Before he died, Larry Barkdull had written a substantial part of an unfinished manuscript about the extraordinary power of faith, particularly as a power that causes things to happen. This is faith on a higher level than we usually practice and understand it. With the permission of his wife, Buffie, Meridian will be running an excerpt from this new book every week. See earlier articles in this series by clicking on the author’s name.
The first principle of the gospel is “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”[1] This may cause confusion in light of the fact that we learned that the Father is the ultimate “object” of our faith.[2] Let us understand that we center our faith in the Father because in the universe, he is the supreme governor, whose will is matchless and absolute. His character, perfections and attributes are the standard for all saved beings, and upon which they rely to obtain salvation.
The Father is our Creator, who nurtured our primal intelligence through the various stages of existence, when, through an act of love and mercy, he responded to our desire and begat our spirit bodies. He is the author of the new and everlasting covenant that offers us the potential to become like him, and to make that exalted potential possible, he provided us a Savior. We have faith in the Father for these reasons, and ultimately we are responsible to him. He hears and answers our prayers. In response, he dispatches the Savior, who dispatches the Holy Ghost and angels to help us. All issues regarding our existence, progress and salvation start and end with the Father. He is ever-present and never absent in our lives. He never abdicates his position as Father and Sovereign, and we do not diminish him in any degree by obeying his directive to exercise “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Jesus is the Firstborn of the Father. As such, he is the Father’s natural heir to the kingdom. As Firstborn, Jesus is the birthright Son, meaning he has the inherited right to the Father’s name, which carries with it the Father’s authority to rule, reign, judge, direct and administer the affairs of the Father’s kingdom. It is the responsibility of the Firstborn to disseminate the resources and blessings of the Father’s kingdom to the rest of us children, who qualify to become joint-heirs with the Firstborn.[3] To the degree that we qualify to receive these resources and blessings, we are “saved.”
As the Father is the object of our faith, the Son is the object of our salvation, and for that reason (salvation), the Father directs us to exercise faith in Jesus Christ. As the Father is the author of the new and everlasting covenant, Jesus is the messenger of the covenant.[4] Additionally, Jesus is our exemplar, the mediator between God and us, and our Savior and Redeemer – all under the direction of the Father. Think of these divine relationships this way: The Holy Ghost brings us to Christ, and Christ brings us to the Father and conveys us into the Father’s kingdom. We exercise our faith in each member of the Godhead according to the particular relationship that we have with each of them.[5]
We could not exercise faith in Jesus for our salvation unless he shared the Father’s same character, perfections and attributes. In exactness, Jesus is like the Father, both of them enjoying a fullness of power[6] and glory;[7] in every way, the Son and the Father are one.[8] The Father and the Son are so similar in character, perfections, attributes and physical features[9] that if we were to see them, we would need the assistance of the Holy Ghost to tell them apart. Two primary differences between them are that the Father is Jesus’ creator and his senior.
We do not lessen our faith in the Father to exercise faith in the Son; we exercise faith in each of them equally, but for different reasons. For the present, we need saving and exalting; therefore, the Father points us to the Son. Furthermore, when we communicate or interact with the Father, he will respond by directing us to the Son to keep us salvation-focused. We could not exercise faith in Jesus Christ unless the three criteria for founding faith on the Father also applied to founding faith on the Son:
- Belief that Jesus actually exists.
- A correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes.
- An actual knowledge that the course of life you are pursuing is according to Jesus’ will.[10]
Because we have examined the two latter criteria in the previous chapter, and because the Father and the Son are identical in character, perfections and attributes, let us here study the belief that Jesus actually exists and who he really is to the Father and to us. We risk everything of eternal consequence on our ability to answer and apply to these questions. In 2 Nephi 9:23, we read: “And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.” And in Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
The Testimony of Jesus
Joseph Smith declared, we cannot comprehend ourselves if we cannot comprehend God,[11] and we might add that we cannot comprehend Jesus without comprehending the Father. Let us consider whom the Father and the Son really are.
Mormon gave us the account of Abinadi, a pivotal Book of Mormon prophet, who was martyred for testifying that “God himself shall come down among the children of men.”[12] Redemption, said Abinadi, is available only through the condescending Savior, who is both the “Father and the Son.”[13] Abinadi’s testimony, in part, became grounds for capital punishment!
Apparently, Mormon foresaw that the testimony of Jesus would become a critical last-days’ issue and he chose the story of Abinadi to instruct us. Of significance, Abinadi’s testimony of the nature and mission of Jesus simultaneously caused the death of King Noah’s Babylon and the birth of Alma’s Zion. Similarly, we might expect that latter-day Babylon and Zion will fall and rise upon this singular issue.
“No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost”
Throughout history, the doctrines of the person, nature and mission of Jesus Christ have been widely unknown or misunderstood—often violently so. In the fourth century A.D., when Christianity had no determined doctrine on the nature of God and Jesus Christ, a priest named Arius forwarded an idea that threatened to topple Christianity: subordinationism, the Son and the Holy Spirit are subordinate to the Father in nature and in being. A domino effect followed with Anthanasius arguing another opinion about the nature of the Godhead, Bishop Gregory joining in the fray with yet another belief, and John Chrysostom adding his view.
Their attempts to define, understand or attain unto faith in the Father and the Son were as futile then as the various creeds are today. These are vivid evidences of widespread apostasy, for “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”[14]
As the church fathers jockeyed for position to describe the nature of Jesus, the frustrated Roman emperor, Constantine, ordered the bishops to Nicaea in 325 to settle the matter. After serious debate and negotiation, a vote was taken, and Christ became officially inconceivable—the ultimate mystery. As a consequence, down through the ages, Christians have slain more Christians than the Romans ever martyred. Hotly debated today, the definition of Christ continues to divide Christianity and levels accusations on Mormons that we are somehow non-Christian for our unique belief. The Vision in 1820 set apart the Mormon definition of Christ as singular and returned true faith in the Father and the Son to the earth.
The “Seed” of Jesus testify of His Nature
The testimony of Jesus–who he really is and what he really did–connects to another challenging doctrine that is essential to our faith in him: adoption. How and why does one become a son or daughter of Jesus Christ? Who are Christ’s seed? King Benjamin explained that we are adopted into the family of Jesus Christ and become his sons and daughters when we make a covenant—the new and everlasting covenant.[15]
Abinadi’s answered the question concerning adoption. This further fueled the flames of his execution by his linking the testimony of Jesus with the identity of Jesus’ seed. In fact, he said, the testimony of Jesus can only be borne by the Lord’s “seed.” This testimony uniquely distinguishes them and their faith.[16]
The Testimony of Jesus saves or condemns the World
Could it be that the annihilation or salvation of this world will be decided on faith in and the testimony of the true nature and mission of Jesus Christ? If so, do we have any confirming evidence?
Consider “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” which we frequently quote, and rightfully so. Issued in 1995, the Proclamation is a treasure of astounding prophetic insights given to a world that now struggles with the definitions of marriage and family. But fast-forward five years to the dawn of the new millennium. Do we remember another proclamation: “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles”? Might that proclamation also prove equally prophetic, defining and pivotal? If the answer is yes, the account of Abinadi immediately has profound latter-day implications, suggesting future bold, prophetic pronouncements and denunciations that could seal the fate of a corrupt world and herald the founding of Zion.
Who are the Beautiful Ones?
Let us examine how Abinadi structured his defense. To the question, who are they whose feet are beautiful upon the mountains?[17] he first reviewed the commandments then revealed who was the Giver of the commandments. At that point, he launched into Isaiah 53, quoting the entire messianic chapter that contains stunning truths about the Savior. Expounding, Abinadi singled out two truths, suggesting their interdependence: 1) Jesus’ miraculous birth or “generation,” and 2) the identity of the seed of Christ, who bear testimony of Jesus’ divine generation and exercise faith in him and in his name. They are the “beautiful ones.”
Who shall declare His Generation?
Abinidi expounded on the first truth by quoting the scriptural question: “Who shall declare his generation?”[18] In other words, who can discover the origin of Jesus? Who can know that Jesus is the actual Son of God, generated by the Father as a separate divine individual endowed with the DNA of Deity? Who can know this sublime truth and stand for it when tradition casts Jesus as a great teacher and religious leader or a conglomeration of two or three gods melded into one unknowable, untouchable, inconceivable divine It?
Abinadi explained the generation or origin of Jesus Christ this way: “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.”[19] Notice that Abinadi assigned the title “God” to Jesus. Abinadi then taught the mystery of the uniquely divine nature of this condescending, redeeming God, Jesus Christ, who somehow is simultaneously the Father and the Son.
And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son–The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son–And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.[20]
This passage gives even the mature gospel scholar cause to ponder. Its effect on King Noah and his priests was a call for Abinadi’s life. Its effect on Alma was sore repentance and risking his life to bear this testimony the remainder of his days.
Clearly, the testimony of Jesus is divisive and essential. If we believe that the Book of Mormon was written specifically to gather, enlighten and instruct us in the last days, if we believe that its purpose is to convince “the remnant of the House of Israel” and “the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God,” then we, like Abinadi, must increase our ability to comprehend, articulate, and testify of the nature of Jesus Christ and his mission, which testimony will most certainly become critical to the collapse of Babylon and the building up of Zion in the latter days.
Of significance, our testimony of Jesus, his “generation,” character, perfections, attributes, mission and relationship to the Father, qualifies us by covenant to be called Jesus’ seed, his adopted sons and daughters, those who have true faith in him, the “beautiful ones.” Isaiah asked, “Who shall declare his generation?” and Abinadi answered, Jesus’ seed shall declare this testimony.[21] Only they know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, the true origin and mission of Christ, their adopted father. Hence, only they can authoritatively bear this testimony to a dying world.
Understanding the Situation of God the Father
The testimony of the generation of Jesus begins with an understanding of the situation of God the Father. As the Creator of all things, the Father, alone, shoulders the burden of saving his creations. It is simple logic: If the Father has the power to create something, only he has the power to save it.
But with that understanding, we encounter a series of problems. Because the creations of the Father are infinite, because the effects of salvation must be endless, because the Father must anticipate all redemptive situations that could challenge the boundaries of justice and mercy, because he must have the capacity to provide grace and succor for every conceivable eventuality, affliction and weakness that his children might encounter, he must provide a solution that is all-encompassing, infinite and eternal and that exceeds the sum of the demands of justice while being perfectly equitable and merciful.
There could be only one solution: the sacrifice of his (the Father’s) life.
No solution could be more far-reaching, everlasting, just, merciful and grace-filled than the Creator’s voluntary sacrifice of his life. As a perfect, infinite and eternal being, he alone has the innate power to resolve once and for all the entire matter of salvation and consummate succor. There are not multiple options here. Only the Father’s life in exchange for the lives of his creations could clear every obstacle, pay the infinite price of sin and satisfy the myriad issues and demands of salvation. He must willingly forfeit his life for his creations.
The Father creates a Proxy
But how? The Father is a resurrected being who cannot die. How can he give his life? The answer: He generates (creates) a Proxy, a substantially identical duplicate of himself–not a clone, rather a Son–a being who is “the express image of his person,”[22] who has yet to experience mortality and can still sacrifice his life. The Father creates this proxy as a God like himself, someone who looks like him, who has identical characteristics and attributes, who thinks, talks and acts like him, all the while having a separate identity, occupying distinct space, and exercising independent agency.
By necessity, this Proxy must be the first of all the Father’s creations: “the beginning of the creation of God.”[23] Thus Jesus taught, “I was in the beginning with the Father.”[24] Jesus is “the firstborn of every creature… he is before all things…that in all things he might have the preeminence.”[25] All creation is junior to Jesus; his only senior is the Father.
It is sobering to imagine our heavenly parents standing together at the dawn of eternity, contemplating the vastness of their future kingdom. At that first moment, what issues would have occupied their minds? Redemption and exaltation! So first things first. Our heavenly parents would not, could not create anything without initially providing a means to redeem, save and exalt their creations. Thus, their first act as gods had to do with preparing a redemptive solution in the person of a Proxy for the Father: a saving Son. From the earliest moment of our heavenly parents’ godhood, their work and glory was and would continue to be defined as bringing to pass “the immortality and eternal life of man.”[26]
Therefore, the Father begat a wholly unique being, an “express of his person,” a Proxy, as his firstborn Son and his first creation. As the firstborn, Jesus would be the rightful and natural heir to the Father’s kingdom,[27] thus making all of the Father’s creations and all of the Father’s children younger and thus subordinate to the Son. The Father placed his name upon the Son, making Jesus his co-equal,[28] clothing him with the same power, knowledge, will, intentions, and “fulness”[29] – “in [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”[30] Quoting Joseph Smith, Orson Pratt taught, “There is one revelation that this people are not generally acquainted with…. It is given in questions and answers. The first question is, ‘What is the name of God in the pure language?’ The answer says ‘Ahman.’ ‘What is the name of the Son of God?’ Answer, ‘Son Ahman–the greatest of all the parts of God excepting Ahman’”[31]
[1] Articles of Faith 4.
[2]Lectures on Faith 2:1.
[3] Romans 8:17.
[4] Malachi 3:1.
[5] Articles of Faith 1.
[6] Matthew 28:18.
[7] D&C 93:6
[8] John 10:30.
[9] John 14:9.
[10] Lectures on Faith 3:2-5 (adapted to having faith in Jesus Christ).
[11] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 343, emphasis added.
[12] Mosiah 17:8.
[13] Mosiah 15:2
[14] 1 Corinthians 12:3.
[15] Mosiah 5:7.
[16] Mosiah 15:10.
[17] Mosiah 12:21.
[18] Mosiah 14:8.
[19] Mosiah 15:1.
[20] Mosiah 15:2-4.
[21] Mosiah 15:10-17.
[22] Hebrews 1:3.
[23] Revelation 3:14.
[24] 3 Nephi 9:15.
[25] Colossians 1:15, 17-18.
[26] Moses 1:39.
[27] Hebrews 1:2.
[28] Philippines 2:9.
[29] Colossians 1:19; D&C 93:21.
[30] Colossians 2:9.
[31] Journal of Discourses, 2:342, emphasis added.
