Cross Reference

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." - Moroni 7:48

"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." - John 6:40

"And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell? Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the amouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them? And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true. And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the dend; therefore they were saved. And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" - Alma 5:14

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." - Romans 8:16-17

"I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High." - Psalms 82:6

"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" - John 10:34

Patriarch / Father

"And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." - John 6:39
"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the resurrection of the just at the last day." - JST John 6:40

The role of the patriarch is a compliment of this. As a patriarch we labor to bring the family we have stewardship over to Christ. They will need to see him and believe on him to have everlasting life. We have taken his name through baptism and his power and authority by accepting the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. They should see Christ through us and the doctrine of Christ we teach as well as the examples we share of other faithful patriarchs. They will also need to develop faith in Christ. This will be accomplished through our love, teaching, and example. It will take time, but this is our stewardship. The Father sent Christ and Christ has sent us. We have committed through sacred covenant.

It is interesting to note that our Heavenly Father is known as "Father" just as we are known. Our role of Father should take definition from his role and will for his children.

Revelation through the Holy Ghost

"And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me. And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God. I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name." - Alma 5:45-48

We can receive revelation through fasting and prayer by the manifestations of the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost, according to John 14:26, that will "teach you all things."

All that the Father hath

"The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." - John 3:35
"And he who believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and shall receive of his fulness. But he who believeth not the Son, shall not receive of his fulness; for the wrath of God is upon him." - JST John 3:36

In verse 35 we see that the Father "hath given all things" to his Son. In verse 36 we see that those who believe "on the Son hath everlasting life." Those who believe on the Son will also receive the fullness of the Son. The fullness of the Son according to verse 35 is the fullness of the Father. This means that those who believe one the Son will receive all that the Father hath and have everlasting life.

We also get the same concept from the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood in the Doctrine and Covenants.

"And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him." - D & C 84:37-38

The desire of Abraham

"And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers." - Abraham 1:2

Abraham became a rightful heir (Romans 8:14-17) by first seeking after the "blessings of the fathers." He had been a "follower of righteousness," he desired more. It seems he must have learned of the covenants (D & C 84:33-44) that the fathers had entered into with God. He desired to make and keep these covenants so that he might be blessed as they were blessed.

Abraham also wanted to "possess a greater knowledge" and receive "instructions". The instructions he would receive as personal revelation would lead him to become one who did possess great knowledge.

Another key take away from this vers is that he was striving to be obedient. We cannot receive the blessings until we are obedient (D & C 130:20-21). Especially when a covenant is made. Covenants raise the stakes in all respects. The rewards and the penalties are greater. Abraham saw the great reward and desired to have it. He had faith that he could obtain it through obedience to the commandments and by being true and faithful to the covenants he made. It is by keeping our covenants that we can obtain the blessings of Eternal Life (John 17:2-3). It is the atonement that cleanses us so that we are in a position to make such a covenant with our Father in Heaven. It is also the atonement that allows our Father in Heaven to give us the opportunity to make covenants with him.

Blind

And after these plain and precious things were taken away it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity, thou seest—because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God—because of these things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them. - 1 Nephi 13:29

The apostasy didn't happen over night. It was a process. One of the key elements, after killing the 12 Apostles, was to slightly alter or remove certain things from the doctrine of Christ. It is no wonder that people become confused with some of the teaching that comes from the Bible. Parts have been removed and others altered. The blind have lead the blind and now both have fallen into the ditch (Matthew 15:14).

I'm so glad we have Prophets, Apostles, personal revelation, and the Book of Mormon, in addition to the Bible. It is harder to be confused when you have multiple sources for learning he gospel of Jesus Christ. (See also Isaiah 29:18, Isaiah 42:16, Amos 8:11-14, Matthew 7:21)

Becoming Clean

"And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood." - 1 Nephi 12:10

It is faith that is cited as to why the garments of the 12 apostles are made clean in the blood of Christ. To be more precise, they had faith that they could be clean through the atonement of Christ. The repented and exercised faith to this end. Then it is said that "...because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood."

It is the sacrifice of Jesus that affords us the opportunity of becoming clean. It is repentance and the exercise of faith that make use of his great atoning sacrifice in our life. We will repent and exercise faith when we "...shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise."(Moroni 7:41) We can gain faith and hope on Christ by a prayerful study of the scriptures.

Nephi's Resolve

"And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men." - 1 Nephi 10:7

I find it interesting that Nephi was not content to just be taught by his father. He wanted to "see, and hear, and know" for himself. He had the faith that if he sought diligently, that is would be made known to him by the power of the Holy Ghost.

We should have the resolve of Nephi. I have received answer to my prayers when I have requested additional understanding. I know that our Father in Heaven will reveal his mysteries to those that seek them.

Motivations

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophesies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." - 2 Nephi 25:26

This is one of my favorite passages. To me it outlines one of the key motivations of the writers of the Book of Mormon; testify of Christ so that others may be drawn to him. My testimony has grown as I have studied and pondered their words.

I am very grateful to the time, effort, and sacrifice given to bring us these special writings. I am especially grateful for their examples of finding Christ. They show how to let him be a part of our life and live by his teachings.