1 Peter 2 Poses a Problem for a Mormon Garden Atonement

Was it in the Garden of Gethsemane? Or on the cross? Christians and Mormons have long disagreed about the nature of the atonement and where it took place. Christians don’t see the garden as being a part of the formal atonement, whereas for Latter-day Saints—it’s far more significant!

I’ve heard different Mormons tell me different things about the role of the Garden in the atonement. Some have said it was almost completely accomplished at Gethsemane, and was only completed at the cross, while others have said it was mostly at the cross—but it began in the Garden.

In either case – this verse from 1 Peter 2 really poses a problem for the LDS understanding of atonement. Peter states that Isaiah 53 was fulfilled at the cross—Isaiah 53 being the text that prophesies that the Messiah would bear our griefs and sorrows and iniquities.

If all of these things were accomplished on the cross (as Peter says), then Christ’s suffering in the Garden wasn’t the chief cornerstone of the atoning work of the Lord Jesus.