EARTHLY ADVENT OF THE CHRIST PREDICTED.
The coming of Christ to earth to tabernacle in the flesh was no
unexpected or unheralded event. For centuries prior to the great
occurrence the Jews had professed to be looking for the advent of their
King; and, in the appointed ceremonials of worship as in private
devotions, the coming of the promised Messiah was prominent as a matter
of the supplication of Israel to Jehovah. True, there was much diversity
in lay opinion and in rabbinical exposition as to the time and manner of
His appearing; but the certainty thereof was fundamentally established
in the beliefs and hopes of the Hebrew nation.
The records known to us as the books of the Old Testament, together with
other inspired writings once regarded as authentic but excluded from
later compilations as not strictly canonical, were current among the
Hebrews at and long before the time of Christ's birth. These scriptures
had their beginning in the proclamation of the law through Moses,[101]
who wrote the same, and delivered the writing into the official custody
of the priests with an express command that it be read in the assemblies
of the people at stated times. To these earlier writings were added the
utterances of divinely commissioned prophets, the records of appointed
historians, and the songs of inspired poets, as the centuries passed; so
that at the time of our Lord's ministry the Jews possessed a great
accumulation of writings accepted and revered by them as
authoritative.[102] These records are rich in prediction and promise
respecting the earthly advent of the Messiah, as are other scriptures to
which the Israel of old had not access.
Adam, the patriarch of the race, rejoiced in the assurance of the
Savior's appointed ministry, through the acceptance of which, he, the
transgressor, might gain redemption. Brief mention of the plan of
salvation, the author of which is Jesus Christ, appears in the promise
given of God following the fall--that though the devil, represented by
the serpent in Eden, should have power to bruise the heel of Adam's
posterity, through the seed of the woman should come the power to bruise
the adversary's head.[103] It is significant that this assurance of
eventual victory over sin and its inevitable effect, death, both of
which were introduced to earth through Satan the arch-enemy of mankind,
was to be realized through the offspring of woman; the promise was not
made specifically to the man, nor to the pair. The only instance of
offspring from woman dissociated from mortal fatherhood is the birth of
Jesus the Christ, who was the earthly Son of a mortal mother, begotten
by an immortal Father. He is the Only Begotten of the Eternal Father in
the flesh, and was born of woman.
Through scriptures other than those embodied in the Old Testament we
learn with greater fulness of the revelations of God to Adam respecting
the coming of the Redeemer. As a natural and inevitable result of his
disobedience, Adam had forfeited the high privilege he once
enjoyed--that of holding direct and personal association with his God;
nevertheless in his fallen state he was visited by an angel of the Lord,
who revealed unto him the plan of redemption: "And after many days an
angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer
sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the
Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a
similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is
full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in
the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name
of the Son for evermore. And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam,
which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only
Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and for ever, that
as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as
many as will."[104]
The Lord's revelation to Adam making known the ordained plan whereby the
Son of God was to take upon Himself flesh in the meridian of time, and
become the Redeemer of the world, was attested by Enoch, son of Jared
and father of Methuselah. From the words of Enoch we learn that to him
as to his great progenitor, Adam, the very name by which the Savior
would be known among men was revealed--"which is Jesus Christ, the only
name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come
unto the children of men."[105] The recorded covenant of God with
Abraham, and the reiteration and confirmation thereof with Isaac and in
turn with Jacob--that through their posterity should all nations of the
earth be blessed--presaged the birth of the Redeemer through that chosen
lineage.[106] Its fulfilment is the blessed heritage of the ages.
In pronouncing his patriarchal blessing upon the head of Judah, Jacob
prophesied: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver
from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be."[107] That by Shiloh is meant the Christ is
evidenced by the fulfilment of the conditions set forth in the
prediction, in the state of the Jewish nation at the time of our Lord's
birth.[108]
Moses proclaimed the coming of a great Prophet in Israel, whose ministry
was to be of such importance that all men who would not accept Him would
be under condemnation; and that this prediction had sole reference to
Jesus Christ is conclusively shown by later scriptures. Thus spake the
Lord unto Moses: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he
shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to
pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak
in my name, I will require it of him."[109] The system of sacrifice
expressly enjoined in the Mosaic code was essentially a prototype of the
sacrificial death to be accomplished by the Savior on Calvary. The blood
of countless altar victims, slain by Israel's priests in the course of
prescribed ritual, ran throughout the centuries from Moses to Christ as
a prophetic flood in similitude of the blood of the Son of God appointed
to be shed as an expiatory sacrifice for the redemption of the race.
But, as already shown, the institution of bloody sacrifice as a type of
the future death of Jesus Christ dates from the beginning of human
history; since the offering of animal sacrifices through the shedding of
blood was required of Adam, to whom the significance of the ordinance,
as "a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father",
was expressly defined.[110]
The paschal lamb, slain for every Israelitish household at the annually
recurring feast of the Passover, was a particular type of the Lamb of
God who in due time would be slain for the sins of the world. The
crucifixion of Christ was effected at the Passover season; and the
consummation of the supreme Sacrifice, of which the paschal lambs had
been but lesser prototypes, led Paul the apostle to affirm in later
times: "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us."[111]
Job in the day of dire affliction rejoiced in his testimony of the
coming Messiah, and declared with prophetic conviction: "I know that my
redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth."[112] The songs of David the psalmist abound in oft-recurring
allusion to the earthly life of Christ, many circumstances of which are
described in detail, and, as to these, corroboration of the utterances
is found in New Testament scriptures.[113]
Isaiah, whose prophetic office was honored by the personal testimony of
Christ and the apostles, manifested in numerous passages the burden of
his conviction relating to the great event of the Savior's advent and
ministry on earth. With the forcefulness of direct revelation he told of
the Virgin's divine maternity, whereof Immanuel should be born, and his
prediction was reiterated by the angel of the Lord, over seven centuries
later.[114] Looking down through the ages the prophet saw the
accomplishment of the divine purposes as if already achieved, and sang
in triumph: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no
end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even
forever."[115]
Immediately prior to its fulfilment, the blessed promise was repeated by
Gabriel, sent from the presence of God to the chosen Virgin of
Nazareth.[116] As made known to the prophet and by him proclaimed, the
coming Lord was the living Branch that should spring from the undying
root typified in the family of Jesse;[117] the foundation Stone insuring
the stability of Zion;[118] the Shepherd of the house of Israel;[119]
the Light of the world,[120] to Gentile as well as Jew; the Leader and
Commander of His people.[121] The same inspired voice predicted the
forerunner who should cry in the wilderness: "Prepare ye the way of the
Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."[122]
Isaiah was permitted to read the scroll of futurity as to many
distinguishing conditions to attend the Messiah's lowly life and atoning
death. In Him the prophet saw One who would be despized and rejected of
men, a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, One to be wounded and
bruised for the transgressions of the race, on whom would be laid the
iniquity of us all--a patient and willing Sacrifice, silent under
affliction, as a lamb brought to the slaughter. The Lord's dying with
sinners, and His burial in the tomb of the wealthy were likewise
declared with prophetic certainty.[123]
Unto Jeremiah came the word of the Lord in terms of plainness, declaring
the sure advent of the King by whom the safety of both Judah and Israel
should be assured;[124] the Prince of the House of David, through whom
the divine promise to the son of Jesse should be realized.[125] Under
the same spirit prophesied Ezekiel,[126] Hosea,[127] and Micah.[128]
Zechariah broke off in the midst of fateful prediction to voice the glad
song of thanksgiving and praise as he beheld in vision the simple
pageantry of the King's triumphal entry into the city of David.[129]
Then the prophet bewailed the grief of the conscience-smitten nation, by
whom, as was foreseen, the Savior of humankind would be pierced, even
unto death;[130] and showed that, when subdued by contrition His own
people would ask, "What are these wounds in thy hands?", the Lord would
answer: "Those with which I was wounded in the house of my
friends."[131] The very price to be paid for the betrayal of the Christ
to His death was foretold as in parable.[132]
The fact, that these predictions of the Old Testament prophets had
reference to Jesus Christ and to Him only, is put beyond question by the
attestation of the resurrected Lord. To the assembled apostles He said:
"These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of
Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then
opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved
Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."[133]
John the Baptist, whose ministry immediately preceded that of the
Christ, proclaimed the coming of One mightier than himself, One who
should baptize with the Holy Ghost, and specifically identified Jesus of
Nazareth as that One, the Son of God, the Lamb who should assume the
burden of the world's sins.[134]
The predictions thus far cited as relating to the life, ministry, and
death of the Lord Jesus, are the utterances of prophets who, excepting
Adam and Enoch, lived and died on the eastern hemisphere. All save John
the Baptist are of Old Testament record, and he, a contemporary of the
Christ in mortality, figures in the early chapters of the Gospels. It is
important to know that the scriptures of the western hemisphere are
likewise explicit in the declaration of the great truth that the Son of
God would be born in the flesh. The Book of Mormon contains a history of
a colony of Israelites, of the tribe of Joseph, who left Jerusalem 600
B.C., during the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, on the eve of the
subjugation of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar and the inauguration of the
Babylonian captivity. This colony was led by divine guidance to the
American continent, whereon they developed into a numerous and mighty
people; though, divided by dissension, they formed two opposing nations
known respectively as Nephites and Lamanites. The former cultivated the
arts of industry and refinement, and preserved a record embodying both
history and scripture, while the latter became degenerate and debased.
The Nephites suffered extinction about 400 A.D., but the Lamanites lived
on in their degraded course, and are today extant upon the land as the
American Indians.[135]
The Nephite annals from the beginning thereof down to the time of our
Lord's birth abound in prediction and promise of the Christ; and this
chronicle is followed by a record of the actual visitation of the
resurrected Savior to the Nephites, and the establishment of His Church
among them. Unto Lehi, the leader of the colony, the Lord revealed the
time, place, and manner of Christ's then future advent, together with
many important facts of His ministry, and the preparatory work of John
the forerunner. This revelation was given while the company was
journeying in the wilderness of Arabia, prior to their crossing the
great waters. The prophecy is thus written by Nephi, a son of Lehi and
his successor in the prophetic calling: "Yea, even six hundred years
from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord
God raise up among the Jews; even a Messiah; or, in other words, a
Savior of the world. And he also spake concerning the prophets, how
great a number had testified of these things concerning this Messiah, of
whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world. Wherefore all mankind
were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be, save they
should rely on this Redeemer. And he spake also concerning a prophet who
should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord; yea,
even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of
the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you
whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am
not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing.
And my father said he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan; and he
also said he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the
Messiah with water. And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he
should behold and bear record, that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who
should take away the sins of the world. And it came to pass after my
father had spoken these words, he spake unto my brethren concerning the
gospel which should be preached among the Jews; and also concerning the
dwindling of the Jews in unbelief. And after they had slain the Messiah,
who should come, and after he had been slain, he should rise from the
dead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the
Gentiles."[136]
At a later time Nephi writes, not as his father's scribe, but as a
prophet and revelator voicing the word of God as made known to himself.
He was permitted to behold in vision and to declare to his people the
circumstances of the Messiah's birth, His baptism by John and the
ministration of the Holy Ghost with its accompanying sign of the dove;
he beheld our Lord moving as a Teacher of righteousness among the
people, healing the afflicted and rebuking spirits of evil; he saw and
bore record of the dread scenes of Calvary; he beheld and predicted the
calling of the chosen Twelve, the apostles of the Lamb, for so these
were designated by Him who vouchsafed the vision. Moreover he told of
the iniquity of the Jews, who were seen in contention with the apostles;
and thus concludes the portentous prophecy: "And the angel of the Lord
spake unto me again, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of all
nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the
twelve apostles of the Lamb."[137] Soon after the defection whereby the
distinction between Nephites and Lamanites was established, Jacob, a
brother of Nephi, continued in prophecy of the assured coming of the
Messiah, specifically declaring that He would minister at Jerusalem and
affirming the necessity of His atoning death as the ordained means of
human redemption.[138] The prophet Abinadi, in his fearless denunciation
of sin to the wicked king Noah, preached the Christ who was to
come;[139] and righteous Benjamin, who was at once prophet and king,
proclaimed the same great truth to his people about 125 B.C. So taught
Alma[140] in his inspired admonition to his wayward son, Corianton; and
so also Amulek[141] in his contention with Zeezrom. So proclaimed the
Lamanite prophet, Samuel, only five years prior to the actual
occurrence; furthermore he specified the signs by which the birth of
Jesus in Judea would be made known to the people of the western world.
Said he: "Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh,
and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall
believe on his name. And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at
the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in
heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no
darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day,
therefore there shall be one day and a night, and a day, as if it were
one day, and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign;
for ye shall know of the rising of the sun, and also of its setting;
therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a
night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the
night before he is born. And behold there shall a new star arise, such
an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.
And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in
heaven."[142]
Thus the scriptures of both hemispheres and in all ages of ante-meridian
time bore solemn testimony to the certainty of Messiah's advent; thus
the holy prophets of old voiced the word of revelation predicting the
coming of the world's King and Lord, through whom alone is salvation
provided, and redemption from death made sure. It is a characteristic of
prophets sent of God that they possess and proclaim a personal assurance
of the Christ, "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy."[143] Not a word of inspired prophecy relating to the great
event has been found void. The literal fulfilment of the predictions is
ample attestation of their origin in divine revelation, and proof
conclusive of the divinity of Him whose coming was so abundantly
foretold.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 5.
1. The Antiquity of Sacrifice as a Prototype of Christ's Atoning
Death.--While the Biblical record expressly attests the offering of
sacrifices long prior to Israel's exodus from Egypt--e.g. by Abel and by
Cain (Gen. 4:3, 4); by Noah after the deluge (Gen. 8:20); by Abraham
(Gen. 22:2, 13); by Jacob (Gen. 31:54; 46:1)--it is silent concerning
the divine origin of sacrifice as a propitiatory requirement prefiguring
the atoning death of Jesus Christ. The difficulty of determining time
and circumstance, under which the offering of symbolical sacrifices
originated amongst mankind, is recognized by all investigators save
those who admit the validity of modern revelation. The necessity of
assuming early instruction from God to man on the subject has been
asserted by many Bible scholars. Thus, the writer of the article
"Sacrifice" in the Cassell _Bible Dictionary_ says: "The idea of
sacrifice is prominent throughout the scriptures, and one of the most
ancient and widely recognized in the rites of religion throughout the
world. There is also a remarkable similarity in the developments and
applications of the idea. On these and other accounts it has been
judiciously inferred that sacrifice formed an element in the primeval
worship of man; and that its universality is not merely an indirect
argument for the unity of the human race, but an illustration and
confirmation of the first inspired pages of the world's history. The
notion of sacrifice can hardly be viewed as a product of unassisted
human nature, and must therefore be traced to a higher source and viewed
as a divine revelation to primitive man."
Smith's _Dic. of the Bible_ presents the following: "In tracing the
history of sacrifice from its first beginning to its perfect development
in the Mosaic ritual, we are at once met by the long-disputed question
as to the origin of sacrifice, whether it arose from a natural instinct
of man, sanctioned and guided by God, or was the subject of some
distinct primeval revelation. There can be no doubt that sacrifice was
sanctioned by God's Law, with a special, typical reference to the
Atonement of Christ; its universal prevalence, independent of, and often
opposed to, man's natural reasonings on his relation to God, shows it to
have been primeval, and deeply rooted in the instincts of humanity.
Whether it was first enjoined by an external command, or was based on
that sense of sin and lost communion with God, which is stamped by His
hand on the heart of man--is an historical question, perhaps insoluble."
The difficulty vanishes, and the "historical question" as to the origin
of sacrifice is definitely solved by the revelations of God in the
current dispensation, whereby parts of the record of Moses--not
contained in the Bible--have been restored to human knowledge. The
scripture quoted in the text (pp. 43, 44) makes clear the fact that the
offering of sacrifices was required of Adam after his transgression, and
that the significance of the divinely established requirement was
explained in fulness to the patriarch of the race. The shedding of the
blood of animals in sacrifice to God, as a prototype "of the sacrifice
of the Only Begotten of the Father," dates from the time immediately
following the fall. Its origin is based on a specific revelation to
Adam. See P. of G.P., Moses 5:5-8.
2. Jacob's Prophecy Concerning "Shiloh."--The prediction of the
patriarch Jacob--that the sceptre should not depart from Judah before
the coming of Shiloh--has given rise to much disputation among Bible
students. Some insist that "Shiloh" is the name of a place and not that
of a person. That there was a place known by that name is beyond
question (see Josh. 18:1; 19:51; 21:2; 22:9; 1 Sam. 1:3; Jer. 7:12); but
the name occurring in Gen. 49:10 is plainly that of a person. It should
be known that the use of the word in the King James or authorized
version of the Bible is held to be correct by many eminent authorities.
Thus, in Dummelow's _Commentary on the Holy Bible_, we read: "This verse
has always been regarded by both Jews and Christians as a remarkable
prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.... On the rendering given above,
the whole verse foretells that Judah would retain authority until the
advent of the rightful ruler, the Messiah, to whom all peoples would
gather. And, broadly speaking, it may be said that the last traces of
Jewish legislative power (as vested in the Sanhedrin) did not disappear
until the coming of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, from which
time His kingdom was set up among men."
Adam Clarke, in his exhaustive Bible Commentary, briefly analyzes the
objections urged against the admissibility of this passage as applying
to the Messiah's advent, and dismisses them all as unfounded. His
conclusion as to the meaning of the passage is thus worded: "Judah shall
continue a distinct tribe until the Messiah shall come; and it did so;
and after His coming it was confounded with the others, so that all
distinction has been ever since lost."
Prof. Douglas, as cited in Smith's Dictionary, "claims that something of
Judah's sceptre still remained, a total eclipse being no proof that the
day is at an end--that the proper fulfilment of the prophecy did not
begin till David's time, and is consummated in Christ according to Luke
1:32, 33."
The accepted meaning of the word by derivation is "Peaceable," and this
is applicable to the attributes of the Christ, who in Isa. 9:6, is
designated the Prince of Peace.
Eusebius, who lived between 260 and 339 A.D., and is known in
ecclesiastical history as Bishop of Cæsarea, wrote: "At the time that
Herod was king, who was the first foreigner that reigned over the Jewish
people, the prophecy recorded by Moses received its fulfilment, viz.
'That a prince should not fail of Judah, nor a ruler from his loins,
until He should come for whom it is reserved, the expectation of
nations.'" (The quoted passage is founded on the Septuagint rendering of
Genesis 49:10).
Some critics have held that in Jacob's use of the word "Shiloh" he did
not intend it as a name or proper noun at all. The writer of the article
"Shiloh" in Cassell's _Bible Dictionary_ says: "The preponderance of
evidence is in favor of the Messianic interpretation, but opinions are
very divided respecting the retention of the word 'Shiloh' as a proper
name.... Notwithstanding all the objections that are urged against it
being so regarded, we are of the opinion that it is rightly considered
to be a proper name, and that the English version represents the true
sense of the passage. We recommend those who wish to enter more fully
into a question which cannot well be discussed without Hebrew criticism,
to the excellent notes upon Gen. 49:10 in the 'Commentary on the
Pentateuch' by Keil and Delitzsch. Here the text is thus rendered: 'The
sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between
his feet, till Shiloh come, and the willing obedience of the nations be
to him.'
"Notwithstanding the slight put upon the Messianic interpretation by
some writers, even those from whom we should scarcely expect it, we see
this explanation confirmed and not weakened in the events of history.
The text is not taken to mean that Judah should at no time be without a
royal ruler of his own, but that the regal power should not finally
cease from Judah until Shiloh had come. The objections founded on the
Babylonian captivity, and similar intermissions, are of no force,
because it is the complete and final termination which is pointed out,
and that only happened after the time of Christ." See further _The Book
of Prophecy_, by G. Smith, LL.D., p. 320. See also _Compendium of the
Doctrines of the Gospel_, by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little,
article "Christ's First Coming."
3. Nephites and Lamanites.--The progenitors of the Nephite nation were
led from Jerusalem, 600 B.C., by Lehi, a Jewish prophet of the tribe of
Manasseh. His immediate family, at the time of their departure from
Jerusalem, comprized his wife Sariah, and their sons, Laman, Lemuel,
Sam, and Nephi; at a later stage of the history, daughters are
mentioned, but whether any of these were born before the family exodus
we are not told. Beside his own family, the colony of Lehi included
Zoram, and Ishmael, the latter an Israelite of the tribe of Ephraim.
Ishmael, with his family, joined Lehi in the wilderness; and his
descendants were numbered with the nation of whom we are speaking. The
company journeyed somewhat east of south, keeping near the borders of
the Red Sea; then, changing their course to the eastward, crossed the
peninsula of Arabia; and there, on the shores of the Arabian Sea, built
and provisioned a vessel in which they committed themselves to divine
care upon the waters. Their voyage carried them eastward across the
Indian Ocean, then over the south Pacific Ocean to the western coast of
South America, whereon they landed (590 B.C.).... The people established
themselves on what to them was the land of promise; many children were
born, and in the course of a few generations a numerous posterity held
possession of the land. After the death of Lehi, a division occurred,
some of the people accepting as their leader, Nephi, who had been duly
appointed to the prophetic office; while the rest proclaimed Laman, the
eldest of Lehi's sons, as their chief. Henceforth the divided people
were known as Nephites and Lamanites respectively. At times they
observed toward each other fairly friendly relations; but generally they
were opposed, the Lamanites manifesting implacable hatred and hostility
toward their Nephite kindred. The Nephites advanced in the arts of
civilization, built large cities and established prosperous
commonwealths; yet they often fell into transgression; and the Lord
chastened them by allowing their foes to become victorious. They spread
northward, occupying the northern part of South America; then, crossing
the Isthmus, they extended their domain over the southern, central and
eastern portions of what is now the United States of America. The
Lamanites, while increasing in numbers, fell under the curse of
darkness; they became dark in skin and benighted in spirit, forgot the
God of their fathers, lived a wild nomadic life, and degenerated into
the fallen state in which the American Indians--their lineal
descendants--were found by those who rediscovered the western continent
in later times. See the author's _Articles of Faith_ xiv:7, 8.
4. The First Gospel Dispensation.--The gospel of Jesus Christ was
revealed to Adam. Faith in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son the
Savior of Adam and all his posterity, repentance of sin, water baptism
by immersion, and the reception of the Holy Ghost as a divine bestowal
were proclaimed in the beginning of human history as the essentials to
salvation. The following scriptures attest this fact. "And thus the
Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy
angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice and by
the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Moses 5:58). The prophet Enoch thus
testified: "But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must
repent. And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I
am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. And he
also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my
voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be
baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is
full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which
shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the
children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all
things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you"
(Moses 6:50-52; read also 53-61). "And now, behold, I say unto you: This
is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only
Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time" (62). "And it came to
pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried
unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was
carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was
brought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit
of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit and became
quickened in the inner man. And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying:
Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record
of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and for ever" (64-66).
Compare Doc. and Cov 29:42.
FOOTNOTES:
[101] Deut. 31:9, 24-26; compare 17:18-20.
[102] "Articles of Faith," xiii:7-10.
[103] Gen. 3:15; compare Heb. 2:14; Rev, 12:9; 20:3.
[104] P. of G.P., Moses 5:6-9. Note 1, end of chapter.
[105] P. of G.P., Moses 6:52; study paragraphs 50-56; see also Gen.
5:18, 21-24; Jude 14. Note 4, end of chapter.
[106] Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; compare Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:8.
[107] Gen. 49:10.
[108] Note 2, end of chapter.
[109] Deut. 18:15-19; compare John 1:45; Acts 3:22; 7:37; see also a
specific confirmation by our Lord after His resurrection, 3 Nephi 20:23.
[110] Note 1, end of chapter.
[111] 1 Cor. 5:7. For references to Christ as the Lamb of God, see John
1:29, 36; 1 Peter 1:19; Rev. chaps. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21,
22; also B. of M., 1 Nephi 10:10, and chaps. 11, 12, 13, 14; 2 Nephi
31:4, 5, 6; 33:14; Alma 7:14; Mormon 9:2, 3; Doc. and Cov. 58:11;
132:19.
[112] Job 19:25; see also verses 26-27.
[113] Instances: Psalm 2:7; compare Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5. Psa.
16:10; compare Acts 13:34-37. Psa. 22:18; compare Matt. 27:35; Mark
15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:24. Psa. 41:9; compare John 13:18. Psa. 69:9
and 21; compare Matt. 27:34, 48; Mark 15:23; John 19:29; and John 2:17.
Psa. 110:1 and 4; compare Matt. 22:44; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; and
Heb. 5:6. Psa. 118:22, 23; compare Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17;
Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4, 7. The following are known
specifically as Messianic Psalms: 2, 21, 22, 45, 67, 69, 89, 96, 110,
132; in them the psalmist extols in poetic measure the excellencies of
the Messiah, and the certainty of His coming.
[114] Isa. 7:14; compare Matt. 1:21-23.
[115] Isa. 9:6,7.
[116] Luke 1:26-33.
[117] Isa. 11:1 and 10; compare Rom. 15:12; Rev. 5:5; 22:16; see also
Jer. 23:5, 6.
[118] Isa. 28:16; compare Psa. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom.
9:33; 10:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6-8.
[119] Isa. 40:9-11; compare John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25;
5:4; see also Ezek. 34:23.
[120] Isa. 42-1; see also 9:2; 49:6; 60:3; compare Matt. 4:14-16; Luke
2:32; Acts 13:47; 26:18; Eph. 5:8, 14.
[121] Isa. 55:4; compare John 18:37.
[122] Isa. 40:3; compare Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23.
[123] Isa. 53; study the entire chapter; compare Acts 8:32-35.
[124] Jer. 23:5, 6; see also 33:14-16.
[125] Jer. 30:9.
[126] Ezek. 34:23; 37:24, 25.
[127] Hos. 11:11; compare Matt. 2:15.
[128] Mic. 5:2; compare Matt 2:6; John 7:42.
[129] Zech. 9:9; compare Matt. 21:4-9.
[130] Zech. 12:10; compare John 19:37.
[131] Zech. 13:6.
[132] Zech. 11:12, 13; compare Matt. 26:15; 27:3-10.
[133] Luke 24:44, 46; see also verses 25-27.
[134] Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:15, 26, 27, 29-36; see
also Acts 1:5, 8; 11:16; 19:4.
[135] Note 3, end of chapter.
[136] B. of M., 1 Nephi 10:4-11.
[137] B. of M., 1 Nephi chapters 11 and 12; see also 19:10.
[138] B. of M., 2 Nephi 9:5, 6; 10:3. See also Nephi's prophecy
25:12-14; and chap. 26.
[139] B. of M., Mosiah 13:33-35; 15:1-13.
[140] B. of M., Alma 39:15; 40:1-3.
[141] B. of M., Alma 11:31-44.
[142] B. of M., Helaman 14:1-6; compare 3 Nephi 1:4-21.
[143] Rev. 19:10.