Enoch, his Life and Translation—References to Him by Paul and Jude—Copious Extracts from His Prophecy—The Prophet Joseph Smith on Enoch and the Doctrine of Translation—The Office of Translated Saints—Enoch's Future Work—Translation and Resurrection—Christ the Creator—Summary of the Results of Enoch's Faith in the Saving Blood of Christ.
We next come to Enoch, who presents a very important figure among the antediluvians, and of whom there are some very marvelous things related. The Bible record of him is as follows:
"And Jared lived an hundred, sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch. * * * And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters; and all the days of Enoch were three hundred, sixty and five years; and Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him."—Gen., v, 18, 21-24.
This is certainly a very meagre history of so great a personage, and to supply the deficiency we must have recourse to other testimonies: one important fact, however, is here stated, that "he walked with God;" another is, that "God took him." There was evidently a book written by this Patriarch, which is called the Book of Enoch, for Jude says:
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."—Jude, i, 14, 15.
From the above it would seem that not only had Enoch written a book, but that Jude had access to it; or if not had had a communication or revelation from Enoch, as referred to by Joseph Smith, hereafter, for we discover that he had a knowledge of the Son of God, the Messiah. It is true, the Only Begotten, as He is spoken of elsewhere, is not here mentioned, but only the Lord is referred to; yet the circumstances connected therewith are indicative of it being that personage; for Paul expresses the same sentiment in regard to the second coming of the Messiah, and says:
"And to you, who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day."—2 Thes., i, 7-10.
Moreover, Jesus Himself makes the following remarks concerning the same subject:
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."—Matt., xxv, 31, 32.
Thus showing that it was the same personage that was referred to byEnoch.
Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, writes:
"By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."—Heb., xi, 5.
These declarations are very strongly corroborated by the following extracts from a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, relating to the prophecy of Enoch, and published in the Pearl of Great Price:
"And from that time forth Enoch began to prophesy, saying unto the people, That, as I was journeying, and stood in the place Mahujah, and cried unto the Lord, there came a voice out of heaven, saying, Turn ye, and get ye upon the Mount Simeon. And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory, and I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face; and he said unto me, Look, and I will show unto thee the world for the space of many generations. * * * And the Lord said unto me, Go forth to this people and say unto them, Repent, lest I come out and smite them with a curse, and they die. And he gave unto me a commandment that I should baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, who is full of grace and truth, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son. And it came to pass that Enoch continued to call upon all the people, save it were the people of Cainan, to repent; and so great was the faith of Enoch, that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly. * * * And there went forth a curse upon all the people who fought against God; and from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness. And the fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. * * * And it came to pass that Enoch talked with the Lord; and he said unto the Lord, Surely, Zion shall dwell in safety for ever. But the Lord said unto Enoch, Zion have I blessed, but the residue of the people have I cursed. And it came to pass that the Lord showed unto Enoch all the inhabitants of the earth; and he beheld, and lo, Zion, in process of time, was taken up into heaven! And the Lord said unto Enoch, Behold mine abode for ever."
The Prophet Joseph Smith, when speaking of Enoch and his people and the doctrine of translation, said;
"If Cain had fulfilled the law of righteousness as did Enoch, he would have walked with God all the days of his life, and never failed of a blessing. Gen., v, 22: 'And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters; and all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years; and Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him.' Now this Enoch God reserved unto Himself, that he should not die at that time, and appointed unto him a ministry unto terrestrial bodies, of whom there has been but little revealed. He is reserved also unto the Presidency of a dispensation, and more shall be said of him and terrestrial bodies in another treatise. He is a ministering angel, to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and appeared unto Jude as Abel did unto Paul: therefore Jude spoke of him, 14th and 15th verses: 'And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, revealed these sayings: Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his Saints.'
"Paul was also acquainted with this character, and received instructions from him: Heb., xi, 5: 'By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God; but without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a revealer to those who diligently seek him.'
"Now the doctrine of translation is a power which belongs to this Priesthood. There are many things which belong to the powers of the Priesthood and the keys thereof, that have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world; they are hid from the wise and prudent, to be revealed in the last times.
"Many may have supposed that the doctrine of translation was a doctrine whereby men were taken immediately into the presence of God, and into an eternal fulness, but this is a mistaken idea. Their place of habitation is that of the terrestrial order, and a place prepared for such characters He held in reserve to be ministering angels unto many planets, and who as yet have not entered into so great a fulness as those who are resurrected from the dead. See Heb., xi, part of 35th verse, 'Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.'
"Now it is evident that there was a better resurrection, or else God would not have revealed it unto Paul. Wherein then can it be said a better resurrection? This distinction is made between the doctrine of the actual resurrection and translation: translation obtains deliverance from the tortures and sufferings of the body, but their existence will prolong as to the labors and toils of the ministry, before they can enter into so great a rest and glory.
"On the other hand, those who were tortured, not accepting deliverance, received animmediaterest from their labors. See Revelations, xiv, 13: 'And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for from henceforth they do rest from their labors and their works do follow them.'
"They rest from their labors for a long time, and yet their work is held in reserve for them, that they are permitted to do the same works after they receive a resurrection for their bodies."—History of Joseph Smith, Deseret News, Vol. IV, No. 30.
"He [President Joseph Smith] explained the difference between an angel and a ministering spirit; the one a resurrected or translated body, with its spirit, ministering to embodied spirits; the other a disembodied spirit, visiting or ministering to disembodied spirits. Jesus Christ became a ministering spirit (while his body was lying in the sepulchre) to the spirits in prison, to fulfil an important part of his mission, without which he could not have perfected his work, nor entered into his rest. After his resurrection he appeared as an angel to his disciples, &c. Translated bodies cannot enter into rest until they have undergone a change equivalent to death. Translated bodies are designed for future missions.
"The angel that appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos was a translated or resurrected body. Jesus Christ went in body, after his resurrection, to minister to translated and resurrected bodies. There has been a chain of authority and power from Adam down to the present time."—History of Joseph Smith, Deseret News, Vol. V, No. 11.
It would appear that the translated residents of Enoch's city are under the direction of Jesus, who is the Creator of worlds; and that He, holding the keys of the government of other worlds, could, in His administrations to them, select the translated people of Enoch's Zion, if He thought proper, to perform a mission to these various planets, and as death had not passed upon them, they could be prepared by Him and made use of through the medium of the Holy Priesthood to act as ambassadors, teachers, or messengers to those worlds over which Jesus holds the authority. We read in the Times and Seasons:
"Truly Jesus Christ created the worlds, and is Lord of Lords, and, as the Psalmist said, 'judges among the Gods.' Then Moses might have said with propriety, he is the 'living God,' and Christ, speaking of the flesh, could say, I am the Son of Man; and Peter, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, Thou art the Son of the living God, meaning our Father in Heaven, and who, with Jesus Christ His first begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, are one in power, one in dominion, and one in glory, constituting the First Presidency of this system and this eternity. But they are as much three distinct persons as the sun, moon and earth are three different bodies.
"And again, the 'twelve kingdoms,' which are under the above-mentioned Presidency of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, are governed by the same rules, and destined to the same honor. [Book Doc. and Cov., page 135, par. 13.[A]] For, 'Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field, and he sent forth his servants into the field, to dig in the field; and he said unto the first, Go ye and labor in the field, and in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance: and he said unto the second, Go ye also into the field, and in the second hour I will visit you with the joy of my countenance; and also unto the third, saying, I will visit you; and unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.'"
[Footnote A: Page 310, New Edition.]
It is further stated in this section: "Therefore, unto this parable will I liken all these kingdoms, and the inhabitants thereof; every kingdom in its hour, and in its time, and in its season; even according to the decree which God hath made."—Verse 61.
That is, each kingdom, or planet, and the inhabitants thereof, were blessed with the visits and presence of their Creator, in their several times and seasons.
It is recorded that to Jesus has been given all power in heaven and in earth, and from the foregoing quotations He evidently had power which He used to commission the citizens of the Zion of Enoch to go to other worlds on missions. In. an extract from the teachings of the Prophet Joseph (elsewhere inserted) it is written:
"Elijah was the last prophet that held the keys of this Priesthood, and who will, before the last dispensation, restore the authority and deliver the keys of this Priesthood, in order that all the ordinances may be attended to in righteousness. It is true that the Savior had authority and power to bestow this blessing; but the sons of Levi were too prejudiced."
Here Jesus paid deference to the Priesthood, who held keys relating to the ministration of its powers and blessings, but it is not unreasonable to suppose, when other worlds are concerned, over whom also He holds the keys of salvation, that these considerations would not necessarily interpose, and that He would send or commission members of the translated Priesthood of Enoch's Zion amongst terrestrial worlds whithersoever it pleased Him, in the interests of the peoples thus situated.
We now resume our extracts from the prophecy of Enoch;
"And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and of the Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the power of heaven into Zion. * * *
"And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth; and he cried unto the Lord, saying, When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified, and have eternal life? And the Lord said, It shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying, The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me! * * *
"Enoch continued his cry unto the Lord, saying, I ask thee, O Lord, in the name of thine Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ, that thou wilt have mercy upon Noah and his seed, that the earth might never more be covered by the floods? And the Lord could not withhold; and he covenanted with Enoch, and sware unto him with an oath, that he would stay the floods; that he would call upon the children of Noah; and he sent forth an unalterable decree, that a remnant of his seed should always be found among all nations, while the earth should stand; and the Lord said, Blessed is he through whose seed Messiah shall come; for he saith, I am Messiah, the King of Zion, the Rock of Heaven, which is broad as eternity; and whoso cometh in at the gate and climbeth up by me, shall never fall. * * *
"And the Lord said unto Enoch, Look; and he looked and beheld the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, after the manner of men; and he heard a loud voice; and the heavens were veiled; and all the creations of God mourned; and the earth groaned; and the rocks were rent; and the Saints arose, and were crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man, with crowns of glory; and as many of the spirits as were in prison came forth, and stood on the right hand of God; and the remainder were reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day. * * *
"And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years. * * *
"And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy; and all the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were three hundred and sixty-five years; and Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled."
From the foregoing extracts we learn amongst other truths, all based upon Enoch's faith in the atoning blood of the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world, the following:
That Enoch was clothed with glory and saw the Lord, who talked withHim as one man talks with another, even face to face.
That the Lord commanded Enoch to preach repentance; and to baptize in the name of the Father, and the Son, which is full of grace and truth, and the Holy Spirit, which bears record of the Father and the Son.
That so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, overthrew their enemies, and at his word the earth trembled, whilst the mountains, rivers and seas obeyed his command.
That through this faith Enoch saw the days of the coming of the Son of Man in the flesh, and by it he obtained a covenant from the Lord that after Noah's day He would never again cover the earth by a flood, and obtained an unalterable decree that a remnant of his seed should always be found among all nations while the earth should stand.
That the Lord showed Enoch the world and its future history for the space of many generations, even unto the end of the world.
That so great was the faith and righteousness of Enoch and his people, that the Lord came down and dwelt with them, and in process of time Enoch's City, Zion, was taken up into heaven, and many, through the testimony of the Father and the Son, were afterwards caught up by the powers of Heaven into Zion.
And, further, that while Enoch, through the favor of the Almighty, not only had a mission to preach the Gospel and to gather the people, but that he was also empowered to have the people that he had thus gathered, and taught and instructed in the laws of life, and the city in which they dwelt, translated and taken into the bosom of the Father, there to be preserved until the latter times, while the threatened calamities should overtake the world. But he also further obtained a promise that the future peopling of the earth should come through his seed; thus making him one of the great agencies to administer salvation in the heavens and upon the earth.
Noah—His Sacrifice—God's Covenant with Him—Melchizedek—His Priesthood—Its Powers—Instances thereof Recorded in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon and in Latter-days—All Power of the Priesthood the Result of Faith in Christ and Impossible without the Atonement—The Power of the Priesthood the Power of God—The Glory of God in the Immortality of Man—Christ the Word, the Creator.
After the waters of the flood had subsided, we are told, Noah and his family came forth out of the ark:
"And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease."—Gen., viii, 20-22.
The details of this act are given us somewhat differently in the inspired translation: it is there written:
"And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar; and gave thanks unto the Lord, and rejoiced in his heart. And the Lord spake unto Noah, and he blessed him. And Noah smelt a sweet savour, and he said in his heart, I will call on the name of the Lord, that he will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; and that he will not smite any more every thing living, as he hath done, while the earth remaineth; and that seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night may not cease with man."
Thus, we discover that the first act after the destruction of the world by a flood was a recognition of the great expiatory principle of the atonement, which was to be made by the Only Begotten Son of God, as revealed by the angel to Adam. And as God recognized Adam's and Abel's offerings, so He also recognized that of Noah: and as a result, the Patriarch obtained great promises, in which the people of all ages, then to come, would be interested. For "God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I will establish my covenant with you, which I made unto your father Enoch, concerning your seed after you. And it shall come to pass, that every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, and of the cattle, and of the beast of the earth that is with you, which shall go out of the ark, shall not altogether perish: neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you, which I made unto Enoch, concerning the remnants of your posterity. And God made a covenant with Noah, and said, This shall be the token of the covenant I make between me and you, and for every living creature with you, for perpetual generations, I will set my bow in the cloud; and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember my covenant, which I have made between me and you, for every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch, which I have caught up unto myself. And this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy; and the general assembly of the Church of the First-born shall come down out of heaven and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch. And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will establish my covenant unto thee, which I have made between me and thee, for every living creature of all flesh that shall be upon the earth."—Inspired Translation, Gen., ix, 15-24.
We will now turn to Melchizedek, of whom it is written in King James' translation:
"And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all."—Gen., xiv, 18-20.
This passage is given with greater completeness in the inspired translation, where it appears as follows: "And Melchizedek, King of Salem, brought forth bread and wine; and he brake bread and blessed it; and he blessed the wine, he being the priest of the Most High God; and he gave to Abram, and he blessed him, and said, Blessed Abram, thou art a man of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and of earth; and blessed is the name of the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand. And Abram gave him tithes of all he had taken."
In this action of Melchizedek, in administering the bread and wine, by virtue of his priestly office, is there not a representation of the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as also indicated by the Messiah Himself when He partook of the passover with His disciples? For Melchizedek was a great High Priest, of the same order and like Priesthood as was held by the Son of God. So great, indeed, that "before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God; but out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that Priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood."—Doc. and Cov., Sec. 107, Par. 3, 4, p. 383.
Paul, also, in reasoning on this subject in his epistle to theHebrews, chapter vii, writes:
"For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: but he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better."
To make the matter still plainer we transcribe the third verse from the inspired translation:
"For this Melchizedek was ordained a priest after the order of the Son of God, which order was without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of, days nor end of life. And all those who are ordained unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son of God, abiding a priest continually."
In Genesis, inspired translation, chapter xiv, it is also stated regarding Melchizedek:
"Thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch, it being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father, nor mother; neither by beginning of days, nor end of years; but of God. And it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name. For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself, that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course, to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God, which was from before the foundation of the world. And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven. And now, Melchizedek was a priest of this order; therefore he obtained peace in Salem, and was called the Prince of peace, and his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken; separating it from the earth, having reserved it unto the latter-days, or the end of the world, and hath said, and sworn with an oath, that the heavens and the earth should come together; and the sons of God should be tried so as by fire. And this Melchizedek, having thus established righteousness, was called the king of heaven by his people, or, in other words, the King of peace."
From the above it would seem that this people possessed the power of Translation, and that they "obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken," or which was before translated.
The principle of power also over the varied creations of God, above spoken of, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of God, has, by faith, been manifested to the world in the lives and actions of numbers of the servants of the Most High. The power of Enoch, wherein he caused the earth to tremble, whilst mountains fled at his command, and rivers were turned out of their course, has already been referred to. By this power, exercised in mighty faith, Melchizedek stopped the mouths of lions and quenched the violence of fire;[A] by it the waters of the Red Sea were divided by Moses, and the children of Israel passed through dry shod;[B] by it Elijah[C] and Elisha[D] smote the waters of the Jordan and crossed on dry land; by it Daniel escaped the ferocity of the lions,[E] and the three Hebrew children were delivered from the fiery furnace.[F]
[Footnote A: Inspired Trans. Gen., xiv, 26.]
[Footnote B: Exodus, xiv, 21.]
[Footnote C: 2 Kings, ii, 7, 8.]
[Footnote D: 2 Kings, ii, 14.]
[Footnote E: Daniel, vi, 16-23.]
[Footnote F: Daniel, iii, 19-27.]
By this same power in the Messianic dispensation the Apostles were delivered from bonds and imprisonment; by it Paul shook off the viper that had fastened upon his hand;[A] by it Philip[B] was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord after he had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch; by it John was preserved when he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil, that it did not hurt him; by it the dead were raised, the lepers cleansed, the sick healed, devils cast out, and other mighty works performed by Jesus and His disciples; and by it Christ broke the bands of death and became the resurrection and the life, the first fruits of them that slept, the conqueror of death, the Savior of the world and Redeemer of mankind.
[Footnote A: Acts, xxviii, 3-6.]
[Footnote B: Acts, viii, 39.]
Again, on this continent, one of the Nephite Prophets, Jacob, the son of Lehi, records: "We truly can command in the name of Jesus, and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea." (Jacob, iv, 6.) By faith the brother of Jared, who held this power, said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove; and it was removed;[A] by it Alma and Amulek caused the walls of the prison in Ammonihah to tumble to the ground;[B] by it Nephi and Lehi wrought the surpassing change upon the Lamanites that they were baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost;[C] by it Amnion and his brethren wrought so great a miracle in the conversion of the Lamanites;[D] and by it also the disciples of Jesus who tarried amongst the Nephites showed forth the power spoken of in the following passage:
[Footnote A: Ether, xii, 30]
[Footnote B: Alma, xiv, 26-29.]
[Footnote C: Helaman, v, 43-49.]
[Footnote D: Alma, xvii-xxvii.]
"Therefore they did exercise power and authority over the disciples of Jesus who did tarry with them, and they did cast them into prison: but by the power of the word of God, which was in them, the prisons were rent in twain, and they went forth doing mighty miracles among them. Nevertheless, and notwithstanding all these miracles, the people did harden their hearts, and did seek to kill them, even as the Jews at Jerusalem sought to kill Jesus, according to his word; and they did cast them into furnaces of fire, and they came forth receiving no harm; and they also cast them into dens of wild beasts, and they did play with the wild beasts even as a child with a lamb; and they did come forth from among them, receiving no harm."—4 Nephi, i, 30-33.
This same power has also been abundantly manifested in these latter days in the midst of the Saints of God, in deliverances from evil, in escapes from enemies, in the quelling of mobs, in the stilling of the angry waves of the sea, in the healing of the sick, in the casting out of unclean spirits, and in many other miraculous manifestations of the power and goodness of God, and of the authority with which He has invested His servants who are endowed and clothed upon with the Priesthood, which is endless and after the order of the Son of God.
Thus, through the atonement of Jesus, and the salvation and redemption brought about by that atonement these wonderful manifestations and deliverances have been accomplished by faith in God; and the Priesthood being after the order of the Son of God, and proceeding from Him, through the atonement, those who held this Priesthood possessed, according to their faith, the above mentioned powers; and without that atonement this power never could have existed, for men without that sacrifice could not have been brought into that relationship to God, by which they would have the right, the power and authority to act in His name, or to be His representatives to fallen humanity.
In fact, the power manifested by the Priesthood is simply the power of God, for He is the head of the Priesthood, with Jesus as our President and great High Priest; and it is upon this principle that all the works of God have been accomplished, whether on the earth or in the heavens; and any manifestation of power through the Priesthood on the earth is simply a delegated power from the Priesthood in the heavens, and the more the Priesthood on the earth becomes assimilated with and subject to the Priesthood in the heavens the more of this power shall we possess. Hence Paul, in speaking on this subject, says:
"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."—Heb., xi, 3.
The work of God and the glory of God is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man; as it is written: "For this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Pearl of Great Price.) The creation of man and the multiplication of man was one thing, the immortality and eternal life of man and his exaltation is another thing; and in the organization of the world, and in the calculations of the Almighty pertaining to this immortality and eternal life, it would seem that it was decreed that the Only Begotten Son was provided for the purpose of accomplishing this object; and hence Christ was the Lamb slain, according to the eternal purposes of God, before the foundation of the world.
In relation to the creation of the worlds, as above referred to by Paul, John, in the commencement of his Gospel, somewhat after the manner of a preface or introduction, writes: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (John, i, 1-5.) Or to give the passage, in the wording of the inspired translation: "In the beginning was the Gospel preached through the Son. And the Gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made which was made. In him was the Gospel, and the Gospel was the life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth in the world, and the world perceiveth it not." From the testimony of John, as given in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, we also extract the following:
"And he bore record, saying, I saw his glory that he was in the beginning before the world was; 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, and of him. And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us."—Sec. xciii, 7-11, p. 329.
Paul, likewise, in his Epistles, more than once directs attention to this great truth. In writing to the Colossians he says:
"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist."—Col., i, 16, 17.
And to the Hebrews he writes, that God "hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high."—Heb., i, 2, 3.
God revealed these things unto Moses; but his words in relation thereto are among the precious things that have been taken from the Scriptures by the iniquity of man; amongst those restored to us by modern revelation are the following words of God to that Patriarch with regard to the creation:
"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. And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many. But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds which have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many also which now stand, and numberless are they unto man, but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them."—Pearl of Great Price.
Abraham's Record Concerning the Creation—The Council in Heaven—The Father's Plan, the Son's Acceptance, Satan's Rebellion—The Agency of Man—Suggestions Regarding Satan's Plan to Save All Mankind.
The Lord also revealed to Abraham many great and glorious principles and truths relating to the creation. We extract the following from the fragment of the writings of that Patriarch, which has been graciously restored to us by the Lord in these days:
"And the Gods prepared the earth to bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind; and it was so, as they had said. And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after their kind; and the Gods saw they would obey. And the Gods took counsel among themselves and said, Let us go down and form man in our image, after our likeness; and we will give them dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So 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. And the Gods said, We will cause them to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And the Gods said, Behold, we will give them every herb bearing seed that shall come upon the face of all the earth, and every tree which shall have fruit upon it, yea, the fruit of the tree yielding seed to them we will give it; it shall be for their meat; and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, behold, we will give them life, and also we will give to them every green herb for meat, and all these things shall be thus organized. And the Gods said, We will do every thing that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they shall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day; and they numbered the sixth time.
"And thus we will finish the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of them. And the Gods said among themselves, On the seventh time we will end our work which we have counseled; and we will rest on the seventh time from all our work which we have counseled. And the Gods concluded upon the seventh time, because that on the seventh time they would rest from all their works which they (the Gods) counseled among themselves to form, and sanctified it. And thus were their decisions at the time that they counseled among themselves to form the heavens and the earth.
"And the Gods came down and formed these the generations of the heavens and of the earth, when they were formed in the day that the Gods formed the earth and the heavens, according to all that which they had said concerning every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Gods had not caused it to rain upon the earth when they counseled to do them, and had not formed a man to till the ground; but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man's spirit,) and put it into him, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."
Although this matter of the Council or Conference is not so fully exhibited in the Old Testament Scriptures as in this revelation to Abraham, yet it is definitely stated in the Book of Genesis that God said, "Letusmake man inourimage, afterourlikeness;" and again, after Adam had taken of the forbidden fruit the Lord said, "Behold, the man has become as one of us;" and the inference is direct that in all that related to the work of the creation of the world, there was a consultation; and though God spake as it is recorded in the Bible, yet it is evident He counseled with others. The Scriptures tell us there are "Gods many and Lords many. But to us there is but one God, the Father." (1 Cor., viii, 5.) And for this reason, though there were others engaged in the creation of the worlds, it is given to us in the Bible in the shape that it is; for the fulness of these truths is only revealed to highly favored persons for certain reasons known to God; as we are told in the Scriptures: "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant."—Psalms, xxv, 14.
It is consistent to believe that at this Council in the heavens the plan that should be adopted in relation to the sons of God who were then spirits, and had not yet obtained tabernacles, was duly considered. For, in view of the creation of the world and the placing of men upon it, whereby it would be possible for them to obtain tabernacles, and in those tabernacles obey laws of life, and with them again be exalted among the Gods, we are told, that at that time, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." The question then arose, how, and upon what principle, should the salvation, exaltation and eternal glory of God's sons be brought about? It is evident that at that Council certain plans had been proposed and discussed, and that after a full discussion of those principles, and the declaration of the Father's will pertaining to His design, Lucifer came before the Father, with a plan of his own, saying, "Behold I, send me, I will be thy Son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor." But Jesus, on hearing this statement made by Lucifer, said, "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." From these remarks made by the well beloved Son, we should naturally infer that in the discussion of this subject the Father had made known His will and developed His plan and design pertaining to these matters, and all that His well beloved Son wanted to do was to carry out the will of His Father, as it would appear had been before expressed. He also wished the glory to be given to His Father, who, as God the Father, and the originator and designer of the plan, had a right to all the honor and glory. But Lucifer wanted to introduce a plan contrary to the will of his Father, and then wanted His honor, and said: "I will save every soul of man, wherefore give me thine honor." He wanted to go contrary to the will of his Father, and presumptuously sought to deprive man of his free agency, thus making him a serf, and placing him in a position in which it was impossible for him to obtain that exaltation which God designed should be man's, through obedience to the law which He had suggested; and again, Lucifer wanted the honor and power of his Father, to enable him to carry out principles which were contrary to the Father's wish.
And further, in regard to agency; if man had not had his agency, or if he had been deprived of his agency, he could not have been tempted of the devil, or of any other power; for if the will of God prevailed, and was carried out without man's action or agency, it would have been impossible for him to have done anything wrong, for he would have been deprived of the power of doing that wrong. This was the position that Satan desired to place, not only the spirits in the heavens, but also mankind upon the earth. And Satan said, "Surely I will save every one of them, wherefore, give me thine honor." But God's plan was different from this, and, as stated above, had been decided upon in the Councils of heaven; and the Father had made a decree as to how these things should be done; and that both the inhabitants of heaven and the inhabitants of earth should have their free agency. It was against this that Lucifer rebelled; and he could not have rebelled against a plan or commandment that had not been given; for rebellion signifies a violation of law, command, or authority; and he was cast out of heaven because of this rebellion. This rebellion could not have existed without a free agency; for without a free agency they would all have been compelled to do the will of the Father. But having the free agency, they used it; and Lucifer and a third part of the angels were cast out because they rebelled and used this agency in opposition to their heavenly Father. And not only because they rebelled, but because, as stated, "they sought to destroy the agency of man;" and their agency would have been used in opposition to the interests, happiness and eternal exaltation of mankind, which were proposed to be accomplished through the atonement and redemption provided by Jesus Christ. In accordance with this we find the following statements in the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
"Behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power: and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency; and they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels. And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell: and it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves, for if they never should have bitter, they could not know the sweet."—Doc. and Cov., xxix, 36-39, p. 146.
And again; "And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son, whom the Father loved, and who was in the bosom of the Father—was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, and was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen! even a son of the morning. And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision, for we beheld Satan, that old serpent—even the devil—who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ." Doc. and Cov., lxxvi, 25-28, p. 267.
The Father accepted the offer of His well beloved Son, and proceeded to carry out the decision of the Council, and, as we are informed in the Bible (inspired translation), God said to His Only Begotten, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and it was so."
There are other questions mixed up with this rebellion besides those above referred to, and those questions are directly connected with the atonement. In the event of man having his free will and being subject to the power of temptation, the weakness of the flesh, the allurements of the world, and the powers of darkness, it was known that he must necessarily fall, and being fallen, it would be impossible for him to redeem himself, and that, according to an eternal law of justice, it would require an infinite, expiatory atonement to redeem man, to save him from the effects and ruin of the Fall, and to place him in a condition where he could again be reinstated in the favor of God, according to the eternal laws of justice and mercy; and find his way back to the presence of the Father. Satan (it is possible) being opposed to the will of his Father, wished to avoid the responsibilities of this position, and rather than assume the consequences of the acceptance of the plan of the Father, he would deprive man of his free agency, and render it impossible for him to obtain that exaltation which God designed. It would further seem probable that he refused to take the position of redeemer, and assume all the consequences associated therewith, but he did propose, as stated before, to take another plan and deprive man of his agency, and he probably intended to make men atone for their own acts by an act of coercion, and the shedding of their own blood as an atonement for their sins; therefore, he says, "I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost; and surely I will do it; wherefore, give me thine honor." His plan, however, was rejected as contrary to the counsel of God, his Father. The well beloved Son then addressed the Father, and instead of proposing to carry out any plan of his own, knowing what His Father's will was, said, "Thy will be done;" 'I will carry out thy plans and thy designs, and, as man will fall, I will offer myself as an atonement according to thy will, O God. Neither do I wish the honor, but thine be the glory;'" and a covenant was entered into between Him and His Father, in which He agreed to atone for the sins of the world; and He thus, as stated, became the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. In this connection it is related by Abraham:
"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 hence, as Jesus Himself said, "Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
We will now give in full the quotation from the Pearl of Great Price with regard to the above matter, and also add a short recapitulation.
"And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying, That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying, Behold I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me, Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine for ever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power, by the power of mine Only Begotten I caused that he should be cast down, and he became Satan, yea, even the Devil, the father of all lies, to deceive, and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice."
From the above we gather: First, that the proposition of Lucifer was an act of rebellion "against me"—God.
Second, that God had already decreed that man should have his free agency, and this agency had been given to him by the Lord, as it is said, "which I, the Lord God, had given him."
Third, that Lucifer coveted and asked for a power which was the prerogative of the Almighty and alone belonged to God; and which He called "mine own power."
Fourth, that for this rebellion Lucifer was cast out and became Satan.
Fifth, that the power by which he was cast out, was by a certain power or Priesthood which had been conferred by God on His Only Begotten; for he said, "By the power of mine Only Begotten I caused that he should be cast down."
Sixth, that being cast down and becoming Satan, "even the devil, the father of lies," his office was to deceive and to blind men; as it is stated, "to deceive, and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will even as many as would not hearken unto my voice."
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—Sacrifices Offered by Them—Abraham and the Gospel Covenant—Extracts from the Book of Abraham and the Writings of Paul.
We will now return to Abraham, who is denominated the Father of the Faithful, and who, as we have before seen, was a contemporary of Melchizedek. The testimony in the Bible is direct and explicit that Abraham fulfilled the law requiring the offering of sacrifices, and furthermore was in possession of the principles of the Gospel and understood the saving value of the atonement.
In the historical narrative of the Book of Genesis, we have numerous testimonies that Abraham offered up sacrifices, in connection with his worship of the Almighty. For instance, it is written:
"And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land; and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord."—Gen., xii, 6-8.
In the next chapter we are told that Abraham "went on his journeys from the south even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Hai; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the Lord."—Gen., xiii, 3, 4.
And afterwards he removed his "tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord."—Gen., xiii, 18.
The Book of Abraham gives some further details on these matters. ThePatriarch therein states:
"Now I, Abraham, built an altar in the land of Jershon, and made an offering unto the Lord, and prayed that the famine might be turned away from my father's house, that they might not perish; and then we passed from Jershon through the land, unto the place of Sechem. It was situated in the plains of Moreh, and we had already come into the borders of the land of the Canaanites, and I offered sacrifice there in the plains of Moreh, and called on the Lord devoutly, because we had already come into the land of this idolatrous nation. And the Lord appeared unto me in answer to my prayers, and said unto me, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And I, Abraham, arose from the place of the altar which I had built unto the Lord, and removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched my tent there, Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there I built another altar unto the Lord, and called again upon the name of the Lord."—Pearl of Great Price.
Although full details are not given of the mode of sacrifice in those ancient times, nor of all the creatures that were acceptable unto the Lord, in the performance of this rite, yet the narrative of the contemplated sacrifice of Isaac by his father is indicative of the principle being well understood. We are told that the young man said: "My Father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering."—Gen., xxii, 7, 8.
It is evident from other scriptures that Abraham offered up these sacrifices in token of the great expiatory sacrifice of the Son of God. Indeed the Redeemer himself told the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad."—John, viii, 56.
In confirmation of this statement we read in the inspired translation of the Book of Genesis that the Lord said to Abraham, in relation to his possession of the land of Canaan, "Though thou wast dead, yet am I not able to give it thee? And if thou shalt die, yet thou shalt possess it, for the day cometh that the Son of Man shall live; but how can he live if he be not dead? He must first be quickened. And it came to pass, that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of Man, and was glad, and his soul found rest, and he believed in the Lord; and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness."
Again, Paul, in writing to the Galatians, states: "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."—Gal., iii, 8, 9.
This promise is corroborated by the statements of Peter to the Jews:
"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first, God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."—Acts, iii, 25, 26.
The record of this covenant is to be found in the Book of Genesis, as follows:
"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee; and I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."—Gen., xii, 1-3.[A]
[Footnote A: See also Genesis, xviii, 18; xxii, 18.]
It will be noticed in the above quotation from the Book of Genesis, that no reference is made to the preaching of the Gospel to Abraham in connection with these great promises as spoken of by Paul. This deficiency is supplied by the Book of Abraham, wherein the covenant between God and His faithful servant is given at greater length in that covenant we find the following:
"My name is Jehovah, and I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and priesthood unto all nations, and I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall he called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy priesthood) and in thy seed, (that is, thy priesthood,) for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee, (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body,) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal."
Of the personal history of Isaac we have but a very meagre account in the Bible; however, sufficient is said to inform us that he, like his father, offered up sacrifices, that his offering was acceptable to God, and that He renewed with him the covenant previously made with Abraham. Of Isaac it is written: "And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord."—Gen., xxvi, 23-25.
Jacob followed in the footsteps of his father. He worshipped the true and living God, and had the blessings of his fathers confirmed on him. Regarding sacrifices we are informed that, after his sudden departure from Laban and their later somewhat stormy interview, "Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount" (Gen., xxxi, 52); and again, shortly after, by command of the Lord, he journeyed to Bethel, "and he built there an altar and called the place El-beth-el," or the House of God.—Gen., xxxv, 7.
Sacrifices in the Days of Moses—The Institution of the Passover andthe Exodus—The Symbolism of the Paschal Lamb—The Covenant of theAtonement between Christ and His Father—The Redeemed—Tokens ofCovenants—The Rainbow—The Name of Jesus the Only Name—TheLevites.
In regard to the offering of sacrifices, it is very evident that in the days of Moses the children of Israel were quite familiar with this rite, as also were the Egyptians. For one great request which Moses and Aaron made of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, was, "Let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God;" and as a reason why they should thus go into the wilderness it was urged by them, when the Egyptian monarch said, "Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land," that "it is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us."—Ex., viii, 26, 27.
It is further stated, that after a time, when all other judgments had failed to bring about the desired effect with Pharaoh, that "Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel."—Ex., xi, 4-7.
The next chapter gives the history of the fulfilment of this threatened judgment and the results that flowed therefrom. It is recorded:
"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls: every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep or from the goats: and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side-posts, and on the upper door-post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it."—Ex., xii, 1-8.
"And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand: and ye shall eat it in haste; it is the Lord's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations: ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever."— Ex., xii, 11-14.
"Then Moses called for all the Elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out, and take you a lamb, according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye 'shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side-posts with the blood that is in the basin: and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever."—Ex., xii, 21-24.
"And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel: and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone: and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men."—Ex., xii, 28-33.
It is further said: "And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage; and it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both the first-born of man, and the first-born of beasts; therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the first-born of my children I redeem."—Ex., xiii, 14, 15.
From the above quotations, amongst other important matters, it appears, that when the destroying angel passed by the houses of the children of Israel he found the blood of a lamb sprinkled on the door post; which was a type of the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God. The angel who was the executor of justice could not touch those who were protected by that sacred symbol; because that prefigured the sacrifice of the Son of God, which was provided at the beginning of creation for the redemption of the human family, and which was strictly in accordance with provisions then made by the Almighty for that purpose—"the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world"—and accepted in full as an atonement for the transgressions of mankind, according to the requirements of eternal justice and agreed to by the Savior and His Father. A proposition is made to meet the requirements of justice, which proposal is accepted by the contracting parties, all these contracting parties being satisfied with the arrangement thus made. Hence it is said by one of the prophets: "Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom."—Job, xxxiii, 24.
And further: "Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away."—Isaiah, li, 11.
Who are the redeemed, except those who have accepted the terms of the ransom thus provided? The ransom being provided and accepted, the requirements of justice are met, for those contracts are provided and sanctioned by the highest contracting parties that can be found in the heavens, and the strongest, most indubitable and infinite assurances are given for the fulfilment of that contract, and until the contract is fulfilled the sacrifices are offered as a token and remembrance of the engagements and covenants entered into God gave a token to Noah, of a rainbow, which should be a sign between Him and mankind that He would nevermore destroy the earth by water; He accepted these sacrifices as a token of the covenant that the Messiah should come to take away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and thus fulfil the covenant, pertaining to this matter, made before the world was.
And again there was another token, which was given to Adam by an angel. This holy messenger said to our great father, "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 for evermore." (Pearl of Great Price.) For, as expressed in the New Testament, "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts iv, 12.) Or, to quote from the Book of Mormon, "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." And furthermore, that name, or token, will continue to be given until the Scripture is fulfilled which saith: "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."—Phil., ii, 9-11.
Again, the Lord, through the sprinkling of the blood of a lamb on the door-posts of the Israelites, having saved the lives of all the first-born of Israel, made a claim upon them for their services in His cause. It is written:
"And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the first-born that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel; therefore the Levites shall be mine; because all the first-born are mine; for on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast; mine they shall be: I am the Lord."—Num., iii, 12, 13.