THE BOOK OF MOSIAH
CHAPTER 15
How Christ is both the Father and the son—He shall make intercession
and bear the transgressions of his people—They and all the holy prophets are his seed—He bringeth to pass the resurrection—Little children have eternal life. [ About 148 B.C. ]
1 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.
2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the son of God, [He is not the son of Joseph. He is not the son of a man. This title the son Of God means that his Father is literally God our Father in Heaven.] and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, [ The condescension of God wherein the Savior was brought down to dwell in the flesh; as such Jesus needed to submit his will to the will of the Father in All things. Matt 26:39; Heb 5:8-9 ] being the Father and the son—
3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and son—
4 And they are one God, [ Careful for the words here. What does it not say? It does not say they are one being; or one person; rather it says they (meaning more than one) are one God. so what is he trying to say? That they are together; united; what they Father would do the son would do the same (John 5:19). The son proved that when he came to earth and was completely submissive to the will of the Father. ] yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. [ “The Father and the son: A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.” A portion of this exposition explains how Jesus Christ is identified in the scriptures as both the “son” and at times as the “Father”:“‘Father’ as Creator. . . . Scriptures that refer to God in any way as the Father of the heavens and the earth are to be understood as signifying that God is the Maker, the Organizer, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. “With this meaning, as the context shows in every case, Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ the son of Elohim, is called ‘the Father,’ and even ‘the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth’ [see Ether 4:7; Alma 11:38–39; Mosiah 15:4; 16:15 ]. . . . “Jesus Christ the ‘Father’ of Those Who Abide in His Gospel. [Another] sense in which Jesus Christ is regarded as the ‘Father’ has reference to the relationship between Him and those who accept His gospel and thereby become heirs of eternal life. . . . “To His faithful servants in the present dispensation the Lord has said, ‘Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me’ (D&C 50:41). . . . “Jesus Christ the ‘Father’ by Divine Investiture of Authority. . . . Jesus the son has represented and yet represents Elohim His Father in power and authority. . . . Thus the Father placed His name upon the son; and Jesus Christ spoke and ministered in and through the Father’s name; and so far as power, authority, and godship are concerned His words and acts were and are those of the Father” (“The Father and The son,” Ensign, Apr. 2002, 14–15, 17). ]
5 And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, [ What does this mean - subject to the Spirit? The Holy Ghost or his own (Jesus' Spirit)? Yes, Jesus' spirit was completely in accord to the Holy Spirit, but I think that he is referring to something else here. I think the subject is how the Savior has mastered the desires of the flesh, making the flesh subject the the will of his spirit. Another example for us of how to live. His spirit was in complete submission to the will of the Father, and his body is in complete submission to the will of the spirit. We have a transition here from how the body should be subject to the spirit just as the son is to the Father. ] or the son to the Father, being one God, [ so how did Jesus prove that? He was submissive in all things to the will of the Father. What is the lesson here for us? If I could leave you with one profound principle this day it would from these words of the Savior “nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt”. The power in those words are thus; if the son of God had to completely submit his will to the will of the Father; then why should you or I be so different? The son taught us “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the son likewise”. ( John 5:19 ) If the son gained great power through submission to the will of the Father; then why would we be any different? If the son became like the Father through submission to the Fathers will; then why could we not become like our Heavenly Father through submission to his will as well? The world try's to teach that the laws of God are foolish; that they take away our freedom, however; it is when we see the laws of God as patterns, templates for us to become like him. No matter what our fear, no matter what our challenge we can overcome with peace and confidence if we will truly submit to his will. Thus is the reason for the laws of God. To provide a pattern on how he would act; of what he expects, and it is through our diligent obedience to his laws that our confidence begins to wax strong in his presence. ] suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth [ “Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; (Heb. 5:8–9.) It is interesting to note that he learned obedience through his suffering, or to put it another way; he was obedient when and while he was suffering, when he was doing hard things. Such as when he was alone in the garden, in the silence of the night; he leaves Peter, James and John outside the wall; his heart is heavy. And listen to what he asks for: Matt 26: 39 ] himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.
6 And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
7 Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.
[ There, in my judgment, is the key, “the will of the son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.” We can strive—we can labor all of our days seeking to have our will swallowed up in the will of the Father. What would one do who truly seeks to have his or her will swallowed up in the will of the Father? May I suggest that we would honor and abide by and sincerely labor to keep the covenants we have made with the Lord. What is expected of us because we have made a baptismal covenant? Brethren, what is expected of us because we have made covenants at the time of our ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood? What of our temple covenants? Obedience to these covenants will assure us of exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. Note I did not say we must live lives of perfection in mortality. Covenant keeping will bring that day—in the distant future. (Elder L. Aldin Porter - Brigham Young University-Idaho Devotional February 10, 2004 ]
8 And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the son power to make intercession for the children of men—
9 Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.
10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed? [ Good question. Who are his seed? vs 11 tells us. Abinidi has completed the message he was sent there to deliver; now he will turn his attention to answering the question posed to him in Mosiah 13:3. ]
11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, [1) His seed are those that have heard the words of the prophets. How do we hear the words of the prophets?] yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, [2) after hearing the words of the prophets they hearken unto them - What does it mean to hearken unto their words? To listen; to lend the ear; to attend to what is uttered. ] and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, [ 3) Have faith in the words of the prophets that the Savior would come for them. ] and have looked forward [4) anticipate with faith that they will become pure and holy like he is thru repentance and remission of their sins. ] to that day for a remission of their sins, [ The phrase "remission of sins" is one not found in the KJV OT, it is only found in the NT, cf. Matt 26:28; Luke 1:77. The same general concept is found in the OT but the wording is phrased as "forgiveness of sins", "atonement for sins" or something to that effect. It is only mentioned 8 times in the Book Of Mormon. The First mention is in 2 Ne 25:26 & then again in Mosiah during King Benjamins address. Remission is defined as "Discharge from that which is due; relinquishment of a claim, right, or obligation; pardon of transgression; release from forfeiture, penalty, debt". In other words a Savior that will discharge us from the punishment that is due.. Notice here that he is specifically speaking of the Savior here and his role in forgiveness of our sin - and why they should look forward to his coming in the flesh. The principal taught here may come from the tradition of the Jews and further demonstrates the need for a Savior to atone for our sins. To understand Jewish culture is to understand that forgiveness is between God and the individual. If one confesses his sins to God then they are gone, they disappear, they did not happen (kish-kish). Therefore they have no need for a Savior to remit their sins for them - since if they will only confess they are in simple legal terms acquitted of the sin. In their view only God himself can "forgive sin", only God himself can "atone for sin". so remission implies that one must relinquish their claim to another - like remitting a coupon to a store to receive the anticipated value in return. Legal action of forfeiture to another vs simple aquital. Hence remission is different from forgiveness. ] I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.
12 For these [ Not for everyone - those who are his seed. ] are they whose sins he has borne; these are [ Not for everyone - those who are his seed. ] they for whom he has died, [ If we don't apply the atonement to our lives then his death for us as an individual is in vain. Are you one that he died for?] to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed?
13 Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into transgression, I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world began? [ "A century before Lehi left Jerusalem, the prophet Isaiah prophesied, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" (Isaiah 52:7). The Book of Mormon prophet Abinadi explained that the passage referred to "all the holy prophets . . . who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth! And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!" (Mosiah 15:13–15). He added, "O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people" (v. 18). Abinadi saw in Isaiah's prophecy reference to both the Lord, who redeems his people, and the prophets he sends to preach salvation and peace. This interpretation is strikingly similar to the one found in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 11QMelchizedek (also known as 11Q13), which cites the Isaiah passage, then explains that "the mountains are the prophets . . . And the messenger is the anointed of the spirit about whom Daniel spoke . . . and the messenger of good who announces salvation is the one about whom it is written that he will send him 'to comfort the afflicted, to watch over the afflicted ones of Zion' "29 The Hebrew term rendered "anointed" here is masiah, Messiah. The interpretation of the Isaiah passage in the scroll agrees with Abinadi's teachings in mentioning both the Messiah and the prophets. But while both documents compare the messenger to the Messiah, the Jewish text differs by associating the prophets with the mountains. Similarly, a number of other early Jewish texts compare the patriarchs and their wives to mountains.30 One text, Midrash Tanhuma, suggests that the mountain mentioned in Zechariah 4:7 is the Messiah. Abinadi further explained that the "generation" and "seed" of the Messiah mentioned in Isaiah 53:8, 10 consisted of the prophets who had foreseen the advent of Christ to the earth (see Mosiah 15:10–13). This interpretation is also found in a thirteenth-century Ethiopian Christian document unavailable in English until 1935, more than a century after the Book of Mormon was first published. Commenting on the placing of vegetation on the earth as described in Genesis 1:11–12, the Book of the Mysteries of the Heavens and the Earth says that "the trees are symbols of the Apostles, and must be so interpreted. And the green herbs are the symbols of the children of the Apostles, and the children of the Apostles are those who have believed through their hands. And the seed are those servants who have sown seed on the face of the earth. The words 'each kind of seed' refer to their various companies, and to their various preachings." The apostles, like the prophets before them, taught of Christ, and those who accepted their testimony are here called their "seed."31 That the first-century BC Nephite prophet Abinadi should interpret these Isaiah passages in the same way as early Jewish and Christian texts that were unknown when the Book of Mormon was published suggests that the story is authentic and draws on early traditions." Ancient Texts in Support of the Book of Mormon ] I say unto you that they are his seed.
14 And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!
15 [ This verse is probably best known as a result of its appearance in Handel's Messiah. Found in Isaiah 52:7 This verse is paraphrased in D&C 19:29, 31:3 and 79:1 in reference to the missionaries sent out to preach the gospel. ] And O how beautiful [ The use of the word "Beautiful means something different in Hebrew thought than it does for us. The beautiful is something that comes about not just the image of the object, but the work to get it there... therefore the messenger's feet would not be the object of the beauty . Their beauty would be from the coming of the tidings; they would be beautiful because it awakens jubilations." ] upon the mountains [ That the messenger is upon the mountains represents his being established upon the heights, or being set above his enemies. Another interesting connection between mountains / temples - how beautiful is the work that those who find their feet in the temples doing temple work. see Ps. 93:1-5, 96:10-13, 99:1-9 ] were their feet! [Whose feet? Anyone who is taking the message to the people, missionaries, prophets, us as Latter-day Saints so we can see then that the messenger is delivering good news of Zion's establishment and the redemption of Israel and so forth. Considering this herald would be shortly after the downfall of Babylon and the destruction of wicked, the people left over would be happy about the message of the Lord's arrival at Mt. Zion. A Note on feet Following the KJV reading and assuming a more Western concept of beauty (as it is possible that Isaiah was referring to the objective beauty of the feet), we wonder what the symbolism of the feet and their being beautiful would mean. In the Hebrew tradition the feet were the lowest part of the body, both figuratively and literally (cf. 1:5-6, also cp. 10:14-15). None but a slave was allowed to bathe another's feet because of the lowly nature of the task, and rabbi's were expressly forbidden from having/allowing their disciples wash their feet because it was too demeaning (cf. John 1:27). When considering the climate and lifestyle of these people, we recall that they largely wore sandals and walked whenever they traveled. The typical custom of hospitality upon welcoming people into your house was to offer them water so they could wash their feet (hence the "dusting off the feet as a testimony" as the people rejected them rudely, cf. Matt. 10:14). From these cultural practices we may assume that the feet were generally regarded as pretty filthy. For Isaiah here to call them "beautiful", then seems rather odd. However, in Ezekiel 1:7 the four cherubim are described as having feet like burnished bronzed and a similar statement is made describing the son in Rev. 2:18. In both of these cases the persons being described are obviously exalted. In this case the beauty of their feet may be a reference contrasting the exalted condition of the resurrected and glorified body where even the feet are magnificently lustrous. Thus, Isaiah's reference to the feet of the herald of Zion may be a prediction of the exalted position they are due to inherit. ]
16 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those [ Any believer who evangelizes as being one of them, cf. Alma also characterizes Jesus Christ as heralding salvation to his people in Alma 39:15. ] that are still publishing peace!
17 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever!
18 And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, [ Greek "evanggelion", most literally interpreted "well-message", is translated "gospel" in the KJV. The herald here is proclaiming the good message, the good news, the gospel. ] that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people;
19 For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished.
20 But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead. [ Jesus Christ was the first person on this earth to be resurrected. Consequently, the period of time referred to in the scriptures as the First Resurrection commenced with His triumph over the grave and continues through the Millennium. Abinadi taught that those who would come forth in the First Resurrection would include “the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words” (Mosiah 15:22), those who have died in ignorance without having “salvation declared unto them” (Mosiah 15:24; see also D&C 45:54), and little children who die before they are accountable (see Mosiah 15:25; Moroni 8:1–24). ]
21 And there cometh a resurrection, even a first resurrection; yea, even a resurrection of those that have been, and who are, and who shall be, even until the resurrection of Christ—for so shall he be called.
22 And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words, or all those that have kept the commandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection; therefore, they are the first resurrection.
23 They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death.
24 And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them. And thus the Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a part in the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.
25 And little children also have eternal life. [ Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) taught, “Children will be enthroned in the presence of God and the Lamb . . . ; they will there enjoy the fullness of that light, glory and intelligence, which is prepared in the celestial kingdom” (History of the Church, 4:555–56) ]
26 But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him [ The openly choose not to keep his commandments. ] and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully [ You can only exercise your will if you know or have choice. ] rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, [ So part of wilfully then is that they know the commandments they have been taught them. Our feelings and emotions DO NOT determine eternal truths. ] and would not keep them; [ And then they choose NOT to keep them, no matter how much God may love you, he is still bound by the law found in verse 27. They exercise their individual agency to do so. ] these are they that have no part in the first resurrection.
27 Therefore [ If you have known the commandments and chosen to not keep them. ] ought ye not to tremble? For salvation [ To define the term we need to look at the individual attributes of salvation. 1) Salvation from Physical Death: This is provided through the mercy of God to ALL mankind regardless of them being good or bad.
2) Salvation from Sin: To be cleansed from sin through the Savior’s Atonement, to receive this an individual must exercise faith in Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by one who holds the authority. We cannot be saved in our sins, neither do we receive unconditional salvation by just declaring a belief in Christ. We receive salvation from sin through repentance; ie the change of our character. ] cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed [ Exalted. ] none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; [ Because one of the ETERNAL LAWS is:that mercy cannot rob justice, otherwise God will cease to be God. ] for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim. [ Or he cannot violate the eternal laws. That no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God; and that mercy cannot rob justice. (Alma 42:15) ]
28 And now I say unto you that the time shall come that the salvation of the Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
29 Yea, Lord, thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.