JESUS CHRIST

Alpha and Omega - Greg Olsen

The divinity of Jesus Christ is indicated by the specific names and titles authoritatively applied to Him. According to man’s judgment there may be but little importance attached to names; but in the nomenclature of the Gods every name is a title of power or station. God is righteously zealous of the sanctity of His own name (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Deuteronomy 5:11) and of names given by His appointment. In the case of children of promise names have been prescribed before birth; this is true of our Lord Jesus and of the Baptist, John, who was sent to prepare the way for the Christ. Names of persons have been changed by divine direction, when not sufficiently definite as titles denoting the particular service to which the bearers were called, or the special blessings conferred upon them.*

Jesus is the individual name of the Savior, and as thus spelled is of Greek derivation; its Hebrew equivalent was Yehoshua or Yeshua, or, as we render it in English, Joshua. In the original the name was well understood as meaning “Help of Jehovah”, or “Savior”. Though as common an appellation as John or Henry or Charles today, the name was nevertheless divinely prescribed, as already stated. Thus, unto Joseph, the espoused husband of the Virgin, the angel said, “And thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21; see also verses 23, 25; Luke 1:31) (more…)

The scriptures specify three personages in the Godhead; (1) God the Eternal Father, (2) His Son Jesus Christ, and (3) the Holy Ghost. These constitute the Holy Trinity, comprising three physically separate and distinct individuals, who together constitute the presiding council of the heavens. At least two of these appear as directing participants in the work of creation; this fact is instanced by the plurality expressed in Genesis: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26) ; and later, in the course of consultation concerning Adam’s act of transgression, “the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us.” (Genesis 3:22) From the words of Moses, as revealed anew in the present dispensation, we learn more fully of the Gods who were actively engaged in the creation of this earth: “And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (Moses 2:26) Then, further, with regard to the condition of Adam after the fall: “I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us.” (Moses 4:28) In the account of the creation recorded by Abraham, “the Gods” are repeatedly mentioned. (See Abraham 4-5)

James Talmage, Jesus the Christ

Through the atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ—a redeeming service, vicariously rendered in behalf of mankind, all of whom have become estranged from God by the effects of sin both inherited and individually incurred—the way is opened for a reconciliation whereby man may come again into communion with God, and be made fit to dwell anew and forever in the presence of his Eternal Father. This basal thought is admirably implied in our English word, “atonement,” which, as its syllables attest, is at-one-ment, “denoting reconciliation, or the bringing into agreement of those who have been estranged.” (New Standard Dictionary under “propitiation.”) The effect of the atonement may be conveniently considered as twofold:

1—The universal redemption of the human race from death invoked by the fall of our first parents; and,

2—Salvation, whereby means of relief from the results of individual sin are provided.

The victory over death was made manifest in the resurrection of the crucified Christ; He was the first to pass from death to immortality and so is justly known as “the first fruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15:20; see also Acts 26:23; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5) That the resurrection of the dead so inaugurated is to be extended to every one who has or shall have lived is proved by an abundance of scriptural evidence. (more…)

Properly, our first New Testament witness of the birth of Christ is a messenger from the presence of God. Appropriately, he makes his initial appearance in the temple to a faithful priest of the Aaronic order, one who is performing the ritual function in behalf of his nation of burning incense on the altar within the holy place. In the performance of this duty, Zacharias represented the combined faith of Israel. His prayer was their prayer, and that prayer was for an everlasting deliverance from all their enemies at the hands of their promised Messiah. The ascending flames of incense symbolized the ascension of that united prayer. As Zacharias prayed within the holy place, so his fellow priests and all within the walls of the temple united their amens to his appeal.

In response to Israel’s prayer, an “angel of the Lord” appeared before Zacharias. He stood “on the right side of the altar of incense” and identified himself as Gabriel, one who stood “in the presence of God” (Luke 1:11, 19). By modern revelation we know Gabriel to be Noah, he who “stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood” and hold the keys of the restoration of all things.” The keys held by Gabriel make of him an Elias to prepare the way before the Lord (D&C 27:6-7). The name Gabriel, by which Noah performs his angelic duties, means “man of God,” though it has been interpreted as “God is my champion” or “God has shown himself valiant” ( The Interpreter’s BIble, New York, Abingdon Press, 1967, 6:487). (more…)

In the midst of our mortal predicament we have needs, even desperate needs. The first is for a mentor, an exemplar, one who has been over not just a similar road but an even far worse one. A person who can show us what we have it in us to do and to become. One who is able without hypocrisy to say to us: “What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27). (more…)

One Sunday morning our teenaged son stood with two other priests to administer the sacrament, as they had done on many prior occasions. They pulled back the white cloth, but to their dismay there was no bread. One of them slipped out to the preparation room in hopes some could be found.  There was none. Finally our troubled son made his way to the bishop and shared the concern with him. A wise bishop then stood, explained the situation to the congregation, and asked, “How would it be if the sacrament table were empty today because there were no Atonement?” I have thought of that often–what would it be like if there were no bread there because there had been no crucifixion, no water because there had been no shedding of blood? If there had been no Atonement, what would the consequences be to us? Of course, the question is now moot, but it does put in perspective our total dependence on the Lord. To ask and answer this question only heightens our awareness of, and appreciation for, the Savior.  What might have been, even for the righteous,” if there had been no atoning sacrifice, stirs the very depths of human emotion. (more…)

After the fall of Adam . . . there was no way nor means by which man could be raised from the grave except through the death of the Divine One. A great and eternal law had been violated, and it required the death of a God, really, to atone for the broken law and to bring to pass the salvation of man and the salvation of the world.. . . .

I like to look upon it from a practical point of view, or in a way that we may clearly understand it. . . . If you had lost the home where you were born, the old family homestead that was very dear to you, because in a follish moment you overreached yourself and in excessive confidence you placed a mortgage on that home, with the thought that you could easily redeem it, would you not feel very much distressed and sad when finally it was discovered that you could not redeem it and the mortgage was to be foreclosed so that it was to pass out of your hands? (more…)

A man walking along the road happens to fall into a pit so deep and dark that he cannot climb to the surface and regain his freedom. How can he save himself from his own folly? Not by an exertions on his own part, for there is no means of escape in the pit.  He calls for help and some kindly disposed soul, hearing his cries for relief, hastens to his assistance and by lowering the ladder, gives to him the means by which he may climb again to the surface of the earth. (more…)

Luke is the longest Gospel of the four and as much as half of the material in Luke is unique to his Gospel providing additional information about Jesus.

The Gospel of Luke is the first half of a two-part work (Luke-Acts). The Gospel informs the reader what Jesus said and did and the Book of Acts reveal what Jesus did through the Holy Spirit following his ascension—a continuous story that was composed to be read together. (more…)