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There are always physical, political, cultural, and economic restraints that prevent us from doing what we want to do. This discussion is not about those. It is about the strengths that make us free. It is also about the conditions we impose upon our Selves that take away our own ability to see, to hear, to empathize, and to BE.

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?

The historical fact was that the Jews had been ruled by foreign powers ever since the reign of Zedekiah, 600 years earlier, and still, at that time they were ruled by the Romans.

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 (John 8:31-36).

Paul added:

22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:22-23).

TRUTH — The definition of truth is given by the Savior:

24 And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
25 And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.
26 The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
27 And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
28 He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things (D&C 93:24-28)

Truth is knowledge of reality in sacred time. Example: That Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of his Father is an eternal truth.

For the sake of this paper only, I would like to define two other words. These definitions do not hold in all instances, but in this essay I use them this way so we will be on the same page and can communicate.

TRUE is our perception of reality in linear time. Example: I attended church last Sunday is true, but would not be quite as true if I slept through most of the meetings. In either case my being in the building is hardly an eternal truth.

SIN, as I wish to use the word here, is also defined in the quote above.

25 And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.

An example of something that is more than truth is the notion that God saves everybody.

8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God (2 Nephi 28:8).

An example of something that is less than truth:

5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men (2 Nephi 28:5).

One’s being unmovable in believing what is currently accepted as true may deflect his ability to know what is eternal truth. Sin (as I use it here) is believing something that is false—a greater sin is acting on it—an even greater sin is imposing that belief on others, insisting that they believe and that they live according to its rules. Alma described it in simple economic terms.

41 Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.
42 And whosoever doeth this must receive his wages of him; therefore, for his wages he receiveth death, as to things pertaining unto righteousness, being dead unto all good works (Alma 5:41-42)

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Our ability to be free agents hinges on a number of conditions. They all revolve on our integrity and our knowing what is real. Again, I am not talking about physical or cultural restraints that limit our freedom; I am only talking about the restraints we do or do not impose upon our Selves. Those qualities are:

(1) To not be bribable – If we can be bribed with money, popularity, power, or adulation, or whatever else strokes our pride, we are not free. As soon as someone meets the price (pay our wages, as Alma said), to that degree they own us and our freedom is lost.

(2) Not able to be intimidated. When we feel vulnerable or threatened, we are not free to be our Self. That is why bullying is such a detestable thing. A child, teenager, or adult that is threatened often takes on a pretended persona for self-preservation. Letting that pretended “self” become his real Self is the tragedy. The antidote to that is the covenant of invulnerability we describe in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord (check its index).

(3) To not have access to, or to not believe in correct information. Without accurate information one is free to guess, but not free to choose.

(4) So the last one must be the ability to process information and the willingness sort out that which is truth from that which is currently true: fashionable, popular, or culturally correct. One of our greatest deterrents of knowing truth is confusing it with what we accept as true. But when truth is available, the greatest barrier to freedom is the lack of intelligent thought. One’s freedom to think may be eroded by falsehoods currently accepted by science or social science, but unless they are permitted to encroach upon religious truth, or upon our ability to love others, they are not usually bad enough to harm our eternal Self. Nevertheless, there are ideas that are considered to be true by persons in our culture that do inhibit one’s ability to recognize truth. Consequently, the first step in learning the truth is frequently to unlearn a cultural fantasy. Mormon warned,

14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.
15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.
16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.
18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged (Moroni 7:11-18).

Ultimately, the key to personal freedom is just what the Savior said it is:

36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

And there is one standard by which truth/freedom can be judged as real. James called it the royal law.

8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:(James 2:8).

It is the royal law because where it is not there can be no valid priesthood or kingship—at least not the kind that will save us on judgment day.

Even though we do not—cannot—now have access to all truth, we do have full access to the most important truth of all— God is Love. And we are clearly taught how to arrive at that truth.

If it does not sound like love it is not gospel!

Loving people does not mean one must also be trusting and gullible, but it does mean one must not be unkind or hurtful. Some people are a lot easier to love than they are to like. The Savior taught his apostles how to navigate that problem.

16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).

Truth gives us freedom because it enables love, while counterfeit truth gives us license to hate without a cause. Bigotry and prejudice preclude intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual freedom for the one who indulges in those biased attitudes. Calling prejudice truth, and refusing to acknowledge it for what it really is, is a crippling sin. One who uses that attitude to justify unkindness presumes to magnify that which he believes to be true into what he presumes is eternal truth. As long as he insists that the falsehood is truth he is hobbled by its inaccuracies or its lies. Those attitudes prevent one from having charity because they fill up the place in one’s soul where love should be with contempt and fear. Such a person does not keep the most basic commandment, so cannot know the most basic truth, so cannot respond to it. The Savior explained,

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:34-35)

In 1 John, the Beloved Apostle projected that commandment back to the very beginning of our beginnings.

11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another (1 John 3:11).

I have shown elsewhere that even though the priesthood sealing ordinances are necessary to answer the demands of justice and to preserve continuity and order, no ordinance can override personal unrighteousness. For example, having been baptized means nothing if one refuses to repent. Similarly, the efficacy of the priesthood sealing ordinances is reserved to those who keep that royal law: Love the Lord (charity) and love your neighbor as thyself (law of consecration).

In the Doctrine and Covenants the ultimate objective to which we reach is the law of consecration. In the Book of Mormon it is charity. The law of consecration is what we DO when charity is what we ARE. I believe charity/love/hesed is the ultimate sealing power. Without it we cannot be in the celestial kingdom with God, our family, and our friends. If charity is the sealing power then that leaves the contemptuous soul with serious problems.

Near the end of his life, Jesus had another conversation about truth.

37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all (John 18:35-38).

There is no indication that Jesus answered Pilate’s question, “what is truth?” If he had answered the question, the only correct answer Jesus could have given would have been           “I AM Truth.”

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We know that Jesus is the Christ, but when did he claim that about himself?

That is a very important question, for if Jesus had not vigorously made that claim about himself, we would not be justified in making it for him. That is not only true about the Savior, but it is also true about the prophets.

I once heard a Mormon scholar criticize the members of the church because we call Joseph Smith “the Prophet.” He argued that other people are simply called by their last name, like Washington, Jefferson, and others. So, he said, since Joseph Smith never called himself “the Prophet,” we should not impose that title on him. Years later, I discovered that the scholar was wrong.

When I was doing the research for my book, Murder of the Mormon Prophet, my student assistants read every newspaper (that was available on microfilm) published in the United States between November 1843 and November 1844, and copied every article about the Mormons. Then I read and analyzed all of those articles. One of the things that surprised me was that in papers published all over America, Joseph Smith was sometimes referred to, not by name, but simply as “the Mormon Prophet.” That was what Joseph called himself so that was the title by which he was known.

There is a famous story about Joseph’s first coming to Kirtland. He walked into Newell K. Whitney’s store, extended his hand and introduced himself, “I am Joseph the Prophet, You’ve prayed me here; now what do you want of me?” {1}

That kind of assertiveness was even more true of the Savior. Jesus did not just go about doing good and let others guess who he was. Rather, he frequently and vigorously declared himself to be the Son of God. Much of the gospel of John is devoted to showing and validating those claims, but they do not surface publically until chapter 5.

John’s gospel is a carefully crafted testimony built upon a biography, rather than a biography that incidentally bears testimony. By ‘carefully crafted’ I mean that it says all that it needs to say and in the order it needs to say them. A random order would have neither served the purposes nor had the power that John clearly intended.

John the Beloved begins his gospel with the testimony of John the Baptist.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
………………..
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I [John the Baptist] spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:1-18)
[JST John 1:19 And no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son; for except it is through him no man can be saved.]

Thereafter, the gospel shows that Jesus identified himself to others in a very systematic and purposeful way. He first told his family and close friends about himself, then when he was ready, he dramatically made himself known to the Jewish people and their leaders.

Jesus’s semi-private early ministry began with John’s testimony of Jesus’s baptism.

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not [JST: “I knew him”]: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not [JST: “I knew him”]: but he that 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 which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Jesus chose the first of his Apostles from among John’s followers. Then he chose others, one was Nathanael who declared he knew that Jesus was the Son of God and the rightful king of Israel.

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:47-51).

In the next chapter Jesus is shown to be the creator-God, having power over the elements, when he turned water to wine at the marriage in Cana. But that story also tells of Jesus’s early reluctance to show the world who he was.

Then John reports Jesus’s private conversation with Nicodemus who became his trusted friend. Near the end of that conversation Jesus explained his Sonship to his new friend.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:14-18).

John the Baptist’s testimony is again reiterated in chapter 3 when some of his disciples complained that Jesus was attracting a greater following than John. When we think of him, we often think of the man in camel hair who had the Aaronic Priesthood. So it is easy for us to overlook the power of John’s testimony, but Jesus understood who John was and the importance of his message.

26 A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.
27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he (Luke 7:26-6).

There is no greater prophet than John the Baptist! That statement is difficult to grasp until we remember that the beginning of John’s gospel, and the beginning of Section 93, are both John the Baptist’s testimony of Jehovah/Jesus. John the Baptist’s testimony is almost always centered on the Savior’s premortal power and glory as the Only Begotten Son of God.

25 Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying.
26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.
29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
31 He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:25-36).

Then the gospel tells of another private conversation with the Samaritan woman where Jesus tells her who he is:

25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. (John 4:25-26).

In all of this, John has introduced us to Jesus as Jehovah/Jesus/Messiah, and rightful Priest and King of Israel. However, during this time, while Jesus was privately establishing his position among his friends and a few followers, he had not gone public about who he was, as John explained:

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).

But now, in chapter 5, Jesus announces himself to the public, and in a very dramatic way—one that challenges the traditions, and therefore the authoritarian religious beliefs of the Jewish leaders, as well as the legitimacy of their political authority.

Traditions, like prejudices, are very convenient for those who use them, because both traditions and prejudices preclude the necessity of intelligent, analytical thought. Traditions are a cultural language—a form of speech and actions within a culture that is always an unknown code to those who do not know the culture. (That is one of the reasons it is difficult for us to read the Bible. We do not know its cultural language. That is also why it is important that the ancient Israelite temple drama gives us the key to the code language of the book of Mormon.)

In human cultures and sub-cultures there are two kinds of sins. The first are those that would actually hurt one’s soul (theft, lying, murder), and are usually defined and punishable by law. The second group of sins are those that do no damage to one’s soul but violate cultural norms (not wearing traditional clothes, eating meat or other taboo foods, living a different lifestyle, reading and teaching from the wrong books). If one is going to be stoned (ancient Israel), or burned to the stake (medieval Europe), or ostracized from acceptable society (present day), it will usually be because of cultural—not real—sins. Cultural sins often bring on the most severe retaliation, as in this instance when Jesus went to a pool in Jerusalem and did a very good/bad thing. He healed a man, making the man physically whole—but he did it in violation of the Jewish cultural norms and his crime was punishable by death. As John explains, “therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.”

So in this story, Jesus is about to openly declare himself and by doing so will challenge the very foundation of the Jewish leaders religious prestige and political authority. As their tensions in this conversation escalate, “the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” This is the story as John tells it.

5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath (John 5:5-9).
……………..
15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.
32 There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true.
33 Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.
34 But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.
35 He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.
39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
41 I receive not honour from men.
42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.
47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? (John 5:5-47 )

———————
FOOTNOTE

{1} Andrew Jensen, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia (Salt Lake City, Andrew Jensen Historical Company, 1901), 1:223.

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15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

Simple translation: How could he possibly know the scriptures when WE have not taught him.

Later, they would issue this challenge to some officers who were sent to arrest Jesus.

45 Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?
46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?
48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?
49 But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

Then Nicodemus sought to defend them, but was countered with name-calling and an argument that had nothing to do with what Jesus was teaching.

50 Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)
51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?
52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
53 And every man went unto his own house (John 7:45-52).

The Pharisees’s arguments against Jesus are a catalog of logical fallacies. These learned men were trapped by the arrogance of their already knowing, and the superiority of their education. John persists in drawing attention to those fallacies by giving us the dialog between these scriptural experts and an unlearned blind man and his parents. The Pharisees “win” the argument, but only when they cannot match his simple logic, so they “cast him out.”

When I was a student at BYU, I took some classes from Professor Chauncey C. Riddle. {1} One of those classes was an “Introduction to Logic.” That was a pivotal experience in my life. From Chauncey I learned how to Think. After I came back to BYU as a member of the faculty, I worked with him in both professional and church assignments. One of the great blessings of my life is that we became friends.

With the background of his logic class I took years ago, I read John 7 and 9 with great delight. I realize that John was using the Pharisees’s own arguments to show both the weakness and the absurdity of their claims against Jesus. However, even though I was able to recognized the fallacies in their logic, I did not remember the names philosophers have given to those fallacies. So I did what any fumbling student would do: I called my teacher and asked for help. He has been retired for a long time, and now is a sealer in the Provo Temple. He responded to my request with characteristic modesty.

LeGrand:
I am too rusty to trust my judgment on these questions. But here is what I think:
7:15 lack of credential (no formal training=lack of ability)
7:48 appeal to authority (only our sources are valid)
7:52 appeal to lack of evidence (only our evidence counts)
9:16 He doesn’t play by our rules
9:21 not a fallacy
9:24 ad hominem (attacking the person instead of his ideas)
9:28 false claim: they are Moses’ interpreters, not his disciples
9:29 lack of credential
9:34 ad hominem

Now we know what to call them, lets enjoy the story as I believe John intended us to enjoy it. I will begin with the three fallacies I have already mentioned.

7:15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

7:15 lack of credential (no formal training=lack of ability)

7:48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

7:48 appeal to authority (only our sources are valid)

7:52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

7:52 appeal to lack of evidence (only our evidence counts)

In chapter 9, John introduces us to a blind man who is assailed by all the pomp, educated sophistication, and authority the Pharisees can muster. He and his parents respond with simple truth and testimony.

1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.
14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day.

9:16 He doesn’t play by our rules

16b Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:
21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.

9:21 not a fallacy.

In its simplicity, this statement is a magnificent contrast to the arguments the Pharisees are using. As one reads this story, one gets the impression that John is almost teasing the Pharisees with their own show of arrogance.

22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.
24 Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.

9:24 ad hominem (attacking the person instead of his ideas)

25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?
28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples.

9:28 false claim: they are Moses’ interpreters, not his disciples.

Had the Pharisees truly been disciples of Christ, they would have heeded the admonition to love God with all of our heart, soul and might. (Deuteronomy 6:5) Instead, they taught that it was their (the Pharisees’) interpretation of Moses that should take first precedence in the lives of the “ordinary” people. CCR

29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.

9:29 lack of credential

30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?

9:34 ad hominem

And they cast him out.

9:34 This comment shows that what they really were after was power over the people. Because Joshua of Nazareth (Jesus, in Greek) threatened their position of power, they took great lengths to protect their monopoly on interpreting the scriptures and wielding control over the people. CCR

Some people who have authority believe it gives them a monopoly on truth. This belief is a dangerous two edged sword. Not only does it give them a presumed licence to judge others as inferior to themselves, it also clouds their ability to learn from those “inferior” people. It distorts their own sense of Self. Seeing themselves as the ultimate academic and/or spiritual authority, they spend their energy cultivating the perfection of thir illusion, rather than trying to perfect their reality—leaving their reality to actually diminish in the presence of the growing illusion. Their pride is a smoke screen—a facade behind which they hide themSelves, and they distort their sense of Self by doing homage to that facade.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth (John 9:1-41)

Jesus could have put all of the haughtiness to rest if they had listened when he said,

Judge not according to your traditions, but judge righteous judgment (JST John 7:24).

————————
FOOTNOTE

{1} Professor Riddle’s writings can be found on his website: “Chauncey Riddle, The Life’s work of a Latter-day Philosopher,” address: chaunceyriddle.com

His book, Think Independently (Provo, Utah, Rescate Publishing, 2009), can be purchased on Amazon.com

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It is apparent to me, that from the time he was very young, Jesus not only understood his mission, but he also knew the sequence of events that would lead him to the fulfillment of that mission. You and I forget our premortal past, but Jesus knew his Father, and his Father still lived in that eternal past/present/future world. I believe that Jesus’s relationship with his loving Father was similar to my relationship with my dad. If that is true, then there never was a time when Jesus’s Father did not talk with him and care for him just as any loving father would do.{1} I admit that it is difficult to understand what a little boy’s relationship might be with the Eternal Father (actually the implications of that are way beyond the reach of my understanding), yet I am convinced that it is true. The story of the twelve year old boy in the temple is evidence of that. Some of its details are especially interesting in that regard.

46 And it came to pass, that after three days they [his parents] found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man (Luke 2:40-52).

Jesus was “hearing them [the doctors], and asking them questions.” Asking intelligent questions often reveals more about a person’s comprehension than giving good answers. Answers often stifle a discussion, but a series of well considered questions can send a conversation into wonderful depths. Jesus was asking questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding [the depth of his questions, as well as his] and answers.

Then, in response to his parents’ chiding, he explained,

49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

Jesus’s mother understood.

51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

That last phrase, “Jesus increased … in favour with God and man,” can mean he was a smart, nice boy, or it can be taken literally. If literally, it describes a relationship between Jesus and his Father that is beautiful to contemplate. Therefore, he was able say with the simplicity of a child, “wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?”

After several years had passed there is even more evidence that Jesus understood both the timing and the purpose of his mission. While he and his disciples were discussing their going to Jerusalem for the feast of tabernacles, he said he would not go with them, then explained:

6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.
7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come.
9 When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.
10 But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.
….
14 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.
15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself (John 7:6-17).

When he spoke to the crowd, some believed in him, others did not.

43 So there was a division among the people because of him.
44 And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him (John 7:43-44).

It happened again then next day with the same results.

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 (John 8:20-23).

It happened other times as well. For example, when he spoke in the synagogue at Nazareth,

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way (Luke 4:28-30).

Eventually, Jesus taught his disciples who he was and what his mission was.

20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day (Matthew 16:18-21).

However, what he told them was beyond anything they had experienced, so they did not understand.

In Jerusalem, the last time, it had been almost a week since Jesus had publically announced himself as King and Priest by riding into the city upon a colt in his “triumphal entry.” The people recognized it for what it was. Perhaps because it was the way the ancient kings had entered Jerusalem for their re-coronation at the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, but certainly because it was the fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy.

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass (Zechariah 9:9).

Jesus knew his time had now come, and he instructed his disciples accordingly:

17 Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?
18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples (Matthew 26:18).

The message here is that during his mortal life, Jesus was—and knew he was—absolutely in control of his own life and was invincible. No power on earth or in hell could interfere with his mission, change its timing, or prevent his accomplishing the Atonement. He was God, the Son of his Eternal Father. He was also the son of his mortal mother. He looked, acted, loved, and felt pain like other men, and thereby is able to understand our emotions and our hurts. But unlike other men, he was in absolute control of the events of his own life and his own destiny—even to his own death and resurrection. That makes him very different from us.

Nevertheless, there is an echo of his power in our own destiny—a covenant, explicit in some scriptures, but implicit throughout the subtext of the whole. In Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, we call it “the covenant of invulnerability.” When God gives us an assignment which we accept, there is an understanding that just as it is our part to fulfill our assigned responsibilities, so it is God’s part to remove whatever obstacle (whether human or circumstantial) that may be designed to prevent us from keeping our covenants. For that reason, Nephi could say with absolute certainty, “I will go and do, because….”

There is a great deal of difference between the Savior’s invincibility that guaranteed his absolute success, and our invulnerability which is a product of the covenant between ourselves and God. Our invulnerability is dependent upon our keeping our part of the covenants. Jesus’s invincibility was not conditional: it presupposed that he would keep all of the covenants he had made with his Father. That is a truth born in the very essence of who the Savior is.

All creation hangs upon that reality. Our very existence as free agents is, and always has been, a consequence of the constancy of his truth, light, and love. That will never change.

Moroni’s last words are our testimony that that is truth.

32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot (Moroni 10:32-33).

As he explains, the covenant is between ourselves, and the Father (v. 33). The Savior’s Atonement is the promise, substance, evidence, assurance, and fulfillment of the Father’s covenant.

Our promise of invulnerability is a subset of the Savior’s invincibility: if we do our part, we are guaranteed that God will move aside every obstruction that would prevent us from keeping the covenants we made with him before the world was.

———————
FOOTNOTE

{1} On the cross, Jesus was quoting Psalm 22. The psalm is a vivid description of the Savior’s suffering on the cross, then concludes with his mission in the spirit world among the dead. It begins,

1 MY God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Then after describing his agony it says,

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard (Psalm 22:1, 22-24).

For a discussion of Psalm 22 see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, 425-37; second (paperback) edition, 308-18.

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When Jesus identified himself as the bread of life, he was calling on a very ancient symbol that equated Jehovah/Jesus with the tree of life, his body as the fruit of that tree, and his blood as the waters of life. The Jews who listened to him would have understood that this was another assurance from him that he was the Jehovah of the Old Testament. But most did not listen.

During the ancient Israelite Temple drama, Psalm 45 was sung as part of the ceremony that represented their experiences at the Council in Heaven. That psalm gives the foreordination blessings of both the earthly king (think: King David or King Benjamin) with all the men who participated in the congregation, and his queen and all the women. After the king received his blessing, he did obeisance to Elohim, who had spoken the words of the blessing, and then turned to Jehovah and said,

7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad (Psalm 45:7-8).

The reference to Jehovah’s fragrant smell is very important. In ancient Israel, kings and priests were anointed with perfumed oil. Even though the Old Testament editors do not describe the oil with which the kings of Israel were anointed, the record does give an explicit recipe for perfuming the oil with which the High Priests were anointed. The formula is given along with the command that this sacred oil may be used for no other purpose except that anointing (Exodus ch. 30 & 40).

We see a similar situation in Psalm 45:8, where the king acknowledges that Jehovah’s garments still hold the fragrant smell of the anointing oil. In doing so, he also gives us the formula by which the sacred oil was perfumed: “All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia.” The oil was, of course, olive oil, the product of the fruit of the olive tree, which in ancient Israel represented the Tree of Life. Myrrh is a perfume made from the sap of a small tree. Aloes is a perfume made from the heartwood of another tree, and cassia is a perfume made from the bark of still a different tree. So, on the stage of the ancient Israelite temple rites, the one who played the role of Jehovah had just been anointed with a sacred oil whose fragrance were a composite of all the parts of a tree—either an acknowledgment or a declaration that Jehovah is the Tree of Life. {1}

Nephi reiterates that belief when he tells us that the angel described the fruit of the tree and the waters of life as the love of God

8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.
9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all.
10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?
11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.
………………
20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.
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.
23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.
24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.
25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.
26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!
……………………
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 (1 Nephi 11:7 – 36).

Alma uses its imagery to teach us how our faith may mature from only a desire to know the Savior, through a sequence of growth experiences until we can taste the light, pluck the fruit of the tree of life, and then become an expression of the tree itself (Alma 32:35-43).

In the sacrament prayers, those concepts become very real. The blessing on the bread is a covenant and the blessing on the water is an assertion that one is keeping that covenant.

In John 6 the Savior uses the manna that the Israelites ate in the wilderness as an example of the fruit of the tree, then identifies himself as that manna, saying he is the bread sent from heaven.

Reverences to the tree of life are found throughout the scriptures and other ancient writings. The tree was at the center of the Garden of Eden. Adam’s royal scepter was said to have been a branch of the tree of life. The menorah in the Tabernacle, and then in the Temple, was a lampstand that burned olive oil and gave light to the building. It is said to have represented the tree of life and it is also a symbol of prayer. {2}

There are many kinds of trees and other plants that have been used to represent the tree of life. Anything that nourishes might be appropriate as that symbol. For example, the 23rd Psalm begins in a Garden of Eden-like setting where the sheep represent the people, the “green pastures” are the fruit of the tree and the “still waters” are the waters of life.{3}

The Savior also identified himself with a symbol of the tree of life when he described himself as the “true vine.” The vine is the tree, the grape is the fruit of the tree of life, and the wine is the waters of life.

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another (John 15:1-17).

The name/title the Savior uses here, “I am the true vine,” is not found in the Old Testament, but was apparently a part of the ancient Israelite religious tradition. It was probably on the brass plates, for it is cited by both Nephi and Alma.

15 And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God? (1 Nephi 15:15).

17 That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God (Alma 16:17).

In ancient Israel, as in most of the ancient Near East, the olive tree was most frequently used as a symbol of the tree of life. The olive represented the fruit of the tree and olive oil represented the waters of life. Olive oil was very precious. It was used for cooking, as a lotion to sooth and heal the skin, as a lamp fuel that gave light to the house. In early Christian times it was used to anoint the sick with a prayer that they might be healed (James 5:14).

Jesus is “the Christ.” That name is equivalent to the Hebrew word Messiah. Both mean “The Anointed One.” Jehovah was anointed with perfumed oil in the Heavenly Councils, as depicted in th Israelite temple drama, but the only mention in the New Testament of Jesus actually being anointed during his life in this world is this statement by Peter.

37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judæa, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him (Acts 10:37-38)

Early Christians also apparently received a ritual anointing, for they were reminded by John the Beloved, “But ye have an unction [that word is “anointing”] from the Holy One, and ye know all things (1 John 2:20).”

Olive oil was used to anoint kings and priests, and was, therefore, symbolic of their kingship and priesthood authority.

All three—the olive tree, the bread, and the wine— came together at the culmination of the Savior’s earthly mission.

The olive tree was also symbolic of the Savior’s Atonement. The cross was made of olive wood. Some early Christians thought of the cross as the tree of life, with the Savior’s body was the fruit of that tree, and his blood was the waters of life. {4}

At the Last Supper the Savior used the same language he had used in his “bread of life sermon.” He taught how his body is the bread of life and his blood is the waters of life. Thereby, he explained what he meant in the John 6 sermon when he said one must eat his body and drink his blood. At the Last Supper he said:

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:26-28, see Mark 14:22-24. For Paul’s explanation see 1 Corinthians 11:23-34).

An even better explanation is found in 3 Nephi. In his account of Jesus coming to the Nephites, Mormon made a point of telling us that Jesus himself provided the food and drink for the entire multitude.

4 And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude.
5 And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude.
6 Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;
7 But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink.
8 And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled (3 Nephi 20:4-8).

The meaning was unmistakable. The Savior had symbolically—and literally—reintroduced the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve back into their paradisiacal Garden home, where they could be in God’s presence and eat freely of the fruit of the tree of life and drink from the river of the waters of life.

We also get a sense of that at the beginning of Revelation where John writes,

7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Revelation 2:7).

In the last chapters of John’s Revelation, those who reside in the Holy City (celestial kingdom) have the right to eat the fruit of the tree of life and drink freely of the waters of life.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son (Revelation 21:6-7).

1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
….
14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
….
16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Revelation 22:1-2,14-17).

Now, having discussed the meaning of the bread of life and of Jesus’s saying, “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him,” here is the context of those teachings in John 6.

24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day [JST: “and I will raise him up in the resurrection of the just at the last day”].
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

[JST John 6:44 No man can come unto me, except he doeth the will of my Father who hath sent me. And this is the will of him who hath sent me, that ye receive the Son; for the Father beareth record of him; and he who receiveth the testimony, and doeth the will of him who sent me, I will raise up in the resurrection of the just.]

45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him (John 6:24-66 – emphases added).

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FOOTNOTES

{1}Psalm 45 is a three act play. It is discussed in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord. These two paragaraphs are taken largely from that book, first edition, 292-93; 207-08, second (paperback) edition, the one on this website. The full psalm is discussed on pages 255-305 and 181-217 respectively.
For discussions of these trees and their perfumes, see the articles about myrrh, aloes, and cassia in The Interpreters’ Dictionary of the Bible.

{2}The Savior referenced it in the Sermon on the Mount when he said,

14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
15 Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (3 Nephi 12:14-16)

{3}Psalm 23 is also a three act play. It is discussed in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, 619-41 second (paperback) edition, the one on this website, 441-57.

{4} See C. Wilfred. Griggs, “The Tree of Life in Ancient Cultures.” Ensign 18, 6 (June, 1988): 27-38.
The Gospel of Philip says the cross was made of olive wood, in The Nag Hammadi Library in English, ed. James M. Robinson,153.

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If God already knows everything from the beginning to the end, then the question is, “Do we really have free agency or are we just acting out a script that is already written?”

The Savior’s sermon on the Bread of Life poses that question. Its context also provides the answer.

Our knowing that God already knows changes nothing. The conditions of salvation are still the same. The promise, replete in the scriptures, is that God will enable us to keep our covenants, but only if we choose to keep them. That help is there because the covenants are in place. That could not be so if God had not known what or who might seek to prevent us from keeping our covenants and what arrangements must be made in advance to counter those challenges. Nephi’s writing the Small Plates to offset Lucy Harris’s taking the 116 page manuscript of the Book of Mormon is a good example. God did not take away her agency by preventing Mrs. Harris from stealing the pages, but 2,500 years earlier he gave Nephi instructions that would make her duplicity irrelevant. {1}

We came into this life with three things: our agency, our personality, and our integrity. We have been working on our personality for eons, so that is not going to change much. It is our integrity that is challenged by this world’s environment and the experiences we have here.

We could have no integrity if we did not also have agency. Our agency is an integral part of what we are. Without it we would not exist.

29 Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.
30 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.
31 Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light (D&C 93:29-31).

We are not puppets who abandon our will to God and let him pull the strings. We would have no value if we were. We can not give our agency to God because without it we would become a nothing. We came to this world to develop our Self in the full power of our individual personalities. As intelligent entities we not only have the power to distinguish good from evil, but we have the power to chose good or to chose evil. That power enables us to keep our premortal covenants and aline our present will with God’s wisdom. The more perfectly we aline our will and actions with his, the greater our power to be our Self. When we were children we were are taught to obey, not because we are expected to forfeit our agency, but so we could learn the advantage of doing things that are compatible with God’s purposes. After we have learned that lesson, then it is love, not compulsion, that drives our decisions. It was our “obedience,” powered by our own self-will and unfailing reciprocal love that generated those covenants in the first place. Ultimately, our keeping those covenants will give us full power to be all that we are capable of being. It gives us the insight to know our Selves and our relationship with eternity. That opens the way whereby we may come to know all truth, and knowing all gives one absolute freedom to BE. This is the promise:

26 The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
27 And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
28 He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things (D&C 93:26-28).

9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell (Alma 12:8-11).

A covenant is based on the mutual ascent of two parties. In our eternal covenants, God is one party, we are the other. Just as God had to know the conditions of our this-world experience, we had to know and therefore agree to what those conditions would be. The difference is that we have forgotten the terms of our premortal covenants and must rely on the Holy Ghost to teach us how and when to fulfill them. Our greatest assurance is that God remembers. He knows our situation. Our purpose is to listen to the Spirit, follow its instructions, and act in the full power of our own integrity.

The question we came here to answer is the one Job’s wife asked,

9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips (Job 2:9-10).

If we read in John 6:22-71 only those parts that show the Savior’s foreknowledge of whether his listeners would believe him, then this is what we get. (Italics added)

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
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44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
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64 But there are some of you that believe not. [For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. – JST]
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70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

So why can’t God just put us in heaven, if he already knows. The answer is, he knows, but it is left to us to find out. In that regard, the end of this story is as important as the beginning.

64 But there are some of you that believe not.
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
71 He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

Jesus already knew which of his apostles would betray him and which would stay faithful. So why did he ask, “Will ye also go away?” Jesus was not seeking information or affirmation—he already knew the answer. He asked because it was important that they answer that question for themselves. They had the right to be asked that question just as we have a right to be asked similar questions when we sit in a temple recommend interview. The account says that Peter answered for all of them, but he spoke with the authority of their individual integrity.

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FOOTNOTE

{1}For Mrs. Harris’s story see Joseph and Moroni under “published books” on this website.

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There is a clear pattern in John’s gospel. It begins with the testimony that Jesus is Jehovah; then teaches about John the Baptist’s premortal call and Jesus’s calling of the Twelve based on his foreknowledge of who they were (Nathanael: “in whom there is no guile” – John 1:47 – is an example).

Then, in this world, John’s message is that Jesus is still God. He controls the elements turning the water to wine. He teaches Nicodemus that he is the eternal and present author of the gospel. By teaching the woman at the well and her Samaritan neighbors he shows his authority to save everyone who will be saved. By feeding the 5,000 he shows he is the creator who can bring things into being. By walking on the water he shows that his power is greater than the forces of nature. Then, at the end of chapter 6, he announces his Messiahship and explains that his body and blood are as the fruit of the tree of life and the waters of life.

This story of feeding the 5,000 comes early in John’s account, thereby setting an immediate comparison between those who look to Jesus as a Messiah who is a potential military leader and, in contrast, those who look to him as the Anointed Savior. Both are well represented in this story.

Notwithstanding the boast with which the Jews challenged Jesus [“We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man (John 8:33)”], the Jews had not had their own king for 600 years. In fact, they were in bondage. They were an occupied Roman territory that was ruled by a hated, non-Jewish king.

Jesus was “son of David,” and would have been the heir to the now defunct Jewish throne. There was a strong belief among the Jews that a descendent of David would come as a military leader who would free them from Roman rule and reestablish the kingdom of David. If Jesus were that general, what a general he would be! Just think what Jesus’s army could accomplish if he would heal their wounded and feed them without concern for food supplied by ambling supply wagons.

During the events surrounding his feeding the 5,000, Jesus identified himself as the Messiah – but not as a military Messiah. Still, some were more eager to eat than to listen.

This is one of the stories about Jesus that is told in detail in all four gospels. My original intent was to combine them as my own study tool to glean information for this short essay. As I worked to that end, it became apparent that I had the wrong goal. There would not be much value in my presenting you with a recreated and abridged account when the primary sources are so readily available. So here are the interlocked accounts.

As you read them, do not think of them as simply repetitious. There are details in some that are not in others. It takes all of them together to make a complete whole. One of those interesting details is the relationship between Jesus and Philip as Jesus teaches his apostle the power of priesthood authority.

Another is the special relationship between Jesus and John. When writing about the Last Supper, John identified himself as “one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23). When Jesus was on the cross John again identified himself as the disciple “whom he loved.” He did so again when he was at the tomb after Jesus resurrection; and in Galilee when John was the first to recognize the resurrected Lord. All of those are at the end of Jesus life or after his resurrection. But in this story of Jesus’s feeding the 5000 we get an early glance of their special relationship. As a sidenote to Jesus’s conversation with Philip, John writes, “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.” There is only one way John could have known Jesus’s intent, and that is if Jesus told him.

Another insight comes from Matthew. Normally in that culture only men were usually considered and therefore only men were counted. So it was typical that John reported, “And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.” Luke tells us the same thing. “For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.” However, Matthew adds an important bit of information. “And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children (Matthew 14). {1}

If men, their wives, and an average of just two children per family, were all there, then Jesus did not feed only 5,000 men, but as many as 20,000 people. That is an enormous croud, and what happened there most certainly would have caught the attention of the Jewish and Roman rulers.

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In the following, John’s words are in bold, and Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s are indented. The scriptures cited are Matthew 14:14-21, Mark 6:33-44, Luke 9:11-17, and John 6:10-14

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1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.
2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.
3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him,

14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick (Matthew 14).

34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things (Mark 6).

11 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing (Luke 9).

15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat (Matthew 14).

12 And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place (Luke 9).

36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat (Mark 6).

he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?(Mark 6)

6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him,
9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither to me (Matthew 14).

38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes (Mark 6).

13 But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people (Luke 9).

10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude (Matthew 14).

39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.
40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.
41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all (Mark 6).

14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.
17 And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets (Luke 9:14 – 17).

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

42 And they did all eat, and were filled.
43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.
44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people (Mark 6:42-44).

20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children (Matthew 14:20-21).

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FOOTNOTE

{1} As an interesting contrast, men, women, and children were counted in 3 Nephi.

23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.
24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.
25 And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children (3 Nephi 17:23-25).

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