Tommorow we celebrate the birth of Christ.
Why do we celebrate it?
The mission of Christ does not stand alone.
What preceeded it?
The Creation = Abr. 3:24-28
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
vs. 24: Materials into something useful, order into chaos.
vs. 25: prove them
vs.26: first estate, second estate, growth
vs. 27-28: Rebellion- why?
The Fall: Moses 3:7-9
7 And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.
8 And I, the Lord God, planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there I put the man whom I had formed.
9 And out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man; and man could behold it. And it became also a living soul. For it was spiritual in the day that I created it; for it remaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it, yea, even all things which I prepared for the use of man; and man saw that it was good for food. And I, the Lord God, planted the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The Father created al things spiritually.
The account of creation that we have is of a spiritual creation. By spiritual I mean eternal. incorruptable. Eternal. All things in the presence of the Father are eternal. Note= the tree was created naturally. There is creation in eternity, but not death.
What brought death?
Moses 3:15-17
15 And I, the Lord God, took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.
16 And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
vs.15: responsibility given
vs.17: choice made available
What happened after they broke the law God had given them?
Decay was introduced. Immortality was lost.
Blood entered the world.
2 Nephi 2:22-25
22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.
23 And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
Knowledge of the effects of agency were introduced.
" I believe in the independence of men and women. I believe that men and women have the image of God given them - are formed after the image of God and possess Deity in their nature and character, and that their spiritual organization possesses the qualities and properties of God, and that there is the principle of God in every individual. It is designed that man should act as God and not be constrained and controlled in everything, but have an independency, an agency, and the power to spread abroad and act according to the principle of Godliness that is in him, act according to the power and intelligence and enlightenment of God that he possesses, and not that he should be watched continually and be controlled and act as a slave in these matters." -
Lorenzo Snow, John Dehlin 20:367, October 19, 1879
After a time Adam and Eve sought to reconsile with God.
Moses 5:4-5
4 And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.
5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.
What did God ask of them? sacrifice.
vs.6-8
6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.
vs. 6 Sacrifice without knowledge, doing the work not knowing the outcome, just that it was commanded of the Lord. Knowledge came after the effort.
vs. 7-8 plan of redemption taught from the beginning.
2 Nephi 2:26-27
26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
The doctrine of the Atonement was taught to Adam by angels and Christ himself.
All men born into this world are subject to the effects of the Fall, both for good and for Bad. We grow, we learn, we make mistakes along the way.
"The Lord Almighty never created a world like this and peopled it for six thousand years, as He has done, without having some motive in view. That motive was that we might come here and exercise our agency. The probation we are called upon to pass through is intended to elevate us so that we can dwell in the presence of God our Father. And that eternal variety of character which existed in the heavens among the spirits - from God upon his throne down to Lucifer the Son of the Morning - exists here upon the earth in the creations of God and for what I know, throughout the endless ages of eternity. Men will occupy different glories and positions according to their lives - according to the law they keep in the flesh." -
Wilford Woodruff, John Dehlin, 25:9, January 6, 1884
Laws effect us. How so?
Before the Fall where did the Earth dwell? Where does the Earth dwell after the Fall? Why?
D&C 130:20-21
20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
Are laws eternal? Are Laws philosophies or truths?
"We shall not be cast off... for those sins which we ignorantly commit, which are the results of misunderstanding in all honesty before the Lord. The difficulty does not lie here; the danger lies in our failing to live up to that which we know to be right and proper. For this we will be held responsible before the Lord; for this we will be judged and condemned unless we repent." -
Joseph F. Smith, John Dehlin 20:26, July 7, 1878
Laws Exalt. The more Laws we know, the further we may progress through their application in our daily lives.
Moroni 10:3-5
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your chearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
You may know the truth of all things. By following the promptings of the Holy Ghost you will be led away from false teachings, and further into revealed eternal principles.
We look to Christ because he made possible our return to the Father despite our breaking laws along the way. No one is perfect, but we are all expected to make the attempt. All of the prophets of the past testified of the coming of Christ.
Micah 5:2 (written approx. 700 B.C.)
2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
fullfilment of this was made in Luke 2:4-7
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Other prophecies made and fullfilled include:
Psalm 72:10..... Matthew 2:1-11
Isaiah 7:14...... Luke 2:7, Matt. 1:23-25
Jeremiah 31:15...... Matt. 2:16-18
These are simply the ones concerning his Birth. Throughout his Life thew Savior fulfiled many more.
2 Nephi 31:9-13
9 And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.
10 And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.
13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.
(priesthood lesson from Dec. 24, 2006)
