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Gethsemanee
Living apostles and prophets have testified that the atonement of Jesus Christ is the most important event in time or all eternity, and the event upon which our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness rests. The event centers on Gethsemane, the place where the Savior of the universe experiences his greatest suffering. It was the place where all prophetic history came together and eternity hung in the balance ? the place where the Savior confronted the bitter cup and drained its dregs to the last drop. In latter-day revelation, the Savior himself bore personal testimony of his redemptive experience in that garden spot on the Mount of Olives and explained its significance for all mankind. Andrew C. Skinner explores the glorious triumph over sin, hell, spiritual death, and the Devil, showing how the bitterest agony for the One provided the sweetest joy for all of us.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2002
22 people are currently reading
322 people want to read
About the author
Andrew C. Skinner
43 books23 followersAndrew C. Skinner was born and raised in Colorado. He attended the University of Colorado where he earned his B.A. degree in history. He then earned an M.A. degree from the Iliff School of Theology in Jewish Studies and a Th.M. degree from Harvard in Biblical Hebrew. He did graduate work at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. His Ph.D. was awarded from the University of Denver in Near Eastern and European History, specializing in Judaism.
Brother Skinner taught four years at Ricks College, and has filled three assignments at the BYU Jerusalem Center where he served as a faculty member and taught Near Eastern Studies. Since September 2000 he has served as the Dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. Prior to his current appointment, he served as chair of the department of Ancient Scripture at BYU. He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications including Jerusalem: The Eternal City; New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ; Discoveries in the Judaean Desert: The Unidentified Fragments from Qumran Cave 4 (which is an analysis of all the unidentified Hebrew and Aramaic Dead Sea Scroll texts); Scriptural Parables for the Latter Days, and Gethsemane.
He served a full time mission for the LDS Church from 1970-72 in the California Central Mission and served as Branch President at the Missionary Training Center in Provo. He has also served as a bishop in Colorado and Utah and currently serves as a member of the Correlation Evaluation Committee of the Church.
He and his wife Janet Corbridge reside in Lindon, Utah, and they are the parents of six children.
Brother Skinner taught four years at Ricks College, and has filled three assignments at the BYU Jerusalem Center where he served as a faculty member and taught Near Eastern Studies. Since September 2000 he has served as the Dean of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. Prior to his current appointment, he served as chair of the department of Ancient Scripture at BYU. He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications including Jerusalem: The Eternal City; New Testament Apostles Testify of Christ; Discoveries in the Judaean Desert: The Unidentified Fragments from Qumran Cave 4 (which is an analysis of all the unidentified Hebrew and Aramaic Dead Sea Scroll texts); Scriptural Parables for the Latter Days, and Gethsemane.
He served a full time mission for the LDS Church from 1970-72 in the California Central Mission and served as Branch President at the Missionary Training Center in Provo. He has also served as a bishop in Colorado and Utah and currently serves as a member of the Correlation Evaluation Committee of the Church.
He and his wife Janet Corbridge reside in Lindon, Utah, and they are the parents of six children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
May 26, 2023
I think this is a must read book for anyone who wants to gain greater understanding about Jesus Christ's experience in the Garden of Gethsemane.
March 21, 2015
I could read these series of books over and over and over again. Andrew C. Skinner is one of the guys you see on Sunday morning on PBS doing the scripture round-table discussion. He offers amazing insight and each chapter I took something new with me. I loved loved loved these books!
They are all about the Savior and the need for an atonement, and how truly a great and marvelous gift it is!
Read it! :)
They are all about the Savior and the need for an atonement, and how truly a great and marvelous gift it is!
Read it! :)
April 9, 2021
Excellent book about the atonement of the Savior.
June 10, 2023
A friend bought me this book (a volume that includes Skinner’s “Gethsemane,” “Golgotha,” and “The Garden Tomb”). I am so thankful they did.
I’ve read several quality books about Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice over the years but this was the best, hands down. Skinner just seemed to get to the crux of it all more than most: Jesus suffered for our sorrows, pains, and sins because He loved us; because of this, He knows how to help us. As we learn more about Christ’s atonement, we’ll be more and more inclined to lay aside the things of the world and to follow Him.
One of the greatest insights I got from this book was the idea that Christ’s atonement was the universe’s greatest contradiction. Somehow I had never thought about this. A sinless man who was righteousness personified took on the universe’s problems and became sin. Through being totally surrounded by darkness and pain, Jesus offers light and joy to the world. A truly free man submitted to bondage to help bound people be free. As the Son of the Highest, He descended below all things and can help fallen mortals ascend to the heights of godhood.
This idea of the contradiction of Christ’s suffering is so meaningful to me because it allows room for us to accept the contradictions and injustices of our lives. Suddenly the “problem” of bad things happening to good people, not only becomes an irrelevant quandary, it becomes a logical expectation!
This book helped me want to follow Christ more, not because of some future reward (indeed, it’s clear following Christ is truly a bitter cup and a bloody baptism) but because I love Him. Skinner shows that ambiguity, doubt, and unanswered prayers aren’t problems or things to be concerned about, they’re a part of the journey that, when it embraced, lead to clarity, faith, hope, and truth.
This book spoke to my soul, echoed things I’ve learned in my own journey of faith and doubt, and gave word to lessons I didn’t realize I’d learned. 10/10 would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand what exactly went on the night Jesus spent in the Garden of Gethsemane.
I’ve read several quality books about Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice over the years but this was the best, hands down. Skinner just seemed to get to the crux of it all more than most: Jesus suffered for our sorrows, pains, and sins because He loved us; because of this, He knows how to help us. As we learn more about Christ’s atonement, we’ll be more and more inclined to lay aside the things of the world and to follow Him.
One of the greatest insights I got from this book was the idea that Christ’s atonement was the universe’s greatest contradiction. Somehow I had never thought about this. A sinless man who was righteousness personified took on the universe’s problems and became sin. Through being totally surrounded by darkness and pain, Jesus offers light and joy to the world. A truly free man submitted to bondage to help bound people be free. As the Son of the Highest, He descended below all things and can help fallen mortals ascend to the heights of godhood.
This idea of the contradiction of Christ’s suffering is so meaningful to me because it allows room for us to accept the contradictions and injustices of our lives. Suddenly the “problem” of bad things happening to good people, not only becomes an irrelevant quandary, it becomes a logical expectation!
This book helped me want to follow Christ more, not because of some future reward (indeed, it’s clear following Christ is truly a bitter cup and a bloody baptism) but because I love Him. Skinner shows that ambiguity, doubt, and unanswered prayers aren’t problems or things to be concerned about, they’re a part of the journey that, when it embraced, lead to clarity, faith, hope, and truth.
This book spoke to my soul, echoed things I’ve learned in my own journey of faith and doubt, and gave word to lessons I didn’t realize I’d learned. 10/10 would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand what exactly went on the night Jesus spent in the Garden of Gethsemane.
May 8, 2023
2023- May
June 26, 2022
This book is going to be a reread, just like The Infinite Atonement. A great way to study the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It will change the way you understand doctrine and the plan of happiness.
April 29, 2025
This is a great book of insights about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"'He loves us.' The meaning and message of Jesus' experience in Gethsemane are that simple: he loves us--all of us (p. 3)."
"Without the events involving one particular Man in that olive vineyard almost two thousand years ago, God's purposes would have been utterly frustrated (p. 5)."
"If that godly Being named Jesus had not both lived a perfect life and had 'life in himself,' which attribute was genetically passed on to him by his Father in Heaven, he would not have had power over death, nor the physical capacity to endure the deathly horrors of Gethsemane, nor the ability to determine the time of his own decease while hanging on the cross, nor the capability to rise from the dead, nor the ability to pass on the power of regeneration to others... What the Savior was (the literal Son of God, having life in himself) gave him power over death for himself. What the Savior did (paying vicariously for the transferred sin and suffering of others in Gethsemane) gave him power over death for others (p. 7)."
"So extensive and intensive is the atonement of Jesus Christ that this planet Earth is itself redeemed and sanctified by the same atoning power that redeems and sanctifies individual human beings (p. 8)."
"Because of the incomprehensible power of the Atonement not only is the earth redeemed and sanctified but it is destined to become the eternal abode and inheritance of all people who are similarly redeemed and sanctified by the very same atoning power of Jesus Christ (p. 10)."
"The atonement of Christ is infinite in time, space, and quantity--infinite in scope and eternal in duration. All death is answered; every creature under the Savior's dominion is resurrected. All sin is compensated for; every combination of sins is covered The Atonement goes beyond personal sin to include disappointment, sorrow, and suffering caused by the sins of others (p. 11)."
"The infinite atonement of Christ... extends to all worlds which Christ created under the direction and tutelage of God the Father (p. 12)."
"The Savior redeems all that he creates (p. 15)."
"He endured the bitter cup so that we don't have to (p. 19)."
"'The Son of man must suffer many things' (Mark 8:31, p. 21)."
"Satan can have no power over a person unless he is granted it by the individual (p. 26)."
"During Jesus' time, the Passover lambs used in the feast were killed on the fourteenth day of the mouth of Nissan, and the meal was eaten between sundown and midnight... The special foods and other items of the first Passover, as well as their arrangement, were highly symbolic (p. 29)."
"On the afternoon of the appointed day when the Passover lambs were to be killed, while Jesus and his apostles were making their preparations for the Passover feast, thousands of paschal lambs were being slain within the precincts of the Jerusalem temple by representatives of families getting ready to participate in their own Passover feasts (p. 33)."
"'I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world' (John 6:51, p. 37)."
"The new ordinance now known as the sacrament replaced the old system of animal sacrifice in which a priest ritually slaughtered an offering on behalf of the covenantor. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper raised to a new height the level and intensity of individual commitment and interaction with God (p. 38)."
"Jesus instituted the ordinance of the washing of the feet as 'a holy and sacred rite, one performed by the saints in the seclusion of their temple sanctuaries.'... It appears to be an ordinance of ultimate approbation by the Lord and... stands in direct contrast to the ordinance of the dusting off of the feet (p. 41)."
"'No creature is so lowly,
No sinner so depraved,
But feels thy presence holy
And through thy love is saved.
Though craven friends betray thee,
They feel thy love's embrace;
The very foes who slay thee
Have access to thy grace' (Hymns no. 197, p. 44)."
"A full moon would have been shining brightly that evening, owing to the time of the month when Passover occurs each year (p. 46)."
"With Jesus and his apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane, history was now poised for the very event for which the God of heaven and earth, the Great Jehovah, had come into the world as a mortal. The condescension of God was about to be completely fulfilled (p. 47)."
"The Savior's heaviness in Gethsemane was caused by all the sins and all the transgressions committed knowingly by everyone who has ever lived on this earth (p. 50)."
"In Gethsemane Jesus became us, each one of us, and we became him. Our sins were transferred to Jesus. His perfection was transferred to us (p. 51)."
"The Savior's heaviness in Gethsemane... was caused not just by our sins but the weight of all the sickness, sorrow, suffering, injustice, and unfairness that everyone on this earth has ever experienced (p. 53)."
"The Atonement, the Savior's suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, was undertaken for each one of us, for all of our shortcomings as well as lost opportunities. Gethsemane is not just personal and individual but tailor-made for our differing and changing needs (p. 55)."
"Our finite mortal minds cannot grasp the tremendous load borne by the Savior in Gethsemane (p. 57)."
"Being perfect, Jesus did not and could not know what sin felt like... The shock to the Savior at this moment in his existence must have been overwhelming (p. 58)."
"Jesus knew cognitively what He must do, but not experientially (p. 59)."
"'Daddy... all things are possible for you. Please take this experience away--it is worse than even I thought it would be. Nevertheless, I will do what you desire and not what I desire.' It is important to remember that this plea was not theatrics. This petition really happened between a son and his father. It is a privileged communication, but we have been extended the privilege of learning about it because of God's love for us and his trust that we will hold it in reverence (p. 61)."
"The prophet Abinadi taught that in the atoning process the Savior subjugated his personal desires to his Father's desires, 'the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father' (Mosiah 15:7, p. 61)."
"'The atonement required the subjection and sacrifice of the fleshly will of the 'Son' to the spiritual will of the 'Father'' (p. 62)."
"The Savior's human nature wrestled with his divine nature (p. 63)."
"Our agency, our personal decision-making power, is really the only thing that is truly our private possession and domain--the only thing we 'own' in mortality... 'The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar' (Neal A. Maxwell, p. 63)."
"Each of us must cultivate the godly attribute of meekness. Meekness is not weakness... it is one of the clearest reflections of how closely our personality or makeup emulates the Savior's (p. 64)."
"The infinite and eternal God, who created the heavens and the earth, chose to come down to the earth to help us get back to heaven (p. 65)."
"No one is immune from the trials, tribulations, and sufferings of mortality. But because Jesus did suffer so much, we don't have to (p. 68)."
"Two divine Beings suffered and sacrificed to bring about an eternity's worth of possibilities for you and me and billions upon billions of others (p. 69)."
"'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life' (John 3:16, p. 70)."
"Our Heavenly Father could not, would not, take away the bitter cup. Thankfully, he did not shrink from the bitter cup, just as his Son did not shrink from it. But our Heavenly Father did send needed help in the form of an angel to minister to his Son (p. 71)."
"The Father could not assist his Son directly, but he sent an angel to strengthen him. The human family was saved by one of its own, and the Saving One was strengthened by one of his own--his many times over great-grandfather Adam (p. 74)."
"'The most important thing you can do is to learn to talk to God. Talk to Him as you would talk to your father, for He is your Father, and He wants you to talk to Him' (Harold B. Lee, p. 75)."
"One reason the olive tree was foremost among all others was that it was used to worship God as well as to sustain the life of mankind (p. 80)."
"Just as the olive branch has been regarded as a universal symbol of peace from earliest times, so too is Jesus the Prince of Peace whose recognition will someday be universal (p. 83)."
"The pure olive oil that priesthood holders use to anoint the sick and that temple officiators, both men and women, use to anoint those being endowed is, without doubt, the supreme symbol of the Savior's blood and his atoning sacrifice offered in Gethsemane (p. 89)."
"Olive trees are witnesses of his and his Father's love (p. 90)."
"Just as the olive tree and olive oil may sustain our lives temporally, so does the Savior sustain our lives eternally (p. 91)."
"'And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt' (Matthew 26:39, p. 92)."
"We can scarcely fail to be moved by so tender a description: the tears of the Savior himself, his anguish and feelings of being alone, the tears of Brother Whitney, and above all, the impression of relentless agony... blood, sweat, and tears (p. 95)."
"As we contemplate our own trials and suffering, perhaps we can better appreciate another dimension of the Savior's experience in Gethsemane as he prayed the same prayer three times... Each successive pleading with yet more intensity yielded no hoped-for result (p. 97)."
"Pain and suffering are powerful teachers (p. 99)."
"Brigham Young states that it was the withdrawal of our Heavenly Father from his Son, and hence the withdrawal of the spiritual powers of light and life in Gethsemane, that caused Jesus to sweat blood (p. 100)."
"'Christ's agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause' (James E. Talmage, p. 102)."
"The omnipotent God of the universe would, for a time, shed his status and power and condescend to come to earth (p. 104)."
"Jesus knows our challenges. He understands them even better than we do, precisely because he resisted the tempter to the very end (p. 106)."
"'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here and watch' (p. 108)."
"They were leaders in transition. Nothing like the events they had witnessed and participated in had ever happened before, nor would the events that followed over the course of the next three days find any precedent in the history of our universe (p. 110)."
"The final act was played out. Jesus drained the dregs of the bitter cup, and the eternal possibilities of Heavenly Father's children were safely secured (p. 111)."
"'For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent' (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16, p. 112)."
"God himself, the greatest of all, one of three all-knowing and all-powerful Gods in the entire universe, trembled because of pain, bled at every pore, suffered body and spirit to rescue us (p. 116)."
"The contradictions of mortality serve a great purpose (p. 119)."
"The magnitude of the promise is almost incomprehensible and the unevenness of the offer staggering: everything we possess in exchange for everything God possesses!... 'There is no sacrifice that God can ask of us or His servants whom He has chosen to lead us that we should hesitate about making' (George Q. Cannon, p. 120)."
"Through the Atonement, all of life's contradictions, all injustices, and all unfair circumstances will be made up to us, all unfair disadvantages will be made right in the eternal scheme of things (p. 123)."
"The Savior's experience in Gethsemane showed us how suffering can become one of our great tutors (p. 123)."
"'No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God' (Orson F. Whitney, p. 124)."
"Each of us experiences something of Gethsemane in our own lives (p. 125)."
"Our obedience and sacrifice in the face of trials and tribulations allow us to come to know God in a more intimate way than we could have known him without our sufferings (p. 125)."
"'The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company' (p. 127)."
"Sacrifice and obedience to God's will in the face of trials, tribulations, and suffering are the price we pay to know God! We are never more like the Savior than when we offer our obedience in the face of affliction (p. 128)."
"'Suffering is not repentance. Suffering comes from lack of complete repentance' (Theodore M. Burton, p. 129)."
"Why does the Lord command us to repent? Not to punish us, not to humiliate us, not to impress upon us who is boss, and certainly not to make us miserable (p. 132)."
"We are not our own; each of us owes an infinite debt; we are bought with a tremendous price. The price was paid out of love... Jesus went to Gethsemane out of love. Jesus asks us to repent out of love--a deep and abiding love for each one of us, a love that continues even during those times when we are not so lovable (p. 133)."
"The pain of all mankind was transferred to him, and he was able to act as the single substitutionary sufferer for everyone (p. 135)."
"Once we have learned about Gethsemane, we cannot ignore it: 'He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to' (p. 139)."
"'The gospel requires us to believe in the Redeemer, accept his atonement, repent of our sins, be baptized by immersion for the remission of sins, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and continue faithfully to observe, or do the best we can to observe, the principles of the gospel all the days of our lives' (Marion G. Romney, p. 139)."
"Some trials, some tribulation and suffering, come to each of us just because of the nature of mortal life. Simply living in a fallen world produces tests, trials, pain, sickness, and affliction (p. 140)."
"Jesus has taken upon himself our sorrow and suffering caused by a myriad of other things besides sin (p. 140)."
"Jesus Christ can make our weaknesses into strengths... There is no problem he cannot solve (p. 140)."
"The Savior can give us rest from the weariness that life's challenges bring on, and he also lifts our vision to see that he brings rest in its greatest sense--the fulness of God's glory (p. 141)."
"The Savior removes from us the stain of sin, but we must do the repenting. The Savior removes from us sorrow and suffering, but we must pray for it and work for it (p. 142)."
"We must not lose hope or confidence in our Master (p. 143)."
"Life in the Lord is a refiner's fire (p. 144)."
"None of us in this life will escape sin, trials, tribulations, pain, or suffering (p. 146)."
"Through his experience in Gethsemane, the Savior extends his mercy to sinners and his comfort and help to the forlorn and forsaken (p. 146)."
"Why would anyone choose to ignore the bitter cup? Why would anyone choose not to embrace the Savior's atonement? (p. 147)"
"The Savior's power if of staggering, even infinite, proportions in its ability to change us and make us into something we could not otherwise become. The Savior's experience in Gethsemane removes the effects of the Fall, the bitterness of life, and allows us to glimpse heaven... 'All the negative aspects of human existence brought about by the Fall, Jesus Christ absorbed into himself' (Stephen Robinson, p. 147)."
"I cannot succinctly explain the how and why. And then I realize that no more profound words were probably ever spoken than by my little friend Brittany: 'That's Jesus, and he loves us. All of us!' (p. 149)"
"'He loves us.' The meaning and message of Jesus' experience in Gethsemane are that simple: he loves us--all of us (p. 3)."
"Without the events involving one particular Man in that olive vineyard almost two thousand years ago, God's purposes would have been utterly frustrated (p. 5)."
"If that godly Being named Jesus had not both lived a perfect life and had 'life in himself,' which attribute was genetically passed on to him by his Father in Heaven, he would not have had power over death, nor the physical capacity to endure the deathly horrors of Gethsemane, nor the ability to determine the time of his own decease while hanging on the cross, nor the capability to rise from the dead, nor the ability to pass on the power of regeneration to others... What the Savior was (the literal Son of God, having life in himself) gave him power over death for himself. What the Savior did (paying vicariously for the transferred sin and suffering of others in Gethsemane) gave him power over death for others (p. 7)."
"So extensive and intensive is the atonement of Jesus Christ that this planet Earth is itself redeemed and sanctified by the same atoning power that redeems and sanctifies individual human beings (p. 8)."
"Because of the incomprehensible power of the Atonement not only is the earth redeemed and sanctified but it is destined to become the eternal abode and inheritance of all people who are similarly redeemed and sanctified by the very same atoning power of Jesus Christ (p. 10)."
"The atonement of Christ is infinite in time, space, and quantity--infinite in scope and eternal in duration. All death is answered; every creature under the Savior's dominion is resurrected. All sin is compensated for; every combination of sins is covered The Atonement goes beyond personal sin to include disappointment, sorrow, and suffering caused by the sins of others (p. 11)."
"The infinite atonement of Christ... extends to all worlds which Christ created under the direction and tutelage of God the Father (p. 12)."
"The Savior redeems all that he creates (p. 15)."
"He endured the bitter cup so that we don't have to (p. 19)."
"'The Son of man must suffer many things' (Mark 8:31, p. 21)."
"Satan can have no power over a person unless he is granted it by the individual (p. 26)."
"During Jesus' time, the Passover lambs used in the feast were killed on the fourteenth day of the mouth of Nissan, and the meal was eaten between sundown and midnight... The special foods and other items of the first Passover, as well as their arrangement, were highly symbolic (p. 29)."
"On the afternoon of the appointed day when the Passover lambs were to be killed, while Jesus and his apostles were making their preparations for the Passover feast, thousands of paschal lambs were being slain within the precincts of the Jerusalem temple by representatives of families getting ready to participate in their own Passover feasts (p. 33)."
"'I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world' (John 6:51, p. 37)."
"The new ordinance now known as the sacrament replaced the old system of animal sacrifice in which a priest ritually slaughtered an offering on behalf of the covenantor. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper raised to a new height the level and intensity of individual commitment and interaction with God (p. 38)."
"Jesus instituted the ordinance of the washing of the feet as 'a holy and sacred rite, one performed by the saints in the seclusion of their temple sanctuaries.'... It appears to be an ordinance of ultimate approbation by the Lord and... stands in direct contrast to the ordinance of the dusting off of the feet (p. 41)."
"'No creature is so lowly,
No sinner so depraved,
But feels thy presence holy
And through thy love is saved.
Though craven friends betray thee,
They feel thy love's embrace;
The very foes who slay thee
Have access to thy grace' (Hymns no. 197, p. 44)."
"A full moon would have been shining brightly that evening, owing to the time of the month when Passover occurs each year (p. 46)."
"With Jesus and his apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane, history was now poised for the very event for which the God of heaven and earth, the Great Jehovah, had come into the world as a mortal. The condescension of God was about to be completely fulfilled (p. 47)."
"The Savior's heaviness in Gethsemane was caused by all the sins and all the transgressions committed knowingly by everyone who has ever lived on this earth (p. 50)."
"In Gethsemane Jesus became us, each one of us, and we became him. Our sins were transferred to Jesus. His perfection was transferred to us (p. 51)."
"The Savior's heaviness in Gethsemane... was caused not just by our sins but the weight of all the sickness, sorrow, suffering, injustice, and unfairness that everyone on this earth has ever experienced (p. 53)."
"The Atonement, the Savior's suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, was undertaken for each one of us, for all of our shortcomings as well as lost opportunities. Gethsemane is not just personal and individual but tailor-made for our differing and changing needs (p. 55)."
"Our finite mortal minds cannot grasp the tremendous load borne by the Savior in Gethsemane (p. 57)."
"Being perfect, Jesus did not and could not know what sin felt like... The shock to the Savior at this moment in his existence must have been overwhelming (p. 58)."
"Jesus knew cognitively what He must do, but not experientially (p. 59)."
"'Daddy... all things are possible for you. Please take this experience away--it is worse than even I thought it would be. Nevertheless, I will do what you desire and not what I desire.' It is important to remember that this plea was not theatrics. This petition really happened between a son and his father. It is a privileged communication, but we have been extended the privilege of learning about it because of God's love for us and his trust that we will hold it in reverence (p. 61)."
"The prophet Abinadi taught that in the atoning process the Savior subjugated his personal desires to his Father's desires, 'the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father' (Mosiah 15:7, p. 61)."
"'The atonement required the subjection and sacrifice of the fleshly will of the 'Son' to the spiritual will of the 'Father'' (p. 62)."
"The Savior's human nature wrestled with his divine nature (p. 63)."
"Our agency, our personal decision-making power, is really the only thing that is truly our private possession and domain--the only thing we 'own' in mortality... 'The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar' (Neal A. Maxwell, p. 63)."
"Each of us must cultivate the godly attribute of meekness. Meekness is not weakness... it is one of the clearest reflections of how closely our personality or makeup emulates the Savior's (p. 64)."
"The infinite and eternal God, who created the heavens and the earth, chose to come down to the earth to help us get back to heaven (p. 65)."
"No one is immune from the trials, tribulations, and sufferings of mortality. But because Jesus did suffer so much, we don't have to (p. 68)."
"Two divine Beings suffered and sacrificed to bring about an eternity's worth of possibilities for you and me and billions upon billions of others (p. 69)."
"'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life' (John 3:16, p. 70)."
"Our Heavenly Father could not, would not, take away the bitter cup. Thankfully, he did not shrink from the bitter cup, just as his Son did not shrink from it. But our Heavenly Father did send needed help in the form of an angel to minister to his Son (p. 71)."
"The Father could not assist his Son directly, but he sent an angel to strengthen him. The human family was saved by one of its own, and the Saving One was strengthened by one of his own--his many times over great-grandfather Adam (p. 74)."
"'The most important thing you can do is to learn to talk to God. Talk to Him as you would talk to your father, for He is your Father, and He wants you to talk to Him' (Harold B. Lee, p. 75)."
"One reason the olive tree was foremost among all others was that it was used to worship God as well as to sustain the life of mankind (p. 80)."
"Just as the olive branch has been regarded as a universal symbol of peace from earliest times, so too is Jesus the Prince of Peace whose recognition will someday be universal (p. 83)."
"The pure olive oil that priesthood holders use to anoint the sick and that temple officiators, both men and women, use to anoint those being endowed is, without doubt, the supreme symbol of the Savior's blood and his atoning sacrifice offered in Gethsemane (p. 89)."
"Olive trees are witnesses of his and his Father's love (p. 90)."
"Just as the olive tree and olive oil may sustain our lives temporally, so does the Savior sustain our lives eternally (p. 91)."
"'And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt' (Matthew 26:39, p. 92)."
"We can scarcely fail to be moved by so tender a description: the tears of the Savior himself, his anguish and feelings of being alone, the tears of Brother Whitney, and above all, the impression of relentless agony... blood, sweat, and tears (p. 95)."
"As we contemplate our own trials and suffering, perhaps we can better appreciate another dimension of the Savior's experience in Gethsemane as he prayed the same prayer three times... Each successive pleading with yet more intensity yielded no hoped-for result (p. 97)."
"Pain and suffering are powerful teachers (p. 99)."
"Brigham Young states that it was the withdrawal of our Heavenly Father from his Son, and hence the withdrawal of the spiritual powers of light and life in Gethsemane, that caused Jesus to sweat blood (p. 100)."
"'Christ's agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause' (James E. Talmage, p. 102)."
"The omnipotent God of the universe would, for a time, shed his status and power and condescend to come to earth (p. 104)."
"Jesus knows our challenges. He understands them even better than we do, precisely because he resisted the tempter to the very end (p. 106)."
"'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here and watch' (p. 108)."
"They were leaders in transition. Nothing like the events they had witnessed and participated in had ever happened before, nor would the events that followed over the course of the next three days find any precedent in the history of our universe (p. 110)."
"The final act was played out. Jesus drained the dregs of the bitter cup, and the eternal possibilities of Heavenly Father's children were safely secured (p. 111)."
"'For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent' (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16, p. 112)."
"God himself, the greatest of all, one of three all-knowing and all-powerful Gods in the entire universe, trembled because of pain, bled at every pore, suffered body and spirit to rescue us (p. 116)."
"The contradictions of mortality serve a great purpose (p. 119)."
"The magnitude of the promise is almost incomprehensible and the unevenness of the offer staggering: everything we possess in exchange for everything God possesses!... 'There is no sacrifice that God can ask of us or His servants whom He has chosen to lead us that we should hesitate about making' (George Q. Cannon, p. 120)."
"Through the Atonement, all of life's contradictions, all injustices, and all unfair circumstances will be made up to us, all unfair disadvantages will be made right in the eternal scheme of things (p. 123)."
"The Savior's experience in Gethsemane showed us how suffering can become one of our great tutors (p. 123)."
"'No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God' (Orson F. Whitney, p. 124)."
"Each of us experiences something of Gethsemane in our own lives (p. 125)."
"Our obedience and sacrifice in the face of trials and tribulations allow us to come to know God in a more intimate way than we could have known him without our sufferings (p. 125)."
"'The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company' (p. 127)."
"Sacrifice and obedience to God's will in the face of trials, tribulations, and suffering are the price we pay to know God! We are never more like the Savior than when we offer our obedience in the face of affliction (p. 128)."
"'Suffering is not repentance. Suffering comes from lack of complete repentance' (Theodore M. Burton, p. 129)."
"Why does the Lord command us to repent? Not to punish us, not to humiliate us, not to impress upon us who is boss, and certainly not to make us miserable (p. 132)."
"We are not our own; each of us owes an infinite debt; we are bought with a tremendous price. The price was paid out of love... Jesus went to Gethsemane out of love. Jesus asks us to repent out of love--a deep and abiding love for each one of us, a love that continues even during those times when we are not so lovable (p. 133)."
"The pain of all mankind was transferred to him, and he was able to act as the single substitutionary sufferer for everyone (p. 135)."
"Once we have learned about Gethsemane, we cannot ignore it: 'He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to' (p. 139)."
"'The gospel requires us to believe in the Redeemer, accept his atonement, repent of our sins, be baptized by immersion for the remission of sins, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and continue faithfully to observe, or do the best we can to observe, the principles of the gospel all the days of our lives' (Marion G. Romney, p. 139)."
"Some trials, some tribulation and suffering, come to each of us just because of the nature of mortal life. Simply living in a fallen world produces tests, trials, pain, sickness, and affliction (p. 140)."
"Jesus has taken upon himself our sorrow and suffering caused by a myriad of other things besides sin (p. 140)."
"Jesus Christ can make our weaknesses into strengths... There is no problem he cannot solve (p. 140)."
"The Savior can give us rest from the weariness that life's challenges bring on, and he also lifts our vision to see that he brings rest in its greatest sense--the fulness of God's glory (p. 141)."
"The Savior removes from us the stain of sin, but we must do the repenting. The Savior removes from us sorrow and suffering, but we must pray for it and work for it (p. 142)."
"We must not lose hope or confidence in our Master (p. 143)."
"Life in the Lord is a refiner's fire (p. 144)."
"None of us in this life will escape sin, trials, tribulations, pain, or suffering (p. 146)."
"Through his experience in Gethsemane, the Savior extends his mercy to sinners and his comfort and help to the forlorn and forsaken (p. 146)."
"Why would anyone choose to ignore the bitter cup? Why would anyone choose not to embrace the Savior's atonement? (p. 147)"
"The Savior's power if of staggering, even infinite, proportions in its ability to change us and make us into something we could not otherwise become. The Savior's experience in Gethsemane removes the effects of the Fall, the bitterness of life, and allows us to glimpse heaven... 'All the negative aspects of human existence brought about by the Fall, Jesus Christ absorbed into himself' (Stephen Robinson, p. 147)."
"I cannot succinctly explain the how and why. And then I realize that no more profound words were probably ever spoken than by my little friend Brittany: 'That's Jesus, and he loves us. All of us!' (p. 149)"
June 22, 2008
I had no idea this book was part of a series. I am anxious to read the other two books! It was an incredible and humbling read for me. It helped to personalize the Atonement for me. It has touched aspects of my life I previously had not thought of within the realm of the Atonement. It's an easy read, but I couldn't get through it quickly; I stopped almost every paragraph to ponder, look up scripture, and give thanks to my God.
February 22, 2008
I LOVE this book! So easy to read, but so much great information! I understood and had a testimony of the Power of the Atonement, but this book really helped me gain a testimony understand how it applies to me personally!
November 14, 2007
My FAVORITE Church book. A marvelous testimony of the power and depth of the Atonement.
February 19, 2008
A very poignant yet readable explaination of the importance, the symbolism, and the effects of the atonement of Christ. Awesome!
February 28, 2008
This is a great book! Enlightening - I would recommend it to anyone. I read it the first time right after high school, and recently re-read it.
March 9, 2008
Great insights to the events of Gethsemane. Easy to read and understand. It gave me an expanded view of what our Savior suffered during his time in the Garden.
March 13, 2008
This book is awesome. I know it's not scripture but it gives some really good insights and stuff to think about and I really enjoyed it.
June 12, 2008
This is part of a 3 part series and I absolutely loved these books! Very educational but not too doctrinal or dry.
September 24, 2008
This is an awesome book. I recommend it to every and anyone. Very insightful. I especially loved the section/information of the Mount of Olives and the symbolism of the olives.
A must read!!
A must read!!
August 28, 2017
A very insightful account about Christ's last night on Earth. Full of good thoughts of Skinner as well as church leaders.
April 15, 2019
A friend recommended Skinner's books about the Savior's final week, and I found a copy on Ebay, with all three books compiled into one volume. Perfect! I've been reading them slowly, just a few pages per day, so that I could focus in depth (especially with certain sections) so it's taken my awhile to finish all three books. How fitting that I happened to finish the final book during this Easter week!
These are beautiful books--not quite as profound as Tad Callister's THE INFINITE ATONEMENT, perhaps, but so good and so thought-provoking. They're easily readable for non-scholars such as myself, but they're not fluff by any means. I'm so glad I read all three books and will most likely read them again from time to time.
These are beautiful books--not quite as profound as Tad Callister's THE INFINITE ATONEMENT, perhaps, but so good and so thought-provoking. They're easily readable for non-scholars such as myself, but they're not fluff by any means. I'm so glad I read all three books and will most likely read them again from time to time.
May 12, 2025
Andrew C. Skinner explores the glorious triumph over sin, hell, spiritual death, and the Devil, showing how the bitterest agony for the One provided the sweetest joy for all of us.
Gethsemane was not a place associated with suffering and failure. Though the Savior repeatedly refers to the events as "the bitter cup." It affected Jesus to the very core of His Being. Eternity hung in the balance but Gethsemane was a place of suffering and triumph. It is the sweetest of victories.
Gethsemane was not a place associated with suffering and failure. Though the Savior repeatedly refers to the events as "the bitter cup." It affected Jesus to the very core of His Being. Eternity hung in the balance but Gethsemane was a place of suffering and triumph. It is the sweetest of victories.
July 26, 2021
I was disappointed, but I have the next two in the series and still plan to read them. Hopefully it improves. My problem is this book was not a testimony builder, nor did it deepen my intellectual understanding of the atonement/Christ. I am sure it is beautiful for some people. I got more from "Jesus The Christ."
March 31, 2024
This book is all about Gethsemane and the Savior’s experience there. It is well written. I feel like many of these stories and quotes have been used A LOT since this book was published so it wasn’t necessarily new information for me, but it is good stuff. I read it at Easter time which was also a bonus.
January 24, 2025
Andrew Skinner did an exceptional job of explaining, educating, and enlightening me with regards to Jesus Christ and Gethsemane. The amount of research he put into this book is amazing. The best thing about this book is how he helps make Gethsemane relatable to the individual. This will be a book I read over and over again. My rating 5.0
March 28, 2024
Read this in preparation for Easter and was very moved by it. I love Skinners tone and storytelling. Made me think about the Savior’s suffering in a new light and really look it in the face, which can be really hard to stomach. So grateful I did though, it was transformative.
June 15, 2017
A little repetitive and less scholarly than I was hoping for. Not bad, but not much different from every other book on the subject.
January 20, 2019
Read this a long time ago. The explanation about how olives are processed has stuck with me. Fairly quick read, but worth it from what I remember, it's been a while since I read it.
October 8, 2019
Wonderful. Worth reading again and again.
April 24, 2020
How difficult it must have been to write a book about the Savior suffering for us in Gethsemane, which even through modern revelation, we know relatively little. It was a powerful, short read.
November 4, 2020
See my review for The Savior's Final Week by Andrew C. Skinner which is an 3-in-1 volume collection of Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the Garden Tomb.
January 18, 2023
Loved it. So much symbolism and learned so much.
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July 5, 2023Book Group
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