The evening before the Lamb of God was to be crucified for the sins of the world and hours before He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus was sitting with his Apostles in a “large upper room” (Mark 14:15). It was here that He first instituted the sacrament: “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,” (Matthew 26:26). Then He said, “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” 1 Corinthians 11:24). Then, “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25). Thus, the purpose of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is to look back and remember Jesus the Christ and what He has done for each of us. Everything points “to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice [is] the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal” (Alma 34:14). Blood sacrifices looked forward; the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper looks backward, and the central act—the atonement of Jesus Christ—is right in the middle—the meridian of time.

In the previous two articles about the law of sacrifice, we have discussed how the law was used anciently to teach God’s children to look forward to this “great and last sacrifice.” With the Savior’s ultimate sacrifice, the law of Moses was done away. The law of Moses, however, “is not the same thing as the law of sacrifice” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7). The Savior said after His resurrection from the dead, “And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood . . . [but] ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19-20). Hence, what we sacrifice has changed; that we sacrifice, and the reasons why we sacrifice have remained the same.

The word sacrifice means to make holy. It also means “To surrender or give up (something) for the attainment of some higher advantage or dearer object” (Oxford English Dictionary, “Sacrifice”). Or, as Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Bruce R. McConkie put it, “Sacrifice involves giving up the things of this world because of the promises of blessings to be gained in a better world” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. “Sacrifice,” Bookcraft: 1966).

But what is a broken heart and a contrite spirit? A broken heart is the opposite of a hard heart. The image of a hard heart is used in the scriptures to denote pride. Hence, a person with a broken heart is one who is humble. The word contrite means repentant. A person with a contrite spirit is one who has an awareness of his or her guilt. This person remembers the things he or she has done wrong, but because the person is repentant, he or she strives to change and be better than before. This person knows that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, he or she can overcome all obstacles.

To have a broken heart and a contrite spirit therefore means we are willing to submit to God. We are willing to submit to God as Christ was willing to submit to His father. The Savior said, “And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men, even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil” (3 Nephi 27:14).

God loves us. He wants us to come unto Him. The law of sacrifice tests us and assists us in coming unto Christ (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7). Another Apostle of the Church, Russell M. Nelson, has taught: “Our highest sense of sacrifice is achieved as we make ourselves more sacred or holy. This we do by our obedience to the commandments of God” (“Lessons from Eve,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 88). Hence, “the sacrifice changed from the offering to the offerer” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7).

Sacrifice is therefore a wonderful blessing. Joseph Smith said, “A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation” (Lectures on Faith 6:7). In other words, sacrifice gives us faith, and with faith we can receive salvation. It is not always easy to give up something we want, especially when we can’t actually see the end results. But I testify that it is worth it in the end. Sometimes we must take a few steps into the darkness in order for the light to turn on and go before us. That’s faith. And sacrifice takes faith.

I end with one of my favorite quotes on the law of sacrifice: “Real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed!” (Neal A. Maxwell “ ‘Deny Yourselves of All Ungodliness,’ ” Ensign, May 1995, 68).

The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ “embraces, sustains, supports, and gives life to all other gospel doctrines.  It is the foundation upon which all truth rests and all things grow out of it and come because of it.”1 “The wondrous and glorious Atonement was the central act in all of human history.”2 Because of these statements, all things also point to Christ and His atonement.  Those who lived before Christ looked forward to Him and His infinite and eternal sacrifice.  Those who live after Christ look back to this greatest of all events and “remember what was done.”3

There were many different ways in which the blood sacrifices before Christ were types and shadows of the great and last sacrifice.  Note a few of the details:

First, like Christ, the [sacrificial] animal was chosen and anointed by the laying on of hands. (The Hebrew title Messiah and the Greek title Christ both mean “the Anointed One.”) Second, the animal was to have its life’s blood spilt. Third, it had to be without blemish—totally free from physical

flaws, complete, whole, and perfect. Fourth, the sacrifice had to be clean and worthy. Fifth, the sacrifice had to be domesticated; that is, not wild but tame and of help to man (see Lev. 1:2–3, 10; Lev. 22:21). Sixth and seventh, for the original sacrifice practiced by Adam and the most common sacrifice in the law of Moses, the animal had to be a firstborn and a male (see Ex. 12:5; Lev. 1:3; Lev. 22:18–25). Eighth, the sacrifice of grain had to be ground into flour and made into breadstuffs, which reminds us of our Lord’s title the Bread of Life (see John 6:48). Ninth, the firstfruits that were offered remind us that Christ was the firstfruits of the Resurrection.”4

About 74 years before Christ, the prophet Amulek wrote about how Christ’s sacrifice would eventually end blood sacrifices:

It is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice . . .
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. (Alma 34:10, 14)

Nine years before that, the prophet Alma also testified of Christ,

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. (Alma 7:11-12)

The Savior of all mankind came and fulfilled the law.  He is the great and last sacrifice.  The pain that He went through was “so hard to bear” that we cannot comprehend it, and His suffering was so great that He–God, the greatest of all–trembled because of the pain, bled from every pore, and suffered both body and spirit (See Doctrine and Covenants 19:18).

With His death, the law of Moses was fulfilled.  Yet, the law of Moses is not exactly the same thing as the law of sacrifice.5 We still keep the law of sacrifice.  The Savior taught concerning the fulfilling of the law and what we are to sacrifice nowadays:

And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 9:19-20)

Malachi 3:8-10 is often quoted to motivate us to pay our tithes and offerings.  “Will a man rob God?” the record reads,

Yet ye have robbed me.  But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee?  In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  (Malachi 3:8-10)

Because one of the offerings we are to give to the Lord is “a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” the same principle of blessings applies.  I testify that when we offer up to the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit that He will pour out a blessing upon us that is so great that we will not have room enough to receive it.  Our cup of blessings will fill to overflowing, even so much that those around us will also receive blessings.

Yet, no matter how contrite our spirit or how broken our heart, our sacrifice is nothing compared to the one that happened in the meridian of time.  Indeed, there is one offering that pours out a blessing so great upon all of mankind, that none can even begin to comprehend the greatness of it.  This offering is so great that it has power to bless—and save—all mankind: “black and white, bond and free, male and female” (2 Nephi 26:33).

In conclusion, hear another testimony from another prophet in the Book of Mormon–King Benjamin:

And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.
And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.
For behold, and also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. (Mosiah 3:7-11)

Hence, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”6

Notes

1 Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, 60.
2 Neal A. Maxwell, “Willing to Submit,” Ensign, May 1985, 70.
3 Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Salt Lake City, 1980, 185.
4 M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7.
5 Ibid.
6 Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Ed. Joseph F. Smith, Deseret Book: Salt Lake City, 1976, 121.

The atonement of Jesus Christ is the central doctrine of Christianity, and all other Christian doctrines come out of and are appendages to it.1 Not only can these other doctrines be connected back to the Savior and His Atoning Sacrifice, but if they are not, “there will be no life nor substance nor redemption in them,” to use a phrase by President Boyd K. Packer, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.2 It is therefore not only important, but necessary, when studying any doctrine or teaching or appendage of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to connect it back to Jesus Christ and His eternal sacrifice.

When Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden, they were commanded “that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord” (Moses 5:5).  Yet M. Russell Ballard, another apostle of the Church, has said that some have wondered, “How could the slaughtering of an animal upon an altar have anything to do with the gospel of love?”3

He continues,

We can better understand the answer to [this] question when we understand the two major purposes for the law of sacrifice. These purposes applied to Adam, Abraham, Moses, and the New Testament Apostles, and they apply to us today as we accept and live the law of sacrifice. [The] two major purposes [of the law of sacrifice] are to test and prove us and to assist us in coming unto Christ.4

As we read more of Adam and Eve’s obedience to the law of sacrifice, take note of how these two major purposes—to test or prove, and “to assist us in coming unto Christ.”

“Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord” (Moses 5:5).  He offered up the firstlings of his flocks.  This was not easy, especially in an era when one lived off of their land and flocks.  A firstling was a very valuable possession.  And if that weren’t enough, Adam and Eve did not even know why they were offering sacrifices.  The record says that “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 (Moses 5:6).

Adam and Eve passed the test.

Like Adam and Eve, we are also asked to sacrifice.  Most of us don’t have any firstlings or firstfruits to give up (though even if we did, the law was changed after Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice anyway).  We are, however, being tried and proved, and sometimes a person “must learn to walk a few steps ahead into the darkness, and then the light will turn on and go before [them],” as Boyd K. Packer has written.5 Adam and Eve took a few steps into the darkness.  They did not know why they were asked to give sacrifices, but they did it anyway.  Yet, notice, as the record continues, how Adam and Eve received a witness after the trial of their faith (see Ether 12:6) and were taught concerning the second of the two main purposes of the law of sacrifice—“to assist [God’s children] in coming unto Christ.”

The record reads,

And then the angel spake saying: This [sacrifice] is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. (Moses 5:7-8)

As Bruce R. McConkie, yet another apostle, has written, “For a pastoral people whose lives depended on their flocks and herds, there could have been no better similitude than this.”6

The righteous posterity of Adam continued to offer sacrifices, down to the children of Israel.  However,

[b]ecause of the rebellious nature of the children of Israel in the days of Moses, the practice of the law of sacrifice was changed; it became a strict law requiring daily observance of performances and ordinances. During the time of Moses there was an expansion in the number and variety of offerings under the law of sacrifice. The Mosaic sacrifices consisted of five major offerings that fell into two primary categories—obligatory and voluntary. . .7

Yet,

[o]ne thing remained the same in all of these offerings: everything about Mosaic sacrifice focused on Christ. Like Christ, the priest acted as the mediator between the people and their God. Like Christ, the priest had to have the right parentage to officiate in his office. Like Christ, the offerer through obedience willingly sacrificed what was required by the law.8

Hence, the purpose of the law of Moses was to persuade God’s children “to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was” (Jarom 1:11).
Alma, about 74 years before Christ, wrote that after the Savior’s ultimate sacrifice the law of Moses (not the law of sacrifice, for these two are not exactly the same thing) would be done away.  He said,

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 be all 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.” (Alma 34:13-15)

God loves us.  He “doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world” (2 Nephi 26:24).  He gives His children laws and commandments that point them to Christ.  Giving up what we want for the sake of something better isn’t easy.  Sacrifice never was easy.  It tries our faith and, like all other doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, connects back and brings us closer to the Savior.

While the law of Moses was done away, the law of sacrifice was not.  Those who lived before Christ looked forward to Him as though He had already come.  Today, we look back with a “broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:20).

Indeed, as Neal A. Maxwell, an apostle of the Church, has said, “Real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed!”9

Notes
1 See Bruce R. McConkie. Mormon Doctrine 2nd ed. “Atonement of Christ.” Bookcraft: 1966. 60.; Joseph Smith.  Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Selected by Joseph Fielding Smith.   Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.  1938. 121.
2 Boyd K. Packer, in Conference Report, Apr. 1977, 80; or Ensign, May 1977, 55-56.
3 M. Russell Ballard. “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7.
4 Ibid.
5 Boyd K. Packer. “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ—Plain and Precious Things,” Liahona, May 2005, 6–9.
6 Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1985, 114–15.
7 M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7.
8 Ibid.
9 Neal A. Maxwell, “‘Deny Yourselves of All Ungodliness,’” Ensign, May 1995, 68, emphasis added.

Because Jesus’ name-titles are symbolic, one might analyze them in order to both gain a greater appreciation of and learn who He really is.  One of the titles of Jesus Christ that has a very profound level of symbolism is when he is called “the Lamb of God.”  I will attempt a basic explanation of what this name-title means, and why of all creatures, a lamb was chosen to represent the Savior.

Long before the Lamb of God was born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger, Isaiah likened the Savior of all men and women unto a lamb when he wrote, “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 openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).  The lamb is therefore a symbol of meekness, humility, and of willingness to submit to the will of the master.  It is true that Jesus is all of these (humble, willing to submit to the Father) but the level of symbolism goes much deeper than this.

But before a further explanation of why Jesus is called the Lamb of God is given, we must dwell for a moment on the Law of Sacrifice, a rite of worship that had been practiced as a part of worship since the days of Adam and Eve.  An understanding of the Law of Sacrifice will give us a starting point as to the deeper symbolism of why Jesus is called the Lamb of God.�
The Bible Dictionary states that, “Soon after Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord gave them the law of sacrifices, which included offering the firstlings of their flocks in a similitude of the sacrifice that would be made of the Only Begotten Son of God” (Bible Dictionary: Sacrifices).  The law therefore pointed men and women “to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice [would] be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal” (Alma 34:14).

In the Mosaic Law one reads that the sacrifices must be “a male without blemish,” (Leviticus 1:3), the firstling or firstborn of one’s flocks (Numbers 18:17), and having no broken bones (Exodus 12:46).  Lambs of this nature were highly valued possessions and had to be offered voluntarily.  After the paschal lamb was sacrificed it was “eaten . . . with unleavened bread and bitter herbs” (Bible Dictionary: Feasts).  Anything left over was burned.

This is what happened when lambs were sacrificed during the Passover, a feast of the Jews that was “instituted to commemorate the passing over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when God smote the firstborn of the Egyptians,” and Israel’s “redemption from Egypt” (Bible Dictionary: Feasts).  This lamb sacrifice at the feast of the Passover is known as the “paschal lamb.”

James E. Talmage said, putting the pieces of the puzzle together,

“The paschal lamb, slain for every Israelitish household at the annually recurring feast of the Passover, was a particular type of the Lamb of God who in due time would be slain for the sins of the world. The crucifixion of Christ was effected at the Passover season; and the consummation of the supreme Sacrifice, of which the paschal lambs had been but lesser prototypes, led Paul the apostle to affirm in later times: ‘For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us’” (Jesus the Christ. Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1922. 46-47).

Furthermore,

“If ‘the preparation of the passover’ (John 19:14) on Friday, the day of Christ’s crucifixion, means the slaughtering of the paschal lambs, our Lord, the real sacrifice of which all earlier altar victims had been but prototypes, died on the cross while the passover lambs were being slain at the temple” (Ibid. 620).

Abraham therefore said prophetically as he prepared to sacrifice his only son, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8).

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God.  He is a male, sinless and without blemish.  None of his bones were broken (John 19:36).  He is the Firstborn.  He is meek, humble, and willing to submit to the will of his Father.  He is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7).

While all sacrifices, including the Passover, helped ancient Israel look forward to the greatest event ever to occur on the earth, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper helps us look back to that same event.  We symbolically eat His flesh and drink His blood as a token of remembrance of that transcendent event (Matthew 26:26-28).  Thus the old law was done away, and a new one had been given in its place.

“For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice” (Alma 34:10).

The divinity of Jesus Christ is indicated by the specific names and titles authoritatively applied to Him. According to man’s judgment there may be but little importance attached to names; but in the nomenclature of the Gods every name is a title of power or station. God is righteously zealous of the sanctity of His own name (Exodus 20:7; Leviticus 19:12; Deuteronomy 5:11) and of names given by His appointment. In the case of children of promise names have been prescribed before birth; this is true of our Lord Jesus and of the Baptist, John, who was sent to prepare the way for the Christ. Names of persons have been changed by divine direction, when not sufficiently definite as titles denoting the particular service to which the bearers were called, or the special blessings conferred upon them.*

Jesus is the individual name of the Savior, and as thus spelled is of Greek derivation; its Hebrew equivalent was Yehoshua or Yeshua, or, as we render it in English, Joshua. In the original the name was well understood as meaning “Help of Jehovah”, or “Savior”. Though as common an appellation as John or Henry or Charles today, the name was nevertheless divinely prescribed, as already stated. Thus, unto Joseph, the espoused husband of the Virgin, the angel said, “And thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21; see also verses 23, 25; Luke 1:31)

Christ is a sacred title, and not an ordinary appellation or common name; it is of Greek derivation, and in meaningis identical with its Hebrew equivalent Messiah or Messias, signifying the Anointed One. (John 1:41; 4:25) Other titles, each possessing a definitive meaning, such as Emmanuel, Savior, Redeemer, Only Begotten Son, Lord, Son of God, Son of Man, and many more, are of scriptural occurrence; the fact of main present importance to us is that these several titles are expressive of our Lord’s divine origin and Godship. As seen, the essential names or titles of Jesus the Christ were made known before His birth, and were revealed to prophets who preceded Him in the mortal state. (Luke 1:31; 2:21; Matthew 1:21, 25; see also verse 23 and compare Isaiah 7:14; Luke 2:11, Moses 6:51, 57; 7:20; 8:24, 1 Nephi 10:4; 2 Nephi 10:3; Mosiah 3:8)

Jehovah is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew, Yahveh or Jahveh, signifying the Self-existent One, or The Eternal. This name is generally rendered in our English version of the Old Testament as LORD, printed in capitals. (The name appears thus in Genesis 2:5; see also Exodus 6:2-4; and read for comparison Genesis 17:1; 35:11) The Hebrew, Ehyeh, signifying I Am, is related in meaning and through derivation with the term Yahveh or Jehovah; and herein lies the significance of this name by which the Lord revealed Himself to Moses when the latter received the commission to go into Egypt and deliver the children of Israel from bondage: “Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:13, 14; compare with respect to the fact of eternal duration expressed in this name, Isaiah 44:6; John 8:58; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:4; see also Moses 1:3 and the references there given ) In the succeeding verse the Lord declares Himself to be “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” While Moses was in Egypt, the Lord further revealed Himself, saying “I am the LORD: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” (Exodus 6:2-3) The central fact connoted by this name, I Am, or Jehovah, the two having essentially the same meaning, is that of existence or duration that shall have no end, and which, judged by all human standards of reckoning, could have had no beginning; the name is related to such other titles as Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 1:11, 17; 2:8; 22:13; compare Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12)

Jesus Christ, when once assailed with question and criticism from certain Jews who regarded their Abrahamic lineage as an assurance of divine preferment, met their abusive words with the declaration: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am”. (John 8:58) The true significance of this saying would be more plainly expressed were the sentence punctuated and pointed as follows: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham, was I AM;” which means the same as had He said—Before Abraham, was I, Jehovah. The captious Jews were so offended at hearing Him use a name which, through an erroneous rendering of an earlier scripture, (Leviticus 24:16) they held was not to be uttered on pain of death, that they immediately took up stones with the intent of killing Him. The Jews regarded Jehovah as an ineffable name, not to be spoken; they substituted for it the sacred, though to them the not-forbidden name, Adonai, signifying the Lord. The original of the terms Lord and God as they appear in the Old Testament, was either Yahveh or Adonai; and the divine Being designated by these sacred names was, as shown by the scriptures cited, Jesus the Christ. John, evangelist and apostle, positively identifies Jesus Christ with Adonai, or the Lord who spoke through the voice of Isaiah, (Isaiah 6:8-11; compare John 12:40-41) and with Jehovah who spoke through Zechariah. (Zechariah 12:10; compare John 19:37)

The name Elohim is of frequent occurrence in the Hebrew texts of the Old Testament, though it is not found in our English versions. In form the word is a Hebrew plural noun; (The singular, “Eloah,” appears only in poetic usage) but it connotes the plurality of excellence or intensity, rather than distinctively of number. It is expressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and power. Elohim, as understood and used in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, is the name-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the spirit is Jehovah—the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth, who in solemn testimony to the Jews declared Himself the I Am or Jehovah, who was God before Abraham lived on earth, was the same Being who is repeatedly proclaimed as the God who made covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the God who led Israel from the bondage of Egypt to the freedom of the promised land, the one and only God known by direct and personal revelation to the Hebrew prophets in general.

The identity of Jesus Christ with the Jehovah of the Israelites was well understood by the Nephite prophets, and the truth of their teachings was confirmed by the risen Lord who manifested Himself unto them shortly after His ascension from the midst of the apostles at Jerusalem. This is the record: “And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying, Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.” (3 Nephi 11:13-14; 1 Nephi 17:40; Mosiah 7:19)

*The significance of names when given of God finds illustration in many scriptural instances. The following are examples: “Jesus” meaning Savior (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31); “John,” signifying Jehovah’s gift, specifically applied to the Baptist, who was sent to earth to prepare the way for Jehovah’s coming in the flesh (Luke 1:13); “Ishmael,” signifying God shall hear him (Genesis 16:11); “Isaac,” meaning laughter (Genesis 17:19, compare 18:10-15). As instances of names changed by divine authority to express added blessings, or special callings, consider the following: “Abram,” which connoted nobility or exaltation and as usually rendered, father of elevation, was changed to “Abraham,” father of a multitude which expressed the reason for the change as given at the time thereof, “for a father of many nations have I made thee” (Genesis 17:5). “Sarai,” the name of Abraham’s wife, and of uncertain distinctive meaning, was substituted by “Sarah” which signified the princess (Genesis 17:15). “Jacob,” a name given to the son of Isaac with reference to a circumstance attending his birth, and signifying a supplanter, was superseded by “Israel” meaning a soldier of God, a prince of God; as expressed in the words effecting the change, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28; compare 35:9-10) “Simon,” meaning a hearer, the name of the man who became the chief apostle of Jesus Christ, was changed by the Lord to “Cephas” (Aramaic) or “Peter” (Greek) meaning a rock (John 1:42; Matthew 16:18; Luke 6:14). On James and John the sons of Zebedee, the Lord conferred the name or title “Boanerges” meaning sons of thunder (Mark 3:17).

James Talmage, Jesus the Christ

Of all the questions we ponder concerning Gethsemane, why the Savior suffered there is perhaps that which has most baffled scholars and saints. The Gospel writers tell us what happened at that crucial site, but they do not clearly address the question of why. In an effort to answer the question, some suggest that Christ suffered because He recognized the ingratitude of men who would not accept the Atonement He would make for them on the cross, or because He loved us and yet knew what we would commit or face in the future, such as sins, betrayals, denials, and persecutions. others offer that perhaps Jesus Christ suffered because He realized He had to yield up His divine nature and become obedient unto death, thereby becoming the “suffering servant” or be required to give up all the good that could fill His life. Some recommend that we understand Christ’s suffering in an eschatological context and view that which Jesus Christ endured and prayed to avert as the suffering and struggle that are to precede the coming forth of the kingdom. Still others suggest that His suffering simply came from His desire to find another way to be the Messiah rather than the way the Father had planned. Commonly, [some] conclude that Christ’s pain and suffering came because of fear of what He knew was ahead of Him, even His impending death on the cross and the suffering and humiliation He would endure antecedent to it. . . .

Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe that it was not simply the fear of future death, betrayal, denial, or struggle that caused the Savior to question if he “might not drink the bitter cup and shrink” but rather something immediate and of far greater significance (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18). As the Savior revealed through Joseph Smith, “I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit–and I would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink–nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19).

King Benjamin, [a prophet in ancient America], taught his people the same truth: “He shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7). The resurrected Savior bore similar witness to the descendants of Lehi gathered at the temple in Bountiful: “I am the light and the life of th world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things form the beginning” (3 Nephi 11:11). Jacob added his testimony of this truth: “He cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of evey living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam” (2 Nephi 9:21). . . .

Thus, we understand that the primary cause of the Savior’s suffering was for us, as He took upon Himself all the pain, all the suffering, and all the weight, fear, and anguish of our sins and thereby worked the great and infinite Atonement. While much of His anguish would come through the humiliation, torture, and crucifixion He would endure subsequent to His betrayal and arrest, we further understand that most of His atoning suffering occurred in Gethsemane.

To have any measure of appreciation and gratitude for what Jesus Christ accomplished in our behalf, we must remember these vital truths:

Jesus Christ came to earth to do our Father’s will.

He came with a foreknowledge that He would bear the burden of the sins of us all.

He knew he would be lifted up on the cross.

Christ was born to be the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind.

He was able to accomplish His mission because He was the Son of God and He possessed the power of God.

Christ was willing to accomplish His mission because He loves us.

No mortal being had no power or capability to redeem all other mortals from their lost and fallen condition, nor could any other voluntarily forefeit his life and thereby bring to pass a universal resurrection for all other mortals.

Only Jesus Christ was able and willing to accomplish such a redeeming act of love.

We may never understand or comprehend in mortality how Christ accomplished what He did , but we must not fail to understand why He did what He did.

Everything Christ did was prompted by His unselfish, infinite love for us. . . .

As was so characteristic of His entire mortal experience, the Savior submitted to our Father’s will and took the bitter cup and drank.

He suffered the pains of all men in Gethsemane so they would not have to suffer if they repent.

Jesus Christ submitted Himself to humiliation and insults form His enemies without complaint or retaliation.

And, finally, He endured the flogging and brutal shame of the cross. Only then did He voluntarily submit to death. In His words:

“No man taketh it [my life] form me, but I lay it down of myself. i have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. This commandment have i received of my Father” (John 10:18).

Ezra Taft Benson, The How and the Why, The Gift of the Atonement, Deseret Book, 2004, p. 23-24.

Matthew and Mark, the only Gospels that record this incident in detail, note that Jesus Christ felt forsaken by God without explaining why (see Matthew 26: 46; Mark 15:34).

Later, commentators began to explore the imponderable; suggesting a variety of explanations why Jesus Christ, innocent and guiltless, experienced complete separation from the Father at this horrific moment.

Some scholars and theologians suggest that the Father could not bear to witness the death of his beloved Son and therefore, turned aside at the moment of Jesus’ final suffering. Others hypothesize that the Father had to leave, a divine fiat, so Jesus Christ could accomplish the atonement completely alone. Finally, some postulate that Jesus was completely abandoned by God the same as all sinners because Jesus Christ suffered and died in our place (see Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24).

Why the Father forsook Jesus Christ, as he died a terrible death on the cross, is worthy of continued thoughtful reflection. What is clearly the case, regardless of what we may not yet fully answer, is that the Father is perfect in every attribute–and he would not allow that forsaken moment had it not been to work to his unchanging purpose: the eternal good of his Son and all of his children, including each one of us.

Now, . . . what do men and women find when they discover the true Messiah? Finding the Messiah is the greatest of all discoveries. If we were to discuss the most important thing about Jesus the Messiah, what would it be? If we were to go home today to our families and say, “We have found the Messiah!” what would we say about Him? What is the most important thing about Him that we could tell another person? Would it be His height or weight, the color of His hair, the style of His clothes, the tone of His voice? Everything about Jesus Christ is important any any true detail or concept would be worth knowing, but what would be the single most important thing to find out about Him? I could answer that with my own opinion, but let us take a cue from what the scriptures say about Christ.

I think it can be summarized in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” While that is the central concept, it takes a considerable amount of study to know what that one verse means. I’ll tell you what I have discovered about the Messiah that I have learned from the scriptures and the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. The greatest message about Jesus Christ is that He has conquered death–both spiritual and physical death. He is literally the light and the life of the world (Doctrine and Covenants 10:70).

We are given a plan discussion of the redeeming role of the Savior in the following scriptures:

From Paul: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

From Jacob, [prophet of ancient America]:

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.

O 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 (2 Nephi 9:5-9). . . .

Do we understand that Jesus Christ made payment with His blood in order for mercy to satisfy justice? No other person, no human being, could redeem us; the redemption could be made only by a God, as explained by Amulek [prophet of ancient America]:

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 hath spoken it.

For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan 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 an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan 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 beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.

Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another.

Therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sis of the world.

Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice.

And that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal (Alma 34:8-14).

What does this mean to us? It means that our association with the Messiah is not optional or casual. It is critical.

By the Fall of Adam all mankind has suffered two deaths–a spiritual alienation from God and a physical death. We have all suffered the first–the alienation. We will yet, with no exceptions, suffer the physical death. We are thus dominated by death because of the fall of Adam. It is absolutely necessary that we understand that Jesus, in order to be the Messiah, had to be divine, that He Had to be the literal, biological Son of God, and thus was not dominated by death and sin as is all the rest of humanity. Had He not been the Only Begotten, He could not have been able or worthy to pay the debt of the Fall of Adam and of our own individual sins. The infinite Atonement required the life and the death and the sacrifice of a God, not a man.

The plan of salvation is equally real. Adam was a living person in time and in space. The Fall is so real that, if we knew the details, we could place on a calendar the time when he fell. Also, if we knew the details, we could mark on a map the location where he ate the forbidden fruit.

In the very same manner, the Atonement of Jesus Christ is so vital and so necessary in time and in space, that if we had the facts, we could place on a calendar the date of His birth, the date of His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, the date of His death, and the date of His Resurrection. In like manner we could mark on a map the place of Christ’s birth, suffering, death, and Resurrection. These are events in time and geography. This is the Messiah I have found, and I believe this is the greatest message in the world. It s the message of John 3:16 in its expanded form.

When that morning comes that any of us stands in perfection of body and spirit, resurrected, cleansed, and with eternal life in the presence of God, we will then know with full meaning what we perceive only in part today when we say, “I have found the Messiah!”

Robert J. Matthews, Spery Symposium Classics, The New Testament, Deseret Book Company & Brigham Young University, 2006, p. 133-36.

No. Jesus Christ was crucified. Crucifixion was a Roman punishment, not a Jewish punishment. Additionally, it should not be forgotten that Jesus Christ was a Jew. His mother and disciples were all Jews. They, of course, were not responsible for Jesus’ death. Large numbers of Jews living beyond Galilee and Judea never met or heard of Jesus Christ. They obviously were not responsible for Jesus’ execution, which they did not have any say or knowledge about during their lifetime. Most first century Jews were totally unaware of his life and ministry and, therefore, had nothing to do with his death and were, therefore, not responsible for the actions of a few individuals (Judas—who handed him over to the arresting officers; the officers who handed him over to the Jewish High priest; Caiaphas—who handed him over to the Roman governor; and Pilate, who handed him over to the Roman execution squad). Of course, Jews living before the first century and those living after the first century had nothing to do with the tragic events on that fateful Friday so long ago in Jerusalem.

In Galilee and Judea, many Jews were sympathetic to his message to “the least, last and the lost.” His enemies were afraid of the Jewish crowds who heard him and followed him (Mark 14:1-2). Many Jews who met him thought he was a righteous teacher, a healer, even a prophet (Matthew 16:13-14). Others believed he was the long-expected anointed servant—the Messiah. Even among the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem, there were those who believed Jesus Christ was sent from God (see John 19:39; cf. John 3:1).

Following his death, many Jews continued to accept Jesus’ message and became ardent disciples (see Acts 2:41; 4:4). Eventually, the completely Jewish-Christian Church opened its doors to Gentiles (see Acts 10) who joined in such large numbers that they became the majority by the end of the first century.

Only much later, did Gentile-Christians begin to assign blame to the Jews as a nation, forgetting that all of the heroes and heroines of the Gospels they so admired (Simeon, Anna, Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, Martha, and Lazarus) were observant Jews who believed that Jesus Christ was the Jewish Messiah. Additionally, these people also forgot that Jesus himself prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).

The New Testament does not assign corporate responsibility to Romans, Gentiles, or Jews. It provides the story of a cruel Roman governor and a rather small collaborating Jewish leadership who conspired to get rid of Jesus because he was so popular among the Jews living in Galilee and Judea in the first century.