There is no doubt that Jesus Christ's atonement is the single most important event that ever occurred on the earth.  Thanks to Him we can be saved, we can be forgiven and we can return to live with God again.  To bring such a giant blessing to pass was not easy.  My small mortal mind cannot even comprehend the amount of pain and suffering that Christ went through.  He suffered in Gethsemane, then as he was scourged and beaten and then suffered even more on the cross as the same pain He felt in Gethsemane returned intensified.  He bled from every poor, He felt pain that no mortal can begin to imagine.  People say they love Christ because He died for them.  The better statement is that we love Christ because He lived for us.  Despite all the pain and anguish which should have killed Him, He chose not to give up the ghost until the atonement was complete.  With the power He possessed and the pain He was suffering He could have, at any given moment, given up and chose to die.  But He didn't.  He loves us so much that He suffered on.  I am so grateful for my Savior, I am so grateful that He lived and suffered willingly so that I might be made clean.  It was a necessary part of God's plan.  Had it not been for Christ we would all perish in sin.  There are no words to express my gratitude and love for the Savior.  We have no excuse to not do what he asks of us.  Like the scriptures say, "if ye love me, keep my commandments".  He has shown His endless love for us and all He asks for in return is that we follow Him, that we obey Him and that we strive to be the best we can be.