The Twelve Apostles of the Lamb

1 Nephi 11:, NC 1 Nephi 3 par. 14

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying, Look. And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people, yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. And after he was slain, I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb, for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord. And the multitude of the earth was gathered together, and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying, Behold, the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold, the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And it came to pass that I saw and bear record that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and the fall thereof was exceeding great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.


The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraim, 1 Nefi 3 par. 14


And it came to pass that the angel spoke unto me again, saying, Look. And I looked and beheld the Lamb of Elohim, that he was taken by the people, yes, the Son of the El Olam was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nefi, saw that he was lifted up upon the Tz’lav and slain for the sins of the world. And after he was slain, I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the emissaries of the Lamb, for thus were the twelve called by the angel of yhwh. And the multitude of the earth was gathered together, and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw.  And the angel of yhwh spoke unto me again, saying, Behold, the world and the wisdom thereof; yes, behold, the house of Isra’el has gathered together to fight against the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.  And it came to pass that I saw and bear record that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of yhwh spoke unto me, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.

At this point I am hoping to look at the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Shouldn't it be striking to us that Lehi, at the very beginning of the Book of Mormon, and now Nephi have both seen these twelve individuals more than 600 years before their advent into the world?

What is so important about these twelve "emissaries" as the Stick of Joseph states?

Were they selected before they were born?

Lehi saw something important on this matter.

...And it came to pass that he saw one descending out of the midst of Heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noonday. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth... (1 Nephi 1:5 - 15, NC 1 Nephi 1 par. 3) 

Why is it that Lehi describes them coming to mortality, already with a brightness that exceeds the stars in the firmament?

What kingdom is the glory of the stars associated with?

If one comes to this kingdom already possessing a greater glory, where are they coming from?

Are these twelve included with the individuals who are identified in the group Alma talked about?

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. And those priests were ordained after the Order of his Son in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption. And this is the manner after which they were ordained: being called and prepared from the foundation of the world, according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works in the first place, being left to choose good or evil; therefore they, having chosen good, and exercising exceeding great faith, are called with a holy calling — yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such. And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds (while, if it had not been for this, they might had as great privilege as their brethren — or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren — thus, this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son who was prepared), and thus, being called by this holy calling and ordained unto the High Priesthood of the Holy Order of God to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest — this High Priesthood being after the Order of his Son, which Order was from the foundation of the world, or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity according to his foreknowledge of all things. Now they were ordained after this manner, being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the High Priesthood of the Holy Order — which calling, and ordinance, and High Priesthood is without beginning or end; thus, they become high priests for ever 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 13:1 - 9, NC Alma 9 par. 10)

If the twelve were part of this group then several things are true about them, in my opinion.

1) They were called and prepared from the foundation of the world.

Haven't we established in earlier posts that the "world" is a term used to signify the human family?

When was the foundation of the human family established?

Do we have any record of the events that founded the human family?

What about the book of Abraham?

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones. And God saw these souls, that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them and he said, These I will make my rulers. For he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good. And he said unto me, Abraham, you are one of them; you were chosen before you were born.  And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him, We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell. And we will prove them herewith to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them. And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. (Abraham 3:22 - 26, Teachings and Commandments, Section 145, The Book of Abraham 6 pars. 1 - 2)

Here in Abraham we have a picture of the events that established the human family don't we?

Here is the planning to create the earth "whereon these may dwell".

Isn't that a reference to the beginnings of the human family, the planning stages?

Would it be unreasonable to consider the planning stages of the human family the foundation of the human family?

Do you notice here that there is a group of "souls" who are noble and great who are called to be the rulers and teachers over the human family?

Isn't it interesting that this group of "souls", which "souls" is defined by the prophet Joseph as as spirit and a body inseparably connected, is distinctly different than the other group "these"?

Both Lehi and Abraham describe Christ as having glory exceeding even the "noble and great ones".

If the above is applicable to the twelve that both Nephi and Lehi witnessed in vision, could that be why Lehi sees the twelve as coming here to a lower kingdom already having glory?

Would that mean that they also condescended to come down just not to the same degree as Christ?

If so, why were they willing to put themselves in jeopardy of falling by descending into mortality?

Was this also a sacrifice on their part to accept the call to come and save others by delivering the message of Christ crucified?

2) They were chosen to come because they had already demonstrated to God in a previous probation that they choose good over evil and have already in that previous probation exercised exceeding great faith.  What they did before constitutes God's foreknowledge of what they will do here, in other words.

Even here on earth as imperfect parents, isn't it true that an observant and loving parent over time is able to come to a proper appraisal by their child's actions; what that child is capable of?

If, as imperfect but loving parents, we are able to in some measure make a proper appraisal of our children over time, how much more correct an appraisal can and do perfect, infinitely knowledgeable, and wise Parents with an infinite amount of time of observation make?

Even though their agency is totally in play here and they have the opportunity to fail and lose what they had previously attained to, would it be reasonable to assume that God would send an individual who has not previously proven that they are capable of completing the task at hand to complete the task at hand?

If this is true then at what point were these priests of the Holy Order or in other words the noble and great souls on the same plane or standing as their brethren? And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds (while, if it had not been for this, they might had as great privilege as their brethren — or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren — 

When was this probation?

3) The reason for their ordination is to teach the commandments of God unto the children of men that they might also enter into the rest of God.

What is the rest of God?

My present understanding is that God's rest is His glory so to enter into His rest is to enter into His glory.

What things would allow an individual to enter into the "rest" of God?

If it is just the ten commandments then why haven't the majority of the Christians in the world entered back into the "rest" of God?

Would that mean that their calling has nothing to do with telling others what to do or with being in authority over others?

Would that mean that they are teachers?

Was Nephi a teacher?

Was Lehi a teacher?

Can women and children be teachers?

Is it important then to focus on what an individual teaches and not who the individual is that is teaching?

4) Because of those who would reject the spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds (while, if it had not been for this, they might had as great privilege as their brethren, these teachers of righteousness always find themselves in conflict with the leaders, rulers, institutions, and traditions of the day. 

Did Christ come into conflict with the institutions, leaders, and rulers of His day while performing the will of the Father here?

If these individuals, these teachers of righteousness, these priests after the Holy Order of the Son of God, these noble and great souls from the foundation of the earth who come here already possessing glory in an act of condescension, are called in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption, can we expect that like Christ they too would encounter direct opposition from earthly leaders, institutions, and rulers of their days?

Wouldn't their lives and their works be types and shadows of Christ's life and work?

Do the scriptures manifest this?

What are the commandments of God that they teach that put them in conflict with the earthly power structures?

Below is an account in the newly revealed scripture witness of the Testimony of St. John concerning the last Passover meal with the Savior and the eleven faithful who remained with Him after Judas had left.

In the account we see that the Savior verifies the above four things concerning the eleven who were with Him.

The world will hate you, but you know that it hated me before it hates you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its property. But because you are not a captive of the world, and I have freed you from the world, the world hates you.  Remember that I told you before that no servant is greater than his Lord. If many have persecuted me, many will also persecute you, but if some few have followed my teachings, some few will follow yours also. The world’s response to you will be because you will act in my name and on my behalf. Those who fight against you are strangers to my Father. If I had not come and testified of the truth to them, they would not be accountable for rebellion, but now they have no excuse for their rebellion. If they hate me, they hate my Father also. If I had not shown to them an example no other man has shown before, they would not be accountable. But they have rebelled after seeing with their own eyes and hearing with their ears the one sent by Father Ahman to them, and have rebelled against us both. Proving men in this way fulfills the prophecy, They hated me without a cause.  As for you, when the Comforter comes (or in other words the Spirit of truth emanating from my Father), that spirit will testify of me. Then you have the ability to also testify of me. This is because you have followed me from the beginning or before the world was organized.  Now I tell you beforehand what to expect to come upon you so you are not surprised, nor will you stumble and fall. They will excommunicate you. The time will even come that the self-righteous who kill you will think that they speak for God. And they will do these things because they cannot do what the Father and I have done. I warn you beforehand that you will face this opposition so that when it happens you will remember and be strengthened. When I first taught, the anger and opposition was directed at me, and because of that, you were not their focus. But now I will return to the one who sent me and they will turn their anger at you. (Teachings and Commandments, Section 171, The Testimony of St. John 10 pars. 20 - 23)

The Savior declared that they followed Him from before the world was organized.  This is why they were chosen. They were called to testify of Him.  And the world would hate them for their witness of Christ, or in other words for teaching the commandments of God to the children of men.

Now, the scriptures state that these men have a future mission to perform concerning the House of Israel.

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed you. What shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Truly I say unto you that you who have followed me shall, in the resurrection, when the Son of Man shall come sitting on the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone that has forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life. But many of the first shall be last, and the last, first. (Matthew 19:27 - 30, NC Matthew 9 par. 24) 

I have heard it taught and I believe it that their judging of the House of Israel means that they will have the privilege of declaring what Christ's judgment is.  The judgment will be with Christ and they will declare what that judgment is.

The question arises then, What about Judas?

Judas Iscariot fell so who will replace him?

Consider the following.

I engage in a process that precedes what I consider having possession of any kind of reliable information. Speculation and casual comments I have made are not particularly reliable. Research I’ve done to try to understand a subject is not reliable. Conversations in emails about some topic may be nothing more than guess work or casual conversation. When information, light and truth come from God, I consider that reliable information worth writing about, talking about or teaching.

Years ago I was contemplating the subject of Christ’s original apostles. As I looked into the scriptures, the promise Christ made to the twelve was that in the resurrection they would sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. Judas was among the twelve when the promise was made. Judas fell away, betrayed the Lord and committed suicide. Whatever promise Judas may have had would have required his continued faithfulness. He was not faithful. Therefore, his throne and position as a judge in the resurrection over a tribe of Israel was forfeited. This led to the question of who would fill that vacancy.

I studied the scriptures looking exclusively for an answer to that question. Matthias was chosen to fill the vacancy left by Judas. He was chosen “by lot” which was the agreed method of discovering who the Lord wanted. Assuming that process was inspired, then Matthias would be one candidate.

Christ called Paul to be an apostle and messenger.  Paul wrote 2/3 of the New Testament books (letters). He was clearly chosen by God and would be another candidate to replace Judas in the resurrected role given to the twelve. I saw no other likely contender apart from these two. After considering the almost complete absence of Matthias from the New Testament record, and Paul’s great contribution, I concluded that the vacancy was filled by Paul.

Having reached a conclusion, I took it to God in prayer. Despite all my effort to study the matter out and reach a conclusion, I learned that I was wrong. I had not found the truth. My efforts did nothing more than qualify me to receive the right answer. It did not make me right.

I learned that of the original tribal leaders, eleven of the twelve fell from their positions as patriarchs. But one of the sons of Jacob never forfeited the right to be the head of his family. Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, remained worthy, chosen and fixed in his position over his posterity. There were always only eleven vacancies to be filled. Eleven of the twelve apostles, along with Joseph of Egypt, will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel in the resurrection. ("Reliable Information, Denversnuffer.com, February 21, 2018)

I have touched on so very little of the subject of the twelve seen by both Nephi and Lehi as following the Lord here in mortality.

It is a subject worth looking into.

He Was Lifted Up

1 Nephi 11:, NC 1 Nephi 3 par. 14

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying, Look. And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people, yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. And after he was slain, I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb, for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord. And the multitude of the earth was gathered together, and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying, Behold, the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold, the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And it came to pass that I saw and bear record that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and the fall thereof was exceeding great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.


The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraim, 1 Nefi 3 par. 14


And it came to pass that the angel spoke unto me again, saying, Look. And I looked and beheld the Lamb of Elohim, that he was taken by the people, yes, the Son of the El Olam was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nefi, saw that he was lifted up upon the Tz’lav and slain for the sins of the world. And after he was slain, I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the emissaries of the Lamb, for thus were the twelve called by the angel of yhwh. And the multitude of the earth was gathered together, and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw.  And the angel of yhwh spoke unto me again, saying, Behold, the world and the wisdom thereof; yes, behold, the house of Isra’el has gathered together to fight against the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.  And it came to pass that I saw and bear record that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of yhwh spoke unto me, saying, Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.

It is hard for me to share what is going through my mind concerning this all-important subject being presented to us here in the Book of Mormon by Nephi.

There are, in my opinion, endless considerations to be made that have to do with sacrifice and ascension alone that are integral to what the Lord performed here during this event Nephi is viewing.

The more I am allowed to hear, read, and understand about what the Savior did by allowing Himself to become the sacrifice required to redeem all that was created by His hand the more I see my utter ignorance and, most of the time, my utter ingratitude for what He has prepared.

Enoch, who developed the capacity to see the creations of God as He sees them, had the following experience.

And it came to pass that the Lord spoke unto Enoch and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men. Wherefore, Enoch knew and looked upon their wickedness and their misery, and wept, and stretched forth his arms. And he beheld eternity, and his bowels yearned, and all eternity shook. And Enoch saw Noah also, and his family, that the posterity of all the sons of Noah should be saved with a temporal salvation. Wherefore, Enoch saw that Noah built an ark, and the Lord smiled upon it and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the wicked came the floods and swallowed them up.  And as Enoch saw thus, he had bitterness of soul, and wept over his brethren, and said unto the Heavens, I will refuse to be comforted. But the Lord said unto Enoch, Lift up your heart, and be glad, and look. And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth. And he cried unto the Lord, saying, When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of The Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life? And the Lord said, It shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh, and his soul rejoiced, saying, The Righteous is lifted up and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world. And through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me. (Moses 7:41 - 47, OC Genesis 4 pars. 18 - 19)

Enoch saw the waste, and the misery, and the destruction caused by the wickness of men and seeing that caused him to weep.

What kind of knowledge and understanding does an individual possess in order to have the ability to behold eternity and yearn to the point that all eternity shakes?

When a person of such understanding weeps for the misery and destruction that the wickedness of men causes isn't that a sorrowing indeed?

What depths of sorrow does such an individual with that level of understanding experience when they declare to the Heavens (i.e. those who are in Heaven) that they refuse to be comforted?

Only the view of one event changed the bitterness of Enoch's soul to rejoicing; "Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh, and his soul rejoiced, saying, The Righteous is lifted up and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world."

How profound is this experience?

What does Enoch understand concerning the lifting up of the Lamb of God that we don't understand?

I don't believe that Enoch was rejoicing in the suffering of the Lamb but in the results; the power to fix what had been broken that came from His sacrifice.

Enoch further saw how the creation would respond to the Lamb of God being lifted up.

And it came to pass that Enoch cried unto the Lord, saying, When the Son of Man comes in the flesh, shall the earth rest? I ask of you, show me these things. And the Lord said unto Enoch, Look. And he looked, and beheld the Son of Man lifted upon the cross after the manner of men. And he heard a loud voice, and the heavens were veiled. And all the creation of God mourned, and the earth groaned, and the rocks were rent. And the saints arose and were crowned at the right hand of the Son of Man with crowns of glory. And as many of the spirits as were in prison came forth and stood on the right hand of God. And the remainder were reserved in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day. (Moses 7:54 - 57, OC Genesis 4 par. 21)

As we will see a little on, Nephi also saw the reaction of this creation to the Lord being lifted up.

Below is part of the account of Adam and Eve after they partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil outside of the proper timing.

And I, the Lord God, said unto the serpent, Because you have done this, you shall be cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field. Upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception. In sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said, Because you have listened unto the voice of your wife and have eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you shall return unto the ground, for you shall surely die, for out of it were you taken — for dust you were and unto dust shall you return. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve because she was the mother of all living, for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which is many. Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did I, the Lord God, make coats of skin, and clothed them. (Moses 4:20 - 27, Genesis 3:14 - 21, OC Genesis 2 par. 18)

Notice that the coats of skins provided to Adam and Eve to clothe them were provided in the Garden of Eden.

Doesn't that mean that Adam and Eve first received a symbol of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God in the Garden to cover their shame before they were cast out?

As I understand it there was to that point no death in the Garden.  They, Adam and Eve, witnessed this death and sacrifice for the first time here in a place where there was no death.

Consider the following.

Marriage was the first ordinance, it was introduced before the Fall, and it was introduced before
man was instructed on sacrifice. Go back to the Book of Moses in chapter 4, verse 27. This is
after they had transgressed, but before they had been sent out of the Garden: "Unto Adam, and
also unto his wife, did I, the Lord God, make coats of skins, and clothed them." [Now it's
important that, while the account sometimes refers to Adam by meaning both Adam and Eve, in
this case, it was necessary for a clarification to be made. The garment that was given unto them
to clothe their nakedness, is also referred to in the temple, as the garment of the Holy Priesthood.
God wants the record to be clear: "Unto Adam, and also unto his wife, did I, the Lord God, make
coats of skins, and clothed them." Therefore Adam was not clothed and then told, "You go and
do this and clothe your wife," God clothed them both. God did not expect Adam to intercede
when it comes to the clothing of the woman who had been given him. God treated her as if she
too were about to embark upon the journey into mortality that would require her likewise to
understand the principle of sacrifice. Think about it for one moment. You learn that they
practiced sacrifice thereafter, but when were they taught the principle of sacrifice? They were
taught about sacrifice at this moment, when they were clothed in the skins of an animal. The
animal gave its life to cover them.]
There are legends about this event. They show up in a variety of ways, they even show up in
mythical characters. These legends are about the animal chosen by God to be slain as the first
sacrifice. A choice had to be made for the sacrifice, in order to clothe them with the skins of an
animal. I rather like the theme of many of those, which is is that when the animals were brought
to Adam, and he named them, there were some he really liked more. But there was one particular
animal he liked above all the rest. It was that animal, and that animal's consort, who were slain in
order to provide the clothing for Adam and Eve. So Adam and his wife Eve could understand the
principle of sacrifice came at an enormous price. So the animal was no longer left in this sphere,
having been slain while yet in the Garden, to provide the coats. It was this great loss which was
used to drive home the point about the sacrifice required in order to clothe the nakedness of the
man and the woman. To “cover their shame” there was a great price to be paid.(Denver Snuffer, 40 Years in Mormonism, Lecture #9 "Marriage", pg. 285, found in PDF form for free on denversnuffer.com in the "downloads" section)

Can you imagine that the lifting up and slaying of the Lamb of God was so important and the price that was paid was so great for the success of the creations in this eternal round that the principle of this event was driven home to our first parents even before they were driven out of the Garden?

What about this from Jacob as we consider the power of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God?

Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice and lift up your heads for ever because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children. For I know that ye have searched much, many of you, to know of things to come; wherefore, I know that ye know that our flesh must waste away and die; nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God. Yea, and I know that ye know that in the body he shall shew himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came, for it is expedient that it should be among them. For it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him. For as death hath passed upon all men to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection. And the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the Fall, and the Fall came by reason of transgression. And because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord. Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement; save it should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. Oh the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace. For behold, if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the eternal God and became the Devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.  Oh how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster, yea, that monster death and hell, which I call the death of the body and also the death of the spirit! And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead, which death is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead, which spiritual death is hell. Wherefore, death and hell must deliver up its dead. And hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. (2 Nephi 9:3 - 12, NC 2 Nephi 6 pars. 2 - 4)

As the time for the sacrifice approached in the Savior's mortal life He declared to His disciples that He would now go to Jerusalem and be delivered up to the leaders and be slain.

From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord. This shall not be done unto you. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get behind me, Satan. You are an offense unto me, for you savor not the things that are of God, but those that are of men. (Matthew 16:21 - 23, NC St. Matthew 9 par. 2)

The Lord had taught in the Sermon on the Mount that it was improper to call another person a fool.

But here, the insistence of Peter that the Lord should avoid the sacrifice was so egregious an error that it justified the Lord in declaring that Peter was acting the role of Satan.

We read in Isaiah that it pleased the Lord or in other words it was the will of the Father, that He Christ should be bruised for our iniquities.

Yea, even doth not Isaiah say, Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men — a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
As the Lord hung lifted up He testified to those who were around that He was fulfilling what had been prophesied from the beginning.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray — we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death. Because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth; yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief. (Mosiah 14:4 - 12, NC Mosiah 8 pars. 3 - 4)

He was bruised for our iniquities but Amulek teaches the following.

And now behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world, for the Lord God has spoken it. For it is expedient that an atonement should be made. For according to the great plans of the eternal God, there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish. Yea, all are hardened, yea, all are fallen, and are lost, and must perish, except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made. For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beasts, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice, but it must be an infinite and an eternal sacrifice. Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now if a man murdereth, behold, will our law, which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, nay, but the law requireth the life of him who hath murdered. Therefore, there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world. Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice. And then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood. Then shall the law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall all be fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away. And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice. And that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal. And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name, this being the intent of this last sacrifice: to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircle them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice. Therefore, only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption. (Alma 34:8 - 16, NC Alma 16 par. 34)

All of these witnesses of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, of Him being lifted up and slain open up so many questions; Who was Christ? Who is Christ now? What is to come because of His attaining to the power of the resurrection? How did Christ become the Lamb? Is this part of ascension; to be lifted up? If this was the will of the Father what does the will of the Father mean for all of us? What eternal laws were satisfied in order to allow us all to continue on and not remain in the grave? How did Christ or rather what was it that Christ did that allowed His sacrifice to be able to atone for the sins of another (namely all of us)? Is this why we are taught so extensively in Lectures on Faith concerning sacrifice? Is this "how great things the Lord has done"?  If He was doing what He had seen His Father do what does that mean for us if we become His children?

The questions go on and on.

One thing that strikes me from all of these witnesses is that the lifting up of the Lamb of God was and is indispensable for a Savior and for all of His infinite creations.

Even as He was lifted up He testified that he was fulfilling His Father's will.

And when the sixth hour came, there was darkness over the whole land, until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani! — which is (being interpreted), My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of them who stood by, when they heard him, said, Behold, he calls Elijah. And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar and put on a reed and gave him to drink. Others spoke, saying, Let him alone. Let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down. (Mark 15;33 - 36, NC St. Mark 7 par. 26)

He was quoting the first part of one of the Psalms that testified of Him and His sacrifice.

My God, why have you forsaken me? My God, hear the words of my roaring. You are far from helping me. O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you answer not, and in the night season, and am not silent. But you are holy that inhabit the Heavens. You are worthy of the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted and you did deliver them. They cried unto you and were delivered. They trusted in you and were not confounded.  But I am a worm, and loved of no man, a reproach of man and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord, that he would deliver him; let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.  But you are he that took me out of the womb. You did make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. I was cast upon you from the womb. You were my God from my mother’s breasts.  Be not far from me — for trouble is near — for there is none to help. Many armies have encompassed me; strong armies of Bashan have beset me around. They gaped upon me with their mouths like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my inward parts. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws, and you have brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have encompassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tally all my bones. They look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not far from me, O Lord. O my strength, hasten to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword, my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth, for you have heard me speak from the secret places of the wilderness through the horns of the re’em. (Psalms 22:1 - 21, OC Psalms 22 pars. 1 - 4)

Those familiar with the Psalm would have understood the witness He was giving.

We have addressed some of the above questions and will eventually address them all, I believe, as we continue to look deeper and deeper into the mysteries of God contained in the Book of Mormon.

As inadequate as I know it is and knowing full well of my shortcomings, my sins, my rebellions, and my stain, I still feel compelled to give thanks to God and the Lamb that the Lamb was lifted up.

As the hymn states, I really do marvel that "He would descend from His throne divine to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine that He would extend His great love unto such as I sufficient to own to redeem and to justify."