LeGrand L. Baker

Category: Pearl of Great Price

  • John 8:12-69, Moses 5:18-26, Jude 1:3-6 — The Power of Jesus’s Words — LeGrand Baker

    How literally should we understand the Savior’s accusation: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.”

    In our egalitarian society, where “equality” is the cultural and political watchword, it is difficult to wrap our minds around the idea that some people chose to be bad in the premortal world, still choose to be bad in this life, and will always be bad. Yet, the authors of the ancient scriptures believed and taught that is true. If we take Jesus’s words at face value, he also believed that about some of the Jewish leaders. I would like to discuss Jesus’s language in John 8, and some of the implications of his accusations against the men who would eventually preside at the legal farce by which they murdered him.

    Before I discuss the Savior’s words in John 8, I would like to examine the problem of cultural code language, then examine Moses 5:18-26 and Jude 1:3-6, both of which contain ideas that are key to understanding what the Savior said.

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    THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL CODE LANGUAGE: “Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word (John 8:43).”

    Just as it is true that the important thing is not what you look at, but what you see; so it is true that it is not so important what you hear, as it is to which words you actually listen.

    Language is used for a whole spectrum of purposes, and conveying ideas is one of the most important. Words are used to give information, and the more precise the information the more precise the words must be. The other side of that same coin is that words are also used to misinform. In that case, the more sophisticated the listener, the more adroit the speaker must be, for the intent of his language is to give the false impression that he is conveying accurate information without outright lying.

    When spoken honestly, words have power, but the extent of the power is determined by the meaning the speaker attaches to them, and the meaning the listener understands them to convey. Words have the most power when the speaker and the listener can converse in the same language—including the same cultural or sub-cultural, academic or vernacular languages.

    People in each culture, or subculture speak a language that is unique to themselves. A translation changes the words to those with somewhat similar meanings used by a different culture, but translation usually cannot transfer the cultural innuendoes of the first language into the cultural language of the second. {1}

    Code language has a unique power because not everyone who hears or reads its words can understand their intent. The code words themselves select their own audience and no others are welcome into their secret space.

    Language of all cultures is code when spoken between people within the culture. To know the language, one must also know the culture. Three examples: (1) The Mormon church is its own subculture with its own language. Consequently, new converts must learn Mormonese or they cannot understand all that they hear other church members say. (2) Another example is that the pre-Civil War African slaves communicated their hopes and frustrations in songs that were deeply encoded in language that reflected their African culture. Their white masters had little to no idea what their slaves were saying to each other. (3) The reason the code words of the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama are so important in the Book of Mormon and the New Testament is that they establish a cultural unity between those ancient Christians and modern Latter-day Saints.

    Similarly, there are two different ancient gospel code languages. One is in the code words and the other is in priesthood ordinances and covenants and their relationships with those code words. Persons who had received those covenants and ordinances were initiated into a sacred order and given a new identity which included a new covenant name.

    The wonderful power of the symbolism of the ordinances is that it transcends culture and speaks to everyone in their own language. That must be so because it enables perfect continuity within God’s kingdom.

    The Lord explained this in two places in the Doctrine and Covenants. The first one says everything must be done correctly (zedek) or it is counted as not done at all.

    7 And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead
    8 Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion (D&C132:7-8).

    The second is about the importance of people being able to understand what they are taught.

    11 For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ (D&C 90:11).

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    MOSES 5:18-26 — THE CONSTANCY OF CAIN’S REBELLION

    Hugh Nibley has suggested that the way the Lord’s statement to Cain, that he would “rule over” Satan, should be understood with a backdrop of Goethe’s Faust — and that is the only way that makes sense to me.

    In the story, Faust makes a pact with the devil exchanging his immortal soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures in this life. So, while he lives, Faust rules over the devil in that the devil will give Faust anything he desires. However, when his life ends, the terms of the contract reverses, and the devil claims Faust’s soul. The story of Cain follows that same pattern.

    18 And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.
    19 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
    20 And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering;
    21 But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. [Not because of the nature of the fruit offering, but because he was obeying Satan rather than God.] Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
    22 And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?
    23 If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted.

    These words are the key to the whole story. God does not close the door to anyone’s salvation. It can only be one’s Self who closes that door.

    23b And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;

    This is the Faust covenant/relationship. For as long as Cain lives, Satan will give him everything he wishes. The Faustian nature of the covenant, and the beginning of the fufillment of its terms are shown just a few verses later.

    The Lord’s warning to Cain continued.

    24 For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.

    That last phrase does not say “you also had a premortal existence.” Everyone has that, so that would not make Cain at all unique. I read those words to say, “you were perdition before you were born into this world.” If that is correct then it asks a very important question: How was Cain able to be born into this world as an innocent baby if he had already shown himself to be perdition? I think the answer is simple. We come into this world with things: our agency, our personality, and our integrity. Our agency is a given. Without it we could not exist (“All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence” — D&C 93:30).

    We have been developing and perfecting our personalities forever. That isn’t going to change much while we are in this world.

    It is our integrity that is challenged by this world. In the premortal spirit world we were asked “Will you obey?” In this world we are asked, “Why did you obey?” and thereby is our integrity put to the test.

    The Lord’s warning to Cain continued.

    25 And it shall be said in time to come—That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent.
    26 And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord (Moses 5:18-26).

    So Cain had a tantrum and made a covenant with Satan.

    30 And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.
    31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
    32 And Cain went into the field, and Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And it came to pass that while they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him.
    33 And Cain gloried in that which he had done, saying: I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands (Moses 5:30-33).

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    JUDE 1:3-6 — SATAN’S FIFTH COLUMN

    Apparently there were two groups who followed Satan in the war in heaven. One group never received physical bodies, but as evil spirits taunt men and try to thwart the work of God on the earth. Others, like Cain, came here as a fifth column to work within God’s system to destroy it.

    “Fifty column” is a military term. The four columns of an army attack the city from the north, south, east, and west, but the fifth column attacks from within, like the men in the Trogon horse. During World War II the French underground cooperated with the Germans in the day, but sabotaged them at night. They were called the “fifth column.”

    The people on Satan’s side who enter this world as a fifth column are not slouches. Among them are Cain, who was “perdition” before he was born (Moses 5:22-25), and the leaders in Jerusalem who took it upon themselves to kill the Savior and destroy his Kingdom. The Savior said to them:

    Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44)

    There were others of the same ilk who came shortly thereafter, who infiltrated the Church of Christ so they could destroy it from within. Jude (who, like James, was Jesus’s half-brother) warned against such people. Before we read this, there is one phrase we ought to define. The phrase “of old” frequently refers to the time of the Council in Heaven. (Psalm 25:6, 68:33, 93:2, 102:25; Isaiah 25:1; 2 Peter 2:5. The Prophet Joseph used them interchangeably in D&C 76 and in his poetic version of the vision he wrote ten years later. In the Doctrine and Covenants we find:

    And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom. (D&C 76:7)

    In the poetic version, those lines map to:

    From the council in Kolob, to time on the earth,
    And for ages to come unto them I will show
    My pleasure and will, what the kingdom will do
    Eternity’s wonders they truly shall know.
    (Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843)

    The other thing we need to know is that he uses “Egypt” as code for the pre-mortal spirit world. That will become apparent as we read the scripture. With that in mind, here is what Jude wrote:

    3. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints.
    4. For there are certain men crept in unawares [into the church], who were before of old ordained to this condemnation,

    My Heavenly Father most certainly did not ordain them “to this condemnation.” Jude was referring to a premortal covenant with Satan’s fifth column. He continues,

    ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
    5. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt [code for the pre-mortal spirit world.], afterward destroyed them that believed not.
    6. And the angels that kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 1:3-6)

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    JESUS’S AWARENESS OF THE ETERNAL NATURE OF HIS ANTAGONISTS.

    John’s gospel repeatedly gives us examples of how well Jesus knew who and what people were. In the very first chapter:

    47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (John 1:47)

    In the second chapter:

    23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
    24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
    25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. (John 2:23 – 25)

    In my discussion of chapter 3, I showed how Jesus immediately recognized Nicodemus as a trusted friend.

    Before his death, Jesus explained how he had exposed the duplicity of the religious leaders who sought to kill him.

    22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin (John 15:22).

    These men could reveal their true nature only if they believed they had a chance to destroy the God of Heaven.

    If good people were insulated from bad people, how could the bad people define, identify, and expose themselves?
    Or if bad people could not hurt good people, how could the good people know that they were strong in their integrity and testimony? A world without contrasts or contradictions would do nothing for our eternal growth.

    Jesus understood that, and he also knew the intent of his enemies. During his conversation with them, recorded in chapter 8, he was not just sparring with them, calling each other names like teenagers and pouting. Actually, I see the Pharisees acting that way, being driven to frustration by their failure to counter this man whom they both hated and feared.

    The way I read this confrontation is that Jesus is dignified, imperturbable, logical and straightforward, answering questions with accuracy, and describing his antagonists just as he sees them.

    Now, with all that as background, let us read what Jesus said to his accusers in Jerusalem.

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    JOHN 8:12-69 — YE ARE OF YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, AND THE LUSTS OF YOUR FATHER YE WILL DO.

    12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
    13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
    14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
    15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.
    16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
    17 It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
    18 I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
    19 Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.
    20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.
    21 Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
    22 Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.
    23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
    24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
    25 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
    26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
    27 They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
    28 Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
    29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
    30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.
    31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
    32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
    33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
    34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
    35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
    36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
    37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
    38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
    39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
    40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
    41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
    42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
    43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
    44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
    45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
    46 Which of you convinceth [convict] me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
    47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
    48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
    49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
    50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
    51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
    52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
    53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
    54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
    55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
    56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
    57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
    58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
    59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by (John 8:12-69).

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    FOOTNOTE

    {1} Thanks to Garret Nash for the following note:

    The idea of socio-linguistic codes is readily accepted by anthropologist, linguists, and semioticians. Signs (words, images, sounds, gestures and objects which convey meaning) make sense only when they are placed in cultural context in which they are meant to be understood. (See Chandler, D. (2007). Semiotics: the basics. Routledge.)

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  • John 1:29-37 & Moses 7:47 — ‘The Lamb is Slain from the Foundation of the World’ — LeGrand Baker

    Sometimes the scriptures ask more questions than they answer. Enoch’s testimony of the Savior is one of those.

    47 And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me (Moses 7:47).

    John’s discussion of the war in heaven poses the same questions:

    7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
    8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
    9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
    10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
    11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
    12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time (Revelation 12:7-12).

    Do they simply mean that the Savior was chosen “from the foundation of the world”? Or do they mean that the burden of his Atonement predated the Savior’s birth? The answers are not given, so the questions remain. However, the name-title “the Lamb of God” may supply part of the answer, for it not only denotes a sacrifical lamb, but also a quality of soul that will accept, but never inflict pain.

    The title, “Lamb of God” is unique to John the Beloved in the New Testament. John uses it in recounting Jesus’s baptism, and again in his book of Revelation. The name-title is not found anywhere else in the Bible. However, it is frequently found in the Book of Mormon.

    The story of Jesus’s baptism by John the Baptist is told differently in the King James Bible and the Inspired Version. Some words are changed, as is the verse order. The Inspired Version reads:

    29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and said; Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world!
    30 And John bare record of him unto the people, saying, This is he of whom I said; After me cometh a man who is preferred before me; for he was before me, and I knew him, and that he should be made manifest to Israel; therefore am I come baptizing with water.
    31 And John bare record, saying; When he was baptized of me, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
    32 And I knew him; for he who sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me; Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
    33 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
    34 These things were done in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
    35 Again, the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples,
    36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said; Behold the Lamb of God!
    37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus (JST John 1:29-37.

    In the Law of Moses, a young lamb that was less than a year old and without blemish, was offered as a sin offering. It was purported to cleanse the sinner, but as Paul and Peter insisted, those offerings that were repeated frequently in this world, were not effectual in the eternities. Paul wrote,

    1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
    2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
    3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
    4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
    5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
    6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. [He is referencing Psalm 51:16-17 and 34:18 which say that the sacrifices God will accept are a broken heart and contrite spirit.]
    7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
    8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
    9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
    10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
    11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
    12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
    13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
    14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:1-39).

    Peter also explained the Savior’s Atonement in terms of the sin offering of the Law of Moses.

    18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
    19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
    20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
    21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
    22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
    23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
    24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
    25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you (1 Peter 1: 18-25)

    Much of the symbolism of the lamb without blemish is lost to people in our modern culture. To city folk the concept of “lamb” is different from the understanding of those of us who grew up on a farm. A little lamb, less than a year old, is innocent and perfectly vulnerable. It is not capable of doing harm to anyone, but is always subject to being harmed by others.

    In contrast, as soon as baby kittens are old enough to have their eyes open they hiss and scratch at any stranger who gets too close. Puppies romp and explore anything they can get their nose into. Calves and colts are up and running soon after they are born. I don’t know about baby goats. We never had any on our farm and neither did our neighbors.

    To the agrarian people of the Old Testament, a little lamb was almost like an innocent human child. Lambs are naturally open and trusting, and very nice to cuddle. Then they grow up to be sheep who remain vulnerable and trust their shepherd.

    Isaiah’s prophetic description of the Savior reflects that same image of innocence and vulnerability.

    1 Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
    2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.
    3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
    4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
    5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
    6 All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.
    7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth.
    8 He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken.
    9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
    10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
    11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
    12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Mosiah 14:1-12 & Isaiah 53).

    In Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, we suggested that the origin of sin was when one sought to use other people for one’s own advantage. Using that definition, it is easy to understand how the Savior was innocent from the beginning, having never sinned in the whole of his eternal existence.

    When Nephi wrote his vision of the Savior’s life he described him as the “Lamb of God.” The following are only scattered snippits from Nephi’s account of his vision. The purpose of those short quotes is to show that in Nephi’s mind Jesus retained the qualities of a guileless lamb throughout his mortal life. Nephi first uses the name-title “Lamb of God” when he quotes his father Lehi:

    7 And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord.
    …………….
    10 And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world (1 Nephi 10:7,10).

    Nephi then tells of his own vision. Throughout the telling he only refers to the Savior as “the Lamb” or “the Lamb of God,” emphasizing his innocense and, therefore, his personal vulnerability.

    21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
    22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
    …………….
    27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.
    …………….
    31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.
    32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.
    33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.
    …………….
    6 And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them.
    …………….
    10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.
    11 And the angel said unto me: Look! And I looked, and beheld three generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him.
    …………….
    18 And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever (1 Nephi 11:21-12:18).

    At the end of the vision Nephi was instructed:

    24 And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see.
    25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them.
    26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel.
    27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel (1 Nephi 14:24-27).

    In summary, Nephi has told us that John the Baptist testified that Jesus is “the Lamb of God.” Thereafter, as Nephi describes some of the events of the Savior’s life, he never calls him Jesus. He only refers to him as “the Lamb” or “the Lamb of God.” It is not until near the end of 2 Nephi that he tells us,

    19 For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God (2 Nephi 25:19).

    The scriptures give us two different, but not incongruent, word portraits of Jesus. The prophets Enoch, Isaiah, and Nephi portray his character as being like an innocent lamb. The gospels show us a personality that is compassionate and loving, but still forthright, powerful, and undaunted. Since his youth, Jesus was determined to fulfill the covenants he made with his Father and with us. Those covenants culminated in his ultimate exercise of integrity and power in Gethsemane, on the cross, and his resurrection.

    His charge to his apostles (and implicitly to all of us) was a reflection of his own perfected character.

    16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
    17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
    ……………..
    28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:16-17, 28).

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  • Abraham 3:22 – 4:1 — A History of Our Premortal Experiences — LeGrand Baker

    22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
    23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
    24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
    25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
    26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
    27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
    28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him (Abraham 3:22-28).
    1 And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth (Abraham 4:1).

    These verses are some of the most important in LDS scripture because they are the only place in the scriptures where we can find this sequence:

    1 Some intelligences were organized and called “the noble and great ones”
    2 Those intelligences receive spirit bodies, and are called “good”
    3 At a Council in Heaven they are made “rulers” – kings and priests.
    4 Jehovah and the members of that Council made plans to create the first estate (spirit earth) and second estate (physical earth)
    5 Satan rebelled and there was a war in heaven
    6 Jehovah and the members of the Council (now called “the gods”) create the heavens and the earth.

    Without the knowledge of that sequence, we would not know how to understand the eternal context of the story told in the temple drama. It was not a coincidence that the Book of Abraham was initially published in conjunction with the Prophet Joseph’s introducing the endowment in this dispensation. Joseph first gave the endowment to a few select friends on Wednesday, May 4, 1842. {1} Book of Abraham was first published in three issues of the Times and Seasons on March 1, March 15, and May 16, 1842.

    —————————

    22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

    The first question we must ask is, What is an intelligence? The best answer is from B. H. Roberts’s priesthood manual. That portion of the manual was originally published in the Improvement Era, where it was introduced by this note from the editor: “Elder Roberts submitted the following paper to the First Presidency and a number of the Twelve Apostles, none of whom found anything objectionable in it, or contrary to the revealed word of God, and therefore favor its publication.”

    That is important. If it was approved by “the First Presidency and a number of the Twelve Apostles,” that is about as close to official church doctrine as one can get. Elder Roberts wrote:

    The Nature of Intelligences: There is in that complex thing we call man, an intelligent entity, uncreated, self existent, indestructible. He—for that entity is a person; because, as we shall see he is possessed of powers that go with personality only, hence that entity is “he,” not “it,”—he is eternal as God is; co-existent, in fact, with God; of the same kind of substance or essence with deity, though confessedly inferior in degree of intelligence and power to God. One must needs think that the name of this eternal entity—what God calls him—conveys to the mind some idea of his nature. He is called an “intelligence;” and this I believe is descriptive of him. That is, intelligence is the entity’s chief characteristic. If this be a true deduction, then the entity must be self-conscious, and “others—conscious,” that is, he must have the power to distinguish himself from other things—the “me” from the “not me.” He must have the power of deliberation, by which he sets over one thing against another; with power also to form a judgment that this or that is a better thing or state than this or that. Also there goes with this idea of intelligence a power of choosing one thing instead of another, one state rather than another. These powers are inseparably connected with any idea that may be formed of an intelligence. One cannot conceive of intelligence existing without these qualities any more than he can conceive of an object existing in space without dimensions. The phrase “the light of truth” [Doc. & Cov., Sec. xciii.] is given in one of the revelations as the equivalent for an “intelligence” here discussed; by which is meant to be understood, as I think, that intelligent entities perceive the truth, are conscious of the truth, they know that which is, hence “the light of truth,” “intelligence.” Let it be observed that I say nothing as to the mode of the existence of these intelligences, beyond the fact of their eternity. But of their form, or the manner of their subsistence nothing, so far as I know, has been revealed, and hence we are without means of knowing anything about the modes of their existence beyond the fact of it, and the essential qualities they possess, which already have been pointed out. …
    The intelligent entity inhabiting a spirit-body makes up the spiritual personage. It is this spirit life we have so often thought about, and sang about. In this state of existence occurred the spirit’s “primeval childhood;” here spirits were “nurtured” near the side of the heavenly Father, in his “high and glorious place;” thence spirits were sent to earth to unite spirit-elements with earth-elements—in some way essential to a fulness of glory and happiness (Doc. & Cov. Sec. xciii: 32-35)—and to learn the lessons earth-life had to teach. The half awakened recollections of the human mind may be chiefly engaged with scenes, incidents and impressions of that spirit life; but that does not argue the non-existence of the uncreated intelligences who preceded the begotten spiritual personage as so plainly set forth in the revelations of God.
    The difference, then, between “spirits” and “intelligences,” as here used, is this: Spirits are uncreated intelligences inhabiting spiritual bodies; while “intelligences,” pure and simple, are intelligent entities, but unembodied in either spirit bodies or bodies of flesh and bone. They are uncreated, self-existent entities, possessed of “self-consciousness,” and “other-consciousness”—they are conscious of the “me” and the “not me”; they possess powers of discrimination (without which the term “intelligence” would be a solecism) they discern between the evil and the good; between the “good” and “the better.” They possess “will” or “freedom,”—within certain limits at least—the power to determine upon a given course of conduct, as against any other course of conduct. This intelligence “can think his own thoughts, act wisely or foolishly, do right or wrong.” To accredit an “intelligence” with fewer or less important powers than these, would be to discredit him as an “intelligence” altogether. {2}

    Some years later, Elder Roberts carefully described the intelligences who were organized and called “the noble and great ones.” However, rather than making a too-bold statement, he couched his conclusions in a series of rhetorical questions:

    Do these higher intelligences of the stellar universe and planetary systems have so developed in themselves the quality of love that makes it possible to think of them as being willing to sacrifice themselves—to empty themselves in sacrifice to bring to pass the welfare of others whom they may esteem to be the undeveloped intelligences of the universe? And may they not be capable of giving the last full measure of sacrifice to bring to pass the higher development of the “lowly” when no other means of uplift can be serviceable? Is the great truth operative among these untold millions of intelligences that greater love hath no intelligence for another than this, that he would give his life in the service of kindred intelligences when no other means of helpfulness is possible? {3}

    Alma teaches that “in the first place” they had priesthood “after the order of the son.” He also explains the differences between those who had priesthood and those who did not. About the first group he says:

    3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.
    4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, …

    About those who did not have priesthood he explains

    4 … while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.
    5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared (Alma 13:3-5).{4}

    So the differences between the noble and great ones and the others were self-imposed differences resulting from their own choices. There was nothing arbitrary about it and nothing caused by any force except the exercise of their own wills.

    President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. also drew an important distinction between intelligences and spirit persons. He wrote:

    Now, if we are going to know life at its best, we ought to know, or to appreciate, or have in view, not only what life is, but what is the purpose of life, why are we here. And in that connection I thought I might call your attention to some passages that will take us rather far back and give us some idea of what this spirit, this life and soul of ours, is—its antiquity.
    I am reading first from the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 93:
    And now, verily I say unto you [this is the Lord speaking], I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn.
    That which I have just read is the 21st verse; now, dropping to the 23rd verse:
    Ye were also in the beginning with the Father [speaking to Joseph and others]: that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth.
    And now the 29th verse:
    Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.
    Now I want to read from Abraham:
    I dwell in the midst of them all [said God, speaking of the intelligences]. I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to deliver unto thee the works which my hands have made [he is speaking to Abraham], wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
    Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
    And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born (Abraham 3:21-23).
    Now, there seems to be a difference between the spirit of intelligence, the spiritual body, and the mortal body, and that is well to have in mind. {5}

    In his mild, unassuming way, President Clark made an extremely important observation: “Now, there seems to be a difference between the spirit of intelligence, the spiritual body, and the mortal body.” There, he identifies the first three phases of our eternal existence, then adds, “and that is well to have in mind.”

    When discussing the organization of the people in the premortal spirit world, President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:

    It is reasonable to believe that there was a Church organization there. The heavenly beings were living in a perfectly arranged society. Every person knew his place. Priesthood, without any question, had been conferred and the leaders were chosen to officiate. Ordinances pertaining to that pre-existence were required and the love of God prevailed. Under such conditions it was natural for our Father to discern and choose those who were most worthy and evaluate the talents of each individual. He knew not only what each of us could do, but also what each of us would do when put to the test and when responsibility was given us to accomplish our respective missions. Paul writes to the Ephesian Saints:

    Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
    According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. (Ephesians 1:3-4).{6}

    ————————-

    The Council in Heaven  {7}

    The next verse in Abraham 3 moves us from the world of intelligences to the world of spirits, where the intelligences have received bodies made of spirit matter.

    23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

    We learn a number of important things from this verse. The first is that Heavenly Father presided at this meeting. “He stood among those that were spirits.” So we are assured that these intelligences have been born spirit children of heavenly parents and have received their spirit bodies. He “saw these souls that they were good,” suggesting that there had been a preliminary judgement. That is, the persons who were there were there by invitation. “He stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers.” If he stood in “the midst off them” they were all around him and he was in the center of what may have been a circle. This appears to be an ordinance or covenant-making ceremony where they were designated as “my rulers.” I understand that to mean, during this ceremony they were made kings and priests. Again, “he saw that they were good.” That is not a redundancy, it is a testimony of their continued worthiness after the ceremony. “He said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.” The question is “Which ‘born’—spiritual or physical?” The answer has to be both.

    Abraham was told that he was present at that council. The Prophet Joseph said he was also there.

    Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council. {8}

    The Council apparently continues to be operative. President Joseph F. Smith, in his vision of the redemption of the dead, tells us the names of a number of those who were in attendance at a similar meeting, and identified them as “the noble and great ones.” An abridgement of his statement might read:

    In this vast congregation of the righteous were Father Adam, Mother Eve, with many of her faithful daughters, Seth, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Elias, Malachi, Elijah, the prophets who dwelt among the Nephites and testified of the coming of the Son of God, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and other choice spirits who were reserved to come forth in the fulness of times to take part in laying the foundations of the great latter-day work. I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones [That is, those who are identified in Abraham 3:22-23 as members of the Council] who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men (summary of D&C 138:38-56).

    We learn from the Prophet Joseph’s poem, A Vision, that the Council met in Kolob.

    For thus saith the Lord, in the spirit of truth,
    I am merciful, gracious, and good unto those
    That fear me, and live for the life that’s to come:
    My delight is to honour the Saints with repose,

    That serve me in righteousness true to the end;
    Eternal’s their glory and great their reward.
    I’ll surely reveal all my myst’ries to them —
    The great hidden myst’ries in my kingdom stor’d;

    From the council in Kolob, to time on the earth,
    And for ages to come unto them I will show
    My pleasure and will, what the kingdom will do
    Eternity’s wonders they truly shall know. {9}

    We also learn in Psalm 82 that at least part of that or another ceremony included their covenanting to live a law that is remarkably similar to the law of consecration. While discussing that psalm I wrote:

    The original scene depicted by Psalm 82 can more readily be understood by inserting it into the account recorded in Abraham 3, where it fits so perfectly that it does not even break the cadence of the story. Please note, by putting the two scriptures together in this way, we do not wish to imply that they were ever written as a single unit. Rather, they are combined to illustrate an interesting—perhaps insightful—picture of how things might have been in the Council in Heaven, and how they might have been portrayed on the stage:

    Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. [He asked,] How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O gods, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations. [After the covenant, God said,] These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born (Abraham 3:22-23 & Psalm 82). {10}

    The next verses in Abraham 3 are a report of a planning meeting which Jehovah conducted.

    24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
    25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
    26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

    The language is not sufficiently clear for us to know whether this was in the same meeting as the preceding ceremony, or if it was later but with the same people present. However, the Prophet seems to suggest that it was held after the Council had already been organized.

    The head God called together the Gods and sat in grand council to bring forth the world. The grand councilors sat at the head in yonder heavens and contemplated the creation of the worlds which were created at the time. {11}

    One of the most relevant bits of information in Abraham’s account of this planning meeting is found in the tense of the verbs. Everything they discussed was to be accomplished in their future.

    24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
    25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
    26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

    During this planning meeting, both the first and the second estate were in their future. The first estate is our premortal spirit world and the second estate is our physical world. The Lord told Moses, “For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth (Moses 3:5).” Since this planning meeting was held before the creation of the first estate, and an account of the creation of the world follows almost immediately after, it appears the creation story told in Abraham 3 is about the spirit earth. (That could help answer some of the questions that may arise from the wording in chapter 5.)

    Another intriguing thing about Abraham’s account is that not all premortal beings were involved in the creation process. Notice the use of “we” and “these/they” as the members of the Council plan their creations:

    24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
    25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
    26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

    Now the question is this: If “we” are members of the Council, then who are “they”? The answer seems to be they were the intelligences who were yet to enter their first estate, and would receive their spirit bodies on that spirit earth. (If all the intelligences already had spirit bodies, then that presuppose that they already lived somewhere. It seems there would not be much point in building first estate spirit world for them to move to.)

    In the next verses in Abraham 3 we are introduced to the “war in heaven.” But the account begins in mid-conversation: “And the Lord said: Whom shall I send?” We are not made privy to the discussion or the events that preceded it. Again, we cannot tell whether this is the same meeting or a different one. However, Moses’s account suggests it was a later event.

    1 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.
    2 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. (Moses 4:1-2)

    ( I get a bit bothered whenever I hear someone refer to “Satan’s plan.” It was not a plan, it was a rebellion and, I believe it should never be given the dignity of being called anything else! )

    Joseph also described the event. Thomas Bullock was present and took the following notes:

    —I know the Scriptures I understand them—no man can commit the unpardonable sin after the dissn. of the body but they must do it in this World—hence the Saln. of J. C was wrought out for all men to triumph over the devil—for he stood up for a Savior—J. contd. that there wod. be certn. souls that wod. be condemned & the d[evi]l sd. he cod. save them all 84—as the grand council gave in for J. C. so the d I fell & all who put up their heads for him. {12}

    When B. H. Roberts compiled the 7 volume History of the Church, he used Bullock’s notes to produce this quote which he attributed to the Prophet:

    I know the Scriptures and understand them. I said, no man can commit the unpardonable sin after the dissolution of the body, nor in this life, until he receives the Holy Ghost; but they must do it in this world. Hence the salvation of Jesus Christ was wrought out for all men, in order to triumph over the devil; for if it did not catch him in one place, it would in another; for he stood up as a Savior. All will suffer until they obey Christ himself.
    The contention in heaven was—Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he could save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who put up their heads for him. {13}

    The account given in Abraham 3 says simply:

    27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
    28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him (Abraham 3:22-28).

    From John the Beloved we learn that Michael/Adam commanded the forces that expelled Satan, and that the weapon they used in this war was their testimonies of the Savior’s Atonement. That war is still going on. The battleground has shifted to this world but the weapon we still use is our testimonies of the Savior’s Atonement. John wrote:

    7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
    8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
    9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
    10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
    11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
    12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time (Revelation 12:7-12).

    In Abraham’s account, it was immediately after Satan’s rebellion that the work of creation began.

    v.1 And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth (Abraham 4:1).

    The story we have just read is the biographical sequence of the progression and assignments of the members of the Council in Heaven. It, no doubt, also shows their growth in faithfulness and ability. Initially there was a group of intelligences called “the noble and great ones.” As spirits, they met in Council where Heavenly Father had chosen them as his “rulers.” We next see them in Council planning the works of creation. Then Satan and his followers are expelled. And finally, “they, that is the gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.”

    After that, they come to this earth to get a physical body and the opportunity to ultimately be exalted as celestial beings. It is a wonderful story of eternal growth and eternal progression, and of eternal fidelity in their relationships with the Savior.

    It now seems appropriate to me to conclude this study by repeating the Prophet’s assurance:

    Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council.

    —————————–

    FOOTNOTES

    {1} Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951), 5: 1-2.

    Wednesday, May 4, 1842 —I spent the day in the upper part of the store, that is in my private office …. in council with General James Adams, of Springfield, Patriarch Hyrum Smith, Bishops Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, and President Brigham Young and Elders Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchisedek Priesthood, setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the fullness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the First Born, and come up and abide in the presence of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds. In this council was instituted the ancient order of things for the first time in these last days. And the communications I made to this council were of things spiritual, and to be received only by the spiritual minded: and there was nothing made known to these men but what will be made known to all the Saints of the last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive, and a proper place is prepared to communicate them, even to the weakest of the Saints; therefore let the Saints be diligent in building the Temple, and all houses which they have been, or shall hereafter be, commanded of God to build; and wait their time with patience in all meekness, faith, perseverance unto the end, knowing assuredly that all these things referred to in this council are always governed by the principle of revelation.

    {2}B. H. Roberts, “Immortality of Man,” Improvement Era 10, 6 (April 1907): 401-23. This introduction was also included on the first page of the priesthood manual. Roberts spells it “intelligencies,” and Roberts, Seventy’s Course in Theology, 2:8-11. See also: Orson Pratt, “Great First Cause, or the Self-Moving Forces of the Universe,” Series of Pamphlets by Orson Pratt (Liverpool: R James, 1851).

    {3} B. H. Roberts, The Truth, The Way, The Life, ed. John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, 1994), 98.

    {4} For a more complete explanation of premortal priesthood in Alma 13 see the following chapters in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord (the first page references are to the first edition, the second are to the paperback edition):
    “Alma 13: The Quest for Self: to Know the Law of One’s Own Being,” 801, 564.
    “The Nature of Intelligences,” 806, 567.
    “Alma 13:1-9, Premortal Responsibilities and Opportunities to Bless Others,” 815, 579.
    “Alma 13, Alma Teaches about the Eternal Nature of Priesthood and Kingship,” 826, 583.

    {5} J. Reuben Clark, Jr., Immortality and Eternal Life: A Course of Study for the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2 vols. (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1969-1970): 2:154-55. All the brackets within the quotes are President Clark’s.

    {6} Smith, Way to Perfection, 50-51. Italics are in the original. See also my discussion of Ephesians 1 in this website.

    {7} For discussions of the Council in Heaven see the following chapters in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord (the first page references are to the first edition, the second are to the paperback edition):
    “Act 1, Scene 1: The Council in Heaven,” 223, 159.
    “Psalm 82, The Father’s Instructions to the Council,” 227, 162.
    “Psalm 82: Instruction and Covenant,” 233, 165.
    “The King as Judge and Prophet,” 245, 174.
    “Act 1, Scene 2: The Royal Wedding,” 255, 181.

    {8} Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976), 365.

    {9} “A Vision by The Prophet Joseph Smith” a poem patterned after Section 76 published in the Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843.
    For comparison, D&C 76:7 reads, “And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.”

    In Abraham 3, the next verses tell about a planning meeting where they discussed building both the first and second estate worlds. That would be confusing if we did not know the Council met in a different place from the spirit world of the first estate.

    {10} Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, 1172-73.

    {11}  Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,  348.

    {12} Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph, compiled and edited by Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook (Provo: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1980), 353.

    {13} Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,  6: 314.
    Joseph Fielding Smith quoted Roberts in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 357.

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