Our Advocate and Our Mediator
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 57-60
If I may have the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, I wish to speak of our Redeemer as our Advocate and our Mediator. I think that quite generally we do not understand his mission as fully in this regard as it is possible for us to do.
In the sixth chapter of Exodus there is a statement which is a mistranslation which I will read to you:
"And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them" Exodus 6:2-3
Now, the Hebrew scriptures inform us that he referred to himself and is referred to throughout the Old Testament as Jehovah, so this cannot be a correct translation. It should read:
"And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob. I am the Lord God Almighty, the Lord JEHOVAH, and was not my name known among them?"
That changes the whole meaning of it.
Now an advocate is one who defends or pleads for or in behalf of another. A mediator is one who reconciles or brings about agreement between parties. I want to read one or two passages of scripture on this point.
"Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom" D&C 29:5
"Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
"Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did not sin in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified" D&C 45:3-4
"Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted" D&C 62:1
"I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father" D&C 110:4
"These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood" D&C 76:69
"The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church,
"To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant" D&C 107:18-19
This from the First Epistle of John Verse 1, Chapter 2: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" 1 John 2:1
Paul wrote to Timothy as follows: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
"Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" 1 Timothy 2:5-6
When Adam was in the Garden of Eden he was in the presence of God, our Father. He learned his language. The first part of Genesis dealing with the creation and with Adam in the Garden of Eden is when the Father was present with him.
After he was driven out of the Garden of Eden the scene changed. Adam was banished because of his transgression from the presence of the Father. The scriptures say he became spiritually dead—that is, he was shut out from the presence of God Alma 42:9, Helaman 14:16, D&C 29:41
From that time on Jesus Christ comes on the scene as our advocate, pleading for us as our mediator through his ministry and labors to reconcile us, to bring us into agreement with God, his Father.
That is part of his great mission. He stands between the Father and man. He pleads our cause. You know when he was upon the earth he prayed frequently, and he prayed for his disciples John 17:20 pleading with his Father in their behalf, and he has been pleading ever since, and he stands between us and God, our Father.
I would like to call your attention to one little thing in the first vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is very significant, and Joseph Smith did not know it. If he had been perpetrating a fraud, he would not have thought of it. You will recall in your reading that the Father and the Son appeared, and the Father introduced the Son and told the Prophet to hear the Son JS—H 1:17
Now suppose the Prophet had come back from the woods and had said the Father and the Son appeared to him, and the Father had said, "Joseph, what do you want?" and when he asked the question and told him what he wanted, the Father had answered him; then we would know that the story of the Prophet could not be true.
All revelation comes through Jesus Christ. I have not time to go into the scriptures and give you references for that, but that is the fact. He it was who led Israel, and if I do not procrastinate upon the time, I will take the rest of it to read to you the statement from President George Q. Cannon, bearing on this point.
"There is in modern Christendom a strong tendency to ascribe to the Father visits and communications with mankind that were really made by the Lord Jesus. There is even a respectable percentage of the members of his Church, established in these days, who have the idea that it was the Father and not the Son who appeared to the patriarchs and prophets of old, who delivered Israel from Egypt, who gave the law on Sinai, and who was the guide and inspirer of the ancient seers. This was not the understanding of the true servants of God either before or after his coming. Those who preceded the advent of the Messiah understood that he whom they worshiped as Jehovahshould in due time tabernacle in the flesh, and the writings of Justin Martyr and other of the early fathers show that this was the belief of the early Christian Church on the eastern continent. The writings of the Hebrew prophets, as we have them in the Bible, are perhaps not as plain on this point as are those of the Nephite seers that are revealed to us in the Book of Mormon. But we have in this latter record some quotations from the earlier Hebrew prophets that make this point very clear. Nephi writes,
"'And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre according to the words of Zenos' 1 Nephi 19:10
"Here we have the testimony of Zenock, Neum, and Zenos that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was by wicked men to be lifted up, crucified and afterwards buried in a sepulchre, showing that these ancient worthies understood that it was the God of Israel who should come to his own. Nephi who himself was a Hebrew and the son of a prophet of that same race, also testifies in the above passage that it was the same God of their fathers who led them out of Egypt and preserved them in the wilderness. About four hundred years later another Nephite seer, King Benjamin, testifies that an angel came to him and made this glorious promise:
"'For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases' Mosiah 3:5
A little further on he says:
"'And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
"'And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him and shall crucify him' Mosiah 3:8-9
"But we have the word of the Savior himself on this point that puts controversy to an end. When, after his resurrection and ascension into heaven he first appeared to his Nephite disciples on this land, he declared, 'Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
"'. . . I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world' 3 Nephi 11:10,14 Later during his ministry among the Nephites he affirms: 'Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.
"'Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled' 3 Nephi 15:4-5
"Should any still have a lingering doubt that the Jehovah who revealed himself to Abraham, to Moses and to others was any other than he whom we know in the flesh as Jesus Christ, that doubt is set at rest by the revelations given in these days. In the vision seen by the Prophet Joseph Smith and by Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, 3rd of April, 1836, the following appears:
"'We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
"'His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
"'I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father' D&C 110:2-4
"Somewhat curiously an ancient Syriac manuscript has within the last few months been unearthed that is known as the gospel of the Twelve Apostles. Whether the Twelve Apostles had anything to do with writing it has nothing to do with the point under consideration. The writing was originally in Hebrew, and what we wish to draw attention to is that whenever the manuscript was first written, the writers of the original believed that Jesus was he who spake with the ancient Israelites. It commences:
"'The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, according as it was said by the Holy Spirit, I send an angel before his face who shall prepare his way.
"'It came to pass in the 309th year of Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar in the government of Herod, the ruler of the Jews, that the Angel Gabriel, the chief of the angels, by command of God went down to Nazareth to a virgin called Miriam, of the tribe of Judah the son of Israel (her who was betrothed to Joseph the Just), and he appeared to her and said, "Lo! there ariseth from thee the one who spake with our fathers, and he shall be a Savior to Israel; and they who do not confess him shall perish, for his authority is in the lofty heights, and his kingdom does not pass away."'"
The Lord bless you all I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Our Advocate and Our Mediator
Our Advocate and Our Mediator
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 57-60
If I may have the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, I wish to speak of our Redeemer as our Advocate and our Mediator. I think that quite generally we do not understand his mission as fully in this regard as it is possible for us to do.
In the sixth chapter of Exodus there is a statement which is a mistranslation which I will read to you:
"And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them" Exodus 6:2-3
Now, the Hebrew scriptures inform us that he referred to himself and is referred to throughout the Old Testament as Jehovah, so this cannot be a correct translation. It should read:
"And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob. I am the Lord God Almighty, the Lord JEHOVAH, and was not my name known among them?"
That changes the whole meaning of it.
Now an advocate is one who defends or pleads for or in behalf of another. A mediator is one who reconciles or brings about agreement between parties. I want to read one or two passages of scripture on this point.
"Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom" D&C 29:5
"Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
"Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did not sin in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified" D&C 45:3-4
"Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted" D&C 62:1
"I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father" D&C 110:4
"These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood" D&C 76:69
"The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church,
"To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant" D&C 107:18-19
This from the First Epistle of John Verse 1, Chapter 2: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" 1 John 2:1
Paul wrote to Timothy as follows: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
"Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" 1 Timothy 2:5-6
When Adam was in the Garden of Eden he was in the presence of God, our Father. He learned his language. The first part of Genesis dealing with the creation and with Adam in the Garden of Eden is when the Father was present with him.
After he was driven out of the Garden of Eden the scene changed. Adam was banished because of his transgression from the presence of the Father. The scriptures say he became spiritually dead—that is, he was shut out from the presence of God Alma 42:9, Helaman 14:16, D&C 29:41
From that time on Jesus Christ comes on the scene as our advocate, pleading for us as our mediator through his ministry and labors to reconcile us, to bring us into agreement with God, his Father.
That is part of his great mission. He stands between the Father and man. He pleads our cause. You know when he was upon the earth he prayed frequently, and he prayed for his disciples John 17:20 pleading with his Father in their behalf, and he has been pleading ever since, and he stands between us and God, our Father.
I would like to call your attention to one little thing in the first vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is very significant, and Joseph Smith did not know it. If he had been perpetrating a fraud, he would not have thought of it. You will recall in your reading that the Father and the Son appeared, and the Father introduced the Son and told the Prophet to hear the Son JS—H 1:17
Now suppose the Prophet had come back from the woods and had said the Father and the Son appeared to him, and the Father had said, "Joseph, what do you want?" and when he asked the question and told him what he wanted, the Father had answered him; then we would know that the story of the Prophet could not be true.
All revelation comes through Jesus Christ. I have not time to go into the scriptures and give you references for that, but that is the fact. He it was who led Israel, and if I do not procrastinate upon the time, I will take the rest of it to read to you the statement from President George Q. Cannon, bearing on this point.
"There is in modern Christendom a strong tendency to ascribe to the Father visits and communications with mankind that were really made by the Lord Jesus. There is even a respectable percentage of the members of his Church, established in these days, who have the idea that it was the Father and not the Son who appeared to the patriarchs and prophets of old, who delivered Israel from Egypt, who gave the law on Sinai, and who was the guide and inspirer of the ancient seers. This was not the understanding of the true servants of God either before or after his coming. Those who preceded the advent of the Messiah understood that he whom they worshiped as Jehovahshould in due time tabernacle in the flesh, and the writings of Justin Martyr and other of the early fathers show that this was the belief of the early Christian Church on the eastern continent. The writings of the Hebrew prophets, as we have them in the Bible, are perhaps not as plain on this point as are those of the Nephite seers that are revealed to us in the Book of Mormon. But we have in this latter record some quotations from the earlier Hebrew prophets that make this point very clear. Nephi writes,
"'And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre according to the words of Zenos' 1 Nephi 19:10
"Here we have the testimony of Zenock, Neum, and Zenos that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was by wicked men to be lifted up, crucified and afterwards buried in a sepulchre, showing that these ancient worthies understood that it was the God of Israel who should come to his own. Nephi who himself was a Hebrew and the son of a prophet of that same race, also testifies in the above passage that it was the same God of their fathers who led them out of Egypt and preserved them in the wilderness. About four hundred years later another Nephite seer, King Benjamin, testifies that an angel came to him and made this glorious promise:
"'For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases' Mosiah 3:5
A little further on he says:
"'And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
"'And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him and shall crucify him' Mosiah 3:8-9
"But we have the word of the Savior himself on this point that puts controversy to an end. When, after his resurrection and ascension into heaven he first appeared to his Nephite disciples on this land, he declared, 'Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
"'. . . I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world' 3 Nephi 11:10,14 Later during his ministry among the Nephites he affirms: 'Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.
"'Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled' 3 Nephi 15:4-5
"Should any still have a lingering doubt that the Jehovah who revealed himself to Abraham, to Moses and to others was any other than he whom we know in the flesh as Jesus Christ, that doubt is set at rest by the revelations given in these days. In the vision seen by the Prophet Joseph Smith and by Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, 3rd of April, 1836, the following appears:
"'We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
"'His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
"'I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father' D&C 110:2-4
"Somewhat curiously an ancient Syriac manuscript has within the last few months been unearthed that is known as the gospel of the Twelve Apostles. Whether the Twelve Apostles had anything to do with writing it has nothing to do with the point under consideration. The writing was originally in Hebrew, and what we wish to draw attention to is that whenever the manuscript was first written, the writers of the original believed that Jesus was he who spake with the ancient Israelites. It commences:
"'The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, according as it was said by the Holy Spirit, I send an angel before his face who shall prepare his way.
"'It came to pass in the 309th year of Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar in the government of Herod, the ruler of the Jews, that the Angel Gabriel, the chief of the angels, by command of God went down to Nazareth to a virgin called Miriam, of the tribe of Judah the son of Israel (her who was betrothed to Joseph the Just), and he appeared to her and said, "Lo! there ariseth from thee the one who spake with our fathers, and he shall be a Savior to Israel; and they who do not confess him shall perish, for his authority is in the lofty heights, and his kingdom does not pass away."'"
The Lord bless you all I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith
President of the Council of the Twelve Apostles
Joseph Fielding Smith, Conference Report, October 1953, pp. 57-60
If I may have the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, I wish to speak of our Redeemer as our Advocate and our Mediator. I think that quite generally we do not understand his mission as fully in this regard as it is possible for us to do.
In the sixth chapter of Exodus there is a statement which is a mistranslation which I will read to you:
"And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them" Exodus 6:2-3
Now, the Hebrew scriptures inform us that he referred to himself and is referred to throughout the Old Testament as Jehovah, so this cannot be a correct translation. It should read:
"And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord:
"And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob. I am the Lord God Almighty, the Lord JEHOVAH, and was not my name known among them?"
That changes the whole meaning of it.
Now an advocate is one who defends or pleads for or in behalf of another. A mediator is one who reconciles or brings about agreement between parties. I want to read one or two passages of scripture on this point.
"Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst, and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom" D&C 29:5
"Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—
"Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did not sin in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified" D&C 45:3-4
"Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted" D&C 62:1
"I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father" D&C 110:4
"These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood" D&C 76:69
"The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church,
"To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant" D&C 107:18-19
This from the First Epistle of John Verse 1, Chapter 2: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" 1 John 2:1
Paul wrote to Timothy as follows: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
"Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" 1 Timothy 2:5-6
When Adam was in the Garden of Eden he was in the presence of God, our Father. He learned his language. The first part of Genesis dealing with the creation and with Adam in the Garden of Eden is when the Father was present with him.
After he was driven out of the Garden of Eden the scene changed. Adam was banished because of his transgression from the presence of the Father. The scriptures say he became spiritually dead—that is, he was shut out from the presence of God Alma 42:9, Helaman 14:16, D&C 29:41
From that time on Jesus Christ comes on the scene as our advocate, pleading for us as our mediator through his ministry and labors to reconcile us, to bring us into agreement with God, his Father.
That is part of his great mission. He stands between the Father and man. He pleads our cause. You know when he was upon the earth he prayed frequently, and he prayed for his disciples John 17:20 pleading with his Father in their behalf, and he has been pleading ever since, and he stands between us and God, our Father.
I would like to call your attention to one little thing in the first vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is very significant, and Joseph Smith did not know it. If he had been perpetrating a fraud, he would not have thought of it. You will recall in your reading that the Father and the Son appeared, and the Father introduced the Son and told the Prophet to hear the Son JS—H 1:17
Now suppose the Prophet had come back from the woods and had said the Father and the Son appeared to him, and the Father had said, "Joseph, what do you want?" and when he asked the question and told him what he wanted, the Father had answered him; then we would know that the story of the Prophet could not be true.
All revelation comes through Jesus Christ. I have not time to go into the scriptures and give you references for that, but that is the fact. He it was who led Israel, and if I do not procrastinate upon the time, I will take the rest of it to read to you the statement from President George Q. Cannon, bearing on this point.
"There is in modern Christendom a strong tendency to ascribe to the Father visits and communications with mankind that were really made by the Lord Jesus. There is even a respectable percentage of the members of his Church, established in these days, who have the idea that it was the Father and not the Son who appeared to the patriarchs and prophets of old, who delivered Israel from Egypt, who gave the law on Sinai, and who was the guide and inspirer of the ancient seers. This was not the understanding of the true servants of God either before or after his coming. Those who preceded the advent of the Messiah understood that he whom they worshiped as Jehovahshould in due time tabernacle in the flesh, and the writings of Justin Martyr and other of the early fathers show that this was the belief of the early Christian Church on the eastern continent. The writings of the Hebrew prophets, as we have them in the Bible, are perhaps not as plain on this point as are those of the Nephite seers that are revealed to us in the Book of Mormon. But we have in this latter record some quotations from the earlier Hebrew prophets that make this point very clear. Nephi writes,
"'And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre according to the words of Zenos' 1 Nephi 19:10
"Here we have the testimony of Zenock, Neum, and Zenos that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was by wicked men to be lifted up, crucified and afterwards buried in a sepulchre, showing that these ancient worthies understood that it was the God of Israel who should come to his own. Nephi who himself was a Hebrew and the son of a prophet of that same race, also testifies in the above passage that it was the same God of their fathers who led them out of Egypt and preserved them in the wilderness. About four hundred years later another Nephite seer, King Benjamin, testifies that an angel came to him and made this glorious promise:
"'For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases' Mosiah 3:5
A little further on he says:
"'And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
"'And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him and shall crucify him' Mosiah 3:8-9
"But we have the word of the Savior himself on this point that puts controversy to an end. When, after his resurrection and ascension into heaven he first appeared to his Nephite disciples on this land, he declared, 'Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
"'. . . I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world' 3 Nephi 11:10,14 Later during his ministry among the Nephites he affirms: 'Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.
"'Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled' 3 Nephi 15:4-5
"Should any still have a lingering doubt that the Jehovah who revealed himself to Abraham, to Moses and to others was any other than he whom we know in the flesh as Jesus Christ, that doubt is set at rest by the revelations given in these days. In the vision seen by the Prophet Joseph Smith and by Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, 3rd of April, 1836, the following appears:
"'We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
"'His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
"'I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father' D&C 110:2-4
"Somewhat curiously an ancient Syriac manuscript has within the last few months been unearthed that is known as the gospel of the Twelve Apostles. Whether the Twelve Apostles had anything to do with writing it has nothing to do with the point under consideration. The writing was originally in Hebrew, and what we wish to draw attention to is that whenever the manuscript was first written, the writers of the original believed that Jesus was he who spake with the ancient Israelites. It commences:
"'The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, according as it was said by the Holy Spirit, I send an angel before his face who shall prepare his way.
"'It came to pass in the 309th year of Alexander, the son of Philip the Macedonian, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar in the government of Herod, the ruler of the Jews, that the Angel Gabriel, the chief of the angels, by command of God went down to Nazareth to a virgin called Miriam, of the tribe of Judah the son of Israel (her who was betrothed to Joseph the Just), and he appeared to her and said, "Lo! there ariseth from thee the one who spake with our fathers, and he shall be a Savior to Israel; and they who do not confess him shall perish, for his authority is in the lofty heights, and his kingdom does not pass away."'"
The Lord bless you all I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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