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.

"Word", "thing" and Christ -- Part 2: Does the fruit of the tree of life have seeds?

This series is based on the Hebrew 'dbr' root which can mean both word and thing. We saw how that plays out in the creation account in part 1. I have actually mentioned this root in a previous post discussing Alma 32. This chapter seems to play on this word/thing dualism too, indicating that this dual meaning from Hebrew may have been carried over in Nephite tradition and language. 

21 And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.

22 And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word. (Alma 32)

The extensive use of this word/thing dualism in the creation account and the fact that there are lots of other allusions to the creation account in Alma 32 provides interesting context. Alma 32 is the creation of the tree of life that starts with the word. Alma asks his listeners to give place to the word, as if it is a thing that occupies space. In the beginning we cannot see it. We can only use faith ("hope for things which are not seen") and look forward to the result with an "eye of faith" (Alma 32:40), not our physical eyes. But the word can eventually grow into a tree, even the tree of life.

When God created the world by his word, he also created the trees

And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself upon the earth, and it was so even as I spake. (Moses 2:11)

The parallels are striking. When God created the world, his word caused trees to grow, yielding fruit. Alma asks the Zoramites to take the word of God, plant it in their hearts and see if it can grow into a tree yielding fruit. We engage in a God-like process learning to become like Him by transforming the word into things.

In Moses 1:4, we read

my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.

This is repeated again in verse 38 in the same chapter. What does it mean that his words never cease? Does he simply never stop talking? I think it goes much deeper than that. What happens when a seed grows into a tree? As quoted in Moses 2:11, "the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself", ensures that the seed is always preserved. Instead of disappearing when growing into a tree, the seed multiplies. Each fruit has seed in itself with the potential to become new trees. So does the fruit of the tree of life have seeds? A silly question, perhaps, since the tree of life is symbolic. (Or who knows, perhaps we will eat literal fruit "sweet" above all that is sweet" some day). But contemplating the symbolism has lead me here, so bear with me. Just as a single seed multiplies, the word of God multiplies. When God spoke and created the world, he also created man in his own image and likeness. Just like the tree contains seeds that can grow into new trees in their likeness, man can follow that pattern and multiply.

29 Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.
30 Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them. (D&C 132)

This is deep and pretty big, but you can probably see where I'm going with this. The promises that Abraham received concerning his seed was briefly touched upon in part 1. I quoted a verse where Abraham had received that promise using the 'dbr' root to state that no word/thing is too hard for the Lord. That word from the Lord was like a seed that multiplied for Abraham. We can receive the same blessings. 

The beginning of becoming like God is done by small and simple means: Planting his word in our hearts. But it can grow to a tree "springing up unto everlasting life" (Alma 32:41). But as God revealed to Joseph Smith,it doesn't end there. The fruit of the tree of life has "seed in itself" with the potential of "eternal lives" (D&C 132:24) and "a continuation of the seeds forever and ever" (D&C 132:19). This is why God's words never cease as Moses 1:4 states. More from D&C 132:

13 And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God.
14 For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed.

I'm not highlighting "word" and "things" to try to argue that God engaged in Hebrew wordplay when speaking to Joseph Smith in English. These are two common words that can naturally appear in the same paragraph. But I do believe that there is some deeper knowledge and inspiration found in the Hebrew language. In this case, knowledge that God's word is much more than just a string of letters or a sound in our ears, and I think that the scriptures quoted here along with lots of other scriptures demonstrate that.

I feel many aspects of this topic is over my head, and it is hard to wrap my head around things that go way beyond my mortal experience and understanding. But there is beautiful symbolism found in the scriptures that is waiting to be uncovered and shows us a pattern that helps us getting a glimpse of eternity.

"Word", "thing" and Christ -- Part 1: The word materializes

I'm going to split this into a three part series, all based on a Hebrew root, 'dbr'. It is related to speaking and can both be a verb (to talk, speak) or a noun (a word or a speech). When used as a noun, it can also be translated into "thing" or "matter". I find this dual meaning word/thing interesting.

For instance, the well-known statement,

Is any thing too hard for the LORD? (Genesis 18:14),

challenging Sarah's skepticism when Abraham gets the news that she will bear a son, is using this root. ("Is any word/promise too hard for the Lord"). In Moses 4:30, we learn something important about God's words.

For as I, the Lord God, liveth, even so my words cannot return void, for as they go forth out of my mouth they must be fulfilled.

God's words must turn into a "thing"/fulfillment, like the promise to Abraham. They cannot return void, it's simply not possible. 

There have been several posts recently on Moroni 7 and "every good thing" and I proposed that this is a reference to the creation account among other things. Lord Wilmore provides several other examples here. A closer look at the creation account in the Book of Moses, illustrates this word/thing duality. There is a lot of focus on speaking and "the word" in the creation account. To the frustration of those who would really like to know the scientific details related to the creation, it is apparently sufficient for God to inform us that he simply spoke and the world was created. His word turned into things/matter, even the whole world.

Each day of creation starts with "And I, God, said". In between we get a lot of emphasis on "the word" and "speak". For instance:

And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day (Moses 2:5)

"The word of my power" is a curious phrase. But reading the preface to the creation account in Moses 1, makes the reference clear.

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)

This is not the only place in the scriptures where Christ is equated with "the word". See for instance John 1:14 where "the Word was made flesh" or Alma 38:9.

The word-thing transition is a transition from the invisible to the visible. In LDS theology, there is a spiritual and a physical creation. When God creates by his Only Begotten, the spiritual/invisible word  turns into things, the physical, material world. This is clearly expressed in D&C 38:3

I am the same which spake, and the world was made, and all things came by me.

We see the same pattern when Christ comes to earth and "the Word was made flesh". King Benjamin expresses it this way:

For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men... (Mosiah 3:5)

Here we also have the term, "power", showing up again. Through Christ, the power to bring the invisible (to the natural eye) into the visible is manifest. It is beautifully illustrated in this verse. There is a blue part involving the invisible eternities and heaven. Then there is a transition into the green part, the "come down...among the children of men" and the visible and earthly "tabernacle of clay". In part 3 of this series, we shall also see that the opposite is true: Through Christ, the power to transform the visible and temporal into the invisible and eternal is also manifest!

I love the concept of God speaking and his word materializing. His words cannot return void. This means that the same God who spoke and the world came into existence, is a God that will always fulfill his promises and has the power to do so. No word/thing is too hard for the Lord, he already demonstrated that in the creation. Just as he fulfilled his covenant promises to Abraham, we can have absolute confidence that He will fulfill His promises to us.

Edit: I just read these verses in Mormon 9 a few days after posting this, and realized that it perfectly summarizes the last paragraph.

11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are...

17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be

By his word, God created the heavens and the earth. This is the same God as the God of the Abrahamic covenant, i.e. the God who always keeps his word and has the power to do so. 

What the scriptures (and the temple) teach me about dust

I recently typed up a summary of dust-related themes in the scriptures, in no particular order. This is long and mostly just a repetition of other posts on this blog, but I find it fascinating.

#9 We are taught that before the foundation of the world, Jesus Christ created this world from “matter unorganized” -- dust.

1 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak. I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest. (Moses 2)

1 And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth. (Abraham 4)

Everything we encounter in mortality was formed of the dust of the earth by Jesus Christ. This is an important fact to keep in mind as we set our priorities.

#8 Our mortal bodies are likewise created from the dust and will inevitably return to the dust after we die. 

The name Adam has a connection to the Hebrew word Adamah for “ground/earth/dirt.”

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3)

#7 As a consequence for his rebellion, Satan is cursed by God to eat dust -- a symbol of permanent separation from God.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life (Genesis 3).

A snake lives very close to the ground. Satan’s influence over us is limited to mortality, unless we subject ourselves to his will. In other words, he thinks he is the king of the dust, and if we believe his lies, he will have power over us.

#6 The Book of Mormon authors frequently use the metaphor of “A voice from the dust” -- a message from a fallen, forgotten people. 

Notice this reference to dust in the final words of Moroni:

27 And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust? (Moroni 10)

Nephi says something very similar in 2 Nephi 33:

11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.
12 And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day.
13 And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one crying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come. (2 Nephi 33)

The Book of Mormon is the record of a fallen people, who were once favored of the Lord, a covenant people. They were led to a promised land, where they eventually turned away from God and rejected Him, and as a result they were destroyed, in other words, they were returned to dust. Mormon famously laments the destruction of the Nephites with a passage that repeats “O ye fair ones” three times. (Interestingly “Fair one” is a reasonable translation of the name “Nephi” according to scholars.) Notice the description Mormon gives us when all but a few of the Nephites are wiped out:

15 And it came to pass that … all my people, save it were [a few], had fallen; and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth.
16 And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried:
17 O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!
18 Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.
19 O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! (Mormon 6)

#5 What does the voice of an angel do? It shakes the earth under Alma the Younger’s feet, and he falls to the earth, then is commanded to arise. 

The voice of an angel calling Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah to repentance shakes the earth beneath their feet and cause them to fall down. (See Mosiah 27:11-13.) 

Notice how beautifully and fittingly Alma later expresses his desire to be an angel:

1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. (Alma 29)

#4 Helaman 12 -- Mormon laments that man is less than the dust (because the dust obeys God's command)

4 O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!
5 Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths!
6 Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.
7 O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.
8 For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God. (Helaman 12)

#3 Prophets throughout the Book of Mormon invite us to leave the dust behind. 

• Lehi implores his sons 3 times to “Arise from the dust.” (2 Nephi 1)
• Jacob invites us to “Shake [ourselves] from the dust.” (2 Nephi 8:25)
• Christ also invites us to “Shake thyself from the dust.” (3 Nephi 20:37)

Moroni mentions dust right at the end of the Book of Mormon, partially quoting Isaiah: 

31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.
32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; (Moroni 10)

#2 What did Jesus do at the Last Supper? 

3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” (John 13, NIV)

Just before implementing the "new covenant" of the sacrament, the same Jesus who created this world knelt before each of His disciples and washed the dust from their feet. Verse 3 is very interesting to me.  It is offered as the explanation for why He would do such a thing: "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God[.]" Isn't one of the central purposes of the ordinances of the temple to teach us where we came from and where we are going, and by what means we can expect salvation/exaltation?

#1 Alma the Younger's masterful analogy on faith compares our hearts to dust and teaches us how to cultivate the fruit of the tree of life from the dust of our mortal experience.

He likens the word of God to a seed and compares it to planting a seed in our hearts -- we are the dust/dirt in this metaphor, and allowing the word of God to grow up from our dust until it becomes a tree capable of producing fruit, fruit that is white, pure, sweet, and most precious above all other things, the same exact words Lehi used to describe the Tree of Life -- a tree which represents the Love of God as manifested by Jesus Christ condescending to earth to live in a “tabernacle of clay” (see Mosiah 3:5), suffer for our sins, and rise up again as the firstfruits of the resurrection.

To quote Stisa from this previous post:

The atonement is the reversal of the fall! The fall came about when Adam took the fruit from the tree. The atonement came about when the firstfruit of God was hanged on the tree. The fall was figuratively a fall to the ground, to the carnal and the captivity of the devil. The atonement enabled mankind to rise, to "cultivate the ground", i.e. to become master of the carnal instead of subject to it. It enables us to eat fruit instead of dust.