United States will not tolerate the deliberate exploitation of its visa process.”

The State Department established a task force to identify instances of birth tourism, revoke visas of those who engage in or facilitate it, and dismantle the networks that profit from it.

The task force’s largest crackdown has been on Chinese nationals accused of exploiting the immigration system to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children, according to the spokesperson. “We will not allow foreign nationals or commercial networks from any country to abuse our visa process for financial gain,” the spokesperson said.

More than 107 Chinese-owned surrogacy agencies operate in Southern California alone. Chinese nationals often pay women living in the United States more than $50,000 to serve as surrogates. Conventional birth tourism results in an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 annual U.S. births to Chinese nationals, according to investigative journalist Peter Schweitzer’s Senate testimony.

Surrogacy cycles commissioned by foreign intended parents surged 78% from 2014 to 2019, from 2,758 to 4,905 embryo transfers a year. Chinese nationals were the largest customer base at 41.7%, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine’s journal.

            “American citizenship is not for sale and President Trump has been unequivocal that his                        Administration will protect the meaning and value of American citizenship,” Eddie Vasquez,                    deputy assistant secretary for press, said. “At the State Department will use all the available                    tools to dismantle birth tourism networks and defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship. We are                seeing that promise and our actions speak for themselves. 

How Are You Preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?

My Come Follow Me studies for this week took me to Isaiah 58-66 in a lesson titled “The Redeemer Shall Come to Zion.” The following information introduced the lesson. 

Early in His ministry, Jesus Christ visited a synagogue in Nazareth, where He was raised. He stood there to read from the scriptures, opened the book of Isaiah, and read what we now know as Isaiah 61:1-2. He then announced, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” This was one of the Savior’s most straightforward declarations that He was the Anointed One, who would “heal the brokenhearted” and “preach deliverance to the captives” (see Luke 4:16-21). This scripture was indeed fulfilled on that day. And, like many other prophecies of Isaiah, it is also being fulfilled in our day. The Savior continues to heal the brokenhearted who come unto Him. There are still many captives who need deliverance. And there is a glorious future to prepare for – a time when the Lord will “create new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17) and “cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations” (Isaiah 61:11). Reading Isaiah opens our eyes to what the Lord has already done, what He is doing, and what He will yet do for His people.

The scripture block teaches several principles, including the following: (1) Fasting builds spiritual power and blesses people in need (Isaiah 58:3-12). (2) Honoring the Lord on the Sabbath brings joy (Isaiah 58:13-14). (3) Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer (Isaiah 59:9-21; 61:1-3; 63:7-9). (4) “The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light” (Isaiah 60; 62). (5) Christ will reign on earth during the Millennium (Isaiah 64:1-5; 65:17-25; 66). This essay will discuss principle #5 about Christ reigning during the Millennium.

Isaiah spoke of a day when “the former troubles are forgotten” (Isaiah 65:16). While this prophecy has several fulfillments, in its fullest sense, that day is yet to come – when Jesus Christ will return. Isaiah described this future day in Isaiah 64:1-5; 65:17-25; 66. Isaiah often used words like “rejoice” and “rejoicing.” The Savior’s return will be a day of rejoicing for those who are prepared for His coming.

President Russell M. Nelson spoke about preparing the world for the Second Coming of the Savior in the April 2020 General Conference (“The Future of the Church: Preparing the World for the Savior’s Second Coming,” Ensign, April 2020, 13-17). 

The choice to come unto Christ is not a matter of physical location; it is a matter of individual commitment. All members of the Church have access to the doctrine, ordinances, priesthood keys, and blessings of the gospel, regardless of their location. People can be “brought to the knowledge of the Lord” (3 Nephi 20:13) without leaving their homelands.

True, in the early days of the Church, conversion often meant emigration as well. But now the gathering takes place in each nation. The Lord has decreed the establishment of Zion (see Doctrine and Covenants 6:6; 11:6) in each realm where He has given His Saints their birth and nationality…. Zion is “the pure in heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:21). It is wherever righteous Saints are. Spiritual security will always depend upon how one lives, not where one lives. I promise that if we will do our best to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and access the power of His Atonement through repentance, we will have the knowledge and power of God to help us take the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord….

Do whatever it takes to strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ by increasing your understanding of the doctrine taught in His restored Church and by relentlessly seeking truth. Anchored in pure doctrine, you will be able to step forward with faith and dogged persistence and cheerfully do all that lies in your power to fulfill the purposes of the Lord.

Which Is More Important – Quality Time or Quantity Time – in a Family?

Families are strengthened by investing in both quality time and quantity time together. Wise parents recognize that family time matters, and “elements of both quality and quantity time” are essential to create a strong family. An article from Focus on the Family shares these important ideas.

If you’re asking us whether family time really matters, we’d have to say yes. In fact, family time is so important that it shouldn’t be reduced to an either-or proposition. It has to incorporate elements of both quality and quantity.

Quantity time creates a safe environment where youngsters can feel accepted and valued for who they are. It communicates availability and fosters a sense of security. It establishes a solid home base from which children can launch out into the world with confidence and strength.

Quality time, on the other hand, is essential to the process of family bonding. It’s the stuff of which relationships are made. It’s the polished gem that caring parents fashion from the raw material of moments, hours, and days spent together. The thing to note is that it’s difficult to have one without the other. The more family time we create, the more opportunities we have to touch each other’s lives in profound ways. You can’t seize [this] if you’re not there to do the seizing. It isn’t always possible to cram meaningful memories and life-changing conversations into a few minutes of contrived quality time.

None of this happens automatically, of course. It’s entirely possible for a family to spend lots of time together and come away the worse for it. This is especially true if their interactions are marred by constant strife, anxiety, or abuse. The key to success is intentionality. That means making up your mind to be present in the moments and to make the most of every circumstance.

Contemporary marriages and families lack time – quality and quantity – for a number of reasons. An endless pursuit of material things requires increasing amounts of money. This translates into more hours at work. Busyness creates fatigue and deflects attention from pressing relational issues. Couples “grow apart” as their lives travel down separate but parallel tracks. Moms and dads model a task-oriented mentality that communicates an unmistakable message to their kids: take care of your duties and obligations first. Then feel free to retreat into your own (electronic) stimulation, recreation, or leisure-time activity (read: “isolation in your own room”).

If you want to escape this numbing pattern, you may need to revamp your schedule. We suggest you engage in some serious lifestyle planning. Go back to Square One. Revisit your basic values and priorities. Resolve to make some countercultural choices and decisions if necessary. Take steps to reduce your outside commitments and block out weekly family time on the calendar.

In particular, don’t worry about how it looks to “other people” if you limit yourselves to one or two selections from a long list of worthwhile church activities. Resist the temptation to sign your kids up for numerous sports teams, music and dance lessons, social clubs, and all kinds of community organizations. One activity per season per child [may be] more than enough. Carve out spaces and create margins. Don’t be afraid of “voids.” Agree to turn off all communications devices at certain times of the day or on certain days of the week. Instead of watching TV, read together, play board games, take a walk to a local park, or sit and talk. Get into your kids’ space. Hang out with them and find out what excites them. This is all part of the process of turning quantity into quality time.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to take full advantage of simple everyday interactions. Drive time, mealtime, meal preparation, bath time, bedtime – all can become opportunities for shared discoveries and precious, unforeseen, and unique conversations between parent and child. It’s a matter of learning to savor life’s ordinary moments. Most children find just as much, or even more, joy in the little things as they do in life’s big events. Activities like eating a special breakfast of chocolate-chip pancakes, picking out the perfect backpack for the first day of school, or singing silly songs in the car could turn out to be some of the most memorable highlights of your kids’ childhood years.

Will Democrat Party Reject Islamic Terrorism and Socialism?

The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns the increasing numbers of Americans who are embracing Islamic terrorism and socialism. Trump Derangement Syndrome, “Democrats’ hatred for President Donald Trump,” and “an effort to defeat Republicans in November” are leading the increase.

Justin Murphy, the Republican nominee for New Jersey’s Senate seat, explained the situation in his interview with the Daily Signal. 

“Their [Democrats] hate for Donald Trump is the only thing that is informing their decision making,” Justin Murphy told the Daily Signal. “Their hate for Donald Trump is more important to them than their love of this country, if they even have it.”

“It’s more important for them to make sure they do not … appear to their base that they’re working with President Trump, because that’s absolutely forbidden,” he continued.

Murphy said that hatred of the president is “keeping them isolated from the American people” and is “the only thing they are campaigning on.”

The candidate’s remarks come after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called his party a “big tent” that welcomes all voters.

Additionally, at least five members of the Democratic Socialists of America, a progressive organization that aims to dissolve constitutionally designated institutions such as the Senate, could be sworn into Congress in January.

“The Democrat Party today is no longer the party of FDR – the World War II, Depression-era Democrat. They’re no longer the party of JFK. It’s now the party of the DSA, and they’re no longer the party of the kind of little guy, the blue-collar worker, the northeastern Catholic voter,” Murphy added.

Murphy, using the example of the Republican Party’s rejection of David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard who tried to run for president as a Republican in the 1990s, contrasted his party’s handling of radical antisemites and extremists to that of the Democrats.

“We zipped up our tent, shut the door, threw him out of the party, and told him you get no name from the Republican Party and get no recognition. He was not allowed to run in our primaries, and we tossed him out of the party,” he said.

Murphy argued that if the Democratic Party was the party of “tolerance and civility” as is sometimes claimed, Democrat leaders would “do the same” toward their radical members.

Murphy’s opponent, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has not yet condemned his party’s radical candidates.