A Voice of Thunder - Part 2

Now I will return to D&C 110: "[We heard] 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." Jesus said that He is the first and last; He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. What all these titles mean is that Jesus is the power behind the plan of salvation. He created the earth and all life upon it. Because of Jesus Christ are we able to return to God again. Abinadi taught that Jehovah Himself would come down and atone for our sins: "For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less concerning these things? Have they not said that God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth? Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and afflicted?" (Mosiah 13:33-35).

It is clear from these verses that Jesus is Jehovah - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the Creator. He is God. This does not mean that He is the same entity as His Father but Jesus is one with Heavenly Father in power and in glory. They are exactly alike in personality and power. Jesus is God because the Father declared Him so and gave Jesus the power and authority to act in His name. It is important to note that we worship God, usually in the name of Christ. We pray to Heavenly Father, not Jesus Christ. However, if we were in Christ's presence like the Nephites were when Jesus appeared to them following His resurrection, it would not be inappropriate to pray to Jesus Christ. In 3 Nephi we read:

"15 And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered unto them.
  16 And it came to pass that he spake unto the multitude, and commanded them that they should kneel down again upon the earth, and also that his disciples should kneel down upon the earth.
  17 And it came to pass that when they had all knelt down upon the earth, he commanded his disciples that they should pray.
  18 And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God.
  19 And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them, and went a little way off from them and bowed himself to the earth, and he said:
  20 Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world.
  21 Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their words.
  22 Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in me; and thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest them, and they pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with them.
  23 And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one." (3 Nephi 19:15-23).

The Nephites prayed to Jesus because He was there with them. While they did so, Jesus went and prayed to the Father for them, thanking Him for their faith. Jesus took no glory upon Himself in this case, He prayed to God and explained that the people praying to Him (Jesus) was a manifestation of their faith in Him. In any case, this is an exception. We are commanded to pray to God in the name of His son Jesus Christ. We do not pray to Jesus (but should He ever be here with us, it would not be wrong to do so).

I do not think any of us can really imagine what it would be like to see and hear the Savior. We can get tastes of the experience in the temple or whenever we feel the Spirit strongly but to actually be in Christ's physical presence - what an experience that would be! We all lived with Him before this life so I think - assuming we are cleansed from sin - that it would be comfortable; it's something we've experienced before, even if we do not remember it, and so experiencing His presence again could be comfortable but overwhelming, at least initially. I think of the Nephites who met and talked with the Savior after His resurrection - what a powerful experience! It was so powerful that generations of people passed away before wickedness took hold of the people. Oh, to stand in the presence of Jesus Christ!

To close I'll quote from parts of an old English hymn with words by John Cennick that were modified by Charles Wesley. Its verbiage is not strictly in line with traditional LDS wording but I love the hopeful, expectant pleading of the hymn:

"Lo! He comes with clouds descending,
Once for favored sinners slain;
Thousand thousand saints attending,
Swell the triumph of His train:
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
God appears on earth to reign.

"Every eye shall now behold Him
Robed in dreadful majesty;
Those who set at naught and sold Him,
Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,
Deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing,
Shall the true Messiah see....

"The dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears;
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshippers;
With what rapture, with what rapture, with what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!

"Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory,
Claim the kingdom for Thine own;
O come quickly! O come quickly! O come quickly!
Everlasting God, come down!" (Source).

Some day all will hear the powerful voice of the Son of God. Some day all will hear the voice of the Father. We will return to their presence, either to stay or to be sent somewhere else. To stand in the presence of the Lord and to hear His voice and see His face is something that can give hope to us as we hike through the dusty canyons of our lives to reach the fountain of living waters.

Do Good and Love God, Part 4

Jacob, brother of Nephi, again taught the importance of Isaiah (at his brother's suggestion), "I will read you the words of Isaiah.... And I speak unto you for your sakes, that ye may learn and glorify the name of your God" (2 Ne. 6:4). From the prophecies of Isaiah we learn the name of our God but more importantly we learn to glorify His name. What is the name of our God? Jehovah, who was born into this world in a humble manger. Jesus Christ is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the God of the Old Testament. He is our Savior and Redeemer. He is the Son of the Eternal Father. While Jesus and Heavenly Father are distinct personages, They are one in purpose and one in power. "The members of the Godhead are infinitely more one than separate, they just happen to be separate beings" (Robert L. Millet, 1998, heard in class at BYU).

Jacob continued, "And now, the words which I shall read are they which Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel; wherefore, they may be likened unto you, for ye are of the house of Israel" (2 Nephi 6:5). We too, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are of the house of Israel and can liken the words of Isaiah to ourselves. Nephi loved Isaiah's words, "I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken is words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.... Whoso of my people shall see these words may lift up their hearts and rejoice for all men." (2 Nephi 11:2,8). There are many more references to the words of Isaiah being great (see 2 Ne. 25:1; 2 Ne. 25:4-7). The Savior, after His resurrection, commanded the people of Nephi to read and study Isaiah's words.

Jesus taught, "Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled - behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them" (3 Ne. 20:11). Again he commanded, "And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah" (3 Ne. 23:1). We must not only search Isaiah's words but also search them diligently.

Link to part 3 of this essay.