In the Book of Mormon, we see the world there as we see it here; it is a plain, a dark and dreary waste, a desert. We see Nephi fleeing from a wicked thing that is hunting him. Knowing he is in great danger, he prays the Lord to give him an open road of speedy escape in the low way to obstruct the hunters, and to make them falter. He comes to the tent of the Lord and enters as a petitioner or supplicant. The Master, following the ancient custom, puts the hem of his robe protectively over the kneeling man's shoulder (katafa). With this he is placed under the Lord's protection from all enemies. They embrace in a close hug, as Arab chiefs still do; the Lord makes a place for him and invites him to sit down beside him. They are in a state of at—one— ment (2 Nephi 4:33; Alma 5:24).

This is the imagery that I vision for the Atonement: the embrace or the protection found in a cloak. In "The Return of the King" in The Lord of the Rings we find Frodo and Sam exposed on a rock slide within sight of the great and awful gate of the all seeing eye, with evil warriors attracted to them by their unexpected fall down the slope. Their cloak mimmicks a rock perfectly, camoflaging them on the slope while providing them a like protection : "The Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love (2 Nephi 1:15). "O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies!(2 Nephi 4:33). Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you" (Alma 5:33) .

There is a narrative confirmed by the recently discovered Apocryphon of John in which Jesus and John the Baptist meet as little children, rush into each other's arms and morph into one person, becoming perfectly "at-one".