The Only Begotten -- Part 2 (full of grace and truth)

When studying the use of the "Only Begotten" in the scriptures (posted as part 1 of this series), I noticed a strong correlation with the phrase, "full of grace and truth". Almost without exception, when grace and truth are used together in the scriptures it is in one of the passages naming the Son as the Only Begotten. 

Let us go back to the Pearl of Great Price again, where this expression is used the most. In Moses 1, we find this twice:

And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth (Moses 1:6)

And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth. (Moses 1:32)

If we count Moses 1 as the beginning of our scriptures, since it is preceding the creation account that we find in Genesis 1, we see that the Only Begotten who is full of grace and truth is introduced in the very beginning. But we could also look at it chronologically based on a timeline. After all, Moses 1 is God speaking to Moses. We could go back to Adam and the first instance of introducing the Savior of the world, as recorded in the scriptures. I quoted it in the last post and it is unique to the Book of Moses

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. (Moses 5:7)

Sure enough, there it is. This is speculative, but my preliminary theory is that what we read in Moses 5:5-8 was highly significant among believers during the first temple period among the Jews and anyone who kept this tradition after the Deuteronomist reform where such talk about the Only Begotten was censored from scripture. Adam had just been cast out of the Garden of Eden. He was asked to sacrifice and after showing his obedience, he got the explanation along with an introduction of the Savior of mankind. He is introduced as "the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth". This is a key passage that remains in oral traditions, scriptures and cultural heritage of later prophets.

One of the few uses of "Only Begotten" in the Bible is found in John 1:14. This is also interesting because John starts out with "in the beginning", which is a metaleptic reference to the creation account. Here is the verse:

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

With the additional knowledge found in the Book of Moses about how God revealed the creation account to Moses and how Adam was taught about the ultimate sacrifice by the Savior, these highlighted terms may also be viewed as metalepsis.

In part 1, I demonstrated that 6 out of 9 Book of Mormon uses of "Only Begotten" are in the context of referring back to ancient times. The other 3 lack that context but guess what: 2 out of those also link "Only Begotten" with grace and truth. Here they are:

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 5:48)

And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers. (Alma 9:26)

In both these verses, Alma and Amulek are talking about things to come. But I wonder if the wording they use have particular meaning to an audience who have read the brass plates. That which was soon to come was what had been taught from the beginning, by the mouth of angels, who visited Adam and others revealing the plan of redemption through the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 

 

The Only Begotten -- Part 1

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father. Since I have heard this expression so often, I was surprised to see that it is less frequently used in the standard works than I thought. It is only found six times in the entire KJV Bible, all in the New Testament. Since we quote John 3:16 so often ("For God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son..."), we might get the impression that it is more common than that.

In the Book of Mormon, "Only Begotten" is found 9 times. But it is all over the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. 25 times in total in those 8 chapters. I find that interesting for reasons that I will try to explain in this post.

One obvious point is the mismatch between the Old Testament and the Pearl of Great Price. The Book of Moses is basically a more detailed version of Genesis chapters 1-6. This means that if the Book of Moses is meant to be a restoration of a more ancient version of Genesis, "the only begotten" must have been systematically removed to produce the version of Genesis that we have today. Even in the Book of Moses passages that we have almost verbatim in Genesis, the only begotten comes in addition. 

Compare, for instance, Moses 2:26 with Genesis 1:26

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

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

or Moses 3:18 with Genesis 2:18

And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten, that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him. 

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

We see the yellow part including "Only Begotten" is an addition in the Book of Moses in a passage that is otherwise almost verbatim the same. Or perhaps it is more correct to say that the yellow parts appear removed in our current version of Genesis.

These examples are preceded by Moses 1 containing a prologue to the creation account that is not found in Genesis at all. In this chapter, Moses speaks with God and asks him about his creations. The "Only Begotten" is mentioned nine times in that chapter. It seems to be the standard name for the Messiah in the revelations to Moses and the creation account. It is striking that all the parts of the Book of Moses containing this name are not found in our current version of Genesis.

But it is not only a name that God used when talking to Moses. It goes all the way back to Adam. 

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. (Moses 5)

Again, this is a story in the middle of the events we read about in early Genesis, but is not found in our current version, despite its significance. As far as I can tell, this is the first event in the history of mankind where man has been explicitly informed of the coming of Jesus Christ. He is not yet known by that name but is called the Only Begotten of the Father. Later in the history of a covenant people, various names have been used at different times. There are clearly certain trends as shown in this post.

The use of the Only Begotten is another clear trend. It seems to have been one of the preferred names for the future Messiah in the beginning. So why is this not found in the Old Testament? Lord Wilmore made similar observations about references to Adam and Eve and the questions he asks to figure out why these references are practically absent from the Old Testament are valid in this case too: 

Was it because the temple doctrines once had by ancient Israelites ended up suppressed and stripped away?  Was this doctrinal tradition preserved on the brass plates?

A closer look at the use of "Only Begotten" in the Book of Mormon leads me to conclude that this tradition in all likelihood indeed was preserved on the brass plates. Even though the Nephites may have preferred different names, the Only Begotten often comes up when the Nephite writers refer back to the ancient times. Considering its prevalence in the Book of Moses, that only makes sense. We will look at some of these Book of Mormon examples.

Alma 12-13

4 of the 9 uses of "Only Begotten" are found in these chapters. Alma's sermon starts out with a question about the tree of life and "our first parents" (Alma 12:20-21). He explains how God started revealing the plan of salvation after they were cast out from the garden and that his only begotten Son was a central component in that plan. He also explains how God from the beginning called men after "the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father" (Alma 13:9). Reading these two chapters, you don't need much imagination to envision Alma having studied an account similar to what we have in Moses 6

33 But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son (Alma 12)

1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people...

9 Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen. (Alma 13)

51 And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh. 

52 And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth... 

62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time...

67 And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity. (Moses 6)

Jacob 4

This chapter uses "Only Begotten" twice. Just like Alma 12 it is prefaced with a reference to prophets of old.

...not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us. Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son...Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son (Jacob 4:4-5, 11)

Conclusion

I covered 6 out of 9 uses of "Only Begotten" in the Book of Mormon. The remaining 3 do not refer back to ancient times directly, but there are some interesting intertextual connections that we will consider in a second part. The examples should suffice, though. In ancient scriptures covering the beginning of times there was talk of the Only Begotten Son of the Father who would redeem mankind. Its complete absence in our current Old Testament leads me to conclude that it was stripped away by the hands of what Nephi calls the great and abominable church. When the Book of Mormon uses the term, it is often within a context of referring back to those ancient days that the Nephites probably could read about on the brass plates. There are many indications that the brass plates contained a text more similar to our current Book of Moses in tPoGP than the Old Testament.

Parallels between 3 Nephi 19 and the Gospels -- Part 2

In part 1, we looked at several parallels between 3 Nephi 19 and the Gospels. The connections are undeniable, but this part will be more speculative as I will try to discuss what this all might mean. As mentioned, the learning points are perhaps found in the differences and the major difference is how the disciples respond to the Savior's invitation to watch and pray. 

In Gethsemane, the disciples ironically failed to follow Jesus' instructions while he literally paid the price for their sins. They did the exact opposite of what he commanded and fell asleep instead of staying awake. As a consequence, they were gently rebuked for not even being able to "watch one hour".

In America, the disciples not only prayed as Jesus instructed, but they prayed "without ceasing" and were "filled with desire" (3 Nephi 19:24). As a consequence they were blessed.

Fulfillment of the Priestly/Aaronic blessing

Speaking of parallels. By taking a closer look at the blessing that the disciples received in 3 Nephi 19, we notice similarities to a passage in Numbers in the Old Testament. In the Book of Numbers, there are lots of instructions concerning the tabernacle. Aaron and his sons had a special role as high priests in the tabernacle and later in the temple. In Numbers 6, they were instructed to give a special blessing to the people of Israel.

23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

In 3 Nephi 19, when Jesus had prayed to the Father, he returned to his disciples and found them still praying. Verse 25 describes what happened next

And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof.

It seems at this moment, that Jesus as the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek fulfilled the Aaronic blessing on his disciples. I have seen several Bible commentators suggest that the traditional Christian belief of the holy trinity is hidden in the threefold repetition of "the Lord" in Numbers 6. I think that is a stretch, but regardless we see the repetition of three again, as also manifest in the number of times Jesus prayed and interacted with his disciples both in 3 Nephi 19 and in Gethsemane.

The impact of the Holy Ghost

In part 1, I quoted the last two verses of 3 Nephi 19, which indicated that faith made the difference. We do observe in the Gospels that Jesus rebukes the Apostles several times for their lack of faith ("O, ye of little faith"). Still it may seem puzzling that the Apostles in the New World had so much more faith than the Apostles in the Old World. 1 Nephi 12:9 even teaches that the Apostles in the New World will be judged by the Apostles in the Old World. How to reconcile this apparent discrepancy?

We should realize that despite the parallel events, the circumstances were different. As the disciples in the Old World followed Jesus in his mortal ministry, the disciples in the New World saw him descend from heaven in his glory. The major difference, however, and perhaps the main takeaway from all this, is the difference made by the Holy Ghost. In John 16:7, before the intercessory prayer, Jesus told his disciples

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

This is a bold statement. It was expedient for the disciples that Jesus left, because then the Holy Ghost would come. This did not happen until about 50 days later at the feast of Pentecost. Consequently, as the disciples were asked to watch and pray in Gethsemane, they had not yet received the Holy Ghost. In 3 Nephi 19, however, the disciples in America experienced a Pentecostal event of sorts as they received the Holy Ghost right before the events discussed in this series.

9 And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them...

13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.

14 And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them.

Realizing that the two sets of Apostles were at different stages in their conversion process, we should not judge Peter and the others too harshly. Rather, we should realize and learn about the importance of the Holy Ghost. The transformation of Peter and the other Apostles after the day of Pentecost is evident. They boldly testify of Christ under persecution and work great miracles. It is truly a gift to be "most desired". 

What 3 Nephi 19 is teaching us with its parallels to the Gospel, is that the Holy Ghost also helps and inspires us to watch and pray unceasingly. This, in turn, prepares us for marvellous blessings as promised to the people of Israel of old.

Parallels between 3 Nephi 19 and the Gospels -- Part 1

3 Nephi 19 is a fascinating chapter. I have previously posted about events in that chapter resembling the day of Pentecost in Acts in the New Testament. What I noticed this time was the striking resemblance between the latter half of the chapter and what happened right before and in the Garden of Gethsemane.

In the latter half of 3 Nephi 19, Jesus asks his disciples to pray. He goes "a little way off from them" and prays to the Father. Then he goes back to the disciples, has some interaction with them before he goes to pray to the Father again. This repeats three times. This exact sequence of events repeated three times happens in Gethsemane too. 

Before we get into the details of that, there is another prallell worth noting. In John 17, as the last thing that happens before Jesus and his disciples go to Gethsemane, Jesus offers his intercessory prayer. Part of that prayer is almost verbatim the same as his prayer(s) to the Father in 3 Nephi 19. With that backdrop, let's go into the details.

The admonition to pray

The passage in 3 Nephi 19 that we will have a closer look at, starts with verse 17

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.

Praying directly to Jesus, as the disciples do here, is quite unusual. Later in the chapter, Jesus says that they do so because he is there with them (see verse 22). I will not comment further on that as it is besides the topic of this post. But we can compare this with what happens in the gospels. There are differences between the various accounts. For instance, not all start out with Jesus asking his disciples to pray in Gethsemane. But we read it in Luke 22:39-40

39 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

In Matthew and Mark, the admonition to pray is only given after Jesus comes back.

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

Interestingly, in 3 Nephi 18, the day before the events recorded in 3 Nephi 19, Jesus tells his disciples

Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation (3 Nephi 18:18)

Jesus withdrawing from the disciples to pray

After asking the disciples to pray, Jesus withdraws himself to pray unto the Father. In 3 Nephi, we continue with verse 19 where we left off

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:

In Gethsemane, we find something similar. In Matthew 26:39 

he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed

In Mark 14:35

he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed

In Luke 22:41

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed

Jesus' intercessory prayer in 3 Nephi 

Then Jesus starts praying. But the prayers in 3 Nephi 19 and in Gethsemane are very different. Obviously it would make no sense for the resurrected Jesus to ask his Father to remove this cup from him in 3 Nephi. Instead, part of his prayer sounds very similar to the intercessory prayer in John 17 that he said right before they went to Gethsemane. Starting off in 3 Nephi 19, Jesus thanks the Father for giving his disciples the Holy Ghost (the pentecostal event mentioned earlier). This is not found in John 17. But then Jesus says

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 19:23)

Compare with John 17:20-21

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us

Another shared phrase is found the second time Jesus prays in 3 Nephi 19

Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith

Compare with John 17:9

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

The different responses from the disciples

As mentioned in other previous posts, when we find parallels like these in the scriptures, the learning points are often found in the differences. In this case the response from the disciples are vastly different between these two accounts. In both accounts, Jesus asks his disciples to (watch and) pray. When Jesus has finished praying the first time in 3 Nephi 19, he goes back to his disciples.

24 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the Father, he came unto his disciples, and behold, they did still continue, without ceasing, to pray unto him; and they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire.

25 And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof.

26 And Jesus said unto them: Pray on; nevertheless they did not cease to pray.

Contrast that with Matthew 26:40

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Jesus had specifically asked them to "watch". The Greek word is gregoreo and literally means to stay awake. The disciples in the Old World failed to follow his admonition. The disciples in the New World prayed, as he instructed, "without ceasing" and were immediately blessed as a consequence. 

There is much more to say about this, so I will split this post and save the rest for part 2. This post only presents an overview of the parallels. The next post will discuss what we can learn after having identified them. As a final indicator, however, that these parallels between 3 Nephi 19 and the New Testament are not just coincidental, I quote the last two verses of 3 Nephi 19 with an explicit reference to the Jews.

35 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying he came again to the disciples, and said unto them: So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief.
36 Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard.

These verses indicates that faith made the difference discussed in this last section, but we will get more into that in part 2. 

 

 

Book of Mormon language in D&C 10

D&C 10 was part of the the Come, Follow Me reading for this week and the revelation that Joseph Smith received as he and Oliver tried to figure out how to go on with the translation after the loss of the 116 pages (which according to church historian Don Bradley probably were much more than 116). As I read it, I noticed all the Book of Mormon language in this Section. This is of course language from the Book of Mormon we have today, not the part that was lost. At the time of this revelation, this part had not been translated yet. Consequently, God gives Joseph Smith a revelation about a record that he is about to translate containing some of the language that God uses in the revelation.

Consider these examples:

D&C 10	Book of Mormon
I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. (v. 43)	I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. (3 Nephi 21:10)
build up churches unto themselves to get gain (v.56)	build up churches unto themselves to get gain (4 Nephi 1:26)
I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. (v.57)	I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name. I came unto my own, and my own received me not. (3 Nephi 9:15-16)
I am he who said—Other sheep have I which are not of this fold—unto my disciples, and many there were that understood me not. (v.59)	And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And they understood me not (3 Nephi 15:21-22)
And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them (v.63)	29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. 30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away. (3 Nephi 11:29-30)
For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts (v.65)	O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart. (3 Nephi 10:6)
Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely. (v.66)	Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely (Alma 42:27)
And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. (v.69)	Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. (3 Nephi 11:39)

Most of this comes from 3 Nephi where Christ himself speaks to the Nephites. But Joseph Smith has not translated this part at the time when D&C 10 was given. The language Jesus Christ uses when giving this revelation to Joseph Smith is a sort of precursor to what is going to come when he later reveals to Joseph Smith the English translation of the Book of Mormon of his own words to the Nephites of old.

I think the standard works are given to us not only to be considered as separate witnesses of Christ to different people at different times, but also as a unified whole set of God's words to us today. Comparing the word of God across different standard works and seeing how they both confirm and supplement each other enriches my studies.