The Lord has also told us that it also contains mysteries pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
In my last post we reviewed how important the JST of the Bible is by providing scriptures and historical documentation.
We have observed how the JST reveals that Christ comes to the earth, in secret, three different times, as a thief in the night prior to his coming in Glory and that after the 1st Watch in the meridian of time, Joseph Smith was given his 1st commission in the 2nd Watch and finally, his 2nd Commission will take place in the 3rd and final Watch. We have observed numerous other jewels out of the JST that give further clarity to the three watches and how the Marvelous Work takes place in the 3rd watch (3rd dispensation)
I thought it might be fitting to take a break from the numbered evidences of the Marvelous Work and give an example of one of the many mysteries that are revealed in the JST.
The topic I want to address has to do with the Godhood of Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry.
The doctrine that I am going to discuss in this post is a very sacred one that enables us to have greater faith in the power of the atonement... but it may offend a few people. I hope you will let go of the traditions of your fathers and search the information being presented by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Years ago I read a book entitled "The Mortal Messiah". As is implied in the title, it presented the view that Christ was a mortal man just like the rest of us. The premise of the book pretty much agreed with the protestant view of Christ in my opinion.
According Webster's Dictionary "Mortal" means, "subject to death" and is also synonymous with "human".
In this book the author, referring to Christ stated that-
"When the time came for him to gain his Mortal body and undergo the probationary experiences of Mortality, he was born on this earth. He came here to dwell as a Mortal, subjected to the testing experiences that are the common lot of all mankind. He lived and breathed as all men do ... his experiences were like those of his Israelite kinsmen.... we are left to suppose that every law of Mortal Life applied to the mortal son of the mortal Mary."
As I read those words I got a sick feeling in my stomach. They just weren't resonating with me for some reason. Even the title of the book was offensive to me.
One day, while reading in the Gospel of John I came across the following verses:
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we behelf his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1)
That verse bothered me because it didn't make any sense to me that the disciples who believed in Christ were not born of blood nor born of the will of the flesh. Indeed the scriptures continually reiterate that all of the posterity of Adam are born as a result of the will of the flesh and that we all have inherited the mortal and corrupted blood of our father Adam that resulted from the fall.
I wanted to consult the inspired version to see if Joseph Smith gave additional clarification to this verse. Fortunately I had a copy of the JST because this verse is not one of the verses that the RLDS Church had given the LDS permission to use in the footnotes in our version of the Bible.
To my delight and astonishment, Joseph Smith had made a very significant change in these verses:
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name
He was born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 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." (JST John 1)
The original and undefiled text of the scriptures had really been speaking of Christ!
He was different from the rest of mankind because he was not born from the act of lust and He did not inherit the corrupted mortal blood from the fall of Adam! This scripture from the JST filled me with light as I read it... It tasted good to me. It made sense to me that Christ condescended to take upon himself flesh from Mary but he did not inherit his blood from a mortal father... and was therefore NOT A MORTAL MAN!
It is MORTAL BLOOD that makes a man MORTAL.
Now that the JST had brought this beautiful mystery to my attention, I wanted additional confirmation from additional sources. So I began searching to see if these verses in the JST were congruent with what the Bible, Book of Mormon and the D&C. Here is the testimony of the Book of Mormon:
"And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son— The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son— And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. (Mosiah 15)
The New Testament concurs with the Godhood of Jesus Christ during his mortal ministry. The Savior himself assures us that because of his Godhood, no man had the power to take his life, rather He chose to lay it down-
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we behelf his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1)
That verse bothered me because it didn't make any sense to me that the disciples who believed in Christ were not born of blood nor born of the will of the flesh. Indeed the scriptures continually reiterate that all of the posterity of Adam are born as a result of the will of the flesh and that we all have inherited the mortal and corrupted blood of our father Adam that resulted from the fall.
I wanted to consult the inspired version to see if Joseph Smith gave additional clarification to this verse. Fortunately I had a copy of the JST because this verse is not one of the verses that the RLDS Church had given the LDS permission to use in the footnotes in our version of the Bible.
To my delight and astonishment, Joseph Smith had made a very significant change in these verses:
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name
He was born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 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." (JST John 1)
He was different from the rest of mankind because he was not born from the act of lust and He did not inherit the corrupted mortal blood from the fall of Adam! This scripture from the JST filled me with light as I read it... It tasted good to me. It made sense to me that Christ condescended to take upon himself flesh from Mary but he did not inherit his blood from a mortal father... and was therefore NOT A MORTAL MAN!
It is MORTAL BLOOD that makes a man MORTAL.
Now that the JST had brought this beautiful mystery to my attention, I wanted additional confirmation from additional sources. So I began searching to see if these verses in the JST were congruent with what the Bible, Book of Mormon and the D&C. Here is the testimony of the Book of Mormon:
"And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son— The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son— And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. (Mosiah 15)
According to the Book of Mosiah, Jesus Christ was God before and during his earthly ministry! Christ's own words in modern revelation confirm this as well:
"Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—" (D&C 19)
"Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—" (D&C 19)
"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." (John 10)
Remember the definition of Mortal? A mortal is subject to death. But Christ was not subject to death, death was subject to Christ. No one could take Christ's life from him... he chose to lay it down of himself... and then he had power to take it up again because he has power over death.
Of course the Godhood of Christ is obvious and indisputable in the scriptures, he was the pre-existent God that created this earth.... but this concept that Christ did not have mortal blood coursing through his veins during his earthly ministry was so powerful to me. After all, human blood is what makes us human!
It appears that when we sin, the seeds of sin are transferred info the flesh through the corrupted blood that we inherited from the fall of Adam. But notice how the Book of Mormon verifies what the JST reveals, that Christ did not offer a human sacrifice because he was not human! Indeed, if he had been human, his human blood would not have had the power to atone for the sins of another man!
Remember the definition of Mortal? A mortal is subject to death. But Christ was not subject to death, death was subject to Christ. No one could take Christ's life from him... he chose to lay it down of himself... and then he had power to take it up again because he has power over death.
Of course the Godhood of Christ is obvious and indisputable in the scriptures, he was the pre-existent God that created this earth.... but this concept that Christ did not have mortal blood coursing through his veins during his earthly ministry was so powerful to me. After all, human blood is what makes us human!
It appears that when we sin, the seeds of sin are transferred info the flesh through the corrupted blood that we inherited from the fall of Adam. But notice how the Book of Mormon verifies what the JST reveals, that Christ did not offer a human sacrifice because he was not human! Indeed, if he had been human, his human blood would not have had the power to atone for the sins of another man!
"And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it. For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made. For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice. Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now, if a man murdereth, behold will our law, which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, Nay." (Alma 34)
It is hard for me to exercise much faith in an atonement offered by a Mortal Messiah. I find it much easier to exercise faith in the atonement of an Infinite and Eternal Messiah, one that had an infinite and eternal blood which had the power to provide an infinite and eternal atonement.
(obviously, the most important reason for understanding this doctrine has to do with giving us greater faith in the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ. However, the implications of this are far reaching. Based on some of the doctrinal heresies taught by Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball and other Utah general authorities, who taught that we would all righteous men will become an "Adam" and then a "Christ" and then "The Father" in future worlds, I had come to the following conclusion: That Christ had previously gone through a mortal probation and become a God BEFORE coming to this earth to atone for our sins.
I have now come to believe that the literal explanation given in the Book of Moses, that God created Christ as his first born "only begotten" and that Christ is the savior and creator of all worlds under the direction of God the Father..
Furthermore, this doctrine throws an industrial strength wrench in the Mormon fundamentalist belief that Christ was a married polygamist with children during his ministry on this earth... not likely.)
It is hard for me to exercise much faith in an atonement offered by a Mortal Messiah. I find it much easier to exercise faith in the atonement of an Infinite and Eternal Messiah, one that had an infinite and eternal blood which had the power to provide an infinite and eternal atonement.
(obviously, the most important reason for understanding this doctrine has to do with giving us greater faith in the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ. However, the implications of this are far reaching. Based on some of the doctrinal heresies taught by Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball and other Utah general authorities, who taught that we would all righteous men will become an "Adam" and then a "Christ" and then "The Father" in future worlds, I had come to the following conclusion: That Christ had previously gone through a mortal probation and become a God BEFORE coming to this earth to atone for our sins.
I have now come to believe that the literal explanation given in the Book of Moses, that God created Christ as his first born "only begotten" and that Christ is the savior and creator of all worlds under the direction of God the Father..
Furthermore, this doctrine throws an industrial strength wrench in the Mormon fundamentalist belief that Christ was a married polygamist with children during his ministry on this earth... not likely.)
