“We are accustomed to saying that the Atonement took place in Gethsemane and on Calvary. In a literal sense, this is true, since it was in the last hours of his life that Christ took upon himself the full burden and weight of the sins of the world. But the trial of Jesus in Gethsemane and on the cross would not have been possible and could not have occurred had it not been preceded by a lifetime of sinless virtue, accomplished in the face of the most vehement spiritual opposition. From his temptation in the wilderness to his rejection in Nazareth to the illegal trial before the Sanhedrin, Christ paid the price of a perfect life, walking in holy sinlessness despite adversity, physical suffering, deep sorrows, and the snares of ruthless and determined adversaries, both seen and unseen. “He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them” (D& C 20: 22). All this he did with the knowledge that one misstep would mean creation’s doom! For had he sinned even in the smallest point or slightest negligence of thought, the Atonement would have become impossible and the whole purpose of creation frustrated. The burden of the whole world weighed upon him through every moment of his life. He was God’s fulcrum, the divine pivot around which the hopes of eternity revolved.”
Elder Bruce D. Porter, “King of Kings”
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