Who was Abraham?
Abraham, who was born in about 2000 B.C., was the father of Isaac and the grandfather of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel.
Book of Abraham Introduction
On 3 July 1835 a man named Michael Chandler brought four Egyptian mummies and several papyrus scrolls of ancient Egyptian writings to Kirtland, Ohio. The mummies and papyri had been discovered in Egypt several years earlier by Antonio Lebolo. Kirtland was one of many stops in the eastern United States for Chandler’s mummy exhibition. Chandler was offering the mummies and rolls of papyrus for sale and, at the urging of the Prophet Joseph Smith, several members of the Church donated money to purchase them. In a statement dated 5 July 1835, Joseph Smith, declaring the importance of these ancient Egyptian writings, recorded: “I commenced the translation of some of the characters or hieroglyphics, and much to our joy found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham. … Truly we can say, the Lord is beginning to reveal the abundance of peace and truth.
The Prophet Joseph Smith never communicated his method of translating these records. As with all other scriptures, a testimony of the truthfulness of these writings is primarily a matter of faith. The greatest evidence of the truthfulness of the book of Abraham is not found in an analysis of physical evidence nor historical background, but in prayerful consideration of its content and power.
The book of Abraham reveals truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ that were previously unknown to Church members of Joseph Smith’s day. It also casts a bright light upon difficult passages found in other scriptural texts.
Abraham 1-2 Background
Abraham was born in Ur, generally identified with the modern town of Mugheir in present-day Iraq. Abraham’s father, Terah, had given himself to the worship of false gods and was willing to offer his own son as a sacrifice. The family of Abraham had turned from righteousness and had become idolators. Jehovah destroyed the wicked priests and saved Abraham. There was a famine in the land. The Lord commanded Abraham to leave the land. The Lord visited Abraham again and promised blessings to him and his seed. Abraham eventually went into Egypt. The Lord told him to tell everyone that his wife Sarai was his sister otherwise they would kill Abraham.
Abraham 3:1
Urim and thummim come from Hebrew words meaning “lights” and “perfections.” The title Urim and Thummim was given to an instrument the Lord prepared to assist man in obtaining revelation and in translating languages.
The scriptures reveal that there were more than one Urim and Thummim. While the prophets of the Book of Mormon were using one set of stones, the prophets of the Old Testament were using another.
Abraham 3:2-5,9,16
2 - One star is nearest unto the throne of God.
3,9 - Kolob is the name of the great one It governs all the stars which belong to the same order.
4 - One revolution on Kolob (1 day) is equal to 1,000 years of time on our earth.
5 - Lesser planets move more slow.
16 - When there are two stars, one will be greater than other, and there are other starts greater than those two, until Kolob which is the greatest of all.
Abraham learned that bodies in space have different periods of revolution and that they move in their own time frames of reference. Each planet, or star, operates according to a time base which is set by its location from a central, governing body. (Fred Holmstrom "Astronomy and the book of Abraham")
What makes a planet great?
Abraham learned that wherever there are two stars one will be greater
than the other, and that there are other stars greater than those two,
until Kolob, which is the greatest of all. He learned that it is not
size that makes one star or planet greater than another, but rather its
proximity to Kolob. So it is with the children of God—their greatness
and glory will depend upon their proximity to the Creator, Jesus Christ,
who is “nearest unto the throne of God,” “the great one,” “the first
creation,” and is “set to govern all those which belong to the same
order.” Thus the great star, Kolob, is a symbol of Jesus Christ.
Abraham 3:14
Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, when he was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught: “The children of Abraham, if they will keep the covenant as they receive it in the house of the Lord, shall, as Abraham their father, continue on through all eternity to increase, and there shall be no end to their posterity. In this way the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are extended to them, and they become partakers to the fullest extent. For there is to be a continuation of the ‘seeds forever’ among those who receive exaltation in the kingdom of God
Abraham 3:17
God sees to completion the actual accomplishment of everything that He takes into His heart.
How different is this from the nature of mankind?
see Isaiah 55:8–9
Abraham 3:19
There are varying degrees of intelligence among Heavenly Father’s spirit children.
(Abraham called the spirit children of our Heavenly Father “spirits” in Abraham 3:18–19, “intelligences” in verse 22, and “souls” in verse 23.)
God dwelled in the midst of all the spirits or intelligences and he is more intelligent than they all.
Abraham 3:22,23
The Prophet Joseph Smith stated: “God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with Himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits.
What does it mean to be more intelligent?
President Joseph Fielding Smith said: “We know they were all innocent in the beginning; but the right of free agency which was given to them enabled some to outstrip others, and thus, through the eons of immortal existence, to become more intelligent, more faithful, for they were free to act for themselves, to think for themselves, to receive the truth or rebel against it.
see D&C 138:53-57
Did foreordination guarantee that Abraham, Joseph Smith, and others would become prophets?
What is the relationship between foreordination and agency?
(Even though a person is foreordained to a calling, that calling is dependent on the person’s worthiness and willingness to accept it.)
In addition to foreordaining the prophets to their callings, God foreordained many “other choice spirits” to help build up his kingdom in different ways.
What might we have been foreordained to do?
see D&C 138:56
President Ezra Taft Benson taught “God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the second coming of the Lord. Some individuals will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its head—even Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of His strongest children, who will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly. …Make no mistake about it—you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is of us”
How can we be sure that we are fulfilling our foreordained callings?
Abraham 3:25
President Ezra Taft Benson succinctly restated the message of Abraham 3:25 when he said: “The great test of life is obedience to God” We are not here to test or “prove” God, but to be tested and proved ourselves. We are on trial, not God.
Elder Rex C. Reeve Sr., who was a member of the Seventy, said: “This life is a time of testing. It is not the reward time. That will come later. We are here being tested. The test is going on now.
Abraham 3:26
If we kept our first estate should we feel safe about our second estate?
Elder Neal A. Maxwell: "Premortality is not a relaxing doctrine. For each of us, there are choices to be made, incessant and difficult chores to be done, ironies and adversities to be experienced, time to be well spent, talents and gifts to be well employed. Just because we were chosen ‘there and then,’ surely does not mean we can be indifferent ‘here and now. In fact, adequacy in the first estate may merely have ensured a stern, second estate with more duties and no immunities!"
Abraham 3:27,28
How does it help you to know that you chose to follow Jesus Christ in the Council in Heaven?
Summary Points
-There is more than one Urim and Thummim
-Kolob is the name of the great star. It is nearest unto the throne of God. It governs all the stars which belong to the same order.
-Kolob is a symbol of Jesus Christ.
-One revolution on Kolob (1 day) is equal to 1,000 years of time on our earth.
-It is not
size that makes one star or planet greater than another, but rather its
proximity to Kolob.
-God sees to completion the actual accomplishment of everything that He takes into His heart.
-There are varying degrees of intelligence among Heavenly Father’s spirit children.
-Foreordination is God’s premortal ordination of his spirit children to fulfill certain missions during their mortal life.
-Foreordination does not guarantee it will happen. We still have our free agency.
-The great test of life is obedience to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment