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But if the inhabitants had the bounties of the earth, it was Abraham who had the bread of life, which he offered freely. Each altar that Abraham built as he went along also served, according to Jewish tradition, as “a center for his activities as a missionary,” ^[4] in which he was assisted by Sarah. She taught the women, while Abraham taught the men. ^[5] It was a perfect place to do so, for Bethel, like many of the other locations Abraham stopped at, was located at a major crossroads, offering expanded opportunities to preach the gospel.

And as before, Abraham’s altar provided an effective opportunity to preach of the Savior’s mission and Atonement so poignantly foreshadowed by animal sacrifice. The Book of Mormon specifically affirms that Abraham, like all other prophets, testified of Christ (Hel. 8:16-19, 22). ^[6] It was the same gospel that Noah had taught, following the pattern of his forefathers:

Abraham was living the law of the gospel, and inviting others to do so. His observance of God’s laws even included keeping the Sabbath day, says Jewish tradition. ^[7]

He also taught the plan of salvation to a world that had long since lost the knowledge of it. Ancient sources tell that “no one among them believed in the Last day and the Resurrection,” ^[8] for “the whole world … believed that the souls of men were perishable,” but “Abraham came and preached the doctrine of immortality and transmigration.” ^[9]

He taught, in other words, the unchanging truths of God’s majestic plan of happiness for His spirit children who are afforded the opportunity to come to Earth and take bodies of flesh and blood in order to qualify, through obedience, for glory later in the resurrection.

In all this, Abraham was building Zion as it had once been built by Enoch, who had gone “forth in the land, among the people … testifying” (Moses 6:37). So it was with Abraham, who, as reported by Maimonides, went forth “walking and calling and gathering the people from town to town and from country to country.” ^[10] According to John Taylor, “Abraham was raised up as a special agent in the hand of the Almighty to disseminate correct principles among the people, and as a medium through which God would communicate intelligence and blessings to the human family.” ^[11]

Living the Law of Love

Abraham not only preached to his fellow men, but he also ministered to them. Wherever he traveled, the legends tell, people would come and ask him to pray for them, and his prayers on their behalf were answered. ^[12] He also exercised his priesthood power to heal ^[13] and bless others. Latter-day revelation even provides the name of one such beneficiary, a man named Esaias, who “lived in the days of Abraham, and was blessed by him” (D&C 84:13).

And as “no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love” (D&C 12:8), no one was more qualified than Abraham to invite souls to Christ. Jewish tradition insists that Abraham was the epitome of the love of God, ^[14] and that “Abraham summoned mankind to believe in God out of his own great love for Him,” ^[15] and “served Him out of love” ^[16] by “showing loving-kindness” (hesed) to mankind and thus “doing the same work” as God ^[17] `- a pattern that would be followed by Joseph Smith, who “because of his love for his fellowmen, never missed an opportunity to preach the gospel.” ^[18]

The rabbis compared Abraham to a vial of fragrant myrrh “closed with a tight-fitting lid and lying in a corner, so that its fragrance was not disseminated.” Hence God commanded Abraham to travel and spread the sweet odor. ^[19]

The metaphor could not be more apt, for if Nimrod had compelled worship, Abraham’s approach was precisely the opposite. Not by control or compulsion would Abraham change the world or win the hearts of mankind, but rather by the principles of righteousness and love upon which the rights of the priesthood are always based (see D&C 121:41-42).

The mighty power of love that drew mankind to Abraham would be manifest in the life of his latter-day descendant Joseph Smith, who said of himself: “Sectarian priests cry out concerning me, and ask, Why is it this babbler gains so many followers, and retains them?’ I answer, It is because I possess the principle of love. All I can offer the world is a good heart and a good hand.” ^[20]

Abraham also “was charitable with all his heart and soul,”<a href="www.

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<hr class=’system-pagebreak’ />meridianmagazine.com/books/070815zionch4p4.html#_ftn21″ name=”_ftnref21″ title=””> ^[21] and it is even said that the divine attribute of love “was incarnate in Abraham.” ^[22]

When we see such fruit we know the tree, for as Mormon would explain, pure love results from a process available to all: faith, repentance, and baptism, followed by “the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love” (Moro. 8:26). This love is “charity,” or “the pure love of Christ,” and it remains and grows by “pray[ing] unto the Father with all the energy of heart” and proving oneself a “true follower” of Christ (7:47-48).

Abraham’s possession of that pure and perfect love bespeaks his own obedience to the ordinances, his own fervent prayers unto the Father in the name of Christ, and his own course in proving himself a true follower of Jesus Christ.

Foreshadowing Christ

In Abraham’s case, being a true follower of Christ meant also foreshadowing Him, for as with the Savior, Abraham’s loving service was rendered by one with supreme authority. In Abraham’s ordination to the patriarchal authority, he had succeeded Adam and Noah in his own royal patriarchal reign, heir to rights that kings like Pharaoh falsely claimed and earnestly sought to imitate as they amassed their wealth and built their kingdoms of glory.

In sharp contrast, Abraham occupied himself in selfless service by building not his own kingdom but the kingdom of God with an eye single to the glory of God. Only in the life of the Son of God would there be such paradox, when He as the Heavenly King would descend from his throne on high (see Mosiah 3:5) to serve and suffer because of His profound love for His fellow beings (see Ether 12:33).

It was that pure love of Christ that Abraham offered to the world of his day to heal hearts and unite the human family. “It is Abraham the missionary,” says Nibley, “who makes brothers of all the world, who abolishes the differences between the nations and the races.” ^[23] As expressed by the rabbis, Abraham “won people over” by his love and teachings. ^[24] “Charity … slept,” and “Abraham woke [it] up.”

Also, “the nations of the world slept, and did not come under the wings of the Shekhinah. Who woke them up so that they might come? Abraham,” ^[25] as he “began to make proselytes and bring them under the wings of the Shekhinah,” ^[26] for “he carried with him the presence of the Lord.” ^[27]

In Judaism and ancient Israel, the Shekhinah was the “majestic presence or manifestation of God which has descended to dwell’ among men,” most importantly and conspicuously “on Mount Zion … and in the Temple,” ^[28] for “it is upon [the Cherubim] and upon the Ark [of the Covenant] that the Shekhinah rests.” ^[29]

The one day a year when it was visible to man was on the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest on behalf of all Israel would enter the Holy of Holies and create a cloud of incense symbolizing the Shekhinah, and then sprinkle sacrificial blood on the top of the Ark, the very throne of the Lord. Only then could Israel, if they had repented, be forgiven. ^[30]

In calling all to the Shekhinah, Abraham was inviting all to come unto Christ – to his gospel, his Atonement, his throne, and his temple, all in the loving arms of Zion.

Father of Missionaries

What all this seems to suggest is that Abraham was traveling with a portable temple, like the later Israelite tabernacle carried by the Israelites in their sojourn through the wilderness (see Ex. 25-27). We have already seen that divine glory rested upon Abraham’s camp, even as such glory would rest upon the Israelite tabernacle (Ex. 40:34).

And as that tabernacle would house the Ark, the sacred wooden chest (see Ex. 25:10-22) containing the tablets (1 Kgs. 8:9) written upon by the finger of God (Ex. 31:18), so did Abraham possess, as we have seen, the wooden chest of Adam that likewise contained ancient patriarchal records written by the finger of God. Jewish tradition insists that Abraham observed all the temple ordinances, including the all-important temple ritual of the Day of Atonement. ^[31] And ancient sources emphasize Abraham’s careful and exacting obedience in performing such ordinances. ^[32]

Abraham’s mission of inviting all to Christ was to last a lifetime and beyond, for the great blessing to Abraham’s posterity, as pronounced at Haran, was that they also were to bless others by bearing the gospel to all nations (Abr. 2:9, 11). Abraham’s own travels to accomplish this would be anything but easy – “the hardships were many and severe which he encountered,” ^[33] according to Jewish tradition.

But, as noted by nineteenth-century pastor Samuel Crothers, “for the sake of being instruments in the hand of God,” Abraham “and his sons continued all their lives to labor as faithful Missionaries, from one kingdom to another … foregoing the comforts of a fixed and fortified habitation, cheerfully encountering the dangers and hardships … Abraham was not only the Father of the Faithful, but he was the … father of Missionaries.” ^[34]

Jewish sources attest, for example, the missionary activity of both Isaac and Jacob in emulation of Abraham. ^[35] Abraham was not just the father of converts but also of those who would convert others, those who would establish Zion. As John Taylor stated, “Abraham’s posterity were to stand as messengers of God, as legates of the skies, commissioned of the great Jehovah to proclaim His word to fallen man … and bring them to Zion.” ^[36]

Abraham’s missionary example is especially relevant for latter-day Zion. According to President Spencer W. Kimball, “just as the Lord called his servant Abraham to serve as a missionary … so is he calling the Saints today … Like Abraham, we must declare the gospel to the world, not stopping with a vocal declaration, but living the gospel so others can see the truth.” ^[37]