Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
The wording of the opening phrase of this verse may have two meanings depending on the interpretation of the word Lord, as capitalized in the Book of Mormon text. In the King James text, the word is all in capital letters, LORD. Some would interpret this to mean Jehovah, and others would interpret it to refer to Elohim. Since there are no original manuscripts, the correct interpretation can only be determined by the context. Through the years, scribes have altered the word for God back and forth to fit their own understanding. If the person referred to as Lord is Elohim, then the phrase would read that it pleased Elohim to bruise Christ or allow him to suffer affliction and grief as part of the Atonement. This interpretation was nicely summarized by John in his Gospel: “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).
If the word Lord is interpreted to refer to Jehovah, then it would read that it pleased Jehovah to bruise Christ. Since Jehovah is the Old Testament name for Christ, this may sound like an impossible interpretation. However, it could be interpreted to say that Christ was willing to suffer to bring about the Atonement. This second interpretation is sustained in modern revelation. In a revelation to Orson Pratt, Jesus Christ identified himself as he “who so loved the world that he gave his own life, that as many as would believe might become the sons of God” (D&C 34:1–3). Perhaps both interpretations are valid. Certainly Elohim was the author of the plan of salvation that provided for a Savior (see Abraham 3:27–28; Moses 4:1–2), and, as revealed to Orson Pratt, Christ did make a free-will offering.
The offering of Christ’s soul for sin was done in the Garden of Gethsemane. “The spirit and the body are the soul of man” (D&C 88:15). There he suffered as a God “temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst and fatigue [of the body], even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish [of the spirit] for the wickedness and abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7; see also 2 Nephi 9:20–21; Alma 7:11; and Luke 22:44). As he paid this all-encompassing price for sin, he apparently had a panoramic view of all the world’s experiences, past, present, and future, and, in some way, beyond our comprehension, he placed himself in the position of every inhabitant of the earth, that he might satisfy the demands of justice for the punishment of every broken law of humankind. He was able to prolong his days, at least in a figurative sense, in order to pass through this agonizing ordeal for the entire period of the earth’s habitation by mortal beings, from Adam to the final scene. With the payment of this eternal debt, the pleasure (will) of the Lord (Jehovah or Christ) and Lord ( Elohim) was fulfilled, and Christ prospered by fulfilling the mission of his Atonement. With the sacrifice of his soul and the end of his mortal life, Christ’s seed became responsible for prolonging his days in another way, that of carrying on his mission. His seed, as stated above, are the prophets and teachers of the gospel and all who accept the gospel message (Mosiah 15:10–13; quoted previously).