The transformative power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ was a central theme of the April 2025 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The Atonement provides hope and light at a time that for many seems dark and dreary,” said Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Cook taught that we access Christ’s redeeming power most fully when we “gratefully accept the Savior’s Atonement.” His message echoes recent BYU research that explores how feelings of spiritual indebtedness deepen our gratitude and draw us closer to Christ through repentance.
The research investigates how highly religious individuals experience a daily pattern of repentance that strengthens their connection with God. The findings are published in the article Qualitatively exploring the repentance processes, antecedents, motivations, resources, and outcomes in Latter Day Saints in “Archive for the Psychology of Religion” by BYU alumni Justin Hendricks (BS ’11) and Jocelyn Cazier (BS ’20), and professors Jenae Nelson (psychology), Loren Marks (family life), and Sam Hardy (psychology).
Open-ended surveys from the project revealed a recurring theme: participants who regularly repented felt sustained and transformed by divine power, which they identified as the enabling grace of Jesus Christ.
“Repentance is a great way to grow our indebtedness to God,” Nelson explains. “Not because it highlights our failings, but because it reveals the divine power helping us change at every step.”
Participants described recognizing a power beyond their own efforts—an awareness that transformed their repentance from a ritual of guilt into a process of growth. Rather than viewing repentance as a reminder of imperfection, they saw it as a daily invitation to partner with Christ in becoming something more.
This mindset, which Nelson calls transcendent indebtedness, reframes repentance. It’s not transactional, shame-based, or guilt-ridden. Instead, it requires humility and deep conversion—a willingness to be shaped by God into who He intends us to become.
For many in the study, this change also reshaped their view of God. “He wasn’t just a ‘best friend God,’” Nelson says. “He was a God who required more of them—wanting to make them better and to change their life.”
This spiritual indebtedness didn’t arise from passive belief but from consistent commitment. As participants engaged in daily repentance, they experienced what Nelson calls a virtuous cycle.
“The better their relationship with God, the more they repented. The more they repented, the better that relationship became,” she explains. “And it just kept going.”
That ongoing pattern—fueled by grace and grounded in reverence—transformed casual belief into consecrated living. It turned moments of repentance into a lifestyle of discipleship. It moved participants from knowing about God to walking with Him in trust, humility, and joy.
Cook underscored this same truth: “The Atonement of Jesus Christ provides the ultimate rescue from the trials we face in this life.” While we can’t always avoid hardship, we can endure it more fully by developing a growing relationship with Christ through gratitude and repentance.
This Easter season offers a powerful reminder: Christ’s Atonement isn’t just a moment in history—it’s an ongoing invitation. Through daily repentance and sincere gratitude, we can access His healing, enabling power in real and personal ways.
Celebrate Holy Week by visiting an interactive display in the lobby of the Kimball Tower.
