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Prophets or
Evolution - An LDS Perspective Chapter 7 About
Christ Come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 Introduction It is a
historical fact that a man named Jesus lived on this earth about 2,000 years
ago. Whether atheist or Christian; no
one can deny the actual life of Jesus as a historical event. It is the interpretation
of who He was that is one of the most profound and important issues facing
individuals. Was this Jesus the Savior
and Redeemer of the world, meaning was He the "Christ?" The LDS
church teaches that Jesus was the Christ and was and is the one and only Savior
of the world. It is taught very plainly
that without His life, atonement and resurrection; after our death, each of us
would be subject to satan forever (see Jacob 9:7-9). The theory
of evolution can portray Jesus as nothing but an impressive teacher and leader,
who founded one of the largest religions on earth - Christianity. To the theory of evolution, when Jesus died, that
was the end of him as a living being. To
evolution, Jesus had no spirit; He had no preexistent life; He did not create
the earth (because He did not exist prior to birth); He was not the Savior because
there was no need for a savior in the theory of evolution.
7 For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the
body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of 1 Nephi 19:7 [Nephi] Thus, the
theory of evolution would also say that the appearance of the Savior and
Heavenly Father to the boy prophet Joseph Smith was a fabrication or that
Joseph was deceived. Mormons are
Christians. While Latter-Day Saints love
and highly respect Joseph Smith as a great prophet, and we love and respect the
other prophets in this dispensation; it is Christ, and only Christ, who is the Savior
and Redeemer of the world. The
prophets are great men; but they report to, and follow the directions given by,
the Savior.
9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of
heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.
10 And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did
exceed that of the stars in the firmament. 1 Nephi 1:9-10 [Nephi describing a vision given to Lehi] In these
two versus, the Savior, by Himself,
is compared to a glory greater than that of the sun at noon day. On the other hand, the twelve apostles in the
time of Christ, as a group,
are only compared to the brightness of the stars. Have you ever tried to grease your car by
starlight? Yet, it is
these twelve apostles who will lead the twelve tribes of Israel, so they are
among the greatest of the apostles of all time. Christ Was Chosen Christ was
chosen to be both the Creator of this world and the Savior of this world. He was chosen because He was the greatest
among us prior to the creation of the earth. These are
the words of the prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon:
23 For we saw him [Christ], even on the right hand of God; and we heard
the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father -
24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were
created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.
25 And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was
in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son
whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down
from the presence of God and the Son, Doctrine and Covenants 76:23-25 Thus, in
the preexistence, Christ was "in the bosom of the Father" and it was
He "whom the Father loved," meaning the Father had a special love for
the Savior, because surely God loves all of His children. As the
above verse states (verse 24): Christ created this world and everything
associated with it. History of Christ as King
of the Jews Christ, as
prophesied in the Old Testament, was born in In the
Jewish nation, starting with King David, the king of the Jews was always
officially a descendant of King David. A
person's genealogy determined whether he was the king of the Jews or not. Christ,
through the genealogy of Mary, his mother, was officially born as the future king
of the Jews. Because Mary and Joseph
were first cousins, even though Joseph was not the father of Christ; the
general public and religious leaders would have considered Christ to be the
future king of the Jews because of the genealogy of Joseph or Mary. There are
two accounts of the genealogy of Christ in the New Testament. Both place Him as the rightful heir of
David's throne. However, in
the time of Christ, the Jewish nation was under Roman rule. Even prior to Roman rule, men who were not
the rightful heir to the throne of David had usurped the leadership of the
Jewish nation. Those who
were the rightful heir to the throne were ignored by those who stole the
leadership from the rightful heirs. In fact,
there is no evidence that the rulers of the Jewish nation in the days of Christ
ever questioned the fact that Christ was the rightful heir to the throne of
King David and that He was the rightful king of the Jews, by birthright. One of the parables of the Savior makes it
very clear that the Jewish leaders knew he was the king of the Jews by
birthright. The Atonement and
Resurrection Prior to,
and during, the crucifixion of the Savior, was the most momentous series of events
in the history of the world - the atonement of Christ. The resurrection was the result of the atonement;
meaning without the atonement there would have been no resurrection. It was in
the The
clearest versus on the importance of the atonement are found in the Book of
Mormon in 2 Nephi 9:7-9. There is so
much in these 3 versus; they will be analyzed one at a time:
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement--save it should be
an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon
man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to
rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. 2 Nephi 9:7 What is the
"first judgment" that Jacob refers to? The scriptures are not clear exactly what it
refers to, but what is clear is that this "first judgment" would have
"remained to an endless duration" without the infinite atonement (the
significance of the word "infinite" will be explained as we go
along). In other words, the
ramifications of this "first judgment" would have been eternal. The term
"first judgment" (in the above verse), would not have been overcome
without the Savior and His atonement; thus when we died we would never have
been resurrected and returned to God for Judgment (see also: Helaman 14:15-18).
8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more
our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence
of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. 2 Nephi 9:8 Now things
start to become clear. Had it not been
for the atonement of Christ, not only would we never be resurrected; our
spirits would have become subject to satan unconditionally.
9 And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils,
angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain
with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who
beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of
light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder
and all manner of secret works of darkness. 2 Nephi 9:9 Now things
are very clear. Without the atonement and resurrection of
Christ three things would happen to each of us: 1) We would
never be resurrected, meaning we would be spirits forever (verse 7), 2) We would
become subject to satan at death (verse 8), 3) We would
eventually become like satan, meaning we would become miserable forever (verse
9). While the
atonement keeps us from an automatic state of eternal damnation (though some
people may qualify for eternal damnation due to their personal actions), the
atonement also provides great blessings to those who follow the living Savior. There are
various degrees of glory in the eternal worlds as a result of our actions on
this earth. But none of the degrees of
glory would be available to us without the atonement. Because of
the atonement, those who qualify can have their sins remitted and can
eventually become like God. The
doctrine that we humans have the potential to become like God is peculiar to
the LDS church. However, because we are
the children of God this should not seem such an unusual doctrine. Don't children generally have the opportunity
to become like their parents? However,
had there been no atonement, we would have had no choice for our eternal
outcome; meaning even if we had been righteous in this life we would eventually
have become like satan forever and would have become like satan. How can any
event in the history of this world compare to the atonement!!! No other event in the world's history can
even be compared to the atonement!!! Consider
these versus, which come from a vision shown to President Joseph F. Smith. President Smith was viewing the scene just
after the death of the Savior, and prior to His resurrection. During this short time He appeared to the righteous
saints in the spirit world who had died prior to his death:
11 As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my
understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw
the hosts of the dead, both small and great.
12 And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company
of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus
while they lived in mortality;
13 And who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great
sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer's
name.
14 All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a
glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only
Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
15 I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were
rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand.
16 They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the
spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death.
17 Their sleeping dust was to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone
to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to
be united never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy. Doctrine and Covenants 138:11-17 Thus, with
the atonement, everyone will be resurrected and many will be able to live with
our Heavenly Father and become like God, male and female (see Moses 2:27). But without
the atonement we would all become like satan forever, and there is nothing we
could do about it. Nothing in
the history of the world can compare to the importance of the atonement and
resurrection of Christ!!! With the
atonement we can progress eternally, and spiral upwards and upwards
forever. Our joy would forever be
increasing. Without the
atonement we would automatically be spiraling downward and downward forever. Our misery
would forever be increasing. This is the
meaning of the term "infinite."
It not only refers to an infinite amount of time, but also to an
infinite amount of increasing progression versus an infinite amount of increasing
regression and misery. How can any
event in the history of the world compare to the atonement? None can even come close!!! This was
spoken prior to the coming of Christ:
7 For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold,
there is one thing which is of more importance than they all--for behold, the
time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people. No Unclean Thing A person
might wonder why the atonement was necessary; after all, aren't we all the
children of God and doesn't God want what is best for his children? There are
many things we cannot comprehend when it comes to the comprehension of
God. While we can use words to explain
why some of the children of God will be judged such that they will never become
like Him; exactly why such eternal judgments occur is far beyond our current comprehension. But what we
do know is that "no unclean thing can inherit the Here are
the words of the first Nephi in the Book of Mormon:
32 ... for the day should come that they must be judged of their works,
yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of
probation.
33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast
off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to
righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be
judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs
be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the
kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.
34 But behold, I say unto you, the
35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I
have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state
of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out
because of that justice of which I have spoken.
36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from
that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all
other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. 1 Nephi 15:32-36 [Nephi] This verse
makes it clear that the
2
... after the Lord God
sent our first parents forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from
whence they were taken--yea, he drew out the man, and he placed at the east end
of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to
keep the tree of life--
3 Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and
lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat
and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim and the flaming sword, that he
should not partake of the fruit--
4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent,
yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God. ...
9 Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall [of Adam] had brought
upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were
cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be
reclaimed from this spiritual death.
10 Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by
nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a
preparatory state.
11 And now remember, my son, if it were not for the plan of redemption,
(laying it aside) as soon as they were dead their souls were miserable, being
cut off from the presence of the Lord.
12 And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state,
which man had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience;
13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be
brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary
state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions,
mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be
destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.
14 And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the
grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be
cut off from his presence.
15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an
atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the
world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of
justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.
16 Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment,
which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to
the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul. It is the
atonement that gives us the opportunity to become clean before God. Without mercy, a single mistake by us (and
all of us have made many mistakes) would forever prevent us from living with
Heavenly Father. Thus,
without the atonement, a single mistake would cast our souls into satan's grasp
forever, because there would be no mercy; there would only be justice. Without the
atonement we would all live in perdition forever because it is not possible we
could live in this life without making a mistake.
3 For they are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over them;
yea, even that old serpent that did beguile our first parents, which was the cause
of their fall; which was the cause of all mankind becoming carnal, sensual,
devilish, knowing evil from good, subjecting themselves to the devil.
4 Thus all mankind were lost; and behold, they would have been endlessly
lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state. Mosiah 16:3-4 [Abinadi] In the
great sermon by Samuel the Lamanite, he clearly describes the relationship
between the fall of Adam and the need for the atonement:
15 For behold, [Christ] surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it
behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the
resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of
the Lord.
16 Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and
redeemeth all mankind from the first death--that spiritual death; for all
mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are
considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.
17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even
all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.
18 Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that
whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but
whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh
upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off
again as to things pertaining to righteousness. Helaman 14:15-18 [Samuel the Lamanite] The concept
of repentance is not only effective in this life, but in a way we do not fully
understand; it is effective for many people in the spirit world, after they
have died. This is why there is
missionary work going on in the spirit world as well as in this world. This is also why members of the church do
their genealogy and perform temple ordinances by proxy in the temples of God
for those who have died. If we could
comprehend even 1% of what the atonement has made possible for us; we would
gladly serve the Lord, as requested by His servants, in any way we were asked
by those with the proper authority. The concept
of repentance is what can turn our life around and head us in the right
direction.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18 [Jesus Christ] The
atonement, and its companion repentance; are available to those who are willing
to conform their lives to the will of God. 4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with
surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God,
which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would
make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to
glorify God. Ether 12:4 [spoken during a
conversation between The Savior
said: "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." (3
Nephi 27:27) That should
be our goal. The Savior not only
fulfilled the atonement, He also set the standard to which we should reach. These are
the words of President Kimball: One young man, when called on a
mission, replied that he didn’t have much talent for that kind of thing. What
he was good at was keeping his powerful new automobile in top condition. He
enjoyed the sense of power and acceleration, and when he was driving, the
continual motion gave him the illusion that he was really getting somewhere. All along, his father had been
content with saying, “He likes to do things with his hands. That’s good enough
for him.” Good enough for a son of God? This
young man didn’t realize that the power of his automobile is infinitesimally
small in comparison with the power of the sea, or of the sun; and there are
many suns, all controlled by law and by priesthood, ultimately—a priesthood
power that he could have been developing in the service of the Lord. He settled
for a pitiful god, a composite of steel and rubber and shiny chrome. Spencer W. Kimball, “The False Gods We Worship,” Ensign, June 1976, p. 3 The Savior
of the world not only fulfilled the atonement, He was our perfect example of
service and how we should live. Final Comment Look again
at the quote at the top of this chapter.
Note the phrase: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light." I have
heard many interpretations of this scripture.
However, this is the interpretation I like the best. What is the
"burden" of satan? The burden
of satan is eternal damnation. Satan is
trying to destroy all of us and make us miserable forever. What is the
"burden" of the Savior? His
burden is for us to keep the commandments, serve our fellow man and follow the
Lord's anointed prophets. Whose
burden is lighter, the burden of satan or the burden of Christ? The burden
of Christ is not only lighter, it leads to eternal joy. Indeed, the Savior's "yoke is easy, and
His burden is light." |