 |
|
 |
|
| E-mail this page to a friend | Tell me when this page is updated |
What Is Jesus Really Like ? |
Read now the words of modern day apostles and prophets as to the nature and being of Jesus Christ, whose servants they are.
Talmage, James E. Jesus the Christ. 15th ed., rev. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1977.
Chapter 2
Preexistence And Foreordination of the Christ
6
We affirm, on the authority of Holy Scripture,
that the Being who is known among men as Jesus of Nazareth, and by all
who acknowledge His Godhood as Jesus the Christ, existed with the Father
prior to birth in the flesh; and that in the preexistent state He was chosen
and ordained to be the one and only Savior and Redeemer of the human race.
Foreordination implies and comprises preexistence as an essential condition;
therefore scriptures bearing upon the one are germane to the other; and
consequently in this presentation no segregation of evidence as applying
specifically to the preexistence of Christ or to His foreordination will
be attempted.
6
John the Revelator beheld in vision some of the
scenes that had been enacted in the spirit-world before the beginning of
human history. He witnessed strife and contention between loyalty and rebellion,
with the hosts defending the former led by Michael the archangel, and the
rebellious forces captained by Satan, who is also called the devil, the
serpent, and the dragon. We read: "And there was war in heaven: Michael
and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his
angels."
6
In this struggle between unembodied hosts the
forces were unequally divided; Satan drew to his standard only a third
part of the children of God, who are symbolized as the "stars of heaven";
the majority either fought with Michael, or at least refrained from active
opposition, thus accomplishing the purpose of their "first estate"; while
the angels who arrayed themselves on the side of Satan "kept not their
first estate," and therefore rendered themselves ineligible for the glorious
possibilities of an advanced condition or "second estate." The victory
was with Michael and his angels; and Satan or Lucifer, theretofore a "son
of the morning," was cast out of heaven, yea "he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him." The prophet Isaiah, to whom
these momentous occurrences had been revealed about eight centuries prior
to the time of John's writings, laments with inspired pathos the fall of
so great a one; and specifies selfish ambition as the occasion: "How art
thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut
down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said
in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in
the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to
the sides of the pit."
7
Justification for citing these scriptures in
connection with our present consideration will be found in the cause of
the great contention -- the conditions that led to this war in heaven.
It is plain from the words of Isaiah that Lucifer, already of exalted rank,
sought to aggrandize himself without regard to the rights and agency of
others. The matter is set forth, in words that none may misapprehend, in
a revelation given to Moses and repeated through the first prophet of the
present dispensation: "And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That
Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the
same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying -- Behold,
here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that
one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me
thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen
from the beginning, said unto me -- Father, thy will be done, and the glory
be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and
sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him,
and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine
Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; and he became Satan,
yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men,
and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken
unto my voice."
8
Thus it is shown that prior to the placing of
man upon the earth, how long before we do not know, Christ and Satan, together
with the hosts of the spirit-children of God, existed as intelligent individuals,
possessing power and opportunity to choose the course they would pursue
and the leaders whom they would follow and obey. In that great concourse
of spirit-intelligences, the Father's plan, whereby His children would
be advanced to their second estate, was submitted and doubtless discussed.
The opportunity so placed within the reach of the spirits who were to be
privileged to take bodies upon the earth was so transcendently glorious
that those heavenly multitudes burst forth into song and shouted for joy
8
Satan's plan of compulsion, whereby all would
be safely conducted through the career of mortality, bereft of freedom
to act and agency to choose, so circumscribed that they would be compelled
to do right -- that one soul would not be lost -- was rejected; and the
humble offer of Jesus the Firstborn -- to assume mortality and live among
men as their Exemplar and Teacher, observing the sanctity of man's agency
but teaching men to use aright that divine heritage -- was accepted. The
decision brought war, which resulted in the vanquishment of Satan and his
angels, who were cast out and deprived of the boundless privileges incident
to the mortal or second estate.
9
In that august council of the angels and the
Gods, the Being who later was born in flesh as Mary's Son, Jesus, took
prominent part, and there was He ordained of the Father to be the Savior
of mankind. As to time, the term being used in the sense of all duration
past, this is our earliest record of the Firstborn among the sons of God;
to us who read, it marks the beginning of the written history of Jesus
the Christ.
Taylor, John. Mediation and Atonement: An Examination into and an Elucidation of the Great Principle of the Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1882.
Chapter 2
The Testimony of Jesus the Spirit of Prophecy—The
Declarations of
the Ancient Servants of God—Extracts from the
Writings and
Testimonies of Moses, Job, David, Isaiah, Zechariah,
Micah and Hosea,
to be found in the Old Testament, with remarks.
In the chapter of Luke's Gospel, to which we
have already referred, speaking of Jesus, it is written, "Beginning with
Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning himself."
If this be taken in the fullest sense, and we
know of no reason why it should not thus be received, there is a great
principle developed, which is, that not only Moses, but all the Prophets,
testified concerning the coming Redeemer. As elsewhere stated, this must
have been the case, for we are told that "the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy;" and this being admitted, how could they have the spirit
of prophecy, or be Prophets without having the testimony of Jesus? And
we are told further that the Prophets sought "what manner of time the Spirit
of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the
sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow."—1 Peter, i, 11.
These scriptures evidently show that the testimony
of Jesus was the very principle, essence, and power of the spirit of prophecy
whereby the ancient prophets were inspired.
We find a great many statements corroborative
of these facts in those portions of the writings and prophecies of the
ancient servants of God, that have been handed down to us in the Old Testament,
and from these testimonies we select a few to show how various and how
detailed have been the inspired utterances regarding the life and death
of the Messiah.
"The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet
from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall
hearken; * * * And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which
they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren,
like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak
unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name,
I will require it of him."—Deut., 18:15, 17-19.
"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that
he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall
see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my
reins be consumed within me."—Job, 19:25-27.
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine
a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take
counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let
us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree:
the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and
the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them
with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest
he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but
a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."—Psalm 2:1-12.
Jesus Christ is our elder brother. What a joy it is to know that in a coming day, when I have proven myself worthy, that I will kneel at His precious feet and as a modern day apostle of the Lord said, "bath them with my tears". He lives. Jesus Christ lives and is right now standing at the door knocking. I humbly invite you to open that door and ask him in to your life through membership in His Church. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Ask me questions directly. Ken
Go here for the
Official LDS Page
Back to
Have You Ever
Wondered?