13 January 2016
21 And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I also receive. 22 For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive. 23 For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand. (Mosiah 26:21–23)
What we learn from this and other scriptures:
Jesus Christ was proxy for all of us in paying the debt of justice each of us owes for having transgressed His laws and thus causing our neighbors to suffer. The debt can be paid only by an equal amount of suffering. Christ can forgive us because He has done our suffering vicariously.
6 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. 7 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. 8 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 forevermore. (Moses 5:6–8)
What we learn from this and other scriptures:
Father wants us to act as proxies for His Son, Jesus Christ, blessing all and everything around us in everything we do. Our task is to create a Heaven on Earth (Zion) using the power and authority of Jesus Christ, doing all things in His name. Doing this we become as Saviors on Mount Zion. We work vicariously for Christ, using His name because we have His mantle.
25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
26 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 forever, 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.
27 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 Mediator 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.
28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments, and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit.
29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom. (2 Nephi 2:25–29)
What we learn from this and other scriptures:
We each choose to be proxies for Christ or Satan in every thought, feeling and act. If we are not anxiously engaged in the cause of Christ we are aiding and abetting the cause of Satan. The cause of Christ is promoted by all as they live by the light of Christ or by the Holy Ghost. When we are not following the light of Christ or the Holy Ghost, we create hell on earth, the dominion of Satan.