But the first-born of the Egyptians, for whom no lamb as a token of the propitiation was offered, were destroyed. It was through the propitiation and atonement alone that the Israelites were saved, and, under the circumstances they must have perished with the Egyptians, who were doomed, had it not been for the contemplated atonement and propitiation of Christ, of which this was a figure.
Hence the Lord claimed those that He saved as righteously belonging to Him, and claiming them as His He demanded their services; but afterwards, as shown in the above quotation, He accepted the tribe of Levi in lieu of the first-born of Israel; and as there were more of the first-born than there were of the Levites, the balance had to be redeemed with money, which was given to Aaron, as the great High Priest and representative of the Aaronic Priesthood, he being also a Levite. (See Numbers, iii, 50, 51.)
History of Sacrifices and the Law of Moses among the Nephites—References to the Books of Nephi, Jacob, Mosiah and Alma—TheTestimony of Jesus regarding the Law of Moses.
From the Bible we turn to the Book of Mormon, with a view to discover to what extent the law of sacrifice, as a type of the offering up of the promised Messiah, was observed among that branch of the house of Israel which God planted on this continent. In perusing the pages of this sacred record, we shall find several important facts and ideas, in connection with this subject, presented very prominently by the ancient Nephite historians: among them—
First, that the law of Moses, with all its rites, ordinances, and sacrifices, was strictly observed by the faithful Nephites from the time of their arrival on the promised land, until it was fulfilled in Christ, and by his command ceased to be observed.
Second, that when the Nephites brought any of the Lamanites to the knowledge and worship of the true God, they taught them to observe this law.
Third, that those who apostatized from the Nephites, as a general thing, ceased to observe this law.
Fourth, that the true import of the law of Moses, and of its ceremonies and sacrifices, as typical of the atonement yet to be made by our Lord and Savior, was thoroughly taught by the Priesthood among that people, and very generally understood by them.
Fifth, that associated with the observance of this law, there were continued admonitions given that salvation was in Christ and not in the law, which was but the shadow and type of that of which he was the prototype and reality.
Sixth, that temples were erected of the same pattern as that of Solomon at Jerusalem, evidently for the reason that they were to be used for the same purposes.
Seventh, that the Gospel was preached in connection with the law, and churches were established and organized according to the Gospel requirements, and that the higher Priesthood, although not fully organized in all its parts, ministered to the Nephites as well as the lesser.
Eighth, it appears indubitable from the two records, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, that the intent and true meaning of the law of Moses, of its sacrifices, etc., were far better understood and comprehended by the Nephites than by the Jews. But in this connection, it must not be forgotten, that a great many most plain and precious things, as the Book of Mormon states, have been taken from the Bible, through the ignorance of uninspired translators or the design and cunning of wicked men.
As might naturally be expected, we find that Lehi, like his forefathers of the Mosaic age, offered sacrifices to the Lord during his journeyings in the wilderness. These sacrifices were occasions of thanksgiving and praise to God. As examples, we note the occasion of the safe return of Lehi's sons from Jerusalem with the records, when, we are told by Nephi, their parents "did rejoice exceedingly, and did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave thanks unto the God of Israel. And after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning."—1 Nephi, v, 9, 10.
Another occasion was when Nephi and his brethren again returned from the Holy City, bringing with them Ishmael and his family. Of this Nephi writes: "After I and my brethren, and all the house of Ishmael, had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him."—1 Nephi, vii, 22.
After the arrival of the colony on the promised land and the death of Lehi, his sons and their families divided into two communities, or nationalities; the one righteous and Godfearing, the other rebellious and debased. Owing to the contentious and quarrelsome disposition of the latter, who recognized Laman, Lehi's eldest son, as their head, the portion who sought to serve the Lord, for the sake of peace and security moved some distance to the northward. Nephi was their leader, and of them he records:
"And all those who were with me, did take upon them to call themselves the people of Nephi. And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses. And the Lord was with us: and we did prosper exceedingly."—2 Nephi, v, 9—11.
One of the first things that the Nephites did on their arrival at their new home was to build a temple. They could not keep the judgments, the commandments, and the statutes of the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses, unless they did so; and necessarily it was fashioned after the one at Jerusalem, for it was to be used for the same purposes; in it the same ordinances were to be performed, the same sacrifices were to be offered. Nephi writes:
"And I, Nephi, did build a temple: and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon, save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land; wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon's temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceeding fine."—2 Nephi, v, 16.
Thus the fulfilling of the Divine commandments was provided for; a place was erected where the law of Moses could be carried out, and the sacrifices be offered which formed so important a part of that code.
The Nephites were not left by their Priesthood in ignorance of the intent and symbolism of these ceremonies. They were not unmeaning, burdensome, spiritless performances to them. Nephi and his successors were particularly careful in explaining that these ordinances, like all other rites of the Church of God, had their value in their association with or being directly typical of the great, infinite sacrifice of atonement to be offered up by the Lamb of God in His own person. Nephi informs us:
"Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coining of Christ: for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him."—2 Nephi, xi, 4.
And a little later he writes:
"And notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled; for, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ, because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments; and we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. Wherefore, we speak concerning the law, that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward to the life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him, when the law ought to be done away."—2 Nephi, xxv, 24-27.
Which agrees with the statement of Paul: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
So firm a foundation having been laid for the faith of the Nephite people, we find that in every period of their history they retained their reverence for the law of Moses, though disputations sometimes arose, by reason of iniquity, with regard to its symbolism or its saving quality. The apostates, who separated themselves from the Church, occasionally fell into the grievous error ef exalting the law above the Gospel, and, whilst maintaining its divine origin, they ignored its typical value and denied that it was a preparatory system leading to a higher, holier and more perfect law; they refused to recognize it as a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. The first of these apostacies occurred in the days of Jacob, the brother of Nephi. With regard to the people in general, he writes:
"Behold, they believed in Christ and worshipped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness, to be obedient unto the commandments of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his only begotten Son."—Jacob, iv, 5.
But while the majority of the Nephites fully recognized these saving truths, there arose a man named Sherem, who disputed and denied that the law pointed the souls of men to Christ, as the great Propitiator for sin and the Redeemer of the world.
This Sherem declared unto the people that there should be no Christ, and his flatteries and sophistries led away many people. Of him and his doings Jacob writes:
"And it came to pass that he came unto me; and on this wise did he speak unto me, saying: Brother Jacob, I have sought much opportunity that I might speak unto you: for I have heard and also know, that thou goest about much, preaching that which you call the gospel, or the doctrine of Christ; and ye have led away much of this people, that they pervert the right way of God, and keep not the law of Moses, which is the right way: and convert the law of Moses into the worship of a being, which ye say shall come many hundred years hence. And now behold, I, Sherem, declare unto you, that this is blasphemy; for no man knoweth of such things; for he cannot tell of things to come. And after this manner did Sherem contend against me. But behold, the Lord God poured in his Spirit into my soul, insomuch that I did confound him in all his words. And I said unto him, Deniest thou the Christ who should come? And he said, If there should be a Christ, I would not deny him; but I know that there is no Christ, neither has been, nor ever will be. And I said unto him, Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea. And I said unto him, Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you, that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ. And this is not all: it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know, if there should be no atonement made, all mankind must be lost."—Jacob, vii, 6-12.
Somewhat similar was the argument that took place between the martyr Abinadi and the apostate priests of the iniquitous Noah, king of the land of Lehi-Nephi. They officiated in the Temple, observed the outward forms of the Mosaic law, but revelled in licentiousness, covetousness, gluttony and all manner of iniquity. To them was Abinadi sent to warn them and their king of the results of their mutual wrong doing. In the account of this mission of Abinadi we read that he said:
"Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise. Therefore, What teach ye this people? And they said, We teach the law of Moses. And again he said unto them, If ye teach the law of Moses why do ye not keep it? Why do ye set your hearts upon riches? Why do ye commit whoredoms and spend your strength with harlots, yea, and cause this people to commit sin, that the Lord has cause to send me to prophesy against this people, yea, even a great evil against this people? Know ye not that I speak the truth? Yea, ye know that I speak the truth; and you ought to tremble before God. And it shall come to pass that ye shall be smitten for your iniquities: for ye have said that ye teach the law of Moses. And what know ye concerning the law of Moses? Does salvation come by the law of Moses? What say ye? And they answered and said, that salvation did come by the law of Moses. But now Abinadi said unto them, I know if ye keep the commandments of God ye shall be saved; yea, if ye keep the commandments which the Lord delivered unto Moses in the mount of Sinai."—Mos., xii, 27-33.
He then rehearsed to them the commandments; after which he again inquired:
"Have ye taught this people that they should observe to do all these things? for to keep these commandments? I say unto you nay; for if ye had, the Lord would not have caused me to come forth and to prophesy evil concerning this people. And now ye have said that salvation cometh by the law of Moses. I say unto you that it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses. And moreover, I say unto you, that salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses. And now I say unto you, that it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for they were a stiff-necked people; quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God; therefore there was a law given them, yea, a law of performances and of ordinances, a law which they were to observe strictly, from day to day, to keep them in remembrance of God, and their duty towards him. But behold, I say unto you, that all these things were types of things to come. And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved, except it were through the redemption of God. For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people, yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began? Have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?"—Mos., xiii, 25-33.
At this time the righteous Nephites in the land of Zarahemla were keeping the law of Moses strictly, so far as its outward ordinances were concerned, and understandingly with regard to its symbolism and similitudes. When the obedient Nephites were led out of the land of Nephi by Mosiah, they found in the land, afterwards called Zarahemla, a people who proved to be a branch of the house of Israel, but who, owing to the fact that they had no records nor scriptures, had corrupted their language, failed to observe the law of Moses, and had so far fallen that they actually denied the existence of God. Mosiah and the Nephites amalgamated with this people, taught them their language, instructed them in the worship of God and built a temple in that land, which indeed they made their permanent home. Mosiah had a son called Benjamin, who ruled in righteousness all the days of his long life. Shortly before his death he instructed his son Mosiah to gather the people to the temple, that he might give them a charge and nominate his successor. It is written:
"After Mosiah had done as his father had commanded him, and had made a proclamation throughout all the land, that the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land, that they might go up to the temple to hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them. And there were a great number, even so many that they did not number them; for they had multiplied exceedingly, and waxed great in the land. And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings, according to the law of Moses."—Mos., ii, 1-3.
Here we observe that the law in relation to sacrifices and burnt offerings was still faithfully observed, although nearly five hundred years had passed since Lehi left Jerusalem; for the colony which he led started on their eventful journey six hundred years before the birth of Christ, whilst this gathering took place one hundred and twenty-five years before that same most important appearing.
During the days that the Judges ruled the Nephites the righteous portion of that people continued to observe the requirements of this law. We will simply give two quotations from the Book of Alma on this point, though the references are numerous. The first is:
"Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all fulfilled. But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward performances, until the time that he should be revealed unto them. Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come."—Alma, xxv, 15, 16.
With this the words of Paul, when speaking on this subject, precisely agree: "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith, which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."—Gal., iii, 23, 24.
The second quotation is:
"Therefore it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; and then shall there be, or it is expedient that there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled; every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away. And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law; every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God: yea, infinite and eternal."—Alma, xxxiv, 13, 14.
But some of those who apostatized from the Nephites and organized churches of their own ceased to keep this law. Such a sect were the Zoramites, of whom it is written:
"Now the Zoramites were dissenters from the Nephites; therefore they had the word of God preached unto them. But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God, and his statutes, according to the law of Moses; neither would they observe the performances of the church, to continue in prayer and supplication to God daily, that they might not enter into temptation; yea, in fine, they did pervert the ways of the Lord in very many instances."—Alma, xxxi, 8-11.
Shortly after the appearance of the signs that betokened the birth of the Savior at Bethlehem, there arose a few among the Nephites who endeavored "to prove by the Scriptures that it was no more expedient to observe the law of Moses. Now in this thing they did err, having not understood the Scriptures. But it came to pass that they soon became converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in, for it was made known unto them that the law was not yet fulfilled."—3 Nephi, i, 24, 25.
After His resurrection, Jesus, in His ministrations in the midst of the Nephites, perceiving that they wondered regarding the fulfilment of the law of Moses, said unto the listening multitude, "Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end. Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled. And because I said unto you that old things hath passed away, I do not destroy that which hath been spoken concerning things which are to come. For behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in me."—3 Nephi, xv, 4-8.
The Offering of Sacrifice in the Times of the Restitution of allThings—Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith thereon—The Sons ofLevi—Malachi's Prophecy—The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
It would appear that, when everything shall have been accomplished pertaining or relating to the sacrifice and atonement of the Son of God, in the time of the restitution of all things the sons of Levi will offer up an acceptable offering unto the Lord; what this offering will be does not distinctly appear. There are many things associated with the final salvation of man, and the working out and accomplishment of the purposes of God in relation to the human family, which lie yet in the future: the peculiar position which the children will occupy, also the position of the heathen who have died without law, and of those who have been translated, and who it would appear have a specified labor to perform associated with their mission to the terrestrial worlds; the letting loose of Satan after the thousand years, and many other things which it is not permitted for us at the present time to comprehend in full. These will all be revealed in the due time of the Lord. The Prophet Joseph makes the following statement with regard to the offerings above referred to:
"Thus we behold the keys of this Priesthood consisted in obtaining the voice of Jehovah, that He talked with him [Noah] in a familiar and friendly manner, that He continued to him the keys, the covenants, the power and the glory with which He blessed Adam at the beginning; and the offering of sacrifice, which also shall be continued at the last time; for all the ordinances and duties that ever have been required by the Priesthood, under the directions and commandments of the Almighty, in any of the dispensations, shall all be had in the last dispensation; therefore all things had under the authority of the Priesthood at any former period, shall be had again, bringing to pass the restoration spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets; then shall the sons of Levi offer an acceptable sacrifice to tho Lord. See Malachi, iii, 3: 'And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord.' It will be necessary here to make a few observations on the doctrine set forth in the above quotation, as it is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely done away when the Great Sacrifice was offered up, and that there will be no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in future; but those who assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties, privileges, and authority of the Priesthood, or with the Prophets. The offering of sacrifice has ever been connected with and forms a part of the duties of the Priesthood. It began with the Priesthood, and will be continued until after the coming of Christ, from generation to generation. We frequently have mention made of the offering of sacrifice by the servants of the Most High in ancient days, prior to the law of Moses; which ordinances will be continued when the Priesthood is restored with all its authority, power and blessings. 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. 'And I will send Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord,' etc., etc. Why send Elijah? Because he holds the keys of the authority to administer in all the ordinances of the Priesthood, and without the authority is given, the ordinances could not be administered in righteousness. It is a very prevalent opinion that the sacrifices which were offered were entirely consumed. This was not the case; if you read Leviticus, second chapter, second and third verses, you will observe that the priest took a part as a memorial and offered it up before the Lord, while the remainder was kept for the maintenance of the priests, so that the offerings and sacrifices are not all consumed upon the altar, but the blood is sprinkled, and the fat and certain other portions are consumed. These sacrifices, as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications and blessings. This ever did and will exist when the powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood are sufficiently manifest, else how can the restitution of all things spoken of by all the holy Prophets be brought to pass? It is not to be understood that the law of Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of ceremonies. This has never been spoken of by the Prophets, but those things which existed prior to Moses' day, namely, sacrifice, will be continued. It may be asked by some, What necessity for sacrifice, since the Great Sacrifice was offered? In answer to which, if repentance, baptism and faith existed prior to the days of Christ, what necessity for them since that time? The Priesthood has descended in a regular line from father to son, through their succeeding generations. See Book of Doctrine and Covenants."—History of Joseph Smith, Deseret News, Vol. IV., No. 30.
The remarks of President Joseph Smith are very plain and explicit, and are a strong confirmation of the passage he himself refers to, pertaining to the times of the restitution of all things; which will embrace all systems, doctrines, ordinances, dispensations, and Priesthoods connected with the Church and Kingdom of God. That there will be a full manifestation of all these things, relating to the various times and dispensations, is assured; yet, as Joseph Smith has very properly said, the details of those rituals and observances cannot now be fully defined. But as ancient Israel preserved in the Ark of the Covenant memorials of God's power, goodness and mercy, manifested during the exodus from Egypt, in the two tables of stone and the pot of manna; and of the recognition of the Aaronic Priesthood in Aaron's rod that budded; and as the sword of Laban, the sacred plates already revealed, as well as numerous others yet to be made manifest, and a Urim and Thummim were preserved on this continent; so will there be an exhibition an evidence, a memorial, and an actual manifestation of matters pertaining to laws, ordinances, ceremonies and dispensations, from the commencement of the world to the present time, preserved and manifested in the dispensation that the Lord in His loving kindness has now inaugurated. This will be in accordance with the eternal plans and purposes of God, and with the rights, ceremonies and ordinances belonging to the Priesthoods of God in the different ages, pertaining to the organization of this world, the proposed mediation and atonement of the Son of God, the manifestations and developments of the Melchizedek Priesthood, as the Prophet Joseph has referred to, as well relating to sacrifices in early days as in other matters, the introduction of the Aaronic Priesthood, together with the Ark and the Tabernacle, which we are told were made after the patterns shown unto Moses in the mount—patterns which existed in the heavens; the eternal existence, authority and power of both Priesthoods as connected with God and administering in time and eternity; the attempts of Satan to overthrow the dynasty, power and authority of Jehovah and his complete failure and discomfiture; exhibiting in a panorama all the leading, prominent details of the creation, atonement, redemption, salvation and exaltation of the world and man, the organization of a new heaven and a new earth, and all the purposes of God, His plans and ordinances, manifested through the Priesthood from the first inception of the organization of the world to the final consummation, purification and exaltation of the world and its inhabitants, according to the foreknowledge and determinate counsel of the Almighty.
For as these memorials of the atonement were used by the ancient Patriarchs and Prophets to manifest to God their faith in the plan of redemption and in the coming Redeemer; so will these great types be again introduced as exhibiting the sacrifice of the great antitype, Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant, and as a perpetual recognition of the eternal salvation and exaltation wrought out by Him for the human family by the sacrifice of Himself. (See also 3 Nephi, xv, 4-8, previously quoted.)
Brief Retrospect of the History of Sacrifice and its Symbolism—ThePassover and the Lord's Supper—Christ's Relation to both theseOrdinances—The Last Supper.
As before stated, these sacrifices which were offered up from the days of Adam until the time of our Savior's advent, were typical of the great expiatory sacrifice which He was to make by the sacrifice of Himself. They were so many types, shadows and forms of which He was the great prototype—the substance, the reality prefigured and foreshadowed by the other sacrifices which had been offered up from the beginning.
When the law was given by Moses, all the forms pertaining to the sacrificial ceremonies were revealed in detail, and the instructions in relation thereto were not simply of a general nature, but they entered into minute particulars in relation to all things connected with those who officiated, the form and pattern of the sacred utensils and of the vestments of the Priesthood, the creatures to be sacrificed, the order of the proceedings, and indeed of all matters associated with the observance of these rites. Almost the whole of the book of Leviticus, and considerable of the book of Numbers, is occupied with these instructions and kindred matters. This Mosaic law, with all its duties, observances, ceremonies and sacrifices, continued in force until Christ's death.
The time having come when the great atonement should be made by the offering up of Himself, Christ told Peter and John to go and prepare a place where He might, according to His custom, eat the Passover with His disciples. Eat what with His disciples? The Passover. Was it the Passover, or the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper? The Lord, in Egypt, passed by, or passed over the houses of the Israelites whose door posts had been sprinkled with the blood of the lamb sacrificed for that purpose; and the Israelites were commanded to observe this Passover in all their generations. Jesus, in compliance with this command, directed that a place be made ready where He might eat the Passover with His Apostles; for He, the great prototype, was going to offer up Himself as a lamb without spot or blemish; not only for the Israelites, but for all nations, for every people, and kindred, and tongue under the face of the whole heavens: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
But previous to the offering up of Himself, as the great expiatory sacrifice, having fulfilled the law and made it honorable, and having introduced the Gospel, He met with His disciples, as already noticed, to eat the Passover. He then told them, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer." To eat what with you? The Passover. To eat what with you? The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Thus He eat both, for the two ceremonies centered in Him, He was the embodiment of both, He was the Being provided before the foundation of the earth, and prophesied of by men of God throughout all the preceding ages; and also on account of whom the sacrifices were offered up by all the servants of the Lord, from the fall of Adam to that time; and all the various atonements heretofore offered pointed to Him, for whom they were all made and in whom they all centered. On the other hand, He it was who introduced the more perfect law, and offering Himself once for all, an infinite atonement, He, through this sacrifice, accomplished that which was designed by the Almighty before the world was, and of which the blood of bullocks, of goats and of lambs was merely the shadow.
In view of what was almost immediately to take place, He instituted the sacrament of the Lord's Supper in commemoration of this great crowning act of redemption. When at the table, "He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me;" afterwards, "He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
In reality, this act of the atonement was the fulfilment of the sacrifices, of the prophesying, of the Passover, and of all the leading, prominent acts of the Patriarchs and Prophets relating thereto; and having performed this, the past and the future both centered in Him. Did these worthies offer sacrifices? They prefigured His appearing and atonement. Did they prophecy? It was of Him, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Did they keep the Passover? He Himself was the great expiatory offering. Were the people called upon afterwards to commemorate this event? They did it in remembrance of Him, as a great memorial among all of His disciples in all nations, throughout all time; of the sacrifice of His broken body and spilt blood; the antitype of the sacrificial lamb slain at the time of the Passover; of Him; as being the Mediator, the Messiah, the Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End: the Son of the living God.
As from the commencement of the world to the time when the Passover was instituted, sacrifices had been offered as a memorial or type of the sacrifice of the Son of God; so from the time of the Passover until that time when He came to offer up Himself, these sacrifices and types and shadows had been carefully observed by Prophets and Patriarchs; according to the command given to Moses and other followers of the Lord. So also did He Himself fulfil this requirement, and kept the Passover as did others; and now we, after the great sacrifice has been offered, partake of the' Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in remembrance thereof. Thus this act was the great connecting link between the past and the future; thus He fulfilled the law, met the demands of justice, and obeyed the requirements of His Heavenly Father, although laboring under the weight of the sins of the world, and the terrible expiation which He had to make, when, sweating great drops of blood, He cried: "Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not my will but thine be done;" and when expiring in agony upon the cross He cried, "It is finished," and gave up the ghost.
During this ever memorable supper, the Savior said unto His disciples, "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." He was the Lamb proposed to be slain from before the foundation of the world; He was the Lamb spoken of by the Prophets in the different ages, and for which sacrifices were made; in Him was now fulfilled everything that prefigured His approach, and that was prophesied of Him pertaining to the atonement. He also was to burst the barriers of the tomb, become the first fruits of those that slept, and introduce the resurrection, and indeed to be the Resurrection and the Life. He was also to ascend to the heavens, resurrect His Saints, and after resurrecting them, drink of the fruit of the vine with them in His Father's kingdom. Every knee should yet bow to Him, and every tongue confess that He was the Christ to the glory of God the Father. Every nation, kindred, and tongue should bow to His sceptre, and the earth through Him be filled with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea, the earth be redeemed and become celestial, a new heaven and a new earth be instituted, wherein dwelleth righteousness, and the redemption and resurrection of the living and the dead, according to the eternal plan of Jehovah, should be brought about through His mediation and atonement.
The Atonement and the Resurrection—Adam and Christ—Why a Law was given unto Adam—The Results of Disobedience to that Law—Testimony of our First Parents—"Adam fell that Man might be"—The Fall a Necessary Part of the Plan of Salvation—God's Plan a Merciful Plan—The Plan of Lucifer—Man's Free Agency—The Chain Complete.
In the economy of God and the plan proposed by the Almighty, it was provided that man was to be placed under a law apparently simple in itself, yet the test of that law was fraught with the gravest consequences. The observance of that law would secure eternal life, and the penalty for the violation of that law was death. For, we are told, in Adam all die, and hence the declaration, "It is appointed for man once to die." There is another principle associated with this, which is, that the atonement provided a means and plan whereby death could be overcome, and the resurrection of the body from death be brought about, for it is written, "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." But without this atonement the resurrection of the body could not be brought about; hence Jesus, when on earth, proclaimed, "I am the Resurrection and the Life," and He Himself "was the first fruits of them that slept."
Men could not have been tested without a law. The penalty for the violation of that law was death. If the law had not been broken, man would have lived; but would man thus living have been capable of perpetuating his species, and of thus fulfilling the designs of God in preparing tabernacles for the spirits which had been created in the spirit world? And further, could they have had the need of a mediator, who was to act as a propitiation for the violation of this law, which it would appear from the circumstances was destined to be broken; or could the eternal increase and perpetuity of man have been continued, and his high exaltation to the Godhead been accomplished, without the propitiatory atonement and sacrifice of the Son of God?
Jesus said, "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer." Could it have behooved Christ to suffer if man had not sinned, and was it not part of the eternal plan of God that man should violate that law, that an atonement might be provided and had, and by this means man be purified and perfected, through the struggles and trials incident to his coming in contact with the powers of darkness, and, through the mediation and atonement of Jesus Christ, and his own obedience to the requirements of the law associated therewith, be raised to a higher state of existence than it would have been possible for him to have obtained without the transgression of that law?
These points are made exceedingly plain in the Pearl of Great Price.It is there stated:
"And Adam called upon the name of the Lord, and Eve also, his wife; and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way towards the garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence. And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord. And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying, Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying, This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, 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. And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying, I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and for ever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed; and all mankind, even as many as will. And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying, Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying, Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God; and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters."
Thus we find: Firstly. That Adam and Eve both considered that they had gained, instead of suffered loss, through their disobedience to that law; for they made the statement, that if it had not been for their transgression they never would "have known good and evil." And again, they would have been incapable of increase; and without that increase the designs of God in relation to the formation of the earth and man could not have been accomplished; for one great object of the creation of the world was the propagation of the human species, that bodies might be prepared for those spirits who already existed, and who, when they saw the earth formed, shouted for joy.
Secondly. By pursuing the course they did, through the atonement, they would see God as they had done before; and furthermore, they would be capable of exaltation, which was made possible only through their fall, and the atonement of Jesus Christ; and also, they might have the comforting influence of the Spirit of God, and His guidance and direction here, as well as eternal lives and exaltations in the world to come.
Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, also writes very directly upon these truths; he says:
"Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if, through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." —Romans, v., 14-21.
Whilst in the Book of Mormon Lehi teaches:
"And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he would not have fallen; but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created, must have remained in the same state which they were, after they were created; and they must have remained for ever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore, they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free for ever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves, and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given. Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable, like unto himself."—2 Nephi, ii, 22-27.
In the same book it is written:
"Yea, I know that ye know, that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord. Wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement. Save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more."—2 Nephi, ix, 5-8.
There is a principle developed in the above quotation to the effect that death was "passed upon all men to fulfill themerciful planof the great Creator;" and furthermore, that the resurrection came "by reason of the fall." For if man had not sinned, there would have been no death, and if Jesus had not atoned for the sin, there would have been no resurrection. Hence these things are spoken of as being according to the merciful plan of God. This corruption could not have put on incorruption, and this mortality could not have put on immortality, for, as we have elsewhere shown, man by reason of any thing that he himself could do or accomplish, could only exalt himself to the dignity and capability of man and therefore it needed the atonement of a God, before man, through the adoption, could be exalted to the Godhead.
Again, if the body could not have been resurrected, it would have had to "crumble to its mother earth," and remain in that condition without the capability of ascending to the Godhead: and furthermore, not only would our bodies have lost their entity, their life and power, but the spirit also would have been placed in a state of subjection "to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the devil," without a capability or even hope of life, salvation and exaltation, and would have been deprived of all free agency and power, and subject to the influences, dominion and eternal destruction of Lucifer, the enemy of man and of God. Hence, on this ground, and because of the terrible effects which would have resulted to humanity from the proposed plan to deprive man of his free agency, and in seeking to do away with the atonement, Lucifer was cast out of heaven, as were also those associated with him in the same diabolical plans and purposes.
The testimony of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants is in full accord with the revelations in the ancient scriptures. In it we are instructed that God "created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness created he them, and pave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being whom they should worship. But by the transgression of these holy laws, man became sensual and devilish, and became fallen man. Wherefore the Almighty God gave his Only Begotten Son, as it is written in those scriptures which have been given of him. He suffered temptations, but gave no heed unto them; he was crucified, died, and rose again the third day; and ascended into heaven, to sit down on the right hand of the Father, to reign with almighty power according to the will of the Father."—Doc. and Cov., sec. xx, 18-24, p. 123.
Again, we read from the same source:
"Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual, they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual."—Doc. and Cov., sec. xxix, 35, p. 146.
"Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the 'devil, because he yielded unto temptation. Wherefore, I the Lord God caused that he should be cast out from the garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death, which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say, Depart, ye cursed. But, behold, I say unto you, that I the Lord God gave unto Adam and to his seed that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I the Lord God should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son. And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation; that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe."—Doc. and Cov., xxix, 40-43, p. 147.
In accordance with this we find it written in the Pearl of Great Price, that the Lord did send an angel to Adam (as elsewhere quoted), who taught unto him the Gospel.
Thus it would appear that if any of the links of this great chain had been broken, it would have interfered with the comprehensive plan of the Almighty pertaining to the salvation and eternal exaltation of those spirits who were His sons, and for whom principally the world was made; that they through submission to the requirements of the eternal principle and law governing these matters might possess bodies, and these bodies united with the spirits might become living souls, and being the sons of God, and made in the image of God, they, through the atonement might be exalted, by obedience to the law of the Gospel; to the Godhead.
Christ as the Son of God—A Comparison between His Position Glory,etc., and Those of other Sons of God—His Recognition by theFather—Christ called the Very Eternal Father.
It may here be asked, What difference is there between the Son of God, as the Son of God, the Redeemer, and those who believe in Him and partake of the blessings of the Gospel?
One thing, as we read, is that the Father gave Him power to have life in Himself: "For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;" and further, He had power, when all mankind had lost their life, to restore life to them again; and hence He is the Resurrection and the Life, which power no other man possesses.
Another distinction is, that having this life in Himself, He had power, as He said, to lay down His life and to take it up again, which power was also given Him by the Father. This is also a power which no other being associated with this earth possesses.
Again, He is the brightness of His Father's glory and the express image of His person. Also, He doeth what He seeth the Father do, while we only do that which we are permitted and empowered to do by Him.
He is the Elect, the Chosen, and one of the Presidency in the heavens, and in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, which could not be said of us in any of these particulars.
Another thing is, that all power is given to Him in heaven and upon earth, which no earthly being could say.
It is also stated that Lucifer was before Adam; so was Jesus. And Adam, as well as all other believers, was commanded to do all that he did in the name of the Son, and to call upon God in His name for ever more; which honor was not applicable to any earthly being.
He, in the nearness of His relationship to the Father, seems to occupy a position that no other person occupies. He is spoken of as His well beloved Son, as the Only Begotten of the Father—does not this mean the only begotten after the flesh? If He was the first born and obedient to the laws of His Father, did He not inherit the position by right to be the representative of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world? And was it not His peculiar right and privilege as the firstborn, the legitimate heir of God, the Eternal Father, to step forth, accomplish and carry out the designs of His Heavenly Father pertaining to the redemption, salvation and exaltation of man? And being Himself without sin (which no other mortal was), He took the position of Savior and Redeemer, which by right belonged to Him as the first born. And does it not seem that in having a body specially prepared, and being the offspring of God, both in body and spirit, He stood preeminently in the position of the Son of God, or in the place of God, and was God, and was thus the fit and only personage capable of making an infinite atonement? Hence we read:
"Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. Above, when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt-offerings and offering for sin thou wouldst not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."—Heb., x, 5-9.
We are told, in the Pearl of Great Price, that when Satan proposed a plan of his own, promising to redeem every soul of man, but wherein the free agency of man would be destroyed, and said, "Wherefore give me thine honor," the Only Begotten said, "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine for ever" "I am prepared to carry out thy plan." The Apostle above quoted states, "A body hast thou prepared me. * * Then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will, O Lord." Hence from the above we learn that though others might be the sons of God through Him, yet it needed His body, His fulfilment of the law, the sacrifice or offering up of that body in the atonement, before any of these others, who were also sons of God by birth in the spirit world, could attain to the position of sons of God as He was; and that only through His mediation and atonement. So that in Him, and of Him, and through Him, through the principle of adoption, could we alone obtain that position which is spoken of by John: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Thus His atonement made it possible for us to obtain an exaltation, which we could not have possessed without it.
"His name shall be called Immanuel," which being interpreted is, God with us. Hence He is not only called the Son of God, the First Begotten of the Father, the Well Beloved, the Head, and Ruler, and Dictator of all things, Jehovah, the I Am, the Alpha and Omega, but He is also called the Very Eternal Father. Does not this mean that in Him were the attributes and power of the Very Eternal Father? For the angel to Adam said that all things should be done in His name. A voice was heard from the heavens, when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," and when the Father and the Son appeared together to the Prophet Joseph Smith they were exactly alike in form, in appearance, in glory; and the Father said, pointing to His Son, "This is my beloved Son; hear Him." There the Father had His apparent tabernacle, and the Son had His apparent tabernacle; but the Son was the agency through which the Father would communicate to man; as it is elsewhere said, "Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son. And thou shalt repent, and shalt call upon God, in the name of the Son, for evermore."
Man as Man—His Excellency and His Limitations—Salvation and Eternal Progression Impossible without the Atonement—In Christonlycan All be made Alive.
Man, as man, can only make use of the powers which are possessed by man. Made, indeed, as represented in the Scriptures, in the image of God, as monarch of the universe he stands erect on the earth in the likeness of his Great Creator; beautifully constructed in all his parts, with a body possessing all the functions necessary for the wants of humanity; standing, not only by right, but by adaptability, beauty, symmetry and glory, at the head of all creation; possessing also mental powers and the capacity of reflecting upon the past, with capabilities to reason upon cause and effect, and by the inductive powers of his mind, through the inspiration of the Almighty, to comprehend the magnificent laws of nature as exhibited in the works of creation; with the capacity also of using the elements and forces of nature, and of adapting them to his own special benefit; and by his powers penetrating into the deep, ascending into the heavens, rushing with mighty velocity across the earth, making use of the separate or combined forces of nature with which he is surrounded and subjugating them to his will; as, likewise, by his intelligence, he has dominion over the fishes of the sea, over the fowls of the air, and over the cattle. He can girdle the earth with the electric fluid and convey his thoughts to any land or zone; by the same subtle influence he can talk with his fellows, and be heard when hundreds of miles apart. He can apply the forces of earth, air, fire and water to make them subservient to his will, and stands proudly erect as the head of all creation and the representative of God upon the earth. But while he occupies this exalted position, and is in the image of God, yet he possesses simply, as a man, only the powers which belong to man; and is subject to weakness, infirmity, disease and death. And when he dies, without some superior aid pertaining to the future, that noble structure lies silent and helpless, its organs, that heretofore were active, lively and energetic, are now dormant, inactive and powerless. And what of the mind, that before went back into eternity and reached forward into eternity? And what of its powers? Or what of that spirit, which, with its Godlike energies, its prescience and power, could grasp infinity? What of it, and where is it? The Scriptures say that the body returns to the dust and the spirit returns to God who gave it. But what of its powers as made known to us, what of the hereafter? The philosophy of the world tells us that the spirit dies with the body, and like it is dissipated in surrounding nature, but as an entirety no longer exists; and all the power the being ever had was to propagate its own species and to impart the powers of the body and the mind to its posterity. Such philosophers can comprehend nothing pertaining to the future—no glory, no exaltation, no eternal progression, only as developed by a succession of manhood. If, then, there is a spirit in man which reaches into futurity, that would grasp eternal progress, eternal enjoyments, and eternal exaltations; then those glories, those exaltations, those capabilities and those powers must be the gift of some superior being, power, or authority to that which exists in man; for the foregoing is a brief exhibition of the powers and capabilities of humanity. It is of this gift that we now speak. It is of a principle that emanates from God, that originates with a superior intelligence, whose plans, and powers, and capabilities are exalted above those of mortal man, as the heavens are above the earth, or as the majestic works of the Great Creator throughout the infinitude of space are superior to the puny efforts of the children of mortality. It is for the exaltation of man to this state of superior intelligence and Godhead that the mediation and atonement of Jesus Christ is instituted; and that noble being, man, made in the image of God, is rendered capable not only of being a son of man, but also a son of God, through adoption, and is rendered capable of becoming a God, possessing the power, the majesty, the exaltation and the position of a God, As it is written, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
As a man through the powers of his body he could attain to the dignity and completeness of manhood, but could go no further; as a man he is born, as a man he lives, and as a man he dies; but through the essence and power of the Godhead, which is in him, which descended to him as the gift of God from his heavenly Father, he is capable of rising from the contracted limits of manhood to the dignity of a God, and thus through the atonement of Jesus Christ and the adoption he is capable of eternal exaltation, eternal lives and eternal progression. But this transition from his manhood to the Godhead can alone be made through a power which is superior to man—an infinite power, an eternal power, even the power of the Godhead: for as in Adam all die, so in Christonlycan all be made alive. Through Him mankind are brought into communion and communication with God; through His atonement they are enabled, as He was, to vanquish death; through that atonement and the power of the Priesthood associated therewith, they become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and inheritors of thrones, powers, principalities and dominions in the eternal worlds. And instead of being subject to death, when that last enemy shall be destroyed, and death be swallowed up in victory, through that atonement they can become the fathers and mothers of lives, and be capable of perpetual and eternal progression.
Christ to be Subject to Man—His Descent Below all Things—Man'sCondition had there been no Atonement—The Sons of God—Man'sInability to Save Himself—Christ's Glory before the World Was—Necessity for an Infinite Atonement—The Father and Son have Life inThemselves.
Again we will return to the quotation from the Book of Mormon.[A] Satan, as we have remarked before, wanted to deprive man of his agency, for if man had his agency, it would seem that necessarily the Lord would be subject to him; as is stated, "For it behooveth the Great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him."
[Footnote A: 2 Nephi, ix, 5-7.]
The Lord being thus subjected to man, He would be placed in the lowest position to which it was possible for Him to descend; because of the weakness, the corruption and the fallibility of human nature. But if man had his free agency, this necessarily would be the result, and hence, as it is said, Jesus descended below all things that He might be raised above all things; and hence also, while Satan's calculation was to deprive man of his free agency, and to prevent himself or the Only Begotten from being subject to this humiliation and infamy, the Lord's plan was to give man his free agency, provide a redeemer, and suffer that redeemer to endure all the results incidental to such a position, and thus, by offering himself as a substitute and conquering death, hell and the grave, he would ultimately subjugate all things unto himself; and at the same time make it possible for man to obtain an exaltation that he never could have had without his agency. It is said, as already stated, "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 hence the plan of Satan it appears would have frustrated the designs of the Almighty, and have deprived man of that exaltation and glory which his Heavenly Father contemplated. It is further written:
"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; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents; who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder, and all manner of secret works of darkness. O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. 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. 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, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect; wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt; and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness. And it shall come to pass, that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God. And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass away, that they who are righteous, shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy, shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy, are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up for ever and ever, and has no end. O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled."—2 Nephi, ix, 9-17.
In the economy of God pertaining to the salvation of the human family, we are told in the Scriptures that it was necessary that Christ should descend below all things, that He might be raised above all things; as stated above, He had to "become subject to man in the flesh." It was further necessary that He should descend below all things, in order that He might raise others above all things; for if He could not raise Himself and be exalted through those principles brought about by the atonement, He could not raise others; He could not do for others what He could not do for Himself, and hence it was necessary for Him to descend below all things that He might be raised above all things; and it was necessary that those whom He proposed to save should also descend below all things, that by and through the same power that He obtained His exaltation, they also, through His atonement, expiation and intercession, might be raised to the same power with Him; and, as He was the Son of God, that they might also be the adopted sons of God; hence John says:
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."—1 John, iii, 2.
And by this power we shall overcome and sit down on His throne, asJesus overcame and sat down upon the throne of His Father.
We are told in the foregoing quotation from the Book of Mormon that the atonement must needs be infinite. Why did it need an infinite atonement? For the simple reason that a stream can never rise higher than its fountain; and man having assumed a fleshly body and become of the earth earthy, and through the violation of a law having cut himself off from his association with his Father, and become subject to death; in this condition, as the mortal life of man was short, and in and of himself he could have no hope of benefitting himself, or redeeming himself from his fallen condition, or of bringing himself back to the presence of his Father, some superior agency was needed to elevate him above his low and degraded position. This superior agency was the Son of God, who had not, as man had, violated a law of His Father, but was yet one with His Father, possessing His glory, His power, His authority, His dominion. As He, Himself, prayed:
"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."—John, xvii, 5.
A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a God to raise him to the dignity of a God. For this cause it is written, "Now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him." And how and why like Him? Because, through the instrumentality of the atonement and the adoption, it is made possible for us to become of the family of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; and that as He, the potential instrument, through the oneness that existed between Him and His Father, by reason of obedience to divine law, overcame death, hell and the grave, and sat down upon His Father's throne, so shall we be able to sit down with Him, even upon His throne. Thus, as it is taught in the Book of Mormon, it must needs be that there be an infinite atonement; and hence of Him, and by Him, and through Him are all things; and through Him do we obtain every blessing, power, right, immunity, salvation and exaltation. He is our God, our Redeemer, our Savior, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be eternal and everlasting praises worlds without end.
Again, Jesus testifies of Himself:
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."—John, v, 25-29.
It would seem from the above that the Son hath life inherent in Himself, even as the Father hath life in Himself, He having received this power from the Father. Also, that He had power in Himself, as elsewhere stated, to lay down this body, and also to take it up again; and in this respect He differed from others. While man dies and lays down his body, he has not power under any circumstance to raise it again, only through the power of Jesus and His intercession and atonement; for the Redeemer has proclaimed Himself to be the Resurrection and the Life; and it is by this resurrective power which He possesses, as the gift of God through obedience to the will of the Father, that the dead shall hear the voice of God and shall live. Hence He not only becomes the first fruits of those that slept, having conquered death Himself and triumphed over it, but He also becomes the means of the resurrection of all men from the dead. Hence He says:
"Therefore doth my Father love me, because 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 commandment have I received of my Father."—John, x, 17, 18.
Thus, when He says He has power to lay down His life and power to take it up again, He speaks of a power never before exhibited among men upon this earth; and which power, indeed, does not belong to man in and of himself.