The Articles of Faith. James E. Talmage

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СКАЧАТЬ as already shown, altar sacrifice was rendered by Adam.198 The symbolism of the sacrificing of animals as a prototype of the great sacrifice to follow on Calvary was thus instituted with the beginning of human history.

      8. The many kinds of sacrifice prescribed by the Mosaic law are clearly classified under the headings bloody and bloodless. Offerings of the first order only, involving the infliction of death, were acceptable in propitiation or atonement for sin, and the victim had to be clean, healthy, and without spot or blemish. And so for the great sacrifice, the effects of which were to be infinite, only an innocent subject could be accepted. It was Christ's right, as the only sinless Being on earth, and as the Only Begotten of the Father, and above all as the One ordained to this mission in the heavens, to be the Redeemer of mankind; and though the exercise of this right involved a sacrifice, the extent of which man cannot comprehend, yet Christ made that sacrifice willingly and voluntarily. To the last He had the means of terminating the tortures of His persecutors, by a simple exercise of His powers as one of the Godhead.199 In some way, though that way may be inexplicable to us, Christ took upon Himself the sins of mankind. The means may be to our finite minds a mystery, yet the results are our salvation.

      9. Something of the Savior's agony as He groaned under this load of guilt, which to Him, as a type of purity, must have been in itself repulsive, He has told us through the prophet's words in this day: "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit; and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink:—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."200 Further instances of the validity of vicarious service are found in the ordinances of baptism for the dead201 as taught in apostolic and modern times, and in the institution of other temple ceremonies202 in the present dispensation.

      10. Christ's Sacrifice was Voluntary and Love-inspired.—We have noted in passing that Christ gave His life willingly and voluntarily for the redemption of mankind. He offered Himself, in the great Council of the Gods, as the subject of the atoning sacrifice made necessary by the fore-seen transgression of the first man; and the free agency shown and exercised in this, the early stage of His saving mission, was retained to the very last of the agonizing fulfillment of the accepted plan. Though He lived on earth a man in every particular that concerns us in our regard for Him as an example of Godliness in humanity, yet it is to be remembered that, though born of a mortal mother, he was begotten by an immortal Sire; and so had combined within His being the capacity to die, and the power to set death at defiance. He gave His life; it was not taken from Him. Note the significance of His own declaration:—"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."203 On another occasion Jesus testified of Himself in this way:—"For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man."204 And then amid the tragic scenes of the betrayal, when one who had been a professed follower and friend gave Him with a traitorous kiss to His persecutors, when Peter, with a rashness prompted by righteous zeal, drew and used the sword in His defence, the Master said:—"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"205 And on to the bitter end, marked by the expiring though triumphant cry "It is finished," the incarnated God held in subjection within Himself the power to thwart His murderers, had He so willed.

      11. The motive inspiring and sustaining Him through all the scenes of His mission, from the time of His primeval ordination to the moment of victorious consummation on the cross, was two-fold; first, the desire to do His Father's will, in accomplishing the salvation of man; second, His love for humanity, of whose welfare and destiny He had assumed charge. Far from cherishing the least feeling of vindictiveness against those, who, in defiance of the laws of God and man, put Him to ignominious death, He entertained for them compassion to the last. Hear Him in the hour of supreme agony, praying aloud, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."206 Not less is the Father's love, as shown by His accepting the Son's offer, and permitting Him whom He delighted to call His Beloved, to suffer as only a God could suffer:—"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved."207 And further, we hear the teaching of the apostle, whom the Savior loved so well, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him."208

      12. The Atonement Fore-ordained and Fore-told.—As already shown, the plan of the Father to open a way for the redemption of mankind, then to leave all men free to exercise their own agency, was adopted by the Council in heaven to the rejection of Lucifer's plan of compulsion. Even at that remote period, Christ was thus ordained as a Mediator for all mankind; in fact, "a covenant was entered into between Him and His Father, in which He agreed to atone for the sins of the world, and He thus, as stated, became a 'Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.'"209 The prophets of old, many of whom lived centuries before the time of Christ's coming in the flesh, testified of Him and of the great work He had been ordained to perform. These men of God had been permitted to behold in prophetic visions many of the scenes incident to the Savior's earthly mission; and they solemnly bore record of the manifestations. Indeed, the testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy, and without it no person can rightly claim the distinction of being a prophet of God. Adam's despair, on being driven from Eden, was changed to joy when, through revelation, he learned of the plan of redemption to be wrought by the Son of God in the flesh.210 Righteous Enoch taught the same truths, which had been declared to him from the heavens.211 This testimony was borne by Moses,212 Job,213 David,214 Zechariah,215 Isaiah,216 and Micah.217 The same declaration was made by John the Baptist,218 the prophet of the Highest, designated by the Savior as more than a prophet; he it was who baptized the Christ, and who witnessed the Father's words associated with the visible sign of the Holy Ghost, concerning the mission of the Son.

      13. Should there be any doubt as to the application of such prophecies, we have the conclusive testimony of Christ that they refer to Himself. On that memorable day, immediately following His resurrection, while walking incognito with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus, He taught them the scriptures that had been written concerning the Son of God; "Beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."219 A few hours after this event, the Lord appeared to the Eleven at Jerusalem. He operated upon their minds "that they might understand the scriptures; and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,"220 in this way testifying that He was fulfilling a previously ordained plan. Peter, one of the Savior's most intimate earthly associates, refers to Him as "a Lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world."221 In his epistle to the Romans, Paul characterizes Christ as the one "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past."222 These are but a few of the biblical evidences of Christ's appointment and fore-ordination; both Old and New Testament223 writings abound in proofs of the Messiah's great work.

      14. Book of Mormon prophets are characterized by their full testimonies concerning the Messiah. Because of his purity of faith, the brother of Jared was permitted to behold the Savior of mankind, twenty-two centuries prior to the meridian of time, and to be shown that man was created after the image of the Lord, at the same time being taught of the Father's purpose that the Son take upon Himself flesh and dwell on earth.224 Note the personal declaration of the fore-ordained Redeemer to this prophet:—"Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. СКАЧАТЬ