Leaders

President John Taylor, the third called prophet in these modern times was an highly educated man. He was introduced to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, referred to as the Mormons, while still living in England. After joining the Church he traveled to America and was with the saints (Mormons) during their travails as the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ gained a foothold in the world once again. He was in the Carthage jail cell when the prophet, Joseph Smith and his brother, the patriarch, Hyrum were assassinated by a mob with their faces painted black. He was critically wounded by that same mob, during that same event, and lay near death for weeks.

This man stayed true to his testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel, regardless of the great personal cost demanded of him. One of the things he treasured the most was the value of a good education. It was said of him:

John Taylor’s many writings on gospel subjects included letters, tracts, hymns, pamphlets, newspaper articles, and books. One of his books, entitled The Government of God, was praised by a noted American historian, who wrote: “As a dissertation on a general and abstract subject, it probably has not its equal in point of ability within the whole range of Mormon literature. The style is lofty and clear, and every page betokens the great learning of the author. As a student of ancient and modern history, theologian, and moral philosopher, President Taylor is justly entitled to the front rank.”

In addition to his many writings, President Taylor’s command of language, coupled with his testimony of the gospel, resulted in countless inspiring and instructive sermons. Elder B. H. Roberts wrote: “The Saints who listened to him for half a century will remember as long as they live his commanding presence, his personal magnetism, the vigor and power of his discourses and the grand principles of which they treated. … His eloquence was a majestic river full to the point of overflowing its banks, sweeping grandly through rich regions of thought.” (“Chapter 10: The Value of Education,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 87)

He believed wholeheartedly in being "alive for the cause of education" for ourselves, our children, our friends and neighbors. And why is that? Well certainly, a literate people are difficult to crush. A literate people reach lofty and precious goals bringing them ever closer to the heaven or hell of their choosing. A literate people can be servants of God like no other, as long as they never forget that God is in charge.

We are taught, as Mormons, that we are not here to imitate or follow the world. But we are taught to be of the world, but not in it. In other words, Jesus Christ has given us the restoration of His magnificent gospel that we might be enlightened and instructed in the following of His footsteps back to our heavenly home.

President Taylor taught both secular and religious knowledge and never eschewed his burning desire to learn and grow. We are here in this mortal probation to learn and gain knowledge, to grow, to strengthen our hearts, minds and spirits ever engaged in the cause of righteousness.

President John Taylor lived this principle to his dying day, always trumpeting the value of an educated mind.

There is much which comes to mind as I ponder the roles of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in my life. If you are not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, referred to as the Mormons, you might have some confusion as to the difference between Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Let's begin with Jesus Christ. Which Jesus Christ do Mormons believe in? Well, it has been said that we do not believe in the same Jesus Christ as other Christians, therefore we are not Christian. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me address this from my viewpoint, but be assured that it follows right along with the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as portrayed in the Mormon Church.

I believe in the Jesus Christ in the King James version of New Testament.

I believe in the Jesus Christ who descended from His heavenly throne and was born into meek and lowly circumstances 2,007 years ago in Bethlehem. (Luke 2)

I believe in the Jesus Christ who was brought up from the waters of baptism to hear from His Heavenly Father:

"Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. (Luke 3:22)

At this moment, it was clearly defined that Jesus Christ was one personage and Heavenly Father another.

I believe in the Jesus Christ who worked miracle after miracle while in the flesh, but who called upon His heavenly priesthoods, powers and divine role in order to do so. (John 9, John 11, Matthew 15:34-38, Mark 5:24-33)

I believe in the Jesus Christ who entered into the Garden of Gethsemane, and suffered so much for the sins, sorrows and travails of the world that it caused Him, even God, to bleed from every pore. (D&C 19:18)

I believe in the Jesus Christ who was crucified by a cruel, unfeeling, vicious government and religious group that He might pay every last farthing of the ransom for our souls. (Matthew 27)

There came upon Him the weight and agony of ages. ... Hence His profound grief, His indescribable anguish, His overpowering torture, all experienced in the submission to the eternal fiat of Jehovah and the requirements made of an inexorable law. ... Groaning beneath this concentrated load, this intense, incomprehensible pressure, this terrible exaction of Divine justice, from which feeble humanity shrank, and through the agony thus experienced sweating great drops of blood, He was led to exclaim, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. (Tad R. Callister quoting John Taylor, The Infinite Atonement, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2000 124)

I believe in the Jesus Christ who broke the bands of death and was resurrected into a perfected body of flesh and bone on the third day after His crucifixion, witnessed by Mary Magdalene, the twelve apostles and countless others who testified of seeing the resurrected Jesus walking the streets, His wounds visible to all who would see. (Matthew 28)

I believe in the resurrected Jesus Christ with a perfected physical body, who, after forty days, ascended into heaven in full view of the twelve apostles and two angels who asked the amazed apostles:

And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven. (Acts 1:9-11)

This is the Jesus Christ I believe in. He is my Lord, my God, my Savior and Redeemer. Through Him, and only through Him may we return to our Heavenly Father and the heavenly home we left. My love, adoration and admiration for Him knows no bounds and I serve at His behest.

I testify to you that He lives. I testify to you that He is of a divine and royal heritage and He sits at the right hand of God the Eternal Father. I assure you, with every bit of truth which exists inside me, that He did live, die and resurrect in order to satisfy the demands of justice. He purchased us with His suffering and freed us with His love.

It is now up to us whether to avail ourselves of the Atonement, infinite in depth, which He made available to us or to simply walk away forever from our God. I choose to follow in His footsteps, preaching His gospel at every opportunity. I choose to follow in His path that I might one day be reunited with my family who have shuffled off this mortal coil. I choose to follow in His ways that I might bring the joy and happiness that comes with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who might hear, all who might see and all who might believe.

Although perfection for us cannot be achieved without the help of Jesus Christ, He achieved perfection all on His own. He is my Lord, my God, my Redeemer . . . even my Elder Brother. I cannot, nor will I, ever turn my back on Him and the sacrifice He made on our behalf.

Brigham Young, the second called prophet in these modern times, said:

It must be that God knows something about temporal things, and has had a body and been on an earth, were it not so He would not know how to judge men righteously, according to the temptations and sin they have had to contend with. (Tad R .Callister quoting Brigham Young, The Infinite Atonement, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2000 108)

And so Jesus Christ, who during His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross descended below the very depths of men and paid the price for our souls, is amply qualified, just and loving as our Judge.

And this brings us to our Father in Heaven. Oh, the love I have for my Heavenly Father also known as God the Eternal Father. There is a song called "O My Father" and the lyrics teach of a most profound and everlasting truth:

This Father Eliza R. Snow speaks of, is also the Father Jesus Christ prayed to and others heard speak.

At the Savior's baptism:

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17)

In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus Christ begged His Father at three separate times during the intense and excruciating suffering of the Atonement:

Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. (Mark 14:36)

Who appeared to Joseph Smith, the prophet of the restoration, in a sacred grove on a quiet spring morning in 1820:

When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (Joseph Smith History 1:17)

Here, Joseph Smith, Jr. not only heard, but saw, two distinct personages of flesh and bone which he identified as our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, His Beloved Son.

Before you came to this earth you lived in a heavenly home where we knew our families and friends, understood and knew our Savior, Jesus Christ, and were closely associated with our Heavenly Father.

Our Father in Heaven put forth a plan for the continued growth of His children, that would be you and I. The only way this plan would work is if a savior was provided. Two stepped forward: Jesus Christ and Lucifer, who became known as Satan after his rebellion against Heavenly Father.

All this being said, a great war ensued which culminated in a full third of the hosts of heaven being forever cast out. (Revelations 12)

Heavenly Father chose Jesus Christ and thus began our mortal sojourn on earth as we each took our turns undergoing our mortal probation.

Of the hours when Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Eden, Elder Melvin J. Ballard, an apostle of the Lord, said:

God heard the cry of His Son in that moment of great grief and agony, in the garden when, it is said the pores of His body opened and drops of blood stood upon Him, and He cried out: "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me."

I ask you, what father and mother could stand by and listen to the cry of their children in distress, in this world, and not render aid and assistance? ...

He [Heavenly Father] saw that Son finally upon Calvary; He saw His body stretched out upon the wooden cross; He saw the cruel nails driven through hands and feet, and the blows that broke the skin, tore the flesh, and let out the life's blood of His Son. He looked upon that.

In the case of our Father, the knife was not stayed, but it fell, and the life's blood of His Beloved Son went out. His Father looked on with great grief and agony over His Beloved Son, until there seems to have come a moment, when even our Savior cried out in despair: "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?"

In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even He could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room so as not to look upon the last struggles, so He bowed His head, and hid in some part of His universe, His great heart almost breaking for the love that He had for His Son. Oh, in that moment when He might have saved His Son, I thank Him and praise Him that He did not fail us, for He had not only the love of His Son in mind, but He also had love for us. (Tad R. Callister as quoting Melvin J. Ballard, The Infinite Atonement, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2000 162)

This is our Heavenly Father, the one who could not save His Son without sacrificing each of us. I thank them both, with all the fervor and love in my heart, that they, both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, love us that much. Because of their great and marvelous sacrifices the path to redemption is there for us to trod.

We are not meant to travel that alone. Our Father in Heaven awaits our daily prayers, beseechings and behests through this wonderful tool given to us called prayer. When we pray, we pray to our Father in Heaven in the name of Jesus Christ as the Savior taught us in Matthew 6:9-13.

Our Father in Heaven stands ready and waiting at all times to assist us in our daily efforts to triumph and succeed in life. He loves us and wishes for us to return to Him.

Indeed, in following in the footsteps of His Son, Jesus Christ, I will find my way back to my Heavenly Father and my heavenly home. Such comfort is given to my heart and soul in knowing that the family unit on earth is an imitation of the one which exists in heaven to which we belong. Amazing peace pervades my heart when I realize I've a Heavenly Father who loves me more than I can ever hope to comprehend.

Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are two separate personages of flesh and blood. They are, however, one in heart, mind and purpose. Jesus Christ carries out every command or request that the Father asks of Him, just as we try to carry out every command or request that Jesus makes of us.

I love and worship them both as they are clearly defined in the New Testament within the King James version of the Holy Bible, a book of scripture accepted by Christians across the world.

And so, I too, long for that anxiously awaited reunion with my Father and Savior after I have completed my mortal life. I long to be held in the arms of my Savior and told "Well done thou good and faithful servant." And to be taken by the hand and led into the presence of my Father in Heaven once again.

I have absolutely loved reading Andrew C. Skinner's book, Prophets, Priests and Kings. It has given me a whole new light on how carefully Jehovah has placed people in the earth's history for specific purposes.

Such is Cyrus:

Thus saith the Lord . . . saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:

That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:

That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. (Isaiah 44:24-28)

Prophesied of, although not Jewish, Cyrus was a Persian King who captured Babylon in 539 BC and continued to rule for twenty years. He was a good and gentle king, who encouraged his subjects to live their own religions. The Jews, by this point, had been captured and recaptured, enslaved and their kingdoms destroyed until their temples had been hewn down, their synagogues razed and their religion driven underground. Seen as a liberator, beloved by all, he was a champion of downtrodden as well as the privileged. He strongly believed no one should be terrorized, by the government or criminals.

When Cyrus swept into Babylon he allowed the Israelites to come into the sunshine again. He rebuilt their temples and synagogues, he encouraged freedom, peace and prosperity and in doing so ruled over a loyal people.

Cyrus was given victory, honor and kingship not for his personal benefit but so that Israel could be blessed and, in turn, bless others.

This is an important principle for modern disciples to learn. We are called and blessed in order to bless others. The Prophet Joseph Smith used this very passage, Isaiah 45:4, to teach this principle: "That we may learn still further that God calls or elects particular men to perform particular works, or on whom to confer special blessings, we read . . . 'For Jacob my servants sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee [Cyrus] by thy name,' to be a deliverer to my people Israel, and help to plant them on my holy mountain." (Andrew C. Skinner, Prophets, Priests and Kings, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2005 13)

Cyrus, although not Jewish, was a man of principle and strength. As Jesus Christ would come into the world to free us from sin and death, Cyrus came into the world to free the Jews from crushing captivity under the Babylonians. During his reign he never turned to greed, avarice or sin, but continued to live his life according to value system established within his heart.

So devoted to the concept of a free and happy society, Cyrus, who had heard of the Jewish prophecies regarding him, asked to see them. So much did he believe these prophecies that he issued the following proclamation throughout Asia:

"Thus saith Cyrus the King: ---Since God Almighty hath appointed me to be king of the habitable earth, I believe that he is the God which the nation of the Israelites worship; for indeed he foretold my name by the prophets, and that I should build him a house at Jerusalem, in the country of Judea." This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him of his prophecies; for this prophet said that God spoken thus to him in a secret vision: "My will is, that Cyrus, whom I have appointed to be king over many and great nations, send back my people to their own land, and build my temple." This was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and forty years before the temple was demolished. Accordingly, when Cyrus read this, and admired the Divine power, an earnest and ambition seized upon him to fulfill what was so written. (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 11.6.1 -- Andrew C. Skinner, Prophets, Priests and Kings Deseret Book, Salt Lake City 2005 114-115)

Ancient and modern prophets have spoken of Cyrus, for his kingdom was a happy kingdom. He acted a deliverer, ruled in a benevolent and just manner and in many ways was a foreshadow and archetype of Jesus Christ. A messiah, in his own fashion, of people who had been enslaved and abused by the Babylonians were now free to worship as they may. Oh yes, Cyrus, prophesied and foretold of, served God well, although never a Jew.

From the beginning of the world there have been prophets of God on the earth, except during the Dark Ages. Jehovah, who is also Jesus Christ, communicated with Adam and Eve in the Garden and from that day forward, the teachings of heaven were available to the children of men. Throughout the world's history we see, in the lives of His prophets, a foreshadowing of the mortal life of Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven.

Let's us first take a look at Abraham, a prophet of the Old Testament. Born a couple of thousand years before Jesus Christ, Abraham was asked by Jehovah to sacrifice Isaac, his only son by Sarah and only son born in the covenant.

Offered up for sacrifice by his father, when he was a child, (Abraham 1:7-19) Abraham must certainly have had deeply emotional and psychological scars and objections to the sacrifice of human beings, let alone by a father.

And so, let us read of Abraham's tremendous faith and trust in Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ:

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:1-18)

Taken at surface level, this seems to push loyalty to God a little too far. But in looking deeper into this story we see it as a powerful lesson, archetype and foreshadow of Jesus Christ. Jehovah asked no more of Abraham than was being asked of Himself and His Father.

Many experts say that Isaac was in his early thirties, and therefore, not a child at all. Of course, in the scheme of Old Testament times, 30 would be considered to be very young in a lifespan of more than a century or two. However, it is said that he was in his early thirties, as was Jesus Christ who was 33 when He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, was crucified and resurrected. It is also said by experts that Isaac knew full well what was going on and went willingly. If these assumptions are accurate, than we also see the tremendous faith, trust and love Isaac had in his father, Abraham, but also in Jehovah. It makes this a much more powerful lesson.

Andrew Skinner, the Executive Director of the Maxwell Institute formerly known as the Foundation for Ancient Research and Modern Studies wrote:

Here we remember the impressive discourse of Elder Melvin J. Ballard who said that he thought, as he read the story of Abraham's [near]sacrifice of his son Isaac, that our Father was trying "to tell us what it cost him to give his Son as a gift to the world. ... It must have pierced the heart of Father Abraham to hear the trusting and confiding son say: "You have forgotten the sacrifice." Looking at the youth, his son of promise, the poor father could only say: "The Lord will provide." ...

I presume Abraham, like a true father, must have given his son his farewell kiss, his blessing, his love, and his soul must have been drawn out in the agony toward this son who was to die by the hand of his own father. Every step proceeded until the cold steel was drawn, and the hand raised that was to strike the blow to let out the life's blood. Then the angel of the Lord said: "It is enough."

Our Father in Heaven went through all that and more, for in His case the hand was not stayed. (Andrew C. Skinner, Prophets, Priests and Kings, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2005 34-35)

And so Abraham, a type and shadow of Heavenly Father, was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, just as Heavenly Father allowed the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of all mankind. Not only could Abraham completely comprehend the fatherly feelings in such a circumstance, but certainly he could recall his experience as a child under the rule of a wicked father. This uniquely places him, as Skinner points out, in the position of not only understanding the feelings and emotions of the Father, but also the Son.

Skinner goes on to point out that just as Jesus Christ was Heavenly Father's Only Begotten Son in the flesh, Isaac was Abraham only son of the covenant. Just as Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice, Jesus Christ carried His own cross. The similarities go on and on.

Often, I have wondered why Jehovah would ask this of Abraham. I have come to understand that we all must go through our own Abrahamic sacrifice. Certainly, we will not be asked to foreshadow the event which changed the course of mankind forever, the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But each of us, in our lives, will be asked to follow God, to triumph over our trials rather than merely survive them. We are expected to learn to trust in God, completely and utterly without question or thought.

There is much we have to learn about Jesus Christ, His life, His mission and His Divine role. Not the least of which that the Lord prepares His people for all that is to come. Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear . . . will we study the scriptures, poring over the words of prophets and apostles so that our hearts, minds and spirits are lifted up above the mediocrity of life? Can we see in the near sacrifice of Isaac we can further began to understand the relationship between our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ and the full and complete sacrifices they made on behalf of mankind.

So whenever you hear of Abraham, remember the nuances of every part of his life and how it was a type and foreshadow of Jesus Christ.