Favourite Talks about Jesus Christ from the Ensign
Articles recorded
James E. Faust, “The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope” Ensign Nov 2001
Robert J. Matthews, “Resurrection,” Ensign, Apr 1991
Marion G. Romney “The Resurrection of Jesus” Ensign May 1982
Spencer W. Kimball “Jesus of Nazareth” Ensign Dec 1980
Marion G. Romney “Faith in the lord Jesus Christ” Ensign November 1979
Jonathan H. Stephenson, “‘I Am He’,” Ensign, Apr 1999, 7
Artel Ricks, “Mount Moriah: Some Personal Reflections,” Ensign, Sep 1980, 59 Re the
Sacred places of Jerusalem
Russell M. Nelson, “Jesus the Christ: Our Master and More,” Ensign, Apr 2000, 4
D. Kelly Ogden and R. Val Johnson “All the Prophets prophesied of Christ” Ensign Jan 1994
Articles to study
Ezra T Benson Five Marks of the Divinity of Jesus Christ Ensign Dec 1980
Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ: Our Savior and Redeemer,” Ensign, Nov 1983, Jun 1990,
Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ: Our Savior, Our God,” Ensign, Apr 1991, 2
Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Son of God,” Ensign Dec 1992
Richard C. Edgley, “The Condescension of God,” Ensign, Dec 2001
Richard D. Draper “The reality of the Resurrection2 Ensign April 1994
Paul Thomas Smith, “Birth of the Messiah,” Ensign, Dec 1997, 35
Bruce D Porter “Come let us adore Him” Ensign Dec 2013
Talks by President Thomas S. Monson on the Resurrection
Thomas S. Monson “Hopeless Dawn-Joyful Morning Ensign Feb 1993
Thomas S. Monson “The Faith of a Child” Liahona Aug 1998
Thomas S. Monson “He is Risen” Ensign April 2003
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Thomas S. Monson “I know that my Redeemer Lives” April 1982 from April 1966 GC
Thomas S. Monson “I know that my Redeemer Lives” General Conference April 2007
James E. Faust The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope” Ensign Nov 2001
“My beloved brothers and sisters and friends, I come humbly to this pulpit this morning because I wish to speak about the greatest event in all history. That singular event was the incomparable Atonement of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. This was the most transcendent act that has ever taken place, yet it is the most difficult to understand. My reason for wanting to learn all I can about the Atonement is partly selfish: Our salvation depends on believing in and accepting the Atonement. 1 Such acceptance requires a continual effort to understand it more fully. The Atonement advances our mortal course of learning by making it possible for our natures to become perfect. 2 All of us have sinned and need to repent to fully pay our part of the debt. When we sincerely repent, the Savior’s magnificent Atonement pays the rest of that debt. 3
Paul gave a simple explanation for the need of the Atonement: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” 4 Jesus Christ was appointed and foreordained to be our Redeemer before the world was formed. With His divine sonship, His sinless life, the shedding of His blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, His excruciating death on the cross and subsequent bodily Resurrection from the grave, He became the author of our salvation and made a perfect Atonement for all mankind. 5
Understanding what we can of the Atonement and the Resurrection of Christ helps us to obtain a knowledge of Him and of His mission. 6 Any increase in our understanding of His atoning sacrifice draws us closer to Him. Literally, the Atonement means to be “at one” with Him. The nature of the Atonement and its effects is so infinite, so unfathomable, and so profound that it lies beyond the knowledge and comprehension of mortal man. I am profoundly grateful for the principle of saving grace. Many people think they need only confess that Jesus is the Christ and then they are saved by grace alone. We cannot be saved by grace alone, “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” 7
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows. …
“… He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” 9
No man knows the full weight of what our Savior bore, but by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know something of the supernal gift He gave us. 10 In the words of our sacrament hymn:
We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains he had to bear, But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there. 11
He suffered so much pain, “indescribable anguish,” and “overpowering torture” 12 for our sake. His profound suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He took upon Himself all the sins of all other mortals, caused Him “to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every
2 pore, and to suffer both body and spirit.” 13 “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly,” 14 saying, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” 15 He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and denied by Peter. He was mocked by the chief priests and officers; He was stripped, smitten, spat upon, and scourged in the judgment hall. 16
He was led to Golgotha, where nails were driven into His hands and feet. He hung in agony for hours on a wooden cross bearing the title written by Pilate: “JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 17 Darkness came, and “about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” 18 No one could help Him; He was treading the winepress alone. 19 Then “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.” 20 And “one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” 21 “The earth did quake” and “when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” 22 In the words of the hymn, “Let me not forget, O Savior, / Thou didst bleed and die for me.” 23 I wonder how many drops were shed for me.
What He did could only be done by Deity. As the Only Begotten Son of the Father in the flesh, Jesus inherited divine attributes. He was the only person ever born into mortality who could perform this most significant and supernal act. As the only sinless Man who ever lived on this earth, He was not subject to spiritual death. Because of His godhood, He also possessed power over physical death. Thus He did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He broke the cold grasp of death. He also made it possible for us to have the supreme and serene comfort of the gift of the Holy Ghost. 24
The Atonement and the Resurrection accomplish many things. The Atonement cleanses us of sin on condition of our repentance. Repentance is the condition on which mercy is extended. 25 After all we can do to pay to the uttermost farthing and make right our wrongs, the Savior’s grace is activated in our lives through the Atonement, which purifies us and can perfect us. 26 Christ’s Resurrection overcame death and gave us the assurance of life after death. Said He: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” 27 The Resurrection is unconditional and applies to all who have ever lived and ever will live. 28 It is a free gift. President John Taylor described this well when he said: “The tombs will be opened and the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and they shall come forth, they who have done good to the resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil to the resurrection of the unjust.” 29
With reference to our mortal acts and the Atonement, President J. Reuben Clark Jr. contributed this valuable insight when he said:
“I feel that [the Savior] will give that punishment which is the very least that our transgression will justify. I believe that he will bring into his justice all of the infinite love and blessing and mercy and kindness and understanding which he has. …
“And on the other hand, I believe that when it comes to making the rewards for our good conduct, he will give us the maximum that it is possible to give, having in mind the offense which we have committed.” 30
As Isaiah wrote, if we will return unto the Lord, “he will abundantly pardon.” 31
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We are commanded to remember the singular events of the mediation, Crucifixion, and the Atonement by partaking of the sacrament weekly. In the spirit of the sacramental prayers, we partake of the bread and water in remembrance of the body and the blood sacrificed for us, and we are to remember Him and keep His commandments so that we may always have His Spirit to be with us.
Our Redeemer took upon Himself all the sins, pains, infirmities, and sicknesses of all who have ever lived and will ever live. 32 No one has ever suffered in any degree what He did. He knows our mortal trials by firsthand experience. It is a bit like us trying to climb Mount Everest and only getting up the first few feet. But He has climbed all 29,000 feet to the top of the mountain. He suffered more than any other mortal could.
The Atonement not only benefits the sinner but also benefits those sinned against—that is, the victims. By forgiving “those who trespass against us” (JST, Matt. 6:13) the Atonement brings a measure of peace and comfort to those who have been innocently victimized by the sins of others. The basic source for the healing of the soul is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This is true whether it be from the pain of a personal tragedy or a terrible national calamity such as we have recently experienced in New York and Washington, D.C., and near Pittsburgh.
A sister who had been through a painful divorce wrote of her experience in drawing from the Atonement. She said: “Our divorce … did not release me from the obligation to forgive. I truly wanted to do it, but it was as if I had been commanded to do something of which I was simply incapable.” Her bishop gave her some sound advice: “Keep a place in your heart for forgiveness, and when it comes, welcome it in.” Many months passed as this struggle to forgive continued. She recalled: “During those long, prayerful moments … I tapped into a life-giving source of comfort from my loving Heavenly Father. I sense that he was not standing by glaring at me for not having accomplished forgiveness yet; rather he was sorrowing with me as I wept. …
“In the final analysis, what happened in my heart is for me an amazing and miraculous evidence of the Atonement of Christ. I had always viewed the Atonement as a means of making repentance work for the sinner. I had not realized that it also makes it possible for the one sinned against to receive into his or her heart the sweet peace of forgiving.” 33
The injured should do what they can to work through their trials, and the Savior will “succor his people according to their infirmities.” 34 He will help us carry our burdens. Some injuries are so hurtful and deep that they cannot be healed without help from a higher power and hope for perfect justice and restitution in the next life. Since the Savior has suffered anything and everything that we could ever feel or experience, 35 He can help the weak to become stronger. He has personally experienced all of it. He understands our pain and will walk with us even in our darkest hours.
We long for the ultimate blessing of the Atonement—to become one with Him, to be in His divine presence, to be called individually by name as He warmly welcomes us home with a radiant smile, beckoning us with open arms to be enfolded in His boundless love. 36 How gloriously sublime this experience will be if we can feel worthy enough to be in His presence! The free gift of His great atoning sacrifice for each of us is the only way we can be exalted enough to stand before Him and see Him face-to-face. The overwhelming message of
4 the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. It is a love which is full of mercy, patience, grace, equity, long-suffering, and, above all, forgiving.
The evil influence of Satan would destroy any hope we have in overcoming our mistakes. He would have us feel that we are lost and that there is no hope. In contrast, Jesus reaches down to us to lift us up. Through our repentance and the gift of the Atonement, we can prepare to be worthy to stand in His presence. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
1. See Mosiah 4:6–7. 2. See Moro. 10:32. 3. See 2 Ne. 25:23. 4. 1 Cor. 15:22.
6. See Jacob 4:12. 7. 2 Ne. 25:23; emphasis added. 9. Isa. 53:4–5.
10. See 1 Cor. 12:3. 11. “There Is a Green Hill Far Away,” Hymns, no. 194.
12. John Taylor, The Mediation and Atonement (1882), 150. 13. D&C 19:18.
14. Luke 22:44. 15. Matt. 26:42. 16. See Matt. 26:47–75; Matt. 27:28–31.
17. John 19:19. 18. Matt. 27:46. 19. See D&C 133:50. 20. Matt. 27:50.
21. John 19:34. 22. Matt. 27:51, 54. 23. “In Humility, Our Savior,” Hymns, no. 172.
24. See John 15:26. 25. See Alma 42:22–25.26. See 2 Ne. 25:23; Alma 34:15–16; Alma 42:22–24; Moro. 10:32–33. 27. John 11:25. 28. See Acts 24:15.
30. “As Ye Sow … ,” Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year (3 May 1955), 7.
31. Isa. 55:7. 32. See Alma 7:11–12. 34. Alma 7:12. 35. See Alma 7:11.
36. See Alma 26:15; Morm. 5:11; Morm. 6:17; Moses 7:63.
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Robert J. Matthews, “Resurrection” Ensign Apr 1991
“The Lord’s triumph over death was vital to any hope we might have for happiness here and hereafter.
Anyone who has attended the funeral of a loved one, or visited the cemetery where a parent, child, husband, wife, or close friend is buried, feels the heavy hand of death that is laid on all mankind because of the fall of Adam. At such times we sense the importance of the doctrine that every person who dies shall rise from the dead with an immortal body and continue with that body forever, never to grow old, suffer physical pain and sickness, or die again.
The doctrine of the resurrection from the dead is at the heart of the message of Jesus Christ. It is essential to our faith that we understand what the scriptures and the Brethren have said about it.
We are a highly favored people to have not only all that the Bible tells us about the resurrection but also the more detailed, specific testimony from the Book of Mormon. In conjunction with teachings in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of the Bible, and the teachings of latter-day prophets and Apostles, the Book of Mormon provides a wealth of information that we would not otherwise have.
The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The Doctrines of the Resurrection of the Dead and the Eternal Judgment are necessary to preach among the first principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 149.) He emphasized that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to our hope for future happiness and that Jesus, having been himself resurrected, has the power to bring all mankind out of their graves to stand before him to be judged. (Ibid., p. 62.)
Resurrection Taught in the Old Testament
The idea of a resurrection from the dead is not prominent in the Old Testament, but we may be assured that ancient prophets knew the doctrine and taught it plainly.
Job, for example, found hope and comfort in the assurance that his wasted body would be renewed and that in his body he would see God. Because the Redeemer lived, Job knew he would live after death. (See Job 19:25–27.)
In Ezekiel 37 we read of Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones, in which the bones came together “bone to his bone” (Ezek. 37:7) and the people, once dead, lived again and stood upon their feet. The Lord then directed Ezekiel to say to the house of Israel: “Oh my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, … and shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live.” (Ezek. 37:12, 14.) To those of us who believe there will be a resurrection of the physical bodies of all mankind, these Old Testament scriptures seem clear in their reference to the doctrine of resurrection. But perhaps that is because we have the blessing of latter-day revelation and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Our friends of other faiths, who do not have access to these sources of knowledge, often do not get the same message
6 from these Old Testament verses. Many see these teachings as merely figurative language or allegory rather than as accurate information about a physical resurrection of mankind. Members of some present-day churches are uncertain that Jesus was resurrected with his physical body, and some doubt that he still has a physical body today.
Resurrection Taught in the New Testament
Even the Savior’s disciples had difficulty believing in the resurrection of Jesus when they first learned of it, although he had told them it would occur and had spoken of himself as “the resurrection, and the life.” (John 11:25.) Luke tells us that when the women found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb and the body of Jesus was gone, “They were much perplexed.” (Luke 24:14.) They were told by two angels that Jesus had risen from the dead. The women hurried and told these things to the eleven Apostles and to others, but “their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.” (Luke 24:4–11.)
Later that same day, Jesus appeared to the Apostles. They thought he was a spirit until he said to them: “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” (Luke 24:39.) They saw him, touched him, and heard him. “And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?” (Luke 24:41.) After they had given him fish and honey, they watched him eat. But because resurrection from the dead is miraculous and unnatural to our mortal world, it was difficult for them to believe what they had experienced.
There can be no doubt, however, that they came to know that Jesus Christ was a resurrected being, with actual flesh and bones.
Peter vigorously proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus in the book of Acts and in his epistles. (See Acts 1:22; Acts 2:32; Acts 3:15; Acts 4:33; Acts 5:30–32; 1 Pet. 1:3; Acts 3:21). So bold were Peter and John in teaching this doctrine that the priests and the Sadducees “came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” (Acts 4:1–2.)
Paul was second to none in preaching the Resurrection, declaring it in many of his epistles, and giving a remarkable explanation in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 [1 Cor. 15], the longest and most detailed statement on the Resurrection in the Bible. We can learn much about resurrection by reading and studying this scriptural text in its entirety.
Resurrection Taught in the Book of Mormon
We can read of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the New Testament. But if we want to know why the death and resurrection of Jesus are so important, and how those things pertain to you and to me individually, we must go to the Book of Mormon.
The purpose and mission of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Jesus Christ. In order to be a witness of Christ, the book must teach the doctrine of the resurrection. Five thousand years ago the Lord revealed to Enoch the coming forth and the purpose of the Book of Mormon: “And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men.” (Moses 7:62.)
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The doctrine of the resurrection is taught by every major prophet in the Book of Mormon. The word resurrection occurs eighty-three times in the Book of Mormon, and the phrase “rise from the grave” or “rise from the dead” occurs at least twenty-six times.
Lehi, Jacob, and Benjamin
The Prophet Lehi said: “Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.” (2 Ne. 2:8.)
From this scripture and others, we learn that Jesus was the first to be resurrected. Although there are accounts in the scriptures of people being brought back to life before Jesus’ resurrection, these were only restored to mortality. Jesus was the first to rise from the dead with an immortal body. This is confirmed in the New Testament. (See Matt. 27:52–53; Acts 26:23; 1 Cor. 15:22–23; Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5.)
In 2 Nephi 9, Jacob, a great doctrinal teacher, explains in detail the need for a resurrection: “Our flesh must waste away and die; nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God. …
“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, [there] 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.
“And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself.” (2 Ne. 9:4, 6–9.)
We note the doctrine taught here—in the plainest terms, that the fall of Adam brought upon all mankind a physical death and also a spiritual death—that is, separation from God; and man by his own power could not return to God’s presence. The atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ redeem all mankind from both of these deaths and bring us back into the presence of God for judgment.
Jacob continues: “And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its
8 captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
“O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls.” (2 Ne. 9:12–13.)
These words clearly establish the reality of the physical resurrection of all mankind.
Abinadi
The prophet Abinadi points out that the Messiah who will come to atone for man’s sins is none other than God himself, the creator of the world. He says that the Redeemer will bring to pass the resurrection of the dead. “Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not … said that God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, … and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and afflicted?” (Mosiah 13:33–35.)
Abinadi teaches further: “And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption.
“And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.
“But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. …
“Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works whether they be good or whether they be evil.” (Mosiah 16:6–8, 10.)
Amulek on the Resurrection
Amulek adds some important points to our understanding of the resurrection. Of the Son of God, Amulek says: “He shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
“Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
“Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised. …
“The spirit and the body shall be reunited again … and we shall be brought to stand before God, … and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.
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“Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous … [and they shall] be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit … to be judged according to their works. … I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.” (Alma 11:40–45; italics added.)
We note particularly that Amulek says the spirit and body will never be separated again. Resurrected beings cannot die again. They cannot be reincarnated. The question sometimes arises, Is Jesus the Savior of other worlds? The answer is yes. Did he suffer and die and become resurrected on those other worlds? The answer has to be no. If that had occurred anywhere else, it could not have occurred here. A resurrected being cannot be separated in his spirit and body, as this scripture teaches us, so if Jesus had been resurrected on an earlier world, he could not have been born on this world, nor could he have been crucified and resurrected again. Will the sons of perdition be resurrected? Yes. Will they die a physical death again? Not according to this passage of scripture we have just read. They will be separated from the presence of God, which is to say they will suffer spiritual death, but as far as we know, they cannot die a physical death again.
Alma’s Testimony
Alma taught the doctrine of the resurrection to his son, saying: “Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth from the dead. … Now, whether there shall be one time, or a second time, or a third time, that men shall come forth from the dead, it mattereth not; for God knoweth all these things.” (Alma 40:4–5.)
Alma said his understanding of the word resurrection was that “the soul [spirit] shall be restored to the body, … every limb and joint … yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.” (Alma 40:23.)
Alma explained the relationship between the Fall and the Atonement and the resurrection as follows: “All mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of … the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.
“And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. …
“And mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God … to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.” (Alma 42:14–15, 23.)
The Account of Eyewitnesses
We find great evidence that Jesus literally received his body from the grave when we read 3 Nephi 11, the record of the resurrected Savior’s visit to the land of Bountiful, where he showed his body to the multitude and let them feel with their hands that it was a tangible, real
10 body. Nephi reports: “They saw a Man descending out of heaven; … and he came down and stood in the midst of them; …
“And … he stretched forth his hand and spake … saying:
“Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. …
“And … they remembered that it had been prophesied … that Christ should show himself unto them after his ascension into heaven.
“And … the Lord spake unto them saying:
“Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
“And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; … and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
“And … they did cry out with one accord, saying:
“Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.” (3 Ne. 11:8–10, 12–17.)
This grand declaration that Jesus Christ is the God of Israel, and has redeemed mankind from the fall of Adam, and has risen from the tomb and brought about a physical resurrection of all mankind, restoring everyone to God’s presence for judgment, is clearly taught in the Book of Mormon. It is the great message of the book
Modern Revelation
The same doctrine, with refinements and clarifications, is found in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and other prophets of this dispensation.
In a stirring address on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul presents the questions: “How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?” (1 Cor. 15:35.) He deals with these questions in an explanation of the three degrees of glory. (1 Cor. 15:37–44.)
The first question was specifically answered by both President Brigham Young (in Journal of Discourses, 6:275; 15:136–39) and Elder Erastus Snow (ibid., 25:34), when they explained that the resurrection will be conducted much as other things are done in the kingdom: by those in authority and by delegation. As one cannot baptize himself, nor can he baptize others until he himself is baptized and ordained and given the authority, even so one cannot resurrect himself, but will be called forth by someone in authority. Men will be given the authority to perform this ordinance after they are resurrected, and then they can resurrect others.
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In other latter-day revelation, we read that a resurrected body is essential for a fulness of joy (see D&C 93:33–34); and we learn from D&C 45:17 and 138:50 [D&C 138:50] that spirits in the postmortal spirit world look upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a type of bondage. The Prophet Joseph Smith explained: “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 181.) On another occasion, the Prophet said, “No person can have this salvation except through a tabernacle.” (Ibid., p. 297.)
We learn from latter-day revelation that the resurrection pertains not only to the human family, but to all forms of life. (See D&C 29:23–25.)
These are just a few of the insights about resurrection that we may learn from modern revelation and from teachings of the prophets and Apostles of this dispensation. Together with the teachings of ancient scripture and past dispensations, these teachings give us hope and courage as we come to understand them.
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Marion G. Romney “The Resurrection of Jesus” Ensign May 1982
My dear brothers and sisters, at this Easter season, I am grateful for this opportunity to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus and to set forth, in part at least, the basis upon which that witness rests.
“He is risen; he is not here.” (Mark 16:6.) These words, eloquent in their simplicity, announced the most significant event of recorded history, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus— an event so extraordinary that even the Apostles, who had been most intimately associated with Jesus in his earthly ministry and who had been carefully taught of the coming event, had difficulty grasping the reality of its full significance. The first accounts which reached their ears “seemed to them as idle tales” (Luke 24:11) as well they might, for millions of men had lived and died before that day. In every hill and dale men’s bodies mouldered in the dust, but until that first Easter morning not one had risen from the grave.
When we speak of Jesus being resurrected, we mean that his premortal spirit, which animated his mortal body from his birth in the manger until he died on the cross, reentered that body; and the two, his spirit body and his physical body, inseparably welded together, arose from the tomb an immortal soul.
Our belief is, and we so testify, that Jesus not only conquered death for himself and brought forth his own glorious resurrected body, but that in so doing he also brought about a universal resurrection. This was the end and purpose of the mission for which he was set apart and ordained in the great council in heaven, when he was chosen to be our Savior and Redeemer.
Concerning his earthly ministry, his role as Redeemer required of him four things:
First, that his premortal spirit be clothed with a mortal body, the accomplishment of which was heaven-announced when to the lowly shepherds the angel said, “Fear not: … For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10– 11.)
Second, that he suffer the pains of all men, which he did, principally, in Gethsemane, the scene of his great agony. He himself described that suffering as being of such intensity that it “caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
“Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.” (D&C 19:18–19.)
Third, that he give his life. His death on the cross, after having been rejected and betrayed and after having suffered appalling indignities, seems not to be in dispute, even among nonbelievers. That he gave his life voluntarily, with the express purpose of taking it up again in the Resurrection, is not so universally accepted. Such, however, is the fact. He was, it is true, maliciously slain by wicked men, but all the while he held the power to stay them. “I lay down my life,” he said, “that I might take it again.
“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” (John 10:17–18.)
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This power was inherently his by virtue of his being born of the virgin Mary (a mortal), and being the Son of God (an immortal, celestialized being).
Having thus taken upon himself mortality, having suffered in Gethsemane for the sins of all men, and having given his life on the cross, there remained for him but to break the bonds of death—the fourth and last requirement—to complete his earthly mission as Redeemer. That the whole of his mortal life moved toward this consummation, he had repeatedly taught. It was foreshadowed in his statement about laying down his life and taking it up again. To the sorrowing Martha he had said, “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11:25); and to the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).
Resurrection was so foreign to human experience that even his believing followers had difficulty comprehending it. The doctrine, however, had been heard even by the crucifiers. Being disturbed by it, they came to Pilate, “saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.” So with Pilate’s consent they set a watch “lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead.” (Matt. 27:63–64.) Thus it came about that these hireling guards unwittingly became witnesses to the opening of the tomb by the angel (see Matt. 28:2–4), the final preliminary to the appearing of the risen Lord.
The evidence that Jesus was resurrected is conclusive. Five times on the Sunday following his crucifixion on Friday afternoon he revealed himself.
First to behold him was Mary Magdalene. Early in the morning Peter and John, having verified the report that the body of Jesus was not in the tomb, went away. But Mary lingered in the garden weeping. Turning back from the empty tomb, she “saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith, … Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
“Jesus saith unto her, Mary.” Recognizing his voice, “she turned herself” as if to touch him, saying, “Rabboni; … Master.”
Tenderly restraining her, he continued, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:14–17.)
Later, about sunrise, Mary the mother of James, and Salome and other women went to the tomb with spices to prepare the body for final burial. (See Mark 16:1.) They found the tomb open and the body gone. To their consternation, they were met by two men in shining garments who said, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen.” (Luke 24:5–6.) As they went to tell his disciples, Jesus himself met them, saying, “All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” (Matt. 28:9.)
Later the same day, as Cleopas and another journeyed to Emmaus, Jesus, unrecognized, drew near and went with them. When he inquired into the nature of their conversation, they repeated to him the reports of the women. At their seeming doubt he said, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Then opened he their understanding of
14 the scriptures concerning him. Tarrying at Emmaus, “he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.” (See Luke 24:13–31.)
In the evening as the disciples heard the reports that Jesus had appeared to Simon and to Cleopas, “Jesus himself stood in the midst of them.” To quiet their fears and give assurance that he was not a spirit, he showed them his hands, his feet, and his side, saying, “It is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
“And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
“And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish and of an honeycomb.
“And he took it, and did eat before them.” (See Luke 24:36–43.)
Thus, on this eventful day, did his former associates behold his glorious resurrected body. Not only did they see him, but they heard his voice and felt the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. In their presence he handled food and ate of it. They knew of a surety that he had taken up the body which they themselves had placed in the tomb. Their sorrow was turned to joy by the knowledge that he lived, an immortal soul.
For forty days he ministered among his disciples in the Holy Land. He appeared unto his disciples again at Jerusalem, when Thomas was present (see John 20:26–29), and on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, where he directed them in casting for fish, invited them to dine, gave them food to eat which he himself had prepared on a fire of coals, and instructed them in the ministry (see John 21:1–14). On a mountain in Galilee he commissioned the eleven to teach the gospel to all nations. (See Matt. 28:16–18.) And finally, after he had blessed them at Bethany, they saw him “carried up into heaven.” (See Luke 24:50–53.)
His mission being ended in Palestine, he paid a visit to the Nephites in America, that they too might know of his resurrection. His Father introduced him to them as “my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” When they saw him descend from heaven, they described him as “a Man … clothed in a white robe.” He announced himself as “Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.” They saw him, they heard him, and at his invitation they all “went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet,” and knew of a surety and did testify that he was the resurrected Redeemer. (See 3 Ne. 11:7–15.)
As he revealed himself after his resurrection to his followers in the Holy Land and to the Nephites in America, so he has revealed himself in our day. Indeed, this dispensation opened with a glorious vision in which the Prophet Joseph was visited by the Father and the Son. He heard their voices, for they both spoke to him. He was given a personal introduction to the resurrected Jesus by the Father himself. He beheld their glorious bodies and afterwards thus described them: “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also.” (D&C 130:22.)
Some twelve years later the Savior revealed himself to Joseph Smith, Jr.; Sidney Rigdon was with Joseph Smith at the time. They both bore testimony “That he lives! For,” said they, “we
15 saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.” (D&C 76:22–23.)
In the Kirtland Temple the Prophet, this time in company with Oliver Cowdery, saw him again. “The veil was taken from our minds,” they wrote, “and the eyes of our understanding were opened.
“We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
“His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
“I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.” (D&C 110:1–4.)
Jesus alone could make the required infinite atonement because, being the only sinless person who has ever lived upon the earth, he had a sinless life to offer and because he, being the Son of God, had power over life and death. No one could have taken his life had he not been willing to give it. “No man taketh it from me,” he said, “but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” (John 10:18.) It was, therefore, through acts of infinite love and mercy that he vicariously paid the debt of the broken law and satisfied the demands of justice.
We are still further indebted to Jesus, for by his atonement he not only satisfied the demands of the law of justice, but he made effective the law of mercy, by which men may be redeemed from spiritual death. For, while they are not responsible for mortal death, they are responsible for spiritual death, which shuts them out from the presence of God.
All men who dwell in the earth are subject to the influences of righteousness, and also to the influences of wickedness. They are endowed, too, with the divine gift of moral agency, in the exercise of which no person who has lived upon the earth to the age of accountability, except Jesus, has been able in all things to avoid yielding to the influence of evil. All have sinned. Each person is therefore unclean to the extent to which he has sinned, and because of that uncleanness is banished from the presence of the Lord so long as the effect of his own wrongdoing is upon him.
Since we suffer this spiritual death as a result of our own transgressions, we cannot claim deliverance therefrom as a matter of justice. Neither has any man the power within himself alone to make restitution so complete that he can be wholly cleansed from the effect of his own wrongdoing. If men are to be freed from the results of their own transgressions and brought back into the presence of God, they must be the beneficiaries of some expedient beyond themselves which will free them from the effects of their own sins. For this purpose was the atonement of Jesus Christ conceived and executed.
This was the world’s supreme act of charity, performed by Jesus out of his great love for us. He not only thereby met the demands of the law of justice—which would have left us forever marred by the effects of our own transgressions—but made effective the law of mercy, through which all men may be cleansed from their own sins.
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Regardless of what we believe or how we live, we shall be resurrected, for through the atonement of Christ redemption from the grave is granted to every soul unconditionally. This is not so, however, with respect to forgiveness and redemption from the effects of our own transgressions. The only persons who are thus forgiven and redeemed are those who accept and abide the terms prescribed by the Redeemer, thus bringing themselves, with respect to their own sins, within the reach of his atoning blood.
He has set forth the terms of his gospel—the gospel of Jesus Christ—which is the law of mercy, the first requirement of which is to accept Jesus for what he is, literally our Redeemer. This is “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” (A of F 1:4.) Then follows the forsaking of one’s sins and the making of such restitution as is within one’s power. This is repentance.
Without complying with these requirements and the other principles and the ordinances of the gospel, one is left beyond the reach of the plan of mercy, to rely upon the law of justice, which will require that he suffer for his own sins, even as Jesus suffered. (See D&C 19:16– 18.) For “he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.” (Alma 34:16.)
Contemplation of the Atonement—by which I am assured of resurrection and given opportunity, through faith and repentance and faithfulness unto the end, to obtain remission of my sins—moves me to the most intense gratitude and appreciation of which my soul is capable, and I respond unstintingly to the theme: “Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me, Enough to die for me.” (“I Stand All Amazed,” Hymns, no. 80.)
Such are the thoughts suggested to my mind by the Easter season, celebrated as the anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which was calmly announced by the angel when he said, “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.” (Matt. 28:6.)
To this I bear solemn witness, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, amen.
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Spencer W. Kimball “Jesus of Nazareth” Ensign Dec 1980
We celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ at this season of the year. Some years ago, Sister Kimball and I were in the Holy Land with Elder and Sister Howard W. Hunter, and on Christmas Eve we were mingling with thousands of religionists and curious from around the world. We bent over to get through the small aperture into the Church of the Nativity and inched our way in turn to the crypt where some churches claim are the sacred spots of the manger and the birth of the Savior.
As we stood looking at the metal star in the concrete floor, it seemed to fade and we seemed to see a crude manger in a cave and sitting by it a lovely lady with a beautiful face and sweet spirit watching a little infant wrapped like other Hebrew babes in swaddling clothes. He had likely already been washed and rubbed with salt and laid on a square cloth, his little head on one corner and his tiny feet on the corner diagonally opposite. The cloth had been folded over his sides and up over his feet and the swaddling bands tied around the precious little bundle. His hands would be fastened to his sides, but he would be loosened occasionally and rubbed with olive oil and possibly dusted with powdered myrtle leaves. If still in swaddling bands, he could be handled easily on the trip to Egypt, and he could even be strapped to his mother’s back.
How grateful we are that the baby Jesus was born, but do we place more emphasis on his birth than upon other phases of his experiences? Is birth the major event in any of our lives? We might ask to what are we born? For what purpose is our birth?
We remember that billions have been born.
Cain was born, but terminated his life in shrouds of obscurity. What of his life?
Nero was born, but his life seemed to justify it little or not at all. His persecution of the true believers caused them to be martyred, burned at the stake, ravished by wild animals to satisfy his own sadistic cravings. What of his life?
Adolph Hitler was born. What of his life? Millions starved and died in Dachau and in other torture chambers.
Yes, men die—all men die. Millions have died unheard, unsung, unknown. The question is, when they die have they fulfilled the measure of their mortal creation? Certainly it is not so much that men die, or when they die, but that they do not die in their sins. Many antediluvians died ignominiously in their sins in the flood. Those of Sodom and Gomorrah went into eternity in their transgressions with their garments stained and their souls polluted. But look at others. Abel died knowing his offering was accepted of the Lord. Abinadi died at the stake a martyr, upholding truth, bearing testimony. His is a reward of exaltation.
Christ died. Ah! Here is the great death that counts. He died a propitiation for our sins to open the way for our resurrection, to point the way to our perfection of life, to show the way to exaltation. He died purposefully, voluntarily. His birth was humble, his life was perfect, his example was compelling; his death opened doors, and man was offered every good gift and blessing.
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Yes, every soul has his free agency. He can have all the blessings Christ lived and died to give him. But Christ’s death and plan are all in vain and even worse than futile if we do not take advantage of them: “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent” (D&C 19:16).
The Savior came “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). His birth, death, and resurrection brought about the first. But we must join our efforts with his to bring about the second, to attain eternal life.
To the Nephites, he summed up the eternal plan for exaltation: “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am” (3 Ne. 27:27).
Leading the Jewish multitudes up onto the mountain, he elaborated extensively upon the requirements for exaltation. His celebrated Sermon on the Mount seems to have included all the commandments and all the requirements, and his conclusion was—“Be ye therefore perfect” (Matt. 5:48).
Perhaps he could have died long years earlier and accomplished the first of the requirements: resurrection and immortality. But it seemed that he must live a longer—even danger-filled— life so he could establish firmly the way to perfection.
For more than three decades he lived a life of hazard and jeopardy.
From Herod’s horrible murder of Bethlehem’s infants to Pilate’s merciless giving him to the bloodthirsty mob, Jesus was in constant danger. Perilously he lived with a price upon his head, the final price paid being thirty pieces of silver. It seemed that not only human enemies would snarl his life, but even his friends would desert him; and Satan and his cohorts would hound him ceaselessly. Yet, even after his early death, it seemed that he could not leave the earth until he had trained further his leaders. For forty days he remained to prepare the Apostles in leadership and the people in Sainthood.
As we look on his life, we see prophetic patterns. As predicted, he was a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). How could he effectively lead his people—how could he show us the way to keep his commands—unless he experienced sorrow as well as joy? How could it ever be known if individual perfection is possible, or how could one be persuaded to reach for it, did not someone prove it could be done? So he lived through trials, day and night, all his life.
Early in his ministry he gave the command to be perfect. Perhaps he already had some conception of what was to come in the tests he would face. Would he himself be able to live up to the exalted ideal of perfection? Could he stand the continuous strain?
But his day by day life confirmed his power, his ability, his strength. From birth, his life was a rugged one. Born in a manger without the conveniences even of the average Israelite home, he was an unwelcome guest. There was no room for him in the inn.
When still young, he must be whisked away to a far country to save his precious life, a perilous journey in great haste and fear, a trip which was rugged for the new infant, perhaps still being nursed by his mother. On the trip he would suffer hardships, sand storms, fatigue,
19 new food, new customs, a new and strange world. The trip to Nazareth was an even longer and more arduous journey, this to avoid again a heartless ruler.
His trials were continuous. Perhaps his brother, Lucifer, had heard him say when he was still but a lad of twelve: “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). Then came the time when Satan sought to trip him. Their encounter in the previous world had been on more equal terms, but now Jesus was young and Satan was experienced. By subtlety and challenges he thought to destroy this budding Savior. Jesus had spoken of his father-son relationship. Lucifer determined to test that. Hungry after a long fast, Jesus’ body demanding sustenance, the cruel question came hurling at him: “If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread” (Matt. 4:3). Bread would have tasted so good that moment.
Then, on the pinnacle of the temple, an ugly thought was planted. Perhaps the Lord fully sensed his unlimited power, but to use it for himself and to satisfy Satan’s devilish wish would be wrong: “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for [the angels] shall bear thee up” (Matt. 4:6).
And finally on the exceeding high mountain where could be envisioned the wealth of nations, the power of kings and emperors, the glory of affluence, the satisfactions of every urge, desire, want and passion, came the appealing promise: “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (Matt. 4:9).
But to all of these appeals came the stout refusal, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:10).
What a lonely life he must have lived! No more could he live a private existence. At nearly every miracle he asked the healed one, “Go thy way and tell no man.”
But the recipient of his power and goodness went abroad and blazed the matter and published it, “insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places” (Mark 1:45).
His every statement was challenged. He must defend every principle. “Why don’t you fast?” “Why do your disciples eat with unwashed hands?” “Why do you break the Sabbath by healing on that day?” The leaders sought to kill him for healing on the Sabbath!
It was bad enough to have his enemies try to trap him, but then even his friends “went out to lay hold on him. For they said, he is beside himself.” (Mark 3:21.)
To whom could he go for sympathy? Was this the reason for his frequent climbing of the mountains for privacy and comfort from his Father? Lonely, alone, no one to confide in, no place to go. As he said: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Luke 9:57). So he climbs the hills, but is followed. He sails across the sea, and there is the multitude. He lies down to rest in the ship, and is rudely awakened with criticism: “Carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38).
When he landed at the area of the Gadarenes, frightened by his miracles they “besought him to depart from them” (Luke 8:37). So he re-embarked and recrossed the sea of Galilee.
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When he fed them, they followed him, but for the wrong reasons: “Ye seek me … because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled” (John 6:26).
When he gave them strong doctrine and required much at their hands, “many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:66).
And even as he walked toward his death, he had to say to his chosen Twelve: “I have chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil” (John 6:70). He walked daily thereafter with a traitor.
How lonely! How disquieting! To escape and wait, knowing that death was but a short time away! “He would walk no more in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him” (John 7:1).
He sought to go incognito, “but he could not be hid” (Mark 7:24).
One of his greatest disappointments was his homecoming. No celebrations for him, only curiosity and rejection. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:3). The common boy from their common streets, they said.
“And he could there do no mighty work … because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:5–6)—and because of their jealousy and sarcasm. What a homecoming! Poor Nazareth! Poor Nazarenes to reject their own boy, their own Redeemer! They would have thrown him from the precipice at Nazareth but for his quick escape. They would have stoned him in Jerusalem, “but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple” (John 8:59).
And after another discourse, “they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand” (John 10:39).
A price was on his head. Physical violence confronted him always. People were enjoined to reveal his whereabouts so he could be put to death. The specter of death preceded him, sat with him, walked with him, followed him.
How difficult it must have been for him who could wither a fig tree with a single command to restrain himself from cursing his enemies. Rather, did he pray for them. To retaliate and fight back is human, but to accept indignities as did the Lord, is divine. He was tested continually: when he permitted himself to be kissed by the known traitor yet did not resist; when he was captured by a vicious mob, yet did not permit his loyal Apostle Peter to defend him, though that worthy man was willing to die fighting for him.
With twelve legions of angels at his command, he yielded himself and disarmed his courageous Apostles at his side. He accepted this manhandling and the indignities without retaliation. Had he not said, “Love your enemies”? (Matt. 5:44.)
In quiet, restrained, divine dignity he stood when they cast their spittle in his face. He remained composed. They pushed him around. Not an angry word escaped his lips. They slapped his face and beat his body. Yet he stood resolute, unintimidated.
Literally did he follow his own admonition when he turned his other cheek to be also slapped and smitten. And yet, he showed no cringing, gave no denials, offered no rebuttals. When false mercenary witnesses were paid to lie about him, he seemed to condemn them not. They
21 twisted his words and misinterpreted his meanings, yet he was calm and unflustered. Had he not taught, “Pray for them which despitefully use you”? (Matt. 5:44.)
He who alone on the earth created the world and all that is in it, he who made the silver from which the pieces were stamped which bought him, he who could command defenders on both sides of the veil—stood and suffered.
What dignity! What mastery! What control! Even when he, the perfect, the sinless, the good, the Prince of Life, the Just, should be weighed on one side of the scales against the murderer, the seditionist, the insurrectionist, Barrabas—and Barrabas won—even when Barrabas won his liberty at the price of Christ’s crucifixion, yet the Savior said not a word of condemnation to the magistrate who made the unjust decision.
Neither did he say anything to the people who called for Barrabas, crying “Release unto us Barrabas” (Luke 23:18). Even when they cried for his blood, saying, “Crucify him, crucify him” (Luke 23:21)—yet he showed no bitterness nor venom nor condemnation. Only tranquility. This is divine dignity, power, control, restraint. Barrabas for Christ! Barrabas released, Christ crucified. The worst and the best; the just and the unjust; the Holy One crucified, the degenerate malefactor released. Yet no revenge, no name-calling, no condemnation. No lightning struck them, though it could have done. No earthquake, though a severe one could have come. No angels with protective weapons, though legions were ready. No escape, though he could have been translated and moved from their power. He stood and suffered in mind and body. “Bless them that curse you,” he had taught (Matt. 5:44).
Yet still further tests came. Though pronounced innocent, he was scourged. Unworthy men lashed him, the pure and the Holy One, the Son of God. One word from his lips and all his enemies would have fallen to the earth, helpless. All would have perished, all could have been as dust and ashes. Yet, in calmness, he suffered.
Even when delivered to the soldiers to be crucified, he prayed for them who despitefully used him. How he must have felt when they violated his privacy by stripping off his clothes and then putting on him the scarlet robe!
Then, the crown of thorns. How painful and excruciating! And yet, such equanimity! Such strength! Such control! It is beyond imagination.
Blood from the thorns seemed to be what they wanted. For had they not just said, “His blood be on us and on our children”? (Matt. 27:25.) Now nothing could stop them. They hungered to satisfy their blood lust, to satiate it. The crucifixion would do that, but first they must satisfy their beastly appetites for sadism; first they must cast their diseased spittle in his holy face, acting out subhuman atrocities.
With a reed in his hand, a scarlet robe over his shoulders, and a crown of thorns on his head, he was made to suffer the worst indignity: they laughed and mocked and jeered and challenged him. Grabbing the reed from his hand, they would strike him on the head. Yet, he stood there, the model of long-suffering.
Still they moved about him. In base mockery they feigned worship, praying mockingly to him, doing him false reverence, joking, laughing, giving full vent to their fiendishness. Was all their ugliness, all their pent up grievances against mankind, all their bitternesses against
22 acquaintances and enemies loosed upon this one so pure, clean, and worthy? Even a bull tires of goring its victim—even a cat tires of playing with its captive mouse—but these tyrants, these bloodthirsty men—would they never tire of blasphemous conduct? Would they never get their fill? How low can the children of God go! How base can man become!—he who may be but a little lower than the angels, he who is created in the image of God. What would they do when their victim could suffer no more and no more please their depravity?
They would have his sore and bruised and bloody body carry the weighty implement of his own death. Their strong backs unburdened, they watched him sweat and heave and strain and pull, a helpless victim. Or was he helpless? Were not the twelve legions of angels still at his command? Did they not still have their swords unsheathed? Were they not still agonizing, yet restrained from taking a hand or coming to the rescue?
He goes his way alone. The nails are hammered into his hands and feet, through soft and quivering flesh. The agony increases. The tree is dropped in the hole; the flesh tears. What excruciating pain! Then, new nails are placed in the wrist to make sure that the body will not fall to the ground and recover.
The mockery grows as the rabble walk alongside and look up, leering and blaspheming and mocking. “He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Mark 15:31). They had seen or heard of his miracles: how the winds and waves had yielded to his word, how lepers had been made clean, how the lame had walked and the sightless had seen, how the dead had been raised, how Lazarus had walked forth alive from the grave after he had been dead for days and his body already decomposing. And so the taunt came again: “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him” (Matt. 27:42). What a temptation it must have been for the Lord who could have stepped down whole and well without scars or braises! What a challenge it must have been, yet he had set his mind and had sweat great drops of blood in his anguish as he faced his mission—to move forward and wade through all gross indignities and meet death at the end, to bring life to these very men and their children, if they would heed.
Here, with mortal life fast ebbing—here he restrained himself, controlling the temptation to “show them” his power. As he had been tempted in the wilderness to satisfy his hunger by causing stones to become bread, as he had stood on the mountaintop and was tempted to show his tempter what he could do, so now he was again approached. Surely Lucifer, who had tempted him in the wilderness, on the mountain, and on the pinnacle of the temple— surely, he had done an efficient work in prompting his underlings. They now used the same tactics, the same words: “If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself” (Luke 23:37). The thief on the cross needled him, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us” (Luke 23:39). All around were others only little less criminal in their persecution. The swaggering clergy in their long embroidered robes, the leaders of the people—cheap, low, degraded humans—they also were to rave and rant and mock and jeer.
His hour had come. He was alone, yet among crowds of people. Alone he was, with eager angels waiting to comfort him. Alone with his Father in deepest sympathy, but knowing that his Son must walk alone the bloody, tortuous path. Alone, drained, feverish, dying, he called out: “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46.) Alone he had been in the garden—praying for strength to drink the bitter cup.
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He had said, “Love your enemies.” Now he showed how much one can love his enemies. He was dying on the cross for those who had nailed him there. As he died, he experienced such agonies that no man had ever before or has since experienced. Yet he cried out, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Was this not the last word—the supreme act? How divine to forgive those who were killing him—those who were clamoring for his blood! He had said, “Pray for them which despitefully use you,” and here he was praying for them. His life met perfectly his teachings. “Be ye therefore perfect” was his command to us. With his life, his death, and his resurrection, Jesus truly has shown us the way.
And so, as resurrection and death and life are important to achieving perfection, so also is birth. And with the thought, my mind comes back again to Bethlehem, the Bethlehem of today. My wife and our party move about with the surging crowds, we are jostled and pushed. We are nearly drowned in the ocean of innumerable bodies and faces. It is hard to concentrate upon the sacred object of our coming. There is little on the hill which can stir our reverence or satisfy our longing to be alone with our thoughts.
We have our taxi take us to the hill overlooking the shepherds’ field. Below us in the little valley is the field of Boaz and Ruth. Before us is the undulating area where shepherds once watched their sheep. On the brow of the hill is a cave opening out over the little valley. There, tradition says, the shepherds slept and watched on that eventful night. An open cave could protect them from the night’s coolness, yet still they could watch their flocks. There, gazing into the valley, the only place near Bethlehem where we could find privacy, we stood in the dark, looking out into the starry sky as did the shepherds, and with the shepherds contemplating the angel dressed in exquisite whiteness in the center of infinite glory, and the words he had said to the humble shepherds:
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
“For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10–12).
Did not the angels sing that night? We, too, seemed to hear faint music, not loud, but in symphonic harmony it penetrated deeply our hearts. We seemed to hear singing in unison, the never-to-be-forgotten melody, the cry of the ages: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).
As the strains of the heavenly words merged with our hearts, we four sang. After singing “Far, far away on Judea’s plains, shepherds of old heard the joyous strains,” we stood close together in the star-lighted night with our wraps pulled tight about us—physically close, mentally close, spiritually close, emotionally close; and we communed. No lights but the twinkling lanterns in the heavens, no sound but the whispering of our subdued voices. Our Father seemed to be very near. His Son seemed close. We prayed. More in unison than a single voice, our four hearts poured out love and gratitude that rose to mingle with the prayers of all mankind that night.
We prayed our gratitude. We prayed our love. Like the raising of the flood gate releasing the long impounded and pent up waters behind a dam, our voices almost inaudible, mellowed
24 with reverence, softened by the intangible forces of the heavenly world, we poured out our prayer of thanksgiving: grateful, Father, that we know so positively that thou dost live; that we know the babe born here was in reality thy Son; grateful that thy program is real, workable and exalting. We told him we knew him, we loved him, we would follow him. We repledged to his cause our lives, our all.
The years have come and gone since then, but always at this beautiful season, we re-pledge ourselves to his work—and invite all people everywhere to join us in our prayers of joy and love and gratitude for the life and teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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Marion G. Romney “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” Ensign, Nov 1979
“Brethren, I have decided to talk to you and to myself tonight about “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” which the Prophet Joseph Smith named as “the first principle … of the Gospel” (A of F 1:4).
The scriptures leave no doubt about the importance of such faith. In the very beginning, an angel sent by the Lord instructed Adam that the sacrifice he was offering was “a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, …
“Wherefore,” he (the angel) added, “thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore” (Moses 5:7–8).
Nephi thus instructed his people:
“Behold I say unto you, that … as the Lord … liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, … whereby man can be saved” (2 Ne. 25:20).
Some four hundred years later, King Benjamin declared:
“I say unto you, … there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17).
When Peter and John were asked by the Sadducees “By what power, or by what name” they had healed the lame man, “Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
“If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. …
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:7–10, 12).
Jesus himself declared to the Pharisees: “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24).
And in these latter days the Lord declared to Joseph Smith the Prophet, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer:
“Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness.
“And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved.
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“Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved;
“Wherefore, all men must take upon them the name which is given of the Father, for in that name shall they be called at the last day;
“Wherefore, if they know not the name by which they are called, they cannot have place in the kingdom of my Father” (D&C 18:21–25).
I suppose that the foregoing declarations are sufficient to establish the fact that the scriptures teach that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is indispensable to the attainment of salvation.
This is so because Jesus, by means of his atonement and victory over the grave, made it possible for men to be forgiven of their sins and raised from the grave.
On this point, the resurrected Jesus said to the Nephites:
“Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.
“And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
“And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.
“And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.
“And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.
“And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.
“Now this is the commandment [this is the resurrected Jesus talking]: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel” (3 Ne. 27:13–17, 19–21).
This, of course, is the perfect definition of the gospel. It was, however, spoken by way of summary and conclusion after the risen Jesus had spent days—perhaps weeks—explaining the principles and ordinances of the gospel to the Nephites. They, therefore, were able to understand his summary.
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The gospel is the plan and program adopted by God, our Eternal Father, for accomplishing his “work and … glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
This program the Lord presented to his spirit children in the great pre-earth council, of which Abraham gives us this brief account:
“Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
“And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, …
“And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
“And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
“And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
“And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
“And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him” (Abr. 3:22–28).
The gospel plan or program, presented to and approved by a two-thirds majority of the then assembled hosts of God’s spirit children, anticipated everything that has occurred or that will occur in heaven or on earth concerning those spirits.
It provided for them to receive physical bodies in a mortal experience where, endowed with free agency and being acted upon by good and evil, they would prove themselves worthy or unworthy to return to the society of God and go on in eternal progress to perfection.
It anticipated the banishment from heaven of Satan and his followers, the creation of this earth, the placing of Adam and Eve upon it, their partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their banishment from the Garden, and the peopling of the earth by their posterity.
It anticipated Satan’s diabolical work among men, man’s wickedness, and his death, both temporal and spiritual.
It anticipated the need for a Savior to win the victory over death, atone for the sin of Adam, which brought death, and provide the means whereby men, through repentance, may receive forgiveness for personal sins and be readmitted into the presence of God.
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All these things and more were anticipated by the gospel plan.
To us the plan is known as the gospel of Jesus Christ because he sponsored it in the heavenly council and implemented it through the atonement which he in the great council voluntarily undertook to make and did come to the earth and make.
The Father’s plan was based on the principle of free agency. Lucifer countered with a proposal to substitute force for free agency, and sought honor for himself.
Jesus, of course, was chosen to be the Redeemer. He led the fight for the Father’s plan in the War in Heaven. He created this earth. He has watched over it ever since. His role in God’s program for bringing to pass “the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39) has been revealed to men in all dispensations. It was revealed to Adam in the beginning. It was revealed to Enoch, to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Some 2200 years b.c., Jesus appeared to the brother of Jared and said:
“Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. … In me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters” (Ether 3:14).
In the meridian of time, Jesus, begotten of God our Eternal Father, came to earth as the babe of Bethlehem, the son of Mary.
Born of woman, he was subject to temptation and the weaknesses of the flesh. Begotten Son of the Father, he inherited the power to live on indefinitely.
Being tempted but never yielding to sin enabled him, by giving his life, to atone for the transgression of Adam, which introduced death into the world. This he did, and thereby won victory over the grave and brought about resurrection for himself and for all men.
Not only did he win victory over the grave, but being sinless himself and being the Son of God in the flesh and having been foreordained in the heavens to be the Redeemer, he, in some way which we do not fully understand, “took upon Himself the burdensome onus of the sins of mankind. The means may be, to our finite minds, a mystery, yet the results are our salvation.
“Something of the Savior’s agony as He groaned under this load of guilt … He has [thus revealed to us] in this day:
“ ‘For behold, I, God,’ ” he said, “ ‘have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
“ ‘But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
“ ‘Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
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“ ‘Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men’ [D&C 19:16–19]” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 12th ed., Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1924, p. 78).
Jacob, the brother of Nephi, thus describes the predicament we would be in without the benefit of Christ’s atonement. He said:
“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.
“O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; …
“And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.
“And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel” (2 Ne. 9:8, 10–12).
Without the services of Jesus Christ, which he proffered in the great heavenly council and which he has since performed, there would have been no hope for us to receive the blessings provided by the gospel. And we have no prospect of receiving them now unless we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because, as he said to the Pharisees, “If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (John 8:24). This is according to the gospel, which Paul said “is the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16).
These are some of the reasons why “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” is the first principle of the gospel. To the truth of these teachings I bear solemn witness, and in the words of King Benjamin, I add my own witness that I know “there shall be no other name [than Jesus Christ] given nor any other … means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17). This is my testimony to you, my brethren, and I bear it in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, amen.
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Jonathan H. Stephenson, “‘I Am He’,” Ensign, Apr 1999
The Lord repeatedly declared with clarity that He was the Messiah—our deliverer and only source for salvation.
Thousands of people flooded the streets of Jerusalem. It was autumn in the third year of the Lord Jesus Christ’s mortal ministry, and the harvest was over. The joyous seven-day celebration known as the Feast of Tabernacles was in full swing. People milled about the temple courtyard in anticipation of the dramatic, culminating ceremonial performances on the last day of the feast.
The morning animal sacrifices had been performed and the presiding priest had drawn some two pints of water from the Pool of Siloam. Large numbers of the worshipers carrying palm branches and waving them while repeating “Hosanna” had accompanied the priest as he brought the ritual water from the pool to the temple in a golden pitcher. The sound of trumpets had heralded the procession’s arrival at the temple courtyard.
With great ceremonial reverence the water was poured into a silver basin on the western side of the temple altar. Religious historian Alfred Edersheim has described the next dramatic event and what may have happened thereafter: “The forthpouring of the water was immediately followed by the chanting of the Hallel. … It was then, immediately after the symbolic rite of water-pouring, immediately after the people had responded by repeating those lines from Psalm cxviii [118]—given thanks, and prayed that Jehovah would send salvation and prosperity, and had shaken their Lulabh [willow branches] towards the altar, thus praising ‘with heart, and mouth, and hands,’ and then silence had fallen upon them—that there rose, so loud as to be heard throughout the Temple, the Voice of Jesus” (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 2 vols. [1899], 2:160).
The text of John also describes this event: “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37–38).
The meaning and intent of Jesus’ declaration was unmistakable to all who heard. He was claiming to be divine, to be the Messiah, their deliverer and source for salvation. Truly, “never man spake like this man” (John 7:46)
Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus
We live in a day when many doubt or do not know who Jesus is. Some believe that Jesus did not know who He was, or if He did, He never clearly told others during His mortal ministry. Some assert that when Jesus said He was “the Son of God” He did not mean to be taken literally, only metaphorically.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, “When the gospel was first restored, the pulpits of [the world] were aflame with the testimony of Jesus, the divine Son of God and Savior of the world. … Today, our missionaries cannot make the same assumption. There are still many God-fearing people who testify to the divinity of Jesus Christ. But there are many more—even in the formal ranks of Christianity—who doubt his existence or deny his divinity. As I see the deterioration in religious faith that has happened
31 in my own lifetime, I am convinced that we who are members of his Church need to be increasingly valiant in our testimony of Jesus” (“Witness of Christ,” Ensign, Nov. 1990, 31).
Jesus’ own public declarations about Himself set the example of valiance for us. Modern revelation confirms the witness of the writers of the Gospels that Jesus Christ repeatedly bore witness, both privately and publicly, of His own divinity during His mortal ministry. The Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible (JST) aids us considerably in our quest to understand and follow the Lord’s example in testifying of Him.
Jesus Testified of His Divine Sonship
One way Jesus witnessed of His identity was to teach of the unique Father-Son relationship He had with God. He frequently referred to Himself as “the Son of God” and spoke of God as “my Father.” He emphasized that only God was His Father and that He was God’s Only Begotten Son on earth.
At the cleansing of the temple (see John 2:13–17). When Jesus entered Jerusalem to begin His public ministry, He made His way to the temple, where “changers of money” infested its outer courtyard. He commanded the merchants to leave the temple with a bold statement about Himself: “Make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise” (John 2:16; emphasis added).
The temple at Jerusalem was one of the greatest sources of inspiration and pride for the Jews. It was a holy place where God Himself could come and where Jews could offer their sacrifices and confess their sins before Him. Here they could approach His very presence.
When Jesus overturned the money tables, the attention of the masses fell upon Him and they watched and wondered. Jesus taught them who He was by calling the temple “my Father’s house,” instead of “our Father’s house.” The meaning was clear. Jesus had forcefully declared that He was not merely mortal but was the divine Son of God.
Leaders of the Jews treated Him with contempt for such a claim. They asked, “what sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?” (John 2:18). His answer reaffirmed His divinity: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19).
After healing a man on the Sabbath (see John 5:16–47). When Jesus returned to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, the healing of a man on the Sabbath day drew tremendous attention. Jesus defended the timing of this action by fearlessly teaching, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17; emphasis added). His explanation not only openly confronted the strict laws and practices of the Jewish Sabbath but also declared with unmistakable clarity that He was the Son of God.
His audience protested His words, for they clearly understood Him to say that “God was his Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). So Jesus further taught, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: … For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: … All men should honor the Son, even as they honour the Father” (John 5:19–20, 23). He concluded with these words: “I am come in my Father’s name” (John 5:43; emphasis added). Jesus had openly taught them that God was His Father and that He was the divine Son of God.
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After feeding the 5,000 (see John 6:22–66). During His Galilean ministry, Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5,000 caused many to follow Him, seeking more such miracles. They asked, “What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? … Our fathers did eat manna in the desert” (John 6:30–31). The Lord explained, “Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32; emphasis added).
The Savior then further defined His relationship with God with statements such as these: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me” (John 6:37) and “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). Because Jesus had so plainly declared His unique relationship with God, “from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:66).
When teaching in the temple (see John 8:12–59). While visiting Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus again openly declared His divine sonship. The Pharisees debated Him, questioning His right to bear record of Himself. As the debate turned to a discussion of fathers, Jesus said, “If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; … I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. … It is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God” (John 8:42, 49, 54; emphasis added). The Pharisees were extremely upset and angry, for they knew Jesus had claimed a divine Sonship, and therefore felt He had blasphemed, a crime punishable by death under Jewish law. Accordingly, they attempted to kill Him but failed (see John 8:59).
At the Feast of Dedication (see John 10:22–39). Jesus returned to Jerusalem several months later for the feast commemorating the dedication of the temple in the days of Judas Maccabæus. As He walked in the temple, the Jews pressed Him to tell them plainly if He was the Christ. He had already said so numerous times, but their request gave Him another opportunity to testify publicly. He declared before all those gathered at Solomon’s porch, “My Father … is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them [my sheep] out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one” (John 10:29–30; emphasis added). Again Jewish leaders attempted to kill Jesus for what they thought was blasphemy. Jesus reconfirmed that He was the Son of God (see John 10:34–38)
Jesus Testified of His Divine Messiahship
In addition to teaching of His divine sonship, Jesus boldly asserted that in Him was the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies of Israel’s ancient prophets. No greater prophetic figure exists in Jewish tradition and literature than the Messiah, who is the focus of Jewish hopes for national and personal deliverance and represents the highest glory of Israel. Jesus frequently and plainly declared that He was the promised Messiah.
To His neighbors in Nazareth (see Luke 4:16–30). Early in His Galilean ministry, Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth. Word of His cleansing of the temple and His miracles in Jerusalem had spread rapidly (see John 2:11–19), and many people stood in the Nazarene synagogue on the Sabbath hoping to hear Him speak. As all eyes focused on Him, the Lord took the prophetic books into His hands and read aloud Isaiah 61:1–2 [Isa. 61:1–2]. These words would have been familiar to them, beautiful words of hope concerning the long- awaited Messiah. Jesus closed the book and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). The meaning of His declaration was plain: He was claiming to be the
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Messiah. All those in the synagogue “were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust him out of the city” (Luke 4:28–29).
After healing a man on the Sabbath (see John 5:16–47). At the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus responded to accusations from His enemies by invoking the recorded words of the ancient prophets to substantiate His claim of being the Messiah: “Search the scriptures; … they are they which testify of me. … For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” (John 5:39, 46–47).
During the Feast of Tabernacles (see John 8:33–59). A group of Jews debated with Jesus about His self-claims. They discussed Abraham, the father of the Hebrews and one of the most revered men of all time. To His combatants’ claims of special parentage from Abraham, Jesus simply said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). This claim of preeminence over Abraham so inflamed these Jews that they immediately “took … up stones to cast at him” (John 8:59). Clearly, they had understood His statement to mean: “I, Jesus, am Jehovah, the Great I Am.”
While teaching the multitudes a few days later (see John 10:1–21). Before leaving Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus used the symbol of the shepherd to describe Himself. Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained: “Among the pastoral people of Palestine, service as a pastor or shepherd was one of the most honorable and respected vocations. Accordingly, many of the prophets had used the shepherd’s vocation as a basis for teaching great spiritual truths and as a means of foretelling the coming of the Messiah who would be the Good Shepherd” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1966–73], 1:483).
Jesus taught the multitudes in the temple, “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7), and, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:14). He thus indicated that He was the fulfillment of David’s messianic Psalm 23 [Ps. 23], “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and of Isaiah’s messianic words, “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd” (Isa. 40:11). Jesus was saying that as the Messiah, He had the power to care for and watch over all His “sheep,” for how could any ordinary man claim to be King David’s “shepherd?” A great debate soon arose among the people. Jesus withdrew from them, leaving them to decide for themselves who He really was.
While teaching a great multitude in Perea (see Luke 14:25–35). Jesus testified of His messiahship frequently during the final weeks of His mortal ministry. Just before His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus taught a large gathering about discipleship. Some, seeking to justify themselves, claimed they were disciples of Moses and the prophets. Jesus responded, “Ye know not Moses, neither the prophets; for if ye had known them, ye would have believed on me; for to this intent they were written. For I am sent that ye might have life” (JST, Luke 14:36, Bible appendix). Jesus was teaching them that His disciples could not give preeminence to ancient prophets, for He, Jesus, was the Messiah and was therefore greater than them all and the source of everlasting life.
Still in Perea, Jesus taught many parables to a great crowd, including disciples, publicans, and Pharisees. The Pharisees ridiculed Him when He finished. “Then said Jesus unto them, The law and the prophets testify of me; yea, and all the prophets who have written, even until John, have foretold of these days. …
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“And why teach ye the law, and deny that which is written; and condemn him whom the Father hath sent to fulfil the law, that ye might all be redeemed?” (JST, Luke 16:17, 20, Bible appendix).
While teaching the multitudes in the temple (see Matt. 23:37–39). As Jesus preached in Jerusalem during the final week of His mortal ministry, He publicly lamented the fate of the city’s inhabitants who would not believe in Him. He told them He would return to Jerusalem in glory with His angels and said, “Ye shall not see me henceforth and know that I am he of whom it is written by the prophets until ye shall say: Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord” (JS—M 1:1), thus fulfilling the messianic words of Psalm 118:26 [Ps. 118:26].
Jesus Testified of His Divine Rights and Powers
Jesus bore witness of Himself in a third manner by publicly teaching about His divine rights and powers. He most often used divine “object lessons,” or symbols, to clearly make His point. By doing so, He was teaching that He possessed capabilities that only the Almighty Himself possessed—powers and rights ascribed to God by the writers of the holy scriptures. By asserting Himself to be the source of these rights and powers, He was claiming to be God. As noted at the opening of this article, His dramatic announcement to be “living water” at the Feast of Tabernacles is but one example of this manner of testifying.
At the healing of the paralytic (see Luke 5:18–26). Shortly after beginning His Galilean ministry, Jesus taught and healed many people in a crowded house. A man with “palsy” was not able to enter through the door, so his friends lowered him into the house through an opening in the roof. Knowing that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting nearby, Jesus addressed the afflicted man: “Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (Luke 5:20–21). Jesus told them He had said it “that ye may know that [I] the Son of man [have] power upon earth to forgive sins” (Luke 5:24).
Among the Publicans (see Matt. 9:9–13). After Jesus had called Matthew to be a disciple, they dined together with his fellow tax collectors. The Pharisees saw this dinner as irregular and suspect conduct and began questioning Jesus: “Why will ye not receive us with our baptism, seeing we keep the whole law? But Jesus said unto them, Ye keep not the law. If ye had kept the law, ye would have received me, for I am he who gave the law” (JST, Matt. 9:18–19, Bible appendix).
The law of Moses was revered by the Jews almost above all else, and now Jesus was claiming to have given this law! There was no mistaking His meaning. He was testifying that He was that Jehovah who had spoken to Moses from Mount Sinai. Furthermore, Jesus was asserting His right to interpret the meaning of that law and to instruct them on how it should be practiced.
By the cornfields on the Sabbath day (see Mark 2:23–28). Jesus also witnessed that He was the divine author of the law of the Sabbath. As His disciples were foraging for food in a field, the Pharisees asked, “Why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?” (Mark 2:24). Jesus answered, “[I] The Son of Man made the Sabbath day, therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath” (JST, Mark 2:27, Bible appendix).
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The Jewish scriptures taught that the Sabbath came from God and was an everlasting sign between Jehovah and Israel (see Gen. 2:3; Ex. 16:23–29; Ex. 20:11; Ex. 31:16–17; Ezek. 20:12, 21). By boldly testifying that it was He who had originated the Sabbath, He was now asserting the right to decide how His disciples could keep that day which belonged to Him, even the Sabbath.
To the 5,000 by the seashore (see John 6:26–66). Another divine power that Jesus said was His was that of being the sustainer of Israel. Beside the Sea of Galilee, the multitudes desired more food than He had divinely provided from the five loaves and two fishes. They wanted bread from heaven. Jesus responded, “The bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world” (John 6:33). When they clamored, “Give us this bread,” Jesus testified, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:34–35). Jesus had offered Himself as the temporal and spiritual source of sustenance for happiness and eternal life.
At another Jewish feast (see John 8:12–29). The Feast of Tabernacles included a ceremonial lighting of the temple’s great golden lamps. Each night of the celebration the candelabra, 50 cubits (75 feet) in height, was lighted in the temple to symbolize the sending forth of light to the inhabitants of the world. Perhaps as the attention of the vast multitude was focused on the lighting of the lamps, Jesus proclaimed His divine power, saying, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). The Jews knew that the Messiah would be a light to the world and that King David had said of the Messiah, “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Ps. 27:1).
At the raising of Lazarus (see John 11:1–46). In Bethany, the Lord both asserted and demonstrated another divine power. While Jesus was ministering in Perea, He was told of the death of His friend Lazarus. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Jesus was met by Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, along with many of the Jews who had come to comfort the family. To the grieving Martha, Jesus said, “Thy brother shall rise again. … I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:23, 25–26).
Jesus stood before the tomb and in a majestic demonstration of His divine rights and powers said, “Lazarus, come forth” (John 11:43). Lazarus’ emergence from the tomb demonstrated again that Jesus truly held power over life and death.
At His trial prior to His Crucifixion (see Mark 14:53–65). Following His arrest, Jesus was taken before a council of chief priests and rulers, the Sanhedrin. They had already conspired to condemn Him to death but after finding no evidence against Him, “the high priest asked him, … Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (Mark 14:61). The Jewish leaders knew that Jesus had openly and repeatedly declared His divinity among the people, but they wanted to hear it again in order to have a clear charge against Him. One more blasphemous statement from His lips, they thought, could bring a unanimous vote of the council to condemn Him to death. Thus it was that Jesus closed His public ministry the same way He began it, by declaring His identity: “I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62)
What We Can Learn from the Savior’s Testifying of Himself
The Savior’s public declarations not only assure us that He knew who He was, they also set an example of how we can testify of Him with power and conviction. Jesus was not
36 apologetic or shy. He knew who He was and how essential it was to the eternal life and salvation of others for them to also know who He was. When testifying, He spoke plainly and boldly of His divinity. He left audiences with an unmistakable decision to make: Was He or wasn’t He divine? We should testify of Jesus in public as well as in private, doing so appropriately yet courageously and frequently. The specific ways in which Jesus testified of Himself also show us how we may bear witness of Him.
We may bear witness of His divine sonship. As Latter-day Saints we have taken the name of Jesus Christ upon us; we witness to this each Sabbath as we partake of the sacrament. Thus, we are to be prepared to stand in all places and testify that He is the actual Son of the Father in the flesh and is therefore the only perfect person ever to walk this earth qualified and capable of atoning for sin and bringing about the Resurrection. This assurance also allows us to testify that He is our Savior and Redeemer, the only name by which mankind may be saved.
We may bear witness of His divine Messiahship. As the true Messiah, Jesus preached the gospel to the meek, bound up the broken-hearted, proclaimed liberty to the captive, and brought beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (see Isa. 61:1–3). In Him was the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies of Israel’s ancient prophets.
We may bear witness of His divine rights and powers. Through modern revelation we understand more fully that Jesus has received a fulness of the glory of the Father and has received all power both in heaven and on earth (see D&C 93:16–17). It is He who may forgive sins, interpret His laws, sustain His people, control life and death, and lead us out of spiritual darkness. He is the Bread of Life, the Living Water, the Good Shepherd, and the Light and Life of the World.
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Artel Ricks, “Mount Moriah: Some Personal Reflections,” Ensign, Sep 1980, 59
Re The Sacred places of Jerusalem
I have always loved the story of Abraham and Isaac and have pondered it many times. One of the questions that it always raised was why the Lord chose a particular mountain for the sacrifice of Isaac, even though it required the elderly Abraham and his son to take a difficult three-day journey. Why not someplace nearer Beersheba, where the family resided at the time?
This question, always at the back of my mind when I reread the account, moved up a little when my wife, Focha, and I first toured the Holy Land in 1968, and returned on subsequent visits. We visited a mount in Jerusalem where we were told the magnificent temple of Solomon once stood, later replaced by the temple of Herod. The site is now occupied by the Moslem mosque, the Dome of the Rock, with its inlaid tile and golden cupola.
Like the Jews, Moslems, and other Christians visiting it, we removed our shoes before entering. Inside, we found that the center of interest was not the building itself but an enormous rock, fifty feet or so in diameter, over which the mosque is built. With quickened interest, we heard our guide say that on this very rock Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac and that later it was the site of the temple’s Holy of Holies.
Back in our hotel room, we turned eagerly to the scriptures to see if they offered any confirmation. We found that Solomon constructed the temple on “mount Moriah” over the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite (see 2 Chr. 3:1; 2 Sam. 24:16–25; 1 Chr. 21:15–30). We already knew from the Abraham story that the Lord had required him to make his three-day journey with Isaac into the “land of Moriah” to reach the mountain that the Lord would designate (see Gen. 22:1–14).
Was it the same mountain? We looked further and found that Flavius Josephus, a Jewish leader involved in Judah’s rebellion against Rome in a.d. 66–70, says that it was the same (see his Antiquities of the Jews, bk. 1, ch. 13, sect. 2). Even though his writings were frequently based on tradition, they are regarded with increasing respect today among scholars, including Professor Benjamin Mazar of Hebrew University whose archaeological and historic studies of Mount Moriah interested us deeply. Mazar accepts without question the fact that the land of Moriah is the mountain upon which the temple was subsequently built (see Mountain of the Lord, Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1975, p. 41).
We found that we had to rethink our mental picture of what a “mount” was. Although Moriah has been called “hill,” “mount,” and “mountain,” it is only a few hundred feet above the floor of the adjacent valleys and is less than a mile and half long from one end to the other. It is dwarfed by some of its neighbors, including the Mount of Olives.
We also found that the mountain has been given several names. Abraham himself, after Isaac’s life was spared, called the mount “Jehovah-jireh,” meaning, “in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen” (Gen. 22:14). That name had always raised another question for us: what was “it”? Professor Mazar suggests that an alternative translation would be “Jehovah” (see Mountain of the Lord, pp. 11, 96). Was Abraham telling us that Jehovah would come to this mountain?
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We found this translation very meaningful. We know from modern revelation that the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem is one of the events preceding the Second Coming, an event linked to the restoration of the city’s beauty and grandeur and to “the word of the Lord” going forth again from that holy city (see History of the Church, 5:337; Isa. 2:3). Surely Abraham felt the revelation of God’s power as his intention to sacrifice his son was accepted on Mount Moriah. Surely the Lord’s visit to his temple in Jerusalem at the time of his Second Coming will be another way of fulfilling the significance of “Jehovah-jireh.”
And, even more significantly, the New Testament witnesses to the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior on that mountain.
As we read the Abraham story again in light of Christ’s own sacrifice, we felt the force of the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob’s testimony that Abraham’s act was “a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son” (Jacob 4:5). Another modern scripture, the book of Moses, suggested that Abraham may have even understood the parallel in the action he was performing since Adam knew that sacrifice was a “similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father” (Moses 5:7) and surely passed that revealed knowledge on to his righteous descendants. Abraham himself talked with the Lord face to face and had foreknowledge of his mission on earth (see Abr. 2:8; Abr. 3:11; John 8:56).
When we began looking for them, details seemed to pop out of the story of parallels between the Crucifixion and the Abraham-Isaac story. The sacrificial animal that ransomed Isaac was, like Isaac himself, male. Isaac, like Christ, is called an “only son,” and modern revelation repeats the description (see D&C 101:4). The Apostle Paul actually calls Isaac an “only begotten son,” as does Josephus, even though both writers knew of the existence of Abraham’s oldest son, Ishmael (see Heb. 11:17; Josephus, bk. 1, ch. 13, sect. 1).
But these parallels raised another question for us. Where, exactly, did the crucifixion take place? Was it truly on the same mount? And to this question, unfortunately, we don’t have an exact answer. No eyewitness recorded the exact location in the Gospels. But in a.d. 335, the Emperor Constantine ordered a huge basilica raised over the spot that his mother, Helena, announced was the location of the original tomb. Some accounts also credit her with discovering the place of the crucifixion only a few yards away. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which we also visited, replaced Constantine’s original building and claims to cover both the tomb and the crucifixion sites.
Naturally, Helena’s decision was only as accurate as the information she received; and many reputable scholars have challenged these traditional locations. However, we were far more interested in a talk given by President Harold B. Lee at Easter 1972, when he explained the impressions he had felt when he visited the place as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles some years before. He and his companions made it a habit, before visiting a site, to pray “that the Lord would deafen our ears to what the guide said about historical places but make us keenly sensitive to the spiritual feelings so that we would know by impression, rather than by hearing, where the sacred spots were.” As they visited the traditional site of the crucifixion and holy sepulchre, “we felt none of the spiritual significance that we had felt at other places” (I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year, 10 Dec. 1958, pp. 5, 8).
Some may feel inclined to regard these spiritual impressions with skepticism, but Focha and I were extremely interested in President Lee’s report, especially when we learned that the
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre is not on Mount Moriah but is separated from it by the Tyropoeon Valley, so disguised by leveling, destruction, and reconstruction that it hardly looks like a valley today.
We searched further and found that scholars had asked themselves the same question. As early as 1842, a German scholar, Otto Thenius of Dresden, maintained that the Crucifixion probably took place outside Jerusalem’s north wall near a rocky knoll known as Jeremiah’s Grotto which stands at the summit of the hill sloping north from the temple mount.
In 1883, the renowned British general, Charles Gordon, decided that Thenius’s scholarship was correct and found another fascinating bit of evidence to support locating the Crucifixion on the northern end of the hill. The Lord instructed Moses to slaughter the sacrificial animals on the north side of the tabernacle altar (Lev. 1:11). Why the north side? Gordon reasoned that the north side of the altar, both the altar of the tabernacle and the altar of the temple, would point northward in the direction of the place where he and Thenius believed the Crucifixion occurred (John/Wilkinson, Jerusalem as Jesus Knew It, London: Thames and Hudson, 1978, p. 198). This hill today bears the name of Gordon’s Calvary, and is also called Golgotha, an Aramaic word meaning “skull,” possibly because the contour of the crest looks something like a skull and possibly because Jewish tradition associates it with the ancient “place of stoning” where capital offenders were executed by Jewish law. A Christian tradition asserts that Stephen was stoned here.
These two reasons were less conclusive in our minds, however, than the fact that the place meets scriptural requirements. It is “nigh unto the city” (John 19:20), “without the gate” (Heb. 13:12), possibly near a road or highway since “they that passed by reviled him” (Matt. 27:39), and visible from a distance since the women that followed “stood afar off, beholding these things” (Luke 23:49).
The clue in Hebrews and the Mosaic requirement that executions take place outside the city walls led us on a search for the location of the old walls. We found archaeological reports that the site lies just outside the city which stood at the time of Christ, but within another wall which was constructed a few years after the time of Christ. The location would have been discredited if the evidence had shown the later wall was standing at the time of the crucifixion.
General Gordon, convinced that he had found Calvary, was very interested in a tomb within a hundred yards of Gordon’s Calvary that had been accidentally discovered and cleared of debris in 1867. In 1883 when Gordon saw it, he wrote enthusiastically to friends in England who raised funds to purchase the property. It is known today as the Garden Tomb from John’s account: “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein never man yet laid” (John 19:41).
Like General Gordon, we were excited that the tomb in the garden fit the scriptural requirements. It was hewn out of stone (see Luke 23:53); it was large enough for several persons to stand inside (see Luke 24:1–4); it was “nigh at hand” to the place of the crucifixion (see John 19:42); and it would require a “great stone” to seal the entrance (see Matt. 27:60; Mark 15:46; Mark 16:4). A track suitable for rolling a large stone runs in front of this tomb’s door, a peculiarity shared with only a few other tombs in Jerusalem.
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When we visited the Garden Tomb on our first and subsequent visits to the Holy Land, we were impressed. The simple outdoor setting seemed very appropriate. We resonated with President Lee’s own response to this tomb: “There was something that seemed to impress us as we stood there that this was the holiest place of all” (I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked, p. 5).
Our own memories came back as an echo of confirmation when we read the Church News account of President Lee’s second visit to the Garden Tomb in the fall of 1972, this time as president of the Church. He said: “As we walked those streets where Jesus walked, we went to the place where the greatest event ever took place.
“Outside of the wall of the city was a high hill. Here was a tomb. This was the tomb where they laid Jesus. There was a feeling there that’s hard to explain. …
“There was a weakness in me as I stood in that place. I had never experienced it before. It seemed as though I had been there before. I was feeling spiritually that I had talked with the Lord” (Church News, 17 Mar. 1973, p. 3).
Our quest for Mount Moriah and its connection with the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Second Coming, resulted in more than the mere satisfaction of our curiosity. We developed a greater appreciation for the eternal and unchanging nature of the things of God. We found harmony and consistency in the truths revealed by ancient and modern prophets. We were humbled by the spiritual impressions of President Harold B. Lee and stimulated intellectually by the research of historians, archaeologists, and scripturalists. But most important of all, we saw that all of them testify of Jesus, the Messiah.
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Russell M. Nelson, “Jesus the Christ: Our Master and More,” Ensign, Apr 2000
Each of us has the responsibility to know the Lord, love Him, follow Him, serve Him, teach and testify of Him.
My lifelong interest in the human heart took an unexpected turn in April 1984, when I was called to leave the operating room of the hospital and enter the upper room of the temple. There I became an ordained Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. I did not seek such a call but have humbly tried to be worthy of that trust and privilege of being His representative, now hoping to mend hearts spiritually as I previously did surgically.
As one who has been called, sustained, and ordained—one of 15 special witnesses of our Lord and Master—I follow this vital theme from the Book of Mormon: “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, [and] we prophesy of Christ” (2 Ne. 25:26).
We honor Him as the most important individual ever to live on planet Earth. He is Jesus the Christ, our Master and more. He has numerous names, titles, and responsibilities, all of eternal significance. The Topical Guide under the heading “Jesus Christ” has 19 pages (240– 58) filled with references listed under 57 subheadings. In the space allotted here we could not fully consider or comprehend all of these important facets of His life. But for now I would like to review, even briefly, 10 of those mighty responsibilities, not wanting to imply any order of priority because all He accomplished was equally supernal in scope.
Creator
Under the direction of the Father, Jesus bore the responsibility of Creator. His title was “the Word,” spelled with a capital W (see JST, John 1:16, Bible appendix). In the Greek language of the New Testament, that Word was Logos, or “expression.” It was another name for the Master. That terminology may seem strange, but it is appropriate. We use words to convey our expression to others. So Jesus was the Word, or expression, of His Father to the world.
The Gospel of John proclaims that Christ is the Creator of all things: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3; see also D&C 93:21).
In modern revelation, Jesus’ responsibility as Creator of many worlds is affirmed:
“Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—
“The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.
“The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him” (D&C 93:8–10; see also 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb. 1:2; 2 Ne. 9:5; 3 Ne. 9:15; D&C 76:23–24; D&C 88:42–48; D&C 101:32–34).
The book of Helaman records similar testimony, declaring that “Jesus Christ [is] … the Creator of all things from the beginning” (Hel. 14:12). Another clarifying quotation came 42 from “the Lord God [who] said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things. …
“And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
“And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:31–33).
This hallowed Creator provided that each of us may have a physical body, uniquely individual yet in many respects comparable to every other human body. Just as a well- educated musician can recognize the composer of a symphony by its style and structure, so a well-educated surgeon can recognize the Creator of human beings by the similarity of style and structure of our anatomy. Individual variations notwithstanding, this similarity provides additional evidence and deep spiritual confirmation of our divine creation by our same Creator. It enhances the understanding of our relationship to Him:
“The Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them.
“And the Gods said: We will bless them” (Abr. 4:27–28).
Indeed, they have blessed each of us. Our bodies can repair and defend themselves. They regenerate new cells to replace old ones. Our bodies carry seeds that allow reproduction of our own kind with our unique individual characteristics. Little wonder our Creator is also known as the great Physician (see Matt. 9:12), able to heal the sick (see 3 Ne. 9:13; D&C 35:9; D&C 42:48–51), restore sight to the blind (see John 9:1–11), unstop the ears of the deaf (see Isa. 35:5; 3 Ne. 26:15), and raise the dead (see Matt. 9:23–26; John 11:5–45). And in these latter days, He has revealed a code of health known as the Word of Wisdom that has blessed the lives of all who have obeyed it in faith. So we honor Jesus as our Creator, divinely directed by His Father.
Jehovah
Jesus was Jehovah. This sacred title is recorded only four times in the King James version of the Holy Bible (see Ex. 6:3; Ps. 83:18; Isa. 12:2; Isa. 26:4). The use of this holy name is also confirmed in modern scripture (see Moro. 10:34; D&C 109:68; D&C 110:3; D&C 128:9). Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word hayah, which means “to be” or “to exist.” A form of the word hayah in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament was translated into English as I AM (Ex. 3:14).
Remarkably, I AM was used by Jehovah as a name for Himself (see D&C 29:1; D&C 38:1; D&C 39:1). Read the following intriguing dialogue from the Old Testament. Moses had just received a divine appointment he did not seek, a commission to lead the children of Israel out of bondage. The scene takes place atop Mount Sinai:
“Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
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No doubt Moses felt inadequate for his calling, even as you and I may when given a challenging assignment.
“And Moses said [again] unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
“And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever” (Ex. 3:11, 13–15).
Jehovah had thus revealed to Moses this very name that He had meekly and modestly chosen for His own premortal identification: “I AM.”
Later in His mortal ministry, Jesus occasionally repeated this name. Do you remember His terse response to tormenting questioners? Note the double meaning in His reply to Caiaphas, the chief high priest:
“The high priest asked him, … Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
“And Jesus said, I am” (Mark 14:61–62).
He was declaring both His lineage and His name. Another instance occurred when Jesus was taunted about His acquaintanceship with Abraham:
“Then said the Jews unto him, … hast thou seen Abraham?
“Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:57– 58).
Jehovah—the great I AM, the God of the Old Testament—clearly identified Himself when he personally appeared in His glory as a resurrected being to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple on 3 April 1836. I quote from their written testimony:
“We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
“His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
“I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain” (D&C 110:2–4; emphasis added; see also D&C 76:23).
Jesus fulfilled His responsibility as Jehovah, “the Great I AM,” with eternal consequence.
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Advocate with the Father
Jesus is our Advocate with the Father (see 1 Jn. 2:1; D&C 29:5; D&C 32:3; D&C 45:3; D&C 110:4). The word advocate comes from Latin roots meaning a “voice for” or “one who pleads for another.” Other related terms are used in scripture, such as mediator (see 1 Tim. 2:5, 2 Ne. 2:28; D&C 76:69). From the Book of Mormon we learn that this responsibility to mediate, or make intercession, was foreseen before His birth: Jesus “shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved” (2 Ne. 2:9).
This mission was clearly evident in the compassionate intercessory prayer of Jesus. In your mind, picture Him kneeling in fervent supplication. Listen to the beautiful language of His prayer. Sense His feeling for His weighty responsibility as mediator:
“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
“Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
“For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
“I pray for them” (John 17:6–9).
He is also known as the Mediator of the new testament, or new covenant (see Heb. 9:15; Heb. 12:24). Comprehending Him as our Advocate, Intercessor, and Mediator with the Father gives us assurance of His unequaled understanding, justice, and mercy (see Alma 7:12).
Immanuel
Jesus was foreordained to be the promised Immanuel. Remember Isaiah’s remarkable prophecy: “The Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14). Fulfillment of that prophecy was not just unlikely, it was humanly impossible. Incredible! Everyone knew a virgin could not bear a child. And then for that child to be given such a pretentious name was doubly daring. The Hebrew name—the title of which Isaiah prophesied, Immanuel—literally means “with us is God”! (See Isa. 7:14, footnote e.) That holy name was subsequently given to Jesus in the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants (see Matt. 1:23; 2 Ne. 17:14; D&C 128:22).
Immanuel could be such only at the will of His Father.
Son of God
Jesus alone bore His responsibility as the Son of God, the Only Begotten Son of the Father (see John 1:14, 18; John 3:16). Jesus was literally “the Son of the Highest” (Luke 1:32; see also Luke 1:35). In more than a dozen verses of scripture, the solemn word of God the Father bears testimony that Jesus is truly His Beloved Son. That solemn testimony is often coupled with God’s pleading for mankind to hear and obey the voice of His revered Son (see Matt. 3:17; Matt. 17:5; Mark 1:11; Mark 9:7; Luke 3:22; Luke 9:35; 2 Pet. 1:17; 2 Ne. 31:11; 3 Ne.
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11:7; 3 Ne. 21:20; D&C 93:15; Moses 4:2; JS—H 1:17). Through the condescension of God, that most unlikely prophecy of Isaiah (see Isa. 7:14) became a reality.
The unique parentage of Jesus was also announced to Nephi, who was thus instructed by an angel:
“Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. …
“… Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!” (1 Ne. 11:18, 21).
From His Heavenly Father, Jesus inherited His potential for immortality and eternal life. From His mother, Jesus inherited death (see Gen. 3:15; Mark 6:3). Prior to His Crucifixion, He spoke these words of clarification:
“I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This … have I received of my Father” (John 10:17–18).
Though separate from His Heavenly Father in both body and spirit, Jesus is one with His Father in power and purpose. Their ultimate objective is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
Some may wonder why the Son is occasionally referred to as “the Father.” The designation used for any man can vary. Every man is a son but may also be called father, brother, uncle, or grandfather, depending on his circumstance. So we must not allow ourselves to become confused regarding divine identity, purpose, or doctrine. Because Jesus was our Creator, He is known in scripture as “the Father of all things” (Mosiah 7:27; see also Mosiah 15:3; Mosiah 16:15; Hel. 14:12; Ether 3:14). But please remember, as the First Presidency under President Joseph F. Smith taught: “Jesus Christ is not the Father of the spirits who have taken or yet shall take bodies upon this earth, for He is one of them. He is The Son, as they are sons or daughters of Elohim” (in James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. [1965–75], 5:34).
We comprehend that distinction well when we pray to our Heavenly Father in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. And as we do so regularly, we honor our heavenly and earthly parentage, just as Jesus honored His—as the Son of God.
Anointed One
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power” (Acts 10:38). Jesus was the Anointed One. Because of this fact, He was accorded two specific titles. One was the Messiah, which in Hebrew means “the anointed.” The other was the Christ, which comes from the Greek word that also means “the anointed.” Thus, “Jesus is spoken of as the Christ and the Messiah, which means he is the one anointed of the Father to be his personal representative in all things pertaining to the salvation of mankind” (Bible Dictionary, “Anointed One,” 609). Scriptures declare that Christ is the only name under heaven whereby salvation comes (see 2 Ne. 25:20). So one may add either of these titles to signify adoration
46 for Jesus: the Christ or the Messiah, both signifying an anointing by God for that supernal responsibility.
Savior and Redeemer
Jesus was born to be Savior and Redeemer of all mankind (see Isa. 49:26; 1 Ne. 10:5). He was the Lamb of God (see 1 Ne. 10:10) who offered Himself without spot or blemish (see 1 Pet. 1:19) as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (see John 1:29). Later, as the resurrected Lord, He related that sacred responsibility to the meaning of the gospel, which He described in one powerful passage:
“Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.
“And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross” (3 Ne. 27:13–14; see also 3 Ne. 27:15–21).
Thus, Jesus personally defined gospel. This term comes from the Old English godspell, which means “good news.” The LDS Bible Dictionary notes the following: “The good news is that Jesus Christ has made a perfect atonement for mankind that will redeem all mankind from the grave and reward each individual according to his/her works and sincerest desires. This atonement was begun by his appointment in the premortal world but was worked out by Jesus during his mortal sojourn” (Bible Dictionary, “Gospels,” 682).
Jesus’ Atonement had been foretold long before He was born in Bethlehem. Prophets had so prophesied His advent for many generations. Let us sample from the record of Helaman, written some 30 years before the Savior’s birth: “Remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world” (Hel. 5:9).
His Atonement blesses each of us in a very personal way. Read carefully this explanation from Jesus:
“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
“But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
“Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (D&C 19:16–19).
Jesus fulfilled His glorious promise made in preearthly councils by atoning for the fall of Adam and Eve unconditionally and for our own sins upon the condition of our repentance. His responsibility as Savior and Redeemer was indelibly intertwined with His responsibility as Creator.
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To shed additional insight on this relationship, I would like to share a remarkable quotation I found in a rare book in London one day while searching through the library of the British Museum. It was published as a 20th-century English translation of an ancient Egyptian text. It was written by Timothy, Archbishop of Alexandria, who died in a.d. 385. This record refers to the creation of Adam; premortal Jesus is speaking of His Father:
“He … made Adam according to Our image and likeness, and He left him lying for forty days and forty nights without putting breath into him. And He heaved sighs over him daily, saying, ‘If I put breath into this [man], he must suffer many pains.’ And I said unto My father, ‘Put breath into him; I will be an advocate for him.’ And My Father said unto Me, ‘If I put breath into him, My beloved Son, Thou wilt be obliged to go down into the world, and to suffer many pains for him before Thou shalt have redeemed him, and made him to come back to his primal state.’ And I said unto My Father, ‘Put breath into him; I will be his advocate, and I will go down into the world, and will fulfil Thy command’ ” (“Discourse on Abbaton,” in E. A. Wallis Budge, ed. and trans., Coptic Martyrdoms etc. in the Dialect of Upper Egypt [1977], brackets appear in printed text; see Moses 3:7; Moses 6:8–9, 51–52, 59).
Jesus’ responsibility as Advocate, Savior, and Redeemer was foredetermined in premortal realms and fulfilled by His Atonement (see Job 19:25–26; Matt. 1:21; Abr. 3:24–27). Our responsibility is to remember, to repent, and to be righteous.
Judge
Closely allied to the Lord’s status as Savior and Redeemer is His responsibility as Judge. Jesus revealed this interrelationship after He had declared His definition of the gospel, which we cited earlier:
“As I have been lifted up [upon the cross] by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
“… Therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works” (3 Ne. 27:14–15).
The Book of Mormon sheds further light on how that judgment will occur. So does the temple endowment. When we approach that threshold of the eternal court of justice, we know who will personally preside:
“The keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.
“And whoso knocketh, to him will he open” (2 Ne. 9:41–42).
Scriptures indicate that the Lord will receive apostolic assistance when exercising judgment upon the house of Israel (see 1 Ne. 12:9; D&C 29:12). Our personal encounter at judgment will be aided by our own “bright recollection” (Alma 11:43) and “perfect remembrance” (Alma 5:18) of our deeds, as well as by the desires of our hearts (see D&C 137:9).
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Exemplar
Another overarching responsibility of the Lord is that of Exemplar. To people of the Holy Land, He said, “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15; see also John 14:6; 1 Pet. 2:21). To people of ancient America, He again emphasized His mission as Exemplar: “I am the light; I have set an example for you” (3 Ne. 18:16; see also 3 Ne. 27:27; 2 Ne. 31:9, 16). In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenged His followers with His admonition: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).
Sinless and flawless as Jesus was in mortality, we should remember that He viewed His own state of physical perfection as being yet in the future (see Luke 13:32). Even He had to endure to the end. Can you and I be expected to do less?
When the crucified and resurrected Lord appeared to the people in ancient America, He again stressed the importance of His example. But now He included Himself as a perfected personage: “I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Ne. 12:48).
Are you vexed by your own imperfections? For example, have you ever locked your keys inside the car? Or have you ever moved from one room to another, to accomplish a task, only to find you had forgotten what you wanted to do? (Incidentally, troubles of that nature don’t disappear as you grow older.) Please do not be discouraged by the Lord’s expression of hope for your perfection. You should have faith to know that He would not require development beyond your capacity. Of course you should strive to correct habits or thoughts which are improper. Conquering of weakness brings great joy. You can attain a certain degree of perfection in some things in this life. And you can become perfect in keeping various commandments. But the Lord was not necessarily asking for your errorless and perfect behavior in all things. He was pleading for more than that. His hopes are for your full potential to be realized: to become as He is! That includes the perfection of your physical body, when it will be changed to an immortal state that cannot deteriorate or die.
So while you earnestly strive for continuing improvement in your life here, remember that your resurrection, exaltation, completion, and perfection await you in the life to come. That precious promise of perfection could not have been possible without the Lord’s Atonement and example.
Millennial Messiah
One of the Lord’s ultimate responsibilities lies yet in the future. That will be His masterful status as the Millennial Messiah. When that day comes, the physical face of the earth will have been changed: “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” (Isa. 40:4). Then Jesus will return to the earth. His Second Coming will be no secret. It will be broadly known: “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isa. 40:5).
Then, “the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). He will govern from two world capitals, one in old Jerusalem (see Jer. 3:17; Zech. 14:4–7; D&C 45:48–66; D&C 133:19–21) and the other in the New Jerusalem, “built upon the American
49 continent” (A of F 1:10; see also Ether 13:3–10; D&C 84:2–4). From these centers He will direct the affairs of His Church and kingdom. Then He “shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15; see also Ex. 15:18; Ps. 146:10; Mosiah 3:5; D&C 76:108).
In that day He will bear new titles and be surrounded by special Saints. He will be known as “Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that [will be] with him [will be those who] are called, and chosen, and faithful” to their trust here in mortality (Rev. 17:14; see also Rev. 19:16).
He is Jesus the Christ, our Master and more. We have discussed but 10 of His many responsibilities: Creator, Jehovah, Advocate with the Father, Immanuel, Son of God, Anointed One, Savior and Redeemer, Judge, Exemplar, and Millennial Messiah.
As His disciples, you and I bear mighty responsibilities too. Wherever I walk, it is my divine calling and sacred privilege to bear fervent testimony of Jesus the Christ. He lives! I love Him. Eagerly I follow Him, and willingly I offer my life in His service. As His special witness, I solemnly teach of Him. I testify of Him. And each of you also has the responsibility to know the Lord, love Him, follow Him, serve Him, and teach and testify of Him.
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D. Kelly Ogden and R. Val Johnson “All the Prophets prophesied of Christ” Ensign January 1994
Prophecies Detailing Christ’s Ministry in the Meridian of Time
This chart identifies many, but not all, of the scriptural passages that foretold the Messiah’s advent centuries before he came. In some instances, because of space limitations, a grouping combines related prophecies. Interested readers may examine the scriptures referenced and determine which prophet referenced a specific detail of the Savior’s atoning mission.
His Birth Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
a. The Creator, The brother of Jared, Isa. 44:24; Ether Jehovah, would take Nephi, Jacob, King 3:6–16; 1 Ne. 19:7– a mortal body in Benjamin, Abinadi, 12; 2 Ne. 9:5; order to redeem Ammon, Lamoni, Mosiah 3:5; Mosiah mankind John the Baptist 7:27; Mosiah 13:34; Mosiah 15:1; Mosiah 19:13; D&C 93:6–11
b. He would be the Adam, Enoch, Moses 1:6, 33; Son of God, the Moses, Isaiah, Moses 2:1, 26; Only Begotten of the Nephi, Jacob, Moses 6:52; Isa. Father in the flesh, Abinadi, Alma, John 9:6–7; 1 Ne. 11:20– the God of Israel the Baptist 21; 1 Ne. 22:12; 2 Ne. 25:12; Jacob 4:5; Mosiah 15:2–5; Alma 5:48; Alma 7:10; Alma 9:26; D&C 93:11–14
c. His mother would Moses, Isaiah, Gen. 49:24; Isa. be a virgin, a Jeremiah, Nephi, 7:14; Isa. 11:1; Jer. descendant of Jacob King Benjamin, 23:5–6; Jer. 33:15– through King David; Alma 16; 1 Ne. 11:13–21; she would be from Mosiah 3:8; Alma Nazareth, and her 7:10 name would be Mary
51 d. Signs (a star, Samuel the Lamanite Hel. 14:3–7 light, etc.) would attend his birth
His Name
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
a. The Messiah Moses, Isaiah Ex. 15:2; Isa. 12:2–6 would be called “Salvation” (in Hebrew, Yeshua; in English, Jesus)
b. His name would Adam, Enoch, Noah, Moses 6:52, 57; be Jesus Christ brother of Jared, Moses 8:23–24; Nephi, Jacob, King Ether 3:14–16; 2 Ne. Benjamin, Abinadi, 10:3; 2 Ne. 25:19; 2 Alma Ne. 31:10; Jacob 4:11; Mosiah 3:8, 17; Mosiah 7:27; Alma 5:48
His Time of Birth
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
Jesus would be born Adam, Enoch, Moses 5:57; Moses in the meridian of Moses, Lehi, Nephi, 6:57, 62; Moses time; 600 years after Samuel the Lamanite 7:45–46; 1 Ne. 10:4; Lehi left Jerusalem 1 Ne. 19:8; 2 Ne. and 5 years after 25:19; Hel. 14:2 Samuel’s prophecy
His Place of Birth
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Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
Christ would be born Micah, Jacob, Alma Micah 5:2; 2 Ne. among the Jews near 10:3; Alma 7:10 Jerusalem at a place called Bethlehem
Details of His Ministry
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
a. A messenger Isaiah, Lehi Isa. 40:3; 1 Ne. prophet would 10:7–9 prepare the way for Messiah’s mission
b. Christ would Hosea Hosea 11:1 come out of Egypt
c. He would be a Nephi 1 Ne. 11:13, 20 child in Nazareth
d. He would be Lehi, Nephi 1 Ne. 10:9–10; 1 Ne. baptized by the 11:27; 2 Ne. 31:4–8 messenger-prophet beyond Jordan near Bethabara; the prophet would testify of him, and the Holy Ghost would descend on him as a dove
e. He would suffer Isaiah, King Isa. 53:3; Mosiah temptations, hunger, Benjamin, Abinadi, 3:7; Mosiah 15:5;
53 thirst Alma Alma 7:11
f. He would call Nephi 1 Ne. 11:29, 34; 1 twelve Apostles in Ne. 12:8–10 the Old World and twelve disciples in the New World
g. He would preach Isaiah Isa. 61:1 glad tidings
h. He would care for Isaiah, Ezekiel Isa. 40:10–11; Ezek. his followers as a 34:11–31 shepherd
i. He would be a Moses, David, Alma JST, Gen. 14:25–28; priest forever (after Ps. 110:1–4; Alma the order of 13:7–9 Melchizedek)
j. He would minister Isaiah, Nephi, Jacob, Isa. 59:16–19; 1 Ne. in power and glory, King Benjamin, 11:28, 31; 2 Ne. performing miracles Abinadi, Alma 10:4; Mosiah 3:5–6; Mosiah 15:6; Alma 5:50
k. He would come to Isaiah Isa. 59:20 Zion (Jerusalem)
l. He would come as Zechariah Zech. 9:9 a king riding on a young ass
m. He would be a David, Isaiah, Ps. 118:21–22; Isa. stumbling block to Nephi, Jacob 8:13–14; Isa. 53:3; 1 his people, who Ne. 19:13; 2 Ne. would reject him 10:3–5; 2 Ne. 25:12; Jacob 4:15
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n. He would be David, Zechariah Ps. 41:9; Zech. betrayed by his 11:12–13; Zech. friends for thirty 13:6 pieces of silver
o. Foreshadowing’s Adam, Nephi Moses 6:62–63; 2 of his life and Ne. 11:4 mission
Atonement: His Suffering
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
a. Christ would yield Isaiah, Nephi, Isa. 50:6; Isa. 53:7; 1 himself to suffer Abinadi Ne. 19:9–10; Mosiah 15:5–6
b. He would be Isaiah Isa. 53:9 innocent of violence and deceit
c. He would suffer to Isaiah, Jacob, King Isa. 53:3–12; 2 Ne. atone for our sins Benjamin, Alma, 9:21–22; Mosiah and help our Amulek, Aaron 3:7; Alma 7:11–13; sicknesses; blood Alma 21:9; Alma would come from 34:8–9 every pore
d. He would be Isaiah, Nephi Isa. 53:8; 1 Ne. judged and placed in 11:32 prison
e. Foreshadowing’s Abraham, Isaac, Gen. 22:1–14; Lev.
55 of his suffering Moses, Jacob 16:7–10; Jacob 4:5
Atonement: His Crucifixion
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
a. Christ would die Isaiah, Lehi, Nephi, Isa. 53:7, 9, 12; 1 voluntarily Abinadi Ne. 19:9–10; 2 Ne. 2:6–7; Mosiah 15:5, 7
b. He would be Enoch, Zenock, Moses 7:47, 55; 1 crucified for and by Neum, Lehi, Nephi, Ne. 10:11; 1 Ne. his people Jacob 11:32–33; 1 Ne. 19:10; 2 Ne. 6:9; 2 Ne. 10:3–5; 2 Ne. 25:13
c. His hands and feet David, Isaiah, Ps. 22:16; Isa. would be pierced Zechariah 22:23–25; Zech. 12:10; Zech. 13:6
d. He would be David, Isaiah Ps. 22:7–8; Isa. 50:6 mocked and suffer pain and thirst
e. He would be David Ps. 69:20–21 given vinegar to drink
f. He would speak David Ps. 22:1; Ps. 31:5 specific words from the cross
g. None of his bones David Ps. 34:19–20
56 would be broken
h. Lots would be David Ps. 22:18 cast for his garments
i. He would be Zenos, Nephi 1 Ne. 19:10; 2 Ne. buried in a sepulchre 25:13
j. Signs would attend Zenos, Nephi, 1 Ne. 12:4–6; 1 Ne. his death (darkness, Samuel the Lamanite 19:10–13; Hel. earthquakes, etc.) 14:20–28
k. Clear Adam, Eve, Enoch, Moses 5:4–7; Moses foreshadowings of Abraham, Isaac, 6:63–65; Gen. 22:1– his atonement and Moses, Ezekiel, 14; Ex. 12; Ex. death Nephi, Jacob, Alma, 16:12–35; Ex. 17:1– Nephi (son of 7; Ex. 29; Lev. 1–17; Helaman) Lev. 21–23; Num. 19; Num. 21:5–9; Ezek. 43:18–27; Ezek. 45:18–25; 1 Ne. 17:41; Jacob 4:4–5; Alma 33:18– 23; Hel. 8:13–15
Atonement: His Resurrection
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
a. Jesus would rise Lehi, Nephi, King 1 Ne. 10:11; 2 Ne. from death after Benjamin 25:13–14; 2 Ne. three days and show 26:1; Mosiah 3:10 himself to witnesses
b. Others would be Enoch, Samuel, Job, Moses 7:55–56, 62; resurrected because David, Isaiah, 1 Sam. 2:6; Job he overcame death Ezekiel, Hosea, 19:25–27; Ps. 16:9– Jacob, Abinadi, 10; Isa. 25:8; Isa.
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Alma, Amulek, 26:19; Ezek. 37:12– Samuel the Lamanite 13; Hosea 13:14; 2 Ne. 2:8; 2 Ne. 9:4– 13; Mosiah 13:33– 35; Mosiah 15:20– 24; Mosiah 16:7–11; Alma 11:42–45; Alma 33:22; Alma 40:2–23; Hel. 14:25
c. Foreshadowing’s Jonah Jonah 1:17; Jonah of his resurrection 2:1–10; see also item k, bottom of page 35
Atonement: Whys and How’s
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
a. Christ’s Nephi, Jacob, 2 Ne. 9:7; 2 Ne. atonement would be Amulek 25:16; Alma 34:8– infinite 14
b. His sacrifice Jacob, Abinadi, 2 Ne. 9:25–26; 2 Ne. would satisfy the Alma, Amulek 25:16; Mosiah 15:8– laws of justice and 9, 26–27; Alma mercy 34:14–18; Alma 42:13–30
c. His atonement Lehi, Jacob, 2 Ne. 2:8–9; 2 Ne. would redeem all Abinadi, Alma, 9:4–15; Mosiah mankind from Amulek 15:7–9, 20–27; physical death, Alma 11:39–45; brought by Adam’s Alma 12:21–25; fall Alma 40:23; Alma 41:2–15
d. His atonement Adam, Eve, Noah, Moses 5:8–11; would make brother of Jared, Moses 6:51–68; available the Isaiah, Lehi, Nephi, Moses 8:23–24;
58 forgiveness of sins Jacob, King Matt. 3:11; Ether for all who have Benjamin, Abinadi, 3:14; Isa. 1:16–18; 1 faith in him, repent, Alma, Amulek, Ne. 10:4–6; 2 Ne. are baptized, receive Aaron, John the 2:3–29; 2 Ne. 9:10– the Holy Ghost, and Baptist 42; 2 Ne. 31:10–21; endure; they thus Mosiah 3:11–19; become his sons and Mosiah 4:5–30; daughters and Mosiah 5:6–15; receive joy and Mosiah 15:10–19; eternal life Alma 5:6–62; Alma 11:36–43; Alma 12:12–37; Alma 22:14; Alma 34:2– 41; Alma 42:2–28
His Visit to the Spirit World
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
The Savior’s Enoch, Isaiah, Moses 7:57; Isa. atonement would Zechariah 42:6–7; Isa. 61:1; extend into the spirit Zech. 9:11 world, setting the prisoners free
His Visit to a Branch of Joseph
Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
Christ would visit a Joseph, Nephi JST, Gen. 50:25; 1 branch of Joseph’s Ne. 12:1, 6; 2 Ne. descendants 26:1
His Ascension into Heaven
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Prophecy Person Reference Speaking/Writing
Jesus would ascend Enoch Moses 7:59 to the Father after his resurrection
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