Chapter One

Palestine at the new era

For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round. Doctrine and Covenants 3:2
Jesus Christ is our savior. he Came to this earth to save our souls from certain death at the hands of the Adversary of the world. He came to cleanse this world of its sinfulness, to soothe and teach us in our pain and sadness and sorrows. He came to show us the fount of true joy and fulfillment. He came to teach us of his Heavenly Father who is also our Creator.

Corollary to that lesson, Jesus taught brotherly love as an eternal principle of living, presenting the hearers of his Word with many examples from his private and public life. Jesus Christ gave the earth and all people on it an unprecedented opportunity: eternal life with God in Heaven who reigns supreme in the cosmos and Who is the Judge of all things.

Jesus came to save us from the wages of sin we create by our disobedience and our maligning. He came, he taught, he conquered death and sin for us all through his infinite and eternal Atonement. Though we can never fully understand the magnificent gift we have been given, the Atonement is a reality and the only way to our salvation.

It is a terrible thing to contemplate that if no Messiah had come to us, God’s immeasurable gift of eternal life could never be bestowed upon the race of men. Through five saving principles of God: propitiation, reconciliation, mediation, intercession and advocacy, Christ appeased the demands of divine justice by which all who desire to again dwell in their Father’s presence may do so.

Because of Jesus Christ we are redeemed from death and sin.…even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory. For by the water ye keep the commandment, by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified. Moses 6:59-60, Pearl of Great Price.

The Plan of Redemption, also called the Plan of Happiness or the Plan of Salvation, is based upon a dual foundation: the Fall of Adam and the divine Sonship of Jesus Christ. Man cannot resurrect or save himself. It had to be done by an infinite being—God Himself, manifested through His only begotten Son in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

The Atonement satisfied two necessary requirements; temporal(body) and spiritual. Jesus Christ voluntarily shed his blood to atone for Adam’s transgression, a condition which changed his and Eve’s deathless and holy state to a mortal one through their expulsion from the Garden (shut out from the presence of God) bringing upon them physical changes (their bodies became subject to death). But our Heavenly Father does not want any of His children to perish. Through his mercy our first parents could be reconciled again to Him through faith, repentance and obedience to the commandments. Because they reconciled themselves to the will of God their trials helped to prepare the way for all of us to experience the sametrials and blessings, the same gift of mortal life and the priceless opportunity if we are worthy to return to live with God after death.

Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment. Wherefore, if you have sought to do wickedly in the day of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God… 1Ne 10:20-21 Book of Mormon.

Because of the intercession of Jesus Christ mankind does not carry Adam’s transgression, but each of us are answerable to God for our sins. Very briefly stated, we are redeemed from physical death as a gift. In keeping with the principle just stated, redemption from spiritual death is a lifelong process which we participate in through faith, our solemn and constant repentance, righteous longsuffering,taking upon us the name, i.e. the character of Christ in baptism by one having proper authority, and the bestowal of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then we are saved by grace after all we can do. This is the central principle of the divine Plan whereby we may, except for the sons of perdition—those who fight against God—be cleansed of sin and renewed of body and spirit in this world and in our lives to come.

Jesus Christ was and is today the greatest of heroes, a masterpiece of creation by his immortal Father, our Supreme God. We need to learn of him, of his ways in the world, his trials, his purpose here among our ancestors, his true feelings as he walked gently, bravely and so boldly through his short but matchlessly powerful life. This is Jesus Christ—the risen, the perfect, the only Begotten Son of the Father. This is a bit of his story.

Jesus came to earth as a babe in Bethlehem, born to a woman named Mary and her husband Joseph, his stepfather. These two raised him. In his lifetime, Jesus was sought after by kings who wanted him destroyed. He was attacked many times by men who would have him lose his way, his life, his holy name and divine purpose. But Jesus never ran from his trouble—he never gave less than his all to the people who crowded around him and he never complained when they took his precious life and spilt his blood. Instead, he willingly offered himself to show us the way, conquering life and death forever through his resurrection. In forgiving us our sins, his Atonement makes possible our eternal life, with him, for every worthy soul.

Third instalment next week.

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