Why is Jesus Christ called the Son of Man?  While others in the Scriptures (particularly the Old Testament) who are called “son[s] of man” (Jeremiah 49:18, Ezekiel 4:16, Psalms 8:4), the word “son” is uncapitalized.  Elder James E. Talmage, a Biblical scholar, sheds light on the answer in his renown work, Jesus the Christ.  He says,

“In applying the designation to Himself, the Lord invariably uses the definite article. ‘The Son of Man’ was and is, specifically and exclusively, Jesus Christ. While as a matter of solemn certainty He was the only male human being from Adam down who was not the son of a mortal man, He used the title in a way to conclusively demonstrate that it was peculiarly and solely His own. It is plainly evident that the expression is fraught with a meaning beyond that conveyed by the words in common usage. The distinguishing appellation has been construed by many to indicate our Lord’s humble station as a mortal, and to connote that He stood as the type of humanity, holding a particular and unique relationship to the entire human family.”

Others are called by the title “son of man,” but only the Lord Jesus Christ is called The Son of Man.  Said the Spirit of the Lord to the prophet Nephi, “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” (Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi 11:16; emphasis added).  But, as Talmage says,

There is, however, a more profound significance attaching to the Lord’s use of the title ‘The Son of Man’; and this lies in the fact that Jesus Christ knew His Father to be the one and only supremely exalted Man, whose Son Jesus Christ was both in spirit and in body—the Firstborn among all the spirit-children of the Father, the Only Begotten in the flesh—and therefore in sense applicable to Himself alone, He was and is the Son of the ‘Man of Holiness,’ Elohim, the Eternal Father.

Moses wrote,
Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:57).

In other words, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).

Joseph Smith, a prophet God raised up to re-establish Jesus Christ’s Church on earth in our day, said,

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” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 121). Since ‘all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to [Jesus Christ],’ and since the Old Testament is something ‘which pertains to our religion,’then the Old Testament must somehow testify of Jesus Christ.1

Yet, the somewhat gruesome nature of blood sacrifice [in the Old Testament] has led some to ask, “How could such an activity have anything to do with the gospel of love?” We can better understand the answer to that 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 in a different way: through exemplifying a broken heart and contrite spirit. Its two major purposes are to test and prove us and to assist us in coming unto Christ” (M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7).

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.

Before I say anything else, I want to make it clear that the real answer to this question is beyond the scope of this article; indeed, it is beyond the scope of mortality and all things temporal: for “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). Furthermore, “it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned [all the principles of exaltation]. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:306-7).

I am now able to attempt a basic answer to the above question.

One of the most profound statements that will act as a beginning to our answer was made by the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said, “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 1938. 345). Because “character” means both “attributes” and “nature” (Cf. Gordon B. Hinckley. Faith: The Essence of True Religion. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 1989. 20-27.), in order to know God and thereby receive eternal life, we must learn of both his divine attributes and his divine nature. For “Knowledge of divine and spiritual things is absolutely essential for one’s salvation” (Bible Dictionary, “Knowledge,” see also Romans 10:14). There has been much written regarding God’s divine attributes, so in this article I will attempt a short explanation of the other meaning of character, one that is seldom spoken of—the divine nature of God.

I have already stated that it is “the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God.” In addition, “If men [and women] do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938], p. 343). This is because “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1995.).

The reason men and women are created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27) is because “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 130: 22). This is the basic, corporeal nature of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ the premortal Jehovah, and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct personages (Cf. Jeffery Holland. The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent. Broken Things to Mend. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 2008. 208-214.).

For some, it may be a strange thing to say that God has a body as tangible (or “able to touch and feel”) as man’s.  Jeffery R. Holland eloquently stated,

“If the idea of an embodied God is repugnant, why are the central doctrines and singularly most distinguishing characteristics of all Christianity the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the physical Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity? Any who dismiss the concept of an embodied God dismiss both the mortal and the resurrected Christ. No one claiming to be a true Christian will want to do that” (Ibid.).

It is easy to come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, has “a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s,” for He said so Himself (Cf. Luke 24:39). Jesus the Christ was resurrected, and to be resurrected means “the uniting of a spirit body with a body of flesh and bones, never again to be divided” (Bible Dictionary, “Resurrection”). There were many who touched the palms of His hands, felt the nail prints in his feet, and thrust their hands into His side (Cf. John 20:27, 3 Nephi 11:14-15).

It is also easy to come to the conclusion that the Holy Ghost “has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, [He] could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). Hence His name is the Holy Spirit.

However, to say that God the Father has “a body of flesh and bones” is a bold statement, especially when considering some seemingly contradictory statements found in the New Testament. One of the most perplexing of these statements is given by the Savior Himself: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

This passage is often taken out of context. In John chapter four, the Savior was teaching the woman of Samaria how to worship. He was not giving her a discourse on His Father’s corporeal nature—or lack of it. But out of context or not, just because God is a Spirit does not mean that he is only a spirit and not anything else. Indeed, “man is spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:33), and God is, therefore, a Spirit in the same sense that we are spirits—namely a spirit body clothed with a physical body (Cf. Ether 3:9). Finally, the common translation of this passage (John 4:24) is in error. A more complete version of it was given to the prophet Joseph Smith by revelation and confirms that the Savior is teaching how to worship, “For unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth” (JST John 4:26).

God’s body is, of course, different from ours. It is immortal, perfected, glorified, and resurrected. And because Jesus the Christ was resurrected and has broken the bands of death, all who have ever lived and will ever live on the earth will also be resurrected and receive their bodies after they die–bodies that are immortal, perfected, and glorified.  The the most faithful will receive celestial bodies (Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:22, 40-42).

Hence, “if men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.”

Finally, something must be said about the “oneness” of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.  The biblical passage in John 10:30, “I and my Father are one,” is often misunderstood.  The word “one” means completely unified, one in accord, and in perfect harmony.  A husband and wife are counseled to be “one” (Ephesians 5:31), as are all those who abide in Christ (see Galatians 3:28).  Hence, God the Father and Jesus Christ are not the same personage, but separate and distinct personages who are one, or work in perfect harmony, in bringing to pass “the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).

Joseph Smith said that “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.” Jesus the Christ is central to everything. He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). It is “by him, and through him, and of him the worlds are and were created and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:24). He was resurrected from the dead and He and His Father did not only show themselves in vision to Stephen during his martyrdom (Acts 7:56), but They also appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, early in the Spring of the year 1820. Of Them, the Prophet declared that he “saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description . . . One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!’ (Joseph Smith History 1:17).

Courtesy of Mark Mabry