“Be Ye Reconciled to God”
2 Corinthians 5:18–21
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:
“Through his fall Adam brought spiritual death into the world; that is, man was cast out of the presence of God and died as pertaining to the things of righteousness or of the Spirit. As a consequence man became carnal, sensual, and devilish by nature and were thereby an enemy of God [see Mosiah 3:19; Alma 42:7–11]. Through His atoning sacrifice Christ brought spiritual life into the world; that is, man was given power to return to the presence of God by receiving the companionship of the Holy Spirit; he was able to become alive as to the things of righteousness or of the Spirit.
“Reconciliation is the process of ransoming man from his state of sin and spiritual darkness and of restoring him to a state of harmony and unity with Deity. Through it God and man are no longer enemies. Man, who was once carnal and evil, who lived after the manner of the flesh, becomes a new creature of the Holy Ghost; he is born again; and, even as a little child, he is alive in Christ. ‘Reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh,’ Jacob taught, ‘and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved’ [2 Nephi 10:24].”
(Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 2:422–23.)
