The LDS View Of The Cross Is Different Than You Think

I have been a member of the LDS church my whole life. I often wondered why our church buildings have a spire on them and not a cross. But when I asked my Mom about it, as a young child, she told me that it is because we celebrate a living Christ, and not just His death. But now that I am older I see the cross a little differently.

The Cross is everywhere in Christianity

For many religions, the sign of the cross is a reminder of Christ. My Lutheran sister-in-law wears a cross necklace to remember Him whenever she touches it.

Almost every Catholic church I have ever seen has sculptures of Christ suffering on the cross on display in their sanctuary.

But when I see a cross I remember Christ’s intense suffering on that cross. And even though it hurts my heart to think of His pain, to me, the cross and the atonement are connected.

The Atonement

The atonement began in the Garden of Gethsemane and ended on the Cross. In the Garden, Christ suffered for our sins and sorrows and our heartbreaks and illnesses. For a long time, I only understood the sinful side of things- that He suffered because we sinned. But there is more to it.

Jesus Christ was the only perfect being to ever live on this Earth. And in taking our sins upon himself, He was the only one who could stand beside us and speak for our right to be in Heaven one day. But He didn’t just suffer for our sins.

The Prophet Alma saw Christ

In Alma 7 11-13 it says:

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and aafflictions and btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him adeath, that he may bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to csuccor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the bflesh that he might ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Christ really understands us

My favorite part of this scripture is the promise that Christ will know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more I understand what “infirmities” means.

I love knowing that Christ knows exactly how I feel as a frail human. And that His mercy and love also come with complete empathy. 

Commandments are not arbitrary

It means that when God gives us a commandment, He knows it can be done. He also knows the sacrifice required to keep it, because He knows exactly how we feel. And somehow that level of understanding gives me confidence in Him on a new level.

God is not an out-of-touch being asking the impossible. He fully understands all sides of our challenges but understands the blessings that come from obedience well enough to ask it of us anyway.

What I think when I see the Cross

So the sign of the cross always takes me back to the Garden of Gethsemane. I don’t dwell on the crucified Christ but remember His glorious resurrection. The promise that we will be resurrected also, and how He paved the way for us to live again with God.

We can never understand all He suffered. But we can live as a tribute to Him, a living sign of our gratitude. I am forever in His debt. And though I know that the LDS church doesn’t display the cross like other Christian religions do, I also know that we recognize the tremendous sacrifice it represents. We gather weekly to take the Sacrament and remember Christ.

In so doing we take time to focus our lives on Him and vow to try harder to live as He would have us live.

If you would ask me why we have a spire on our church instead of a cross, it is not that we don’t respect the cross. I see the spire as pointing to Heaven, pointing to Christ and where He resides now.