HOW CHRIST BECOMES OUR ETERNAL FATHER. Fireside by Dr. Hyrum L. Andrus All rights reserved

Transcription

1 HOW CHRIST BECOMES OUR ETERNAL FATHER Fireside by Dr. Hyrum L. Andrus 1979 All rights reserved As we get into the Christmas season it s appropriate to choose a theme centered around Christ, the nature of Christ, the role of Christ, and the office and ministry of Christ, as particularly revealed in the Book of Mormon. A classic scripture describing Christ and His nature is Mosiah chapter 15. Most people look at this chapter once, blink, and go on. But it s the classic explanation by Abinadi concerning Christ and His atonement. And there s a lot more in the chapter we will get too, so I suggest that you take the scriptures and follow through with me and get some of the ideas as Abinadi explains it. Abinadi is speaking from the contents of Isaiah. He s a great student of Isaiah. Isaiah is one of the greatest prophets, second to none of the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah s concept of Christ is a little different than the popular Mormon concept and Abinadi is an adept student of him. You may recall, for example, when Isaiah speaks of the birth of Christ, he is not talking about Christ merely in the sense of the Son of God, and he is not talking about Him as our older brother. You go throughout the church today and there is quite a lot of emphases placed on Christ as the Son, and Christ as our older brother, and there is nothing wrong with this, but there is something lacking in the sense that there is something more about Him that we are not emphasizing that we ought to as it builds greater faith. He begins: (Mosiah 15:1) And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. This Being that is going to come down is not just our elder brother, and he is not just the Son of God, this is God Himself. He s going to come down and redeem his people. This is a commentary on Isaiah, who speaks of the birth of Christ, and this

2 statement we find quoted very often at Christmas, and part of Handel s Messiah. (Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Among those appellations He s referred to as the mighty God, and as the everlasting Father. This is the theme of the Book of Mormon. In the title page we find that the Book of Mormon is brought to prove, as it says: And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God. Let me put it this way, for this earth in its present state, there is one God, and that God is Jesus Christ, acting as both the Father and the Son, and Joseph is His prophet. There is one God, Jesus Christ, the Father and the Son, and that is the doctrine of the Book of Mormon. And it is taught by every major prophet of the Book of Mormon. The classic statement is made in Mosiah chapter 15. Moving over to John 17:3: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I suggest that there will be no person exalted in the Celestial Kingdom who know Jesus only as his or her elder brother. Unless you know the doctrine of Abinadi, I suspect that you will not be exalted very far in the Celestial Kingdom. It is appropriate that we put emphases of this and see what Abinidi had to say. He explains: (Mosiah 15:2) And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son. There are half a dozen ways on up through, and probably more than that, in which Christ is the Son of God. For example, in the spirit stage of life in which we were more acquainted with a hundred years ago before our births into mortality. In spirit life we acquired by and through a birth process in which we were born as children of the Man of Holiness in spirit life, in spirit bodies. And in that particular stage of life Christ is the Son of God, He s the first born, He s elder brother. But spirit life is not all there is! There s another stage of life we call physical life. In physical life Jesus is called the Son of God. But there s a third stage, and that relates

3 to what may be called the divine nature, the glory, the attributes of deity concerning Christ that we need to bring in to our lives through Christ. This phase of Christ as an organized being is pretty well expressed in the First Vision, when the Prophet beheld the Father and the Son. He did not merely behold them as physical beings, like, for example, you might say there are two brethren here as physical beings. As he beheld them in the First Vision, he has this to say about that great experience: (Joseph Smith - History 1:16-17)... I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. This brilliance associated with God we refer to as His divine nature, His glory. Section 93:36 reads, The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, light and truth. This thing that eclipsed the light of the sun is the concentration of celestial intelligence. This makes the Lord pretty bright, both in respect to brilliance and respect to mind, and the qualities of mind. When you talk about God and His divine nature and the aspects of deity that center in Him. Another good statement is in Teachings where the Prophet makes this comment: (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Page 367) God Almighty, Himself, dwells in eternal fire; flesh and blood cannot go there, for all corruption is devoured by the fire. Our God is a consuming fire. When our flesh is quickened by the Spirit, there will be no blood in this tabernacle. Some dwell in higher glory (that is fire-everlasting burnings) than others. Immortality dwells in everlasting burnings. All men that are immortal dwell in everlasting burnings. The divine nature of God consists of His glory and this is the principle of life. To have eternal life, for example, is not just to have children after the resurrection, that is eternal lives. Eternal Life is to be endowed with Celestial Glory. Celestial Glory is, or another synonym for it, is everlasting burnings, intelligence, light, truth, and another one is life. Glory is life. The spirit which is life emanates from the presence of God and fills

4 the immensity of space, quickens and gives life to all things. We talk about the complete nature of Christ. We want to say: He has a spirit body, He is the Son of God there, He has a physical body and the Son of God there, and He has the divine nature or glory which is life and He s the Son of God there. So there are different stages of life and there are different father-son relationships. For example, Section 93 explains in some respect the divine nature. And it is one of the greatest of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. It contains the testimony of John, concerning Jesus and His acquisition of the divine nature. (D&C 93:12) And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace. What does the word fulness mean? To what does it refer? It s the glory, the divine nature. And when Christ says He didn t have the fulness at first, then this simply means that He started with something less than the full attributes and endowments of deity, the full powers of eternal life. Then He received grace for grace. Grace is something that is given as a gift. It s unearned divine assistance. To receive grace for grace implies that Jesus had Himself to give grace to others for the Father to give grace to Him. So it s a matter of Him living outside Himself in service to others and giving Himself to others as the formula by which the Father in turn gave Him of His glory. Jesus then received grace, one endowment, for grace or for the grace He gave to someone else you see. We just read verse 12. Verse 13 reads, And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness. To go from grace to grace is as a step ladder. By receiving grace for grace then you go from grace to grace, one endowment upon another, upon another, upon another, until he says He received a fulness. Verse 14 reads, And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first. He was called the Son of God, but not in respect to pre-earth spirit life. In this verse, He is not called the Son of God in respect to the flesh or physical life. He s called the Son of God in respect to the divine nature, to glory, to the fulness. And the reason

5 He is called the Son of God is because He didn t receive the fulness at first, and the implied reason is that He s subsidiary to the Father, He acquire it from the Father, and in that sense then He s a son by receiving the attributes of Deity from His Father. So there are three ways Christ is the Son of God. And there s another four, five or six ways we could name, but these three basic ways are important to understand the divine nature. Coming back to Mosiah chapter 15, Abinadi talks about Christ coming and this is not just elder brother now, but: 1. That God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall and redeem his people. 2. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God. When we refer to Christ as the Son, what are we thinking about? In what context are we speaking? Are we speaking in the context of the spirit son? Of the Glory? Or of the flesh? Usually we think in respect to the flesh, That s the context of the statement as it is popularly understood. Getting back to point # 2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son. Now who is Christ? He is the Father and the Son. He s not just elder brother. He s not just God, but He is the Father and the Son. To give you a few commentaries on that, let s turn to Mormon 9, verse 12: Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. Who s going to come in order to redeem men from the fall? Jesus Christ, and who is He? The Father and the Son. In the Book of Ether chapter 3, verse 14, where Christ is speaking to the brother of Jared, Christ bears testimony of himself and says: Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem

6 my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. Who is He? He s the Father and the Son, and He goes on to say in verse 14: In me shall all mankind have life (light). etc. That term life is a synonym for what? Light, glory, spirit, intelligence, truth, life, Continuing with verse 14: In me shall all mankind have life (light), and that eternally (there s no end to it), even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters. In what sense will we become the sons and daughters of Christ? Not in spirit life, we are the children of Eloheim. In the physical stage of life we enjoy now, we each have are own mothers and fathers in the flesh. Therefore, we become sons and daughters of Jesus Christ in respect to light, which is a synonym for truth, spirit, glory, intelligence, power and eternal life. In that sense Jesus is the Father and the Son, and His fatherhood relates to light, or to the glory which He has received from His father, being the Son of God in Glory, which He passes on to become the Father of those who are recipients of His light and truth. Let s go back to Mosiah 15, verse 2: And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son. There s a line after the Son, which means, that which follows thereafter is an explanation of the preceding phrase or part of the sentence. He is the Father and the Son. Continuing in verse 3: The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son. Why is Christ the Father because He is conceived by the power of God? What do we mean by that? What is the idea? He is the Father because He was conceived by the power of God. And He is the Son because of the flesh. So this one being, Jesus Christ then, is both the Father and the Son. Question: Were the attributes of Deity given to Christ, the glory and divinity of the

7 Father, at conception? Go in your minds to the first vision in the scared grove. That primary being, the Man of Holiness, who appeared to Joseph Smith, He had a son and if the rule like father like son applies what kind of a son would he have? Would he have merely a physical being who is without glory or would his son be like him? The Son should be like him, right? Now that s the way it was with Jesus. You say well, did Christ when he was conceived in the flesh possess glory? And the answer to that is yes. We have the idea that Christ has two comings, his first coming he appeared as a mortal and ministered among men, and his second coming will be in glory. In his first coming he was raised as a carpenter s son and eventually decided to go on a mission. And then they crucified him and that was the end of him there. But he was resurrected and he s going to come to the earth again. But the next time he comes, he s going to come a little more brilliantly than he did before. He s going to come in glory. And the brilliance of his glory will be such, the mountains will fall down at his presence, the waters will boil, the sun will hide its face in shame, and the stars will be hurtled from their places because of the radiance and the brilliance and the power of his glory. There is an element of truth in that kind of a contrast between his first and second comimngs, but it needs to be qualified. For example, when Christ came the first time he came with glory. He didn t manifest it, but he came with glory. The Prophet Joseph Smith made it clear that the person who has a physical body if he possesses glory, if he s a glorified being and has got a physical body, he can shut the glory off and appear as a mortal. He has some means of not manifesting it visibly. You can t do that as a spirit according to the scriptures. That s why a spirit who is a just man made perfect appeareth in his glory because he can t appear in any other way. But if he possesses a physical body, he s got some way by which to not manifest his glory except according to his own will. Therefore, when Jesus was conceived, he was conceived by a being of glory. And that being planted in him the same divine attributes and powers which he himself possessed. So when Christ was conceived and born on earth, he came to earth with glory.

8 Let me read it from the scriptures in order to get the scriptural testimony on it. In Alma 5, and this is about 83 B.C. if you read the bottom of the page, Alma is talking about the coming of Christ and says: (Alma 5:50) Yea, thus saith the Spirit:... He s not saying, let me give you my personal opinion, when he says thus saith the spirit, he s speaking on the level of revelation, right? Thus saith the Spirit repent, all ye ends of the earth, for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand; yea, the Son of God cometh in his glory. How is he going to come? In his glory. Continuing in verse 50, in his might, majesty, power, and dominion. Yea, my beloved brethren I say unto you that the Spirit saith. Again he puts it on the plane of a revelation, right? The Spirit saith Behold the glory of the king of all the earth; and also the king of heaven shall very soon shine forth among all the children of men. Did he say that Christ was going to come to earth as a physical being? No. He s going to come in his glory. Do you see that? In chapter 9 of Alma, a few years later, getting down closer to the birth of Christ, Alma says: (Alma 9:26) And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory. He s talking about the first coming here. Continuing in verse 26, and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers. Christ, again, is going to come in his glory. Let me give you another testimony to put in the other context. This is 1st Nephi 11:28, Nephi s vision as he sees the earthly ministry of Christ in Jerusalem and the area thereabout. And beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.

9 He s talking about Christ earthly ministry. He s ministering to the people in power and great glory. Then inn 1st Nephi 19:10, he says, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, as a man. Because he takes upon himself flesh, people will think he is merely a man. The point is when Christ was conceived he had centered in him from his Father, or he received from his Father that share of physical attributes and endowments that a person normally would receive from his father. In addition to that what did he receive from his Father? He received the divine nature. But as Section 93 says, He didn t get the fulness at first. So let us not conclude, that he had at conception, the same fulness his Father had, but rather instead he had the divine nature centered in him by conception prior to his mortal birth. In other words the powers of the Holy Spirit were planted in him by means of conception rather than baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. He was born, born again, as it were. In order for us to get the powers of the Holy Spirit planted in us, we have to be born of water and the spirit, and in this way, being adopted into Christ s family. By taking upon ourselves his name, becoming his son and his daughters, and through the articles of adoption we become the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, and have access to the glory which He possess. But Jesus was not an adopted son. He was the Son of God and he received the powers of Deity by conception rather than by adoption. He went through the formula of the gospel plan, he was baptized but for what reason? Because he needed it? The scriptural testimony says he was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. Righteousness in the sense that 2nd Nephi, chapter 31 explains it, is that while he did not need baptism for the remission of sins, he did need to be baptized in order to show the way into the kingdom. And what better way than to himself enter. And by entering it then, through baptism, he fulfilled all righteousness by saying in effect: Here fellows, here is the door. He didn t point to the door, he entered it. And in that sense to fulfill all righteousness he had to be baptized. I do not know whether Jesus received the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost for a similar reason, but the point of the matter he didn t have to. The

10 powers of the spirit which we get through the gift of the Holy Ghost he got through conception. Do you see that? With the idea in Mosiah 15 of Christ receiving the divine nature of the Father, and thereby being in effect both the Father in attributes and divine nature, and the Son by conception, let s go back and analyze Christ and his nature. Mosiah 15:2, And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son. He explains how he is the Father, The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God. Therefore, at conception the divine nature is centered in him, and what did that make him? Let me suggest an analogy that will be helpful. Liken Christ s relationship to the Father, to that of a huge electrical circuit, 50 million volts plus. The primary source of power is the Father, and he is a person of physical tabernacle. But by and through the conception of his son and the divine plan, he extends those powers which he possesses, which are his glory, he extends them to Christ. Like a huge electrical circuit, from this pole to this pole, then there is a return. In respect to his glory, there is an extension of the glory of the Father to the Son, and then back again. So there is a power, an indwelling power relationship. Let me give you a scripture on that in Section 93 again, as we find John s testimony concerning Christ, he tells us starting in verse12, And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; 13 And He received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness. 14 And thus he was called the Son of God, And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father; 17 And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he (the Father) dwelt in him. Through His glory, The Father dwelt in Christ, right? If you come back to this

11 analogy of the electrical circuit, instead of electricity you have the divine nature, intelligence flowing from the Father into Christ. Joseph Smith used the term mind or intelligence. But it s a principle of mind. The Apostle Paul used the same term as well, when he said: Let that mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus though he were in the form of man but thought it not robbery to be equal with God. The full intelligence, glory, mind, life of the primary being is extended in the sense of a power extension, an actual substance of the spirit, to dwell in the Son. Who then does that make the Son? He has all the powers of life, light, all the attributes, the intelligence, the mind of the primary being, they are all centered over here in the Son, so who does that make the Son? It makes him the Father and he is also the Son. He is a dual being. Question: Is that literal or a likeness? He is literal, not in the physical sense, but in the sense of the indwelling glory. The full glory of the primary being or Man of Holiness, our spirit father, finally centers in His Only Begotten Son. And that glory that centers in the Son is intelligence, it s mind, it s truth, it s light, it s power. So that everything the Man of Holiness has is centered in the Son, having all of the same attributes. The divine nature, the glory, the mind, it s power, intelligence, powers of life, qualities, capabilities, all are transferred over here to the Son. Making the son the Father and the Son. Abinadi say the following in Mosiah 15:3, The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God. In that conception you transfer, therefore, the attributes of the glory of the Father. Continuing with verse 3, and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son. Comment: An example in physical life, humanity possessing some of this quality that they can transmit to their off spring or anything like that, like a father passing on his qualities. There s not very many glorified beings in mortality. But let me give you a scripture. In John chapter 14 Philip expressed the desire to the Savior in verse 8, Philip said unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

12 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? What do missionaries do with that verse, and I don t mind them doing it. Comment: They, more or less, make reference that if you have seen Christ you have seen his Father, because of their likeness. And that is a true idea. In the Wentworth Letter, the Prophet Joseph Smith, when he talks about the first vision, he makes it clear that the Father and the Son were identical in physical form and stature and likeness. And makes it clear that the Father and Son are identical, so if you were deceived in sight by the one you would be deceived in sight by the other. So it s not inappropriate to apply this verse and Phillips experience in that direction. But the natural application, and you need be aware of the fact that is not what Jesus was really saying. Note, for example, in verse 9, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? Christ assumed that Philip understood the indwelling principle of the divine nature. Most people don t understand it. He just asked it, do you believe it? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? In other words, Christ is asking, don t you know about this indwelling relationship? Then he explains in verse 10 the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. This is not just Jesus representing the Father. What kind of relationship is it? It s a relationship where through intelligence and glory the Father, not physically, but in respect to divine nature dwells in Christ. And reveals and manifests himself through Christ as a physical being. Therefore, Christ is a dual being, he is the Father and the Son. Comment: At this point would he have the fulness?

13 No! But it is still the indwelling relationship, because of his conception. Remember verse 10, Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Then verse 11, Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works sake. He is saying, If you have seen me you have seen the Father. What does he mean? I am the Father, or in other words the intelligence, the power, the spirit, the truth that I manifest, that s not mine. That s of his Father in Heaven. By indwelling glory that s in me and the words that I speak it s the Father that dwells in me. Because he was conceived by the power of God the Father dwelt in him, which makes him what? The Father and the Son. That s the personage you are dealing with. Comment: In Alma 11, where Amulek is confronted by Zeezrom in verse 38. It says: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? Then verse 39, And Amulek said unto him; Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and earth; and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Question: Is that the indwelling power that you are referring to? Yes, I want to discuss Alma 11 with you in just a minute in relation to that. Question: Where does the Holy Ghost come into that? It says that, I m going to turn back to a physical sense. The scriptures say the Father s spirit and the Son s spirit cannot dwell in a man s heart, but it is through the Holy Ghost. Where does the physical come into it? When it comes to man the Holy Ghost is an agent, as a personage, an agent to man he takes the glory and the spirit, the power, the light, the truth, the intelligence of Christ and manifests it to us. For example in John 16:13, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me; (Christ speaking) for he shall receive of mine. The power of the Holy Ghost is the power of Jesus Christ. There is only one God

14 to us and that is Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Ghost centers in him and is derived from him. 14 He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. Then Christ explains: 15 All things that the Father hath are mine. The Father has given everything to Christ. He is Alpha and Omega. What s outside of the beginning and the end? Nothing. Everything pertaining to the beginning and end centers in Christ. 15 therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. So the Holy Ghost takes Christ s glory and power and manifests it to us, to bring us up through the roll of the first comforter, to the point that we can get to the roll of the second comforter, and be glorified directly in and through Christ. So he plays that intermediate roll. Now let s turn back to Mosiah 15:3, The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God. Do we understand that now? It s the divine power circuit. The glory here is extended over there, so that by indwelling glory that being is like in intelligence and power, and is centered over here, and hence this being (Christ) becomes like unto the Father. That was done in conception. Continuing with verse 3, The father because he was conceived by the power of God and the Son because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and the Son. 4 And they... What s the antecedent to they? They is plural and what s the antecedent to it? Are. They the Father and the Son. How many beings are you talking about? We are only talking about one being in that passage. 4 they (the Father and the Son i.e. Jesus Christ) are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. Do you see that? That is a whole bunch of garbalee-gook unless you understand the divine nature, and then it s beautiful.

15 5 And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father. So he equates the flesh with the Son, and the spirit with the Father. Thus the flesh in Christ becoming subject to the Spirit in Christ or the Father in Christ. 5 being one God, suffereth temptation, and yeildeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people. Do you know Christ, a little bit better now? Do you see him now as that kind of a being on earth with the divine nature and glory of the Father? That is quite a different philosophy than elder brother Jesus. Some say he s just the elder brother back there in premortality, and the Son of God here on earth, and that s all there is to it. They believe He came down here to save us so he s the Savior and Redeemer. But can you see how far we are deficient in our understanding of Christ? It s God, himself, who is going to come down as we are taught in the scriptures. The Book of Mormon then, has an interesting concept of Christ and that concept is the same concept through all the standard works of the church, all of them. It is found in the New Testament and the Old Testament if you know where to look. The scriptures attest that Christ is the mighty God. For example, in the Pearl of Great Price, Moses chapter 7. This is a vision in which Enoch is talking with God and in the course of this vision Enoch is shown the future ministry of Christ on the earth, how they roughed him up and crucified him, and he ascended into heaven. Verse 59, And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father; (this is after his crucifixion) and he called unto the Lord, (now he is talking unto God) saying: Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? Who is Enoch talking to? Christ. How do you know? Because he is the one who came to the earth, and Enoch was asking him, wilt thou not come again upon the earth. 59 Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but through thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee (who is thee? The Father) if thou wilt not come again on the earth.

16 Who is going to come again upon the earth? Who is he talking to? Enoch is talking to one person, and who is that one person? Christ, and who is he? The Father and the Son. Is Enoch speaking to him only as the Father or as the Son? No! He is speaking in respect to both the Father and the Son. Let me read it again: 59 Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? (That is Christ) Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee. Enoch is saying: I know, I understand. Enoch knows what he is talking about. He knows the person he is speaking to, and how to address Him, and how to express himself in relationship to Him. 59 Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten. With an improper understanding, that kind of boggles it up doesn t it? Because he is talking to Christ. 59 Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten;... wherefore, I ask thee (that s the Father) if thou wilt not come again on the earth. He is talking to a dual being isn t he? He s talking to a being who is both the Father and the Son. 60 And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days. After all, this is Christ, and Enoch is addressing him as the Father, and is speaking unto him in respect to his coming again to the earth. So, who is Christ? He is the Father and the Son. And you speak to him in both capacities. Enoch isn t saying, Oh Father over here I pray thee in the name of this son. He is actually talking to that person right there. I ask thee, the Father, in the name thine only begotten son if thou will not come again on the earth. He is following the standard procedure of prayer, address the Father in the name of the Son, but where is the Father? He s up there and he s right there. Do you have to address him up there? No, you can address him right there, too. And that s what he was doing, isn t it? And he still used

17 the same form of prayer but there was an extension of it by the indwelling glory which Christ possesses. Now is that good solid doctrine? It s pretty heavy but it is good solid doctrine. And the fact is, do you know Christ unless you know this? Can you say that you even begin to comprehend the person unless you know something about this? Comment: To carry your point a little heavier in Ether 12:41, Moroni s closing testimony: Ether 12:41, And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them may be and abide in you forever. Amen. He s commending the seed of Jesus, isn t he? Yes. Let me give you another illustration of this. Alma 11, this is the Book of Mormon doctrine of Christ. I don t know how it is that we ve had the Book of Mormon for low these 150 years and why we haven t popularized the most basic thing in it, which is the doctrine of God. Comment: Probably one of the reasons, in my own opinion, when the prophet Joseph Smith received the vision, he distinctly saw two beings and he had to confront all Christendom with that doctrine which they were completely in the dark over. We have had to hammer this other concept of two Gods, two beings to them, so long that we ve gotten into a rut over it. Yes, we need to teach that the Father and the Son are two separate and distinct personages. But that is just first base around the game. You ve got to go on around to second and third and back to home. You go to first base, fine, that s one thing. Now move on. When you move on then you find a few more things about it. Comment: The church also has to contend with, where the Father and the Son appeared to different prophets at different intervals when the Father introduced the Son. You ve got that in there, too. At four or five different intervals in history. Let me read you a statement. This is President Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol 1. This is a basic idea so you kind of need to fix in your mind and operate on that basis as you read the scriptures. All revelation since the fall has come through Jesus Christ, who is the Jehovah

18 of the Old Testament. The Father has never dealt with man directly and personally since the fall. Never. He has never appeared except to introduce and bear record of the Son. Now he goes on to say, in giving revelation, our Savior speaks at times for himself, at other times for the Father, and in the name of the Father, as though he were the Father. He speaks in both capacities. In Doctrine and Covenants 49 let me read you a statement in verse 5, Thus saith the Lord; for I am God, and have sent my Only Begotten Son into the world for the redemption of the world, and have decreed that he that receiveth him shall be saved, and he that receiveth him not shall be damned. Who is speaking there? It s the Father in Christ. Because when he signs off over in verse 28 he says, Behold, I am Jesus Christ, and I come quickly. Even so. Amen. Who gave the revelation and who spoke? Christ. What did he do in the revelation? He spoke just as though he were the Father. Did he not? Do you see that? 5 I am God I have sent my Only Begotten Son. Is this the person of the Father, Eloheim, speaking? The answer is no. You never have the person of the Father doing anything more than saying This is my beloved Son, hear him. Just merely a testimony bearing relationship and that s all that the Father, the Man of Holiness, as a person has ever revealed since the fall. Every other time, when the Father is speaking or it appears as if the Father is speaking, and it is the Father, but it s Christ in the role. Comment: My point was, the Church still has to contend with that, in a Sunday school class, a speaker, or wherever. It is real hard to break it all out. But if you were to get in a deep discussion with someone you may be able talk about this subject. Well, you can teach anything you want to teach. Sometimes you say: that s too hard I can t teach that. Have you ever looked at what we consider the easy step from the stand point of a non-member? The word apostasy, restoration, boy it s just foreign to them. You have to teach it and there s no reason why you can teach this as well. At least we ought to make an effort at it, because this is the doctrine of the scriptures. Some of the missionaries teach it one way and the Book of Mormon teaches it another way. That s all the reason we need to teach it as the Book of Mormon teaches

19 it. Lets go to Alma chapter 11. Here is another basic doctrine concerning Christ in the Book of Mormon. Here you have the exchange of Amulek and Zeezrom. Alma and Amulek are at the city of Ammonihah. They get cornered by a bunch of lawyers and Zeezrom. Zeezrom wants to put Amulek on the witness stand and give him the old Perry Mason treatment. Amulek consents finally. So they get underway on the cross examination, in verse 26, And Zeezrom said unto him: Thou sayest there is a true and living God? 27 And Amulek said: Yea, there is a true and living God. Question one, and answer one. 28 Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? What would you say? Amulek says in verse 29, And he answered, No. It depends upon the context. For example, we understand the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, but let s follow a little bit further. What does the Father do? He centered all of his power, his truth and glory in Christ, right? Does the Father do anything more than that? No, except just to say: here is Christ, listen to him. What is the relationship of the Holy Ghost to Christ? Some people have the idea that the Godhead is a first presidency. The Father is running the show, with Christ as first counselor and the Holy Ghost the second counselor. What s wrong with that? It s simply not true! Here s the correct view: The Father has centered everything in Christ. And where is the Holy Ghost? He s down here. And where is all power centered? In Jesus Christ, he s the Father and the Son. How many Gods are there? One. Amulek answers, there s one God. 30 Now Zeezrom said unto him again: How knowest thou these things? 31 And he said: An angel hath made them known unto me. That s either a good answer or a bad angel. Apparently that was a good angel. So how many Gods are there? One! Now if you get into eternity, that as man is God once was and as God is man may become and there s the glorification of life and the exaltation of life, then how many Gods are there? There are Lords many and Gods

20 many. That s what Joseph Smith taught: There are Lords many and Gods many, but to us there is one God. And that one is who? Jesus Christ, the Father and the Son. So Amulek is strictly right, there s one God. 32 And Zeezrom said again: Who is he that shall come? Is it the Son of God? You get into a little complication here. 33 And he (Amulek) said unto him, Yea. Then he had an exchange for a few verses (34-37) on whether you can be saved in your sins or from your sins, and we still haven t got that resolved in our own hearts. Most of us think we can be saved in them. But when they finally got through with that one nevertheless, they come back to the basic theme in verse 38. Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? 39 And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last. So you have a situation, where there s one God. And that one God is the Son, and that one God is the Father of heaven and earth and all things which in them are. Is that right? Zeezrom thinks he got Amulek in a conflict. But he didn t. That idea is a beautiful idea. You have the Book of Mormon doctrine of God. In verse 44 he s talking about the resurrection in the sense of a restoration bringing you back, Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but everything shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ and Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. The word is is singular. Who is going to judge men? Christ. Are all three of them going to sit there as judges? Jesus says the Father has committed all judgement into the hands of the Son. When Christ judges then, in what capacity does he judge? In the sense of the Godhead. In him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily, including the names of the Godhead. So, if you were to say the Father, Son and Holy Ghost which are one God, what would it mean? The three of them one Godhead. Is means what?

21 One personage and the divine nature centering in him, and the rights and powers of deity. This is what it means to baptize in the name of Jesus Christ. For example, in 3rd Nephi 11:22, And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you. 23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name. Note how many times he mentions in my name. 23 on this wise shall ye baptize them Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. 24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: 25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. 27 And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name; for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. You finally get the idea that he wants you to know that it s in his name, they are three, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. By being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost you are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. That s the doctrine of the Book of Mormon. Let me give you one more example in Doctrine and Covenants 93. This section begins with the promise of the second comforter for those obey the gospel and apply it. Then it tells you along with the blessing of the second comforter you might learn a few things about the Lord. Starting with verse one: (D&C 93) 1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am;

22 2 And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world; 3 And that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one - 4 The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men. In other words, his glory emanates from the presence of God, fills the immensity of space, and gives light, life, and truth to every man. And another thing you will know is that I am in the Father and the Father in me. You will know that doctrine when you finally come up to the second comforter level and learn a few things from the Lord. That I in the Father and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. That is Jesus Christ. Then he explains about himself as this one, the Father and himself as being one. The Father, that is I am the Father because he, the Man of Holiness, gave me of his fulness. Why is he the Father? His conception and the indwelling nature of the Father s glory and divine nature in Christ. The Father gave me of his fulness and so you transfer the divine nature of the Father to the Son and put it in him and so Christ is the Father because the Man of Holiness gave him of his fulness. And He is the Son because Christ was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle. He s called the Son in that sense. And dwelt among the sons of men. 5 I was in the world and received of my Father, and the works of him were plainly manifest. What did he receive of his Father? What did he tell Philip he received of his Father? Don t you know Philip I am in the Father and the Father s in me. What was in him from the Father? The fulness, the glory. So he received not only the physical attributes from his Father, but he received the divine nature from his Father. And in that sense he was in the world and received of my Father and the works of him the works of the Father. What did he say to Philip: (John 14) 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Comment: Why is there so much disputation between the two? In one place you might see where it can be real fine or hairline closeness that there is God the Father

23 and a Jesus Christ. Why would they talk of one and then in most of the other cases they will talk of two in one? We find the answer in John 17:21, That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: That the world may believe that thou hast me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one. What is he saying? The popular theme is all be united, rah, rah, rah, get on the band wagon. But note what he is saying going back to verse 20, Neither pray I for these alone, (his immediate disciples) but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. Who is he praying for? Everyone. 21 That they all may be one; (now note) as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee. How does he want us to be one? As thou, Father, art in me and I in thee. How is the Father in Christ? Let s go back to the analogy of the electrical circuit. The glory of the Father is extended from there to here (from the Father to the Son) and then he put another one on over here, which is man. (From the Son to man.) Instead of the two of them, now you add a third one. He wants us to be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee. He says: (John 17:21, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me (the divine nature) I have given them; (he passes it on) that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one. It s not just unity and purpose. It s the extension of glory from the Father to Christ to man. And then when there is an extension of glory from the Father to Christ to man, who does that make you? It makes you God, doesn t it? And in you dwell in the fulness of the Godhead body. And on that basis you are exalted. Comment: This sounds like the philosophy of Urana. No, Urana is where he would go back and simulate, and this is not everything

24 into one. This is the indwelling glory of the Father from Christ in man, to where you receive and enjoy all of the attributes of Deity, the glory, the power, the light, the intelligence, and the mind of deity, finally centers fully in you through Christ. Not through the Father but through Christ. Comment: The reason I said that is counterfeit elements that are present because of the adversary takes a truth and twists it. It s like the Nicene Creed, they had to have something to pervert. This is not the Nicene Creed we have talked about tonight. But they apparently had something to pervert and they got the Nicene Creed out the perversion of what we have talked about tonight. Comment: What about the ordinances, we talked about baptism, what about the sacrament and other ordinances? Is there a separation? The ordinances are all designed to bring you to a unity with Christ. So you can be glorified in Christ. You are dealing directly with Christ? All of the prayers and ordinances bring you up to the point you are glorified in Christ, as he is glorified in the Father. Section 93 for example, and he talking about the divine nature, says the following: 19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship. The other side of the coin, if you do not know about the divine nature and the indwelling, you don t know how or what you worship. 19 that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness. The great objective is not just for Christ to get the fulness, but for us to get the fulness. 20 For if you keep my commandments (and here s the great promise) you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace. So, you put another power circuit on. You put the Father (left), the Son (center), and man over there (right).