“I Lay Down My Life, That I Might Take It Again”
John 10:17–18
17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Elder Merrill J. Bateman said:
“Unlike mortals who inherit the seeds of death from both parents, Jesus was born of a mortal mother but an immortal Father. The seeds of death received from Mary meant that He could die, but the inheritance from His Father gave Him infinite life, which meant death was a voluntary act. Thus, Jesus told the Jewish people, ‘For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself’ (John 5:26).
“On another occasion He stated:
“‘Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
“‘No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father’ (John 10:17–18).
“The infinite nature received from His Father gave Jesus power to perform the Atonement, to suffer for the sins of all. The prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon teaches that Jesus not only took upon Himself our sins but also our pains, afflictions, and temptations. Alma also explains that Jesus took upon Himself our sicknesses, death, and our infirmities. (See Alma 7:11–13.) This He did, Alma said, so that His ‘bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know . . . how to succor his people’ (Alma 7:12).”
(“A Pattern for All,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2005, 75.)
