Individual Atonement

In reading a book by John Pontius I understood that God, and thus His servants, have the ability to comprehend every detail of every life in an instant. When out of the body a righteous spirit could know all about a person he came in contact with. There is nothing left out. If this is true, then God, being infinite, has the ability to know, understand, and even feel the pain of His children. I believe Christ suffered this pain. This is the "bitter cup" that the Father gave to Him, to take upon Himself the sins of all mankind.

Jesus Christ suffered for the sins of all mankind. In describing His suffering He states that He "suffered these things for all..." (D&C 19:16) I am impressed that this was not just a general suffering, but that He comprehended the suffering of each and every creature -- every single one of the children of God. His capacity was not just that He suffered, but that He did it for each and every one of God's children. As a literal Son of God He had the capacity to comprehend the entire life of each person who ever lived. He knows me personally, and has taken upon Himself my personal sins, my suffering, my trials, my pain, my loneliness, my sorrows, my weaknesses, my frustrations, my guilt, my anger, my hatred, my loss, and all I have experienced. Personally.

The point is not that He knows what happened to me, or that He suffered worse things than me, and therefore I should be grateful that I don't, but that He knows my personal suffering. He has had compassion on me personally. He has suffered with me in all my own personal sorrows. He has been there, literally with me in every way. It's not a "I know how that feels" sort of experience, but rather an "I am with you" experience. In all things, He is there. He is there for everyone, personally. He is there with the child who is abused. He is there with those who are tortured, beaten, and suffering all manner of pain. He suffers with them. He knows their suffering, not just because He suffered likewise, but because He is there, with them, in every way. He truly has compassion -- "to suffer with."

When Christ says, "I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world..." (3 Nephi 11:11) It was both a collective suffering for and with all mankind, and also an individual suffering for each individual. Each and all. The Atonement truly is infinite, amazing, and wonderful.