"Yea, I know that ye know, that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord. Wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement. Save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more."--2 Nephi, ix, 5-8. There is a principle developed in the above quotation to the effect that death was "passed upon all men to fulfill the _merciful plan_ of the great Creator;" and furthermore, that the resurrection came "by reason of the fall." For if man had not sinned, there would have been no death, and if Jesus had not atoned for the sin, there would have been no resurrection. Hence these things are spoken of as being according to the merciful plan of God. This corruption could not have put on incorruption, and this mortality could not have put on immortality, for, as we have elsewhere shown, man by reason of any thing that he himself could do or accomplish, could only exalt himself to the dignity and capability of man and therefore it needed the atonement of a God, before man, through the adoption, could be exalted to the Godhead.