“A Similitude of God and His Only Begotten Son”

Joseph F. McConkie, Robert L. Millet
Elder Melvin J. Ballard has taught the following concerning this similitude:

“His Only Begotten Son”

“I think as I read the story of Abraham’s sacrifices of his son Isaac that our Father is trying to tell us what it cost Him to give His Son as a gift to the world...”

“His Only Begotten Son”

They … worshiped the Father in his name] Adam was taught to repent and call upon the Father in the name of the Son forevermore (Moses 5:8). The voice of God from out of the burning bush instructed Moses that he should “call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me” (Moses 1:17).

“His Only Begotten Son”

“Our Father in heaven went through all that and more, for in His case the hand was not stayed. He loved His Son, Jesus Christ, better than Abraham ever loved Isaac, for our Father had with Him His Son, our Redeemer, in the eternal worlds, faithful and true for ages, standing in a place of trust and honor, and the Father loved him so dearly, and yet He allowed this well-beloved Son to descend from his place of glory and honor, where millions did Him homage, down to the earth, a condescension that is not within the power of man to conceive.

He came to receive the insult, the abuse, and the crown of thorns. God heard the cry of His Son in that moment of great grief and agony, in the garden when the pores of His body opened and drops of blood stood upon Him, and He cried out: ’Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.’”

“Which Is a Similitude of God”

“We cannot stand by and listen to those cries without its touching our hearts. The Lord has not given us the power to save our own. He has given us faith, and we submit to the inevitable, but He had the power to save, and He loved His Son, and He could have saved Him. He might have rescued Him from the insult of the crowds. He might have rescued Him when the crown of thorns was placed upon His head. He might have rescued Him when the Son, hanging between two thieves, was mocked with, ’Save thyself, and come down from the cross. He saved others; himself he cannot save.’ He listened to all this. He saw that Son condemned; He saw Him drag the cross through the streets of Jerusalem and faint under its load. He saw the Son finally upon Calvary; He saw His body stretched out upon the wooden cross; He saw the cruel nails driven through hands and feet, and the blows that broke the skin, tore the flesh, and let out the life’s blood of His Son. He looked upon that.”

Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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