5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

1/21

The Gospel TrilogyBy Cleon Skousen

Trilogy Parts One Through Three

Trilogy One

Building Blocks of the Universe

This talk was first presented, at the invitation of President Mike Glauser, to approximately 180 missionariesat the Georgia Atlanta Mission on ovem!er "#$, "000% The morning hours were spent &overing the !asi&stru&ture of this presentation% The afternoon hours were spent in answering 'uestions%

Introduction

(ne of the most gratifying things a!out going on a mission is the opportunity to really learn a!out the gospel%And we learn it on two levels%

The first level is what Paul &alls the M)*+ level of the gospel learning -AT the a&tual re'uirements of thegospel are to lead us !a&k to the presen&e of the .ather/ for example, faith, repentan&e, !aptism, the gift ofthe -oly Ghost, o!eying the &ommandments and enduring to the end% (f &ourse, we dont minimie thesa&red importan&e of the M)*+ level !e&ause it tells you in the simplest terms -AT you must do to rea&hthe &elestial kingdom%

The se&ond level is what Paul &alled the M2AT level whi&h explains -3 ea&h prin&iple of the gospel isessential and -( it works% 4o the milk is the -AT of the gospel% The meat is the -3 and the -(%The differen&e !etween milk and meat is made very &lear in the s&riptures% -ere is how Paul distinguished!etween these two different levels of gospel study% -e said5

6) have fed you with milk and not with meat/ for hitherto ye were not a!le to !ear it, neither yet now are yea!le%6 71 orinthians $5"9

3e have need that one tea&h you again whi&h !e the first prin&iples of the ora&les of God/ and are !e&omesu&h as have need of milk, and not of strong meat% .or every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word ofrighteousness/ for he is a !a!e% :ut strong meat !elongeth to them that are of full age, even those who !yreason of ;ha!itual< use have their senses exer&ised to dis&ern !oth good and evil% Therefore ;6(T6a&&ording to =oseph 4mith< leaving the prin&iples of the do&trine of hrist, *2T >4 G( ( >T(P2?.2T)(/ not ;repeatedly< laying again the foundation of repentan&e from dead works, and of faithtoward God%6 7-e!rews @51"#1 plus B519

)saiah says the meat !elongs to those 6who understand do&trine and are weaned from the milk% %%.orpre&ept must !e upon pre&ept, line upon line%6 7)saiah "85C#109

(f &ourse the great &hallenge to =oseph 4mith as the propheti& head of this new dispensation was the fa&tthat he did not re&eive new knowledge merely line upon line and pre&ept upon pre&ept !ut *A32? upon*A32?% 4ometimes these layers were so enri&hed with heavy do&trines of gospel meat that =osephs

asso&iates &hoked on them and denoun&ed !oth =oseph and the most re&ent layer of revelation as false anduna&&epta!le% :ut =osephs time was short% -e &ould not wait for those who lagged !ehind% onse'uently,ten mem!ers of the original Duorum of the Twelve faltered% The two apostles who stood valiantly with theprophet were :righam 3oung and -e!er % +im!all%

hile on a mission we &on&entrate on tea&hing the milk !e&ause these are the plain and simple things thatare essential to get us !a&k to the .athers elestial +ingdom% They tell us -AT to do% The key to su&&esson the milk level is (:2E)22, a willingness to follow the essential re'uirements of the Gospel% oti&ethat Paul !e&ame upset with the saints in his day !e&ause he &ouldnt get them to go !eyond the milk andlearn the gospel meat AE T-2?2:3 G( ( >T( P2?.2T)(% oti&e )saiahs warning that the meat

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

2/21

of the gospel &annot !e digested !y swallowing it in gulps% )t must !e prayerfully pondered, pre&ept uponpre&ept and line upon line%

The Blessing of Having a Great Teacher

) got into the meat of the gospel shortly after ) arrived in the :ritish Mission% ) was only 1F when ) was &alledon a mission and upon arriving in 2ngland ) found out that 2lder =ohn A% idtsoe was presiding over all the

missions in 2urope and he had his head'uarters in 2ngland% That meant that on&e in awhile ) would get tosee him%

President idtsoe was an apostle and a mem!er of the oun&il of the Twelve% -e had !een the president oftwo universities, was a famous s&ientist, and was a mem!er of the ?oyal 4o&iety of 2ngland% :y reputationhe was &onsidered to !e one of the foremost s&holars of the gospel in the entire &hur&h and had written!ooks on the tea&hings of !oth =oseph 4mith and the Eis&ourses of :righam 3oung%

(ne day when we were on the train together, ) was !old enough to ask 2lder idtsoe a gospel 'uestion% )didnt realie it at the time, !ut my 'uestion turned out to !e the most profound 'uestion in the entire gospel%

) said, 62lder idtsoe, hy did =esus have to !e &ru&ified6

-e paused and then said, 6ho told you to ask me that 'uestion6

) said, 6ell no!ody% )ts my 'uestionH% hen ) was a small !oy in anada they would tell us at 2aster timehow =esus was la&erated with a whip, how he had a &rown of thorns put on his head, with !lood runningdown his fa&e, and how he was nailed to the &ross and suffered the most terri!le agony% ) wondered who inthe world wanted all that suffering )f it had a purpose, what was it .urthermore, how did the &ru&ifixion of=esus have anything to do with my salvation6

2lder idtsoe thought for a moment and then he said5 6) &ould answer your 'uestions, !ut you wouldntunderstand the answers% 3ou dont know enough a!out your -eavenly .ather%6

4o ) said, 6ould you tea&h me6

)t was an auda&ious thing to ask a heavily !urdened General Authority, !ut after a moment he said, 64in&e itis your 'uestion, may!e you would have enough &uriosity and tena&ity to pursue the rather tedious task oflearning a!out it line upon line and pre&ept upon pre&ept#that is the only way you &an get the whole pi&ture%6

4o thats how ) stum!led into one of the greatest !lessings of my entire life% ) !e&ame a student of the meatof the gospel under the guidan&e of Apostle =ohn A% idtsoe%

Part 1

Everything in Existence is ade Out of !ust T"o Things

# $urprise Beginning

2lder idtsoe started me out a!out a hundred miles away from my original 'uestion &on&erning the&ru&ifixion%

-e asked me if ) knew that everything in existen&e was made out of Iust two things% ell, ) had Iustgraduated from high s&hool and ) had learned in &hemistry a!out elements% ) told him there werent Iust two%hemists had identified over a hundred different elements%

6(h,6 he said, 6ea&h element is made up of millions of these two tiny parti&les that ) am talking a!out%6 4o )asked him what these two tiny parti&les were%

-e said5 6hen the prophet *ehi was on his death !ed, he explained to his sons that everything in existen&eis made out of these two tiny !uilding !lo&ks% 4ee if you &an find what he &alled them in the !ook of "ephi%6

) asked him why he didnt give me the &hapter and verse% -e said, 6(h, ) wouldnt deprive you of the thrill offinding them%6 This was &hara&teristi& of my entire training under =ohn A% idtsoe% -e would des&ri!e the

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

3/21

prin&iple and tell me A:(>T where to find it and them leave it up to me% ) finally lo&ated *ehis statement%-e said5

6There is a God, and he hath &reated A** things, !oth the heavens and the earth, and all things that in themare, :(T- T-)G4 T( AT AE T-)G4 T( :2 AT2E >P(%6 7" ephi "519

2lder idtsoe then said, 6-eavenly .ather has &alled the thing whi&h a&ts !y a &ertain name and the thing

whi&h is a&ted upon !y another name% These are the two !uilding !lo&ks out of whi&h the *ord has madeeverything in the entire universe% 4ee if you &an find out what he &alls them% 3ou will find these names a!outthree#fourths of the way through the Eo&trine and ovenants%6

) really had to dig for those verses% .inally ) found the names of these !uilding !lo&ks in se&tion C$, verses"C#$$%

The *ord said that the thing whi&h 6a&ts6 is &alled an intelligen&e and that whi&h is 6a&ted upon6 is &alled6element6 or primal matter% -e said these !uilding !lo&ks always existed% They are eternal% 7EJ C$5"C, $$9They &annot !e &reated and they &annot !e destroyed, !ut they &an !e organied, E)4organied and?2organied%

4in&e the intelligen&e is the ingredient that 6a&ts6, it is assumed that the elements are inert, or as some havesaid, 6)t is Iust stuff%6 -owever, :righam 3oung said that these tiny !its of primal matter or inert parti&les ofstuff, are 6&apa&itated to re&eive intelligen&e%6 7=ournal of Eis&ourses, F5"9 )n fa&t, :righam 3oung#who was

tutored !y the prophet =oseph 4mith seems to have had a &omplete grasp of the nature of intelligen&e andits asso&iation with primal matter% -e said5

6There is an eternity of matter, and it is all a&ted upon and filled with a portion of divinity% 7Gods organiedintelligen&es%9 Matter is to exist/ it &annot !e annihilated% 2ternity is without !ounds and is filled with matter/and there is no su&h thing as empty spa&e% And matter is &apa&itated to re&eive intelligen&e%%%matter &an !eorganied and !rought forth into intelligen&e, and to possess more intelligen&e, and to &ontinue to in&reasein intelligen&e%%%learn those prin&iples that organied matter &an !e made into animals, vegeta!les, and intointelligent !eings &apa&itated to re&eive intelligen&e%6 7:righam 3oung, =ournal of Eis&ourses, vol% F, pg% "#$9

Is there Intelligence in Everything%

These prin&iples were thoroughly understood !y =oseph 4mith and the early !rethren% As Apostle =ohn A%idtsoe said5

6)t was &learly &omprehended !y the Prophet 7=oseph 4mith9 and his asso&iates that intelligen&e is thevivifying for&e of all &reation#animate or inanimate#the ro&k and tree and !east and man, have as&endingdegrees of intelligen&e%6 7=ohn A% idtsoe, =oseph 4mith, 4eeker After Truth, Eeseret ews Press, pp% 1@0#1@19

And as :righam 3oung said5

6There is life ;or intelligen&e< in all matter throughout the vast extent of all the eternities/ it is in the ro&k, thesand, in water, air, the gases, and, in short, in every des&ription and organiation of matter, whether it !esolid, li'uid, or gaseous, parti&le operating with parti&le%6 7=ournal of Eis&ourses, vol% $, p% "FF9

Ho" the &ather anages His 'ast Host of Intelligences

These intelligen&es have ea&h atta&hed themselves to parti&les of matter% After this has o&&urred A!raham

refers to them as 6organied intelligen&es%6 7A!raham $5""9 God &an talk to these intelligen&es and afterthey have !een thoroughly trained they &an &onform to the highly &omplex instru&tion they re&eive from the.ather, the 4on, or mem!ers of the Priesthood authoried to perform &ertain a&ts under the guidan&e of the.ather or the 4on%

The *ord says this ela!orate pro&ess of training this host of eternal entities to &onform to the ela!orate&omplexity of Gods design is !y having 6intelligen&e &leave unto intelligen&e6 a&&ording to a pres&ri!edpattern% 7EJ 88509 4&ientists are gradually identifying these &omplex patterns and have mapped out theirintri&ate &omposition% The patterns are uni'ue for ea&h entity throughout nature and are referred to as theirEA%

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

4/21

Part (

Ho" )o I Get #c*uainted +ith y O"n Individual Intelligence%

) asked 2lder idtsoe what an Hintelligen&e6 would look like% -e told me to look in the mirror sin&e ) was an

intelligen&e% ) said, 63ou mean all of me6 he said, 6o, Iust the little 6) Am6 in you that -eavenly .ather has!een training ever sin&e he !rought you in from outer darkness%

-e &ontinued, 6e know you were valiant during your training as an intelligen&e !e&ause .ather gave you aspirit !ody patterned after his own% And !e&ause you were valiant in the spirit world he has allowed you tohave a physi&al !ody with millions of intelligen&es organied in your temporal ta!erna&le and faithfullyserving you here on earth%6

6ell,6 ) asked, 6where is my personal intelligen&e6

-e said, 6Put your hand on top of your head% )s that a!ove you or !elow you6 ) said, 6)ts a!ove me%6

-e said, 6Take hold of your &hin% )s that a!ove you or !elow you6 ) replied, 6Thats !elow me%6

6Take hold of your ear%6 ) said, 6Thats !eside me%6

Then 2lder idtsoe asked, 6here is this little M2 you keep talking a!out6

) said, 6)t must !e way !a&k in there somewhere%6

-e replied, 6) think so%6

) asked, 6)s my hand part of M26 -e said, 6o% That hand is 3(>?4, !ut it is not the M2 or little ) AM youkeep talking a!out%6

) asked 2lder idtsoe why we &all the M2 in ea&h of us 6a little ) AM%6

-e said, 64hut your eyes% ow tell me if you think you a&tually exist% )t is interesting that you a&tually +(you exist% As the famous philosopher, ?ene Ees&artes, de&lared5 Kogito, ergo sum#) think, therefore ) am%HEes&artes was a .ren&hman who lived from 1@CB to 1B@0 and is &onsidered !y many to !e the father of

modem philosophy% -e !elieved everything &onsisted of two things5 thinking su!stan&e the mind andextended su!stan&e or matter% (ne thing he knew for &ertain, the fa&t that he personally existed% And !y&arefully following a series of propositions, he was &ertain that God also existed%6

At this point, 2lder idtsoe said5 6ow, with your eyes shut, first noti&e your self awareness and then noti&ethat everything else exists (>T4)E2 of you% )t is outside of your self#existing entity% *ike Ees&artes youknow that 3(> A?2 or to make it more personal, you &an say, ) AM% This is your individual intelligen&etalking% 3ou not only know you exist !ut God says you A*A34 existed% 3ou didnt have to !e &reated!e&ause you were always there% And God was always there% -e wasnt always God !ut he was always anexisting entity% hen Moses asked God what his name was, he said5 ) AM, that ) AM% 72xodus $519 )nother words he has always !een a self#existing !eing and we now know that he as&ended under his .athersguidan&e until he !e&ame a God% ow, 2lder 4kousen, your little K) AMH is on that same &ourse of eternalprogression% )f you are faithful, you &an !e&ome like your -eavenly .ather%6

# &urther Exa,ination of +here +e -a,e &ro,

) asked 2lder idtsoe5 6)f we always existed, where did we &ome from6 -e said, 6(uter Earkness%6 ) asked,6-ow do we know that6

-e said, 6The *ord has revealed what happens to the sons of perdition, and !y tra&king their disintegrationwe learn where 2 &ame from% .or example, .ather *ehi was on his death!ed when he addressed his twowi&ked sons, *aman and *emuel% -e said they were in danger of !e&oming sons of perdition% They hadseen an angel and heard the voi&e of God reprimanding them for several hours% *ehi therefore said that ifthey &ontinued to try to murder ephi and refused to repent of their heinous sins, they would !e&ome sonsof perdition% Then he told them what that meant% -e said they would !e stripped of their resurre&ted !odies,6:(T- :(E3 AE 4(>*%6 7" ephi 15""9

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

5/21

:righam 3oung des&ri!es the pro&ess of depriving sons of perdition of !oth !ody and soul as mentioned !y.ather *ehi% -e said5

6They will !e de&omposed, !oth soul and !ody, and return to their native element% 7)n other words, theelements of their resurre&ted !odies will !e united with the resurre&ted earth9%%%They will !e disorganied,and 7it9 will !e as though they never had !een, while 2 will live and retain our identity, and &ontend againstthose prin&iples whi&h tend to death or dissolution%%%) want to preserve my identity, so that you &an see

:righam in the eternal worlds Iust as you see him now%6 7=ournal of Eis&ourses, vol F5@F9

-e further explained that 4atan and his angels would !e stripped of their spirits% )n !oth &ases this leavesthe individual intelligen&e without any em!odiment whatever% 2a&h one has lost his former identity% withnothing remaining !ut the naked, individual intelligen&e%

o dou!t this is what the lord meant when he said5

6hosoever repenteth not is -2 down and &ast into the fire/ and there &ometh upon them again aspiritual death, yea, a se&ond death, for they are &ut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness%67-elaman 15189

And again5

6:y and !y the end &ometh, and they are -2 down and &ast into the fire ;of outer darkness? AGA) to their own pla&e%6 The s&ripture says this ) mean5

6They shall go away into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and nashing of teeth%6 7EJ1$$5F$9

.rom all of this we learn that the s&riptures &learly tea&h that we all originally &ame from outer darkness andthe sons of perdition return AGA) to the pla&e from whi&h we all originated%

$atan.s Battle to Prevent the )isorgani/ation of his $pirit Body

At the end of the Millennium the s&ripture says 4atan will wage a fero&ious war to prevent the disorganiingof his spirit !ody as des&ri!ed !y :righam 3oung% -is war will also !e to prevent the disorganiing of hisfollowers in&luding the resurre&ted sons of perdition%

The s&ripture says5

6And when the thousand years are expired, 4atan shall !e loosed out of his prison, and shall go out tode&eive the nations whi&h are in the four 'uarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to!attle5 the num!er of whom is as the sand of the sea% And they went up on the !readth of the earth, and&ompassed the &amp of the saints a!out, and the !eloved &ity, and fire &ame down from God out of heaven,and devoured them%6 7?evelation "05 F#C9

This was the destru&tion 4atan and his hosts are determined to prevent% :ut they will lose the war% Thenthey will !e 6hewn6 down% 4atan and the third of the .athers &hildren who followed after him will lose theirspirit !odies whereas ain, =udas )s&ariot and all of the sons of perdition 7who were on the 4aviors side in

the war in heaven and therefore 'ualified to get mortal !odies9 lose their resurre&ted !odies !e&ause they!etrayed God and were therefore resurre&ted without any glory or &apa&ity to &ontinue existing% 7EJ 885"9They are therefore 6hewn6 down with nothing left !ut the naked, disem!odied intelligen&e% 4o what happensto these stripped, naked intelligen&es e have already mentioned the s&ripture, whi&h des&ri!es theirdoom5

6These shall go away into outer darkness, where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth%6 7EJ1$$5F$9

And in another pla&e it says5

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

6/21

6And the devil that de&eived them was &ast into the lake of fire and !rimstone, where the !east ;4atan< andthe false prophet are, and shall !e tormented day and night .(? 2L2? AE 2L2?%6 7?evelation "05109

(f &ourse it would not !e Iust for God to &ast the !odies of the sons of perdition into outer darkness Iust!e&ause the master intelligen&e in &harge of ea&h spirit or resurre&ted sons of perdition had &ommitted anunpardona!le sin% Those tiny intelligen&es in those !odies had !een o!edient to God% Therefore, thematerial in the spirits and the resurre&ted !odies of 4atans hosts will !e &onsigned !a&k to the earth and

thereafter !e glorified when the earth is elestialied%

The great tragedy of all this is that all those who !e&ame servants of 4atan &an never return% 7EJ "C5"C9They &annot !e swept up in some future round of &reation and re&y&led% -aving !etrayed God after !eingendowed with tremendous spiritual !lessings they have lost their pla&e in Gods program of eternalprogression forever% -undreds of millions of other intelligen&es are awaiting their turn% :e&ause the sons ofperdition have !etrayed God they have &ompletely forfeited their eternal !lessings%

-an God or His $ervants 0earrange the Building Blocks%

.inally, ) said to 2lder idtsoe, 64in&e everything is made out of the two simple !uilding !lo&ks &onsisting ofintelligen&e and !its of primal matter, are there any instan&es when God has transposed one thing intosomething entirely different6

63es,6 2lder idtsoe replied% 6God has done this for his prophets so they &ould &omprehend the extent of

the .athers supreme power% .or example we have the story of Moses set forth in 2xodus, hapters $ and%6 -ere is what happened5

hen Moses was 80 years of age the *ord &ommissioned him to go down into 2gypt and !ring out theenslaved &hildren of )srael%

Moses had left 2gypt at the age of 0 under a death warrant for slaying a slave master% Therefore Moseswas afraid to return to 2gypt% The *ord assured Moses that he would go with him, !ut Moses was still afraid%Therefore, the *ord determined to demonstrate to his newly &alled prophet that having the power of God togo with him was a fantasti& advantage%

To illustrate his power, God &ommanded Moses to &ast his shepherds staff onto the ground% hen he didso, the staff turned from the fi!ers of wood in the staff to the &ellular flesh of a snake% This greatly frightenedMoses and he !egan to flee, !ut the *ord told him to pi&k up the serpent !y the tail and when he did so, the&ellular flesh of the snake turned !a&k into the wooden fi!ers of his shepherds staff%

The *ord then told Moses to put his hand into his !osom% Moses was a!out to learn something veryremarka!le a!out a human hand% To !egin with, it is made of dirt, Iust ordinary &ommon dirt% hen the spiritleaves that hand it returns to dirt% :ut that dirt is saturated with intelligen&es% 4o the *ord said to those littleentities, dont go !a&k to dirt !ut simulate leprosy% They did so, and when Moses was told !y the *ord towithdraw his hand from his !osom he was horrified to see it dripping with in&ura!le leprosy% -e must havewondered what God was doing to him The *ord then told Moses to put his hand !a&k in his !osom, whi&hhe gingerly did% Then the *ord &ommanded the leprous &ells to !e&ome healthy flesh as they were !efore%The *ord then told Moses to take his hand from his !osom and when he saw that it was now !eautiful pinkflesh he was greatly relieved and gratified !eyond expression%

The *ord promised Moses other mira&les if they were needed#su&h as turning water into !lood% 72xodus 5C9

-owever, this was suffi&ient to demonstrate the power of God to &ommuni&ate with the intelligen&es inmatter and there!y &hange wood to flesh and, later on, produ&e water gushing out of solid ro&k% 7um!ers

"05 119 )n the final analysis, everything is made of Iust two things and God &an &ommuni&ate with the vasthost of intelligen&es to have them !e&ome whatever he wishes%

+here #re the Gods Building Their ingdo,s%

)t was also in the early part of my mission that ) ran a&ross a statement of the *ord in 4e&tion F1 of theEo&trine and ovenants addressed to =oseph 4mith and 4idney ?igdon )t said5

6%%%open your mouths in pro&laiming my gospel, the things of the kingdom, expounding the M34T2?)24(>T (. T-2 4?)PT>?24%6 7EJ F1519

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

7/21

) told 2lder idtsoe that ) didnt know of any mysteries in the s&riptures% They seemed very plain to me% (f&ourse this was a 1F#year#old missionary speaking%

2lder idtsoe knew this young missionary needed a lesson in humility%

-e said, 62lder 4kousen, turn to se&tion 88 of the Eo&trine and ovenants% There are many mysteries inthat se&tion of the s&ripture, and ) want to have you explain one of them to me% -e said, 6.or example, )

want you to read verse $F des&ri!ing Gods 6spa&e%6 6(h,6 ) said, 6spa&e is easy to define% )ts everythingfrom here on out%6 6rong,6 said 2lder idtsoe% 6?ead verse $F%6 )t said5

6And there are many kingdoms/ for there is no spa&e in whi&h there is no kingdom/ and there is no kingdomin whi&h there is no spa&e, either a greater or a lesser kingdom%6

A &areful analysis of this verse tells us two things% .irst that 6spa&e6 is a defined region out in the eternitieswhere the family of the Gods are !uilding their vast network of kingdoms, and se&ond, they do not !uild anykingdoms outside of 6spa&e6 or the sa&red region under their ex&lusive &ontrol% This is the somewhat hiddenmeaning of the phrase5 6There is no kingdom in whi&h there is no spa&e%6 2lder idtsoe said this is one ofthe mysteries in the s&riptures%

) asked 2lder idtsoe why God would &all this passage a 6mystery in the s&riptures%6 2lder idtsoe said,6ell, that passage &ontained a revelation defining Kspa&e,H and even though you had read it many timesyou never understood it% >ntil today it was a mystery to you%6 ) was !eginning to get the idea%

+hat Is Outside of $pace%

This led me to ask 2lder idtsoe, 64in&e spa&e is the sa&red workshop of the Gods, what is outside or!eyond spa&e6

2lder idtsoe said the Gods &all the region !eyond spa&e 6outer darkness%6 4o ) asked, 6hat exists inouter darkness6 -e said5 6Last, unlimited 'uantities of >organied intelligen&es and >organied !its ofprimal matter% These are the two !uilding !lo&ks we have !een talking a!out% )t is from these vast resour&esin outer darkness that the Gods gather out the vital elements or !uilding !lo&ks to set up ea&h new round of&reation%6

.inally ) asked5 6ho is in &harge of outer darkness6 -e replied, 6o one% The primitive intelligen&es and!its of primal matter exist in total, disorganied &haos without any organiing power over them or anyinfluen&e to guide them%6

4ome of the early !rethren suggested the -oly 4pirit might !e hovering over this outer darkness% -ere is:righam 3oungs response5

6:rother (rson -yde was dwelling upon this same theory on&e, and in &onversation with :rother =oseph4mith advan&ed the idea that the -oly 4pirit might !e hovering over the !oundless eternities whi&h hemistakenly &alled !oundless spa&e%

6:righam 3oung said that after (rson had !een portraying his views upon that theory very &arefully andminutely, he asked !rother =oseph what he thought of it% -e =oseph replied that it appeared very !eautiful,and he did not know of !ut one serious o!Ie&tion to it% :rother -yde asked, 6hat is that6 =oseph replied,6)t is not true%6 7=ournal of Eis&ourses 5"BB9

This is what led the *ord to remind the prophet )saiah that, 6:efore me there was no God formed 7for you9,neither shall there !e after me%6 7)saiah $5109

)n other words, it is a great !lessing to !e gathered in from outer darkness !y our -eavenly .ather and !eallowed to parti&ipate in a round of &reation% God wanted )saiah to also know that if he should !etray Godand !e&ome a son of perdition, there would never !e an opportunity to have some other God gather him upand give him another &han&e%

To help demonstrate these enlightening s&riptures &on&erning 6spa&e6 and the organiing of kingdoms !ythe family of the Gods, we have tried to portray them s&hemati&ally 7along with the s&riptural referen&es9%This illustration is lo&ated on the last page of this !ooklet 7page @9%

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

8/21

Trilogy (

The Path"ay to Godhood

The .ather revealed so many things to =oseph 4mith a!out himself, that the prophet was relu&tant to sharemu&h of it with the hur&h until three months !efore his assassination% )t was at the April &onferen&e of thehur&h in 18 that he gave a funeral sermon in honor of +ing .ollette who had Iust passed away% =oseph

felt inspired to use the spiritual environment of this sa&red o&&asion to tell the saints some amaing thingsa!out our -eavenly .ather% -e said5

6God himself was on&e as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavensN67Tea&hings of =oseph 4mith, p% $@9

This statement has stupendous impli&ations% )t means that the .ather went through the same pattern ofeternal progression we are now experien&ing% This meant that our -eavenly .ather, or 2lohim, has his own-eavenly .ather who gathered him up from outer darkness and gave him the opportunity to parti&ipate in around of &reation% This laun&hed our -eavenly .ather on a pathway of eternal progression whi&h eventuallyallowed him to !e&ome an exalted !eing% =oseph 4mith said5

6The first prin&iples or individual intelligen&es of man are self#existent with God% God himself, finding he wasin the midst of intelligen&es and glory, !e&ause he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws where!ythe rest of the intelligen&es &ould have a privilege to advan&e like himself% The relationship we have withGod pla&es us in a situation to advan&e in knowledge% -e has power to institute laws to instru&t the weakerintelligen&es, that they may !e exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and allthat knowledge, power, glory, and intelligen&e whi&h is re'uisite in order to save them in the world of spirits%6

7The re&order originally put the word 6spirits6 in this pla&e !ut :% -% ?o!erts noted that it should have !een6intelligen&es%6 4ee Tea&hings of =oseph 4mith, p% $@9

This inspired statement &ontains the following essential elements5

1% 2lohim, our .ather, was on&e in outer darkness with us%

"% :ut he was gathered up !y a -eavenly .ather and progressed during a round of &reation in his .athersdomain%

$% After perfe&ting himself !y o!taining !oth a spiritual and temporal !ody, he was resurre&ted and attainedthe highest degree of the &elestial kingdom in his .athers domain%

% )n the plan of eternal progression, any of the sons of God who rea&h this stage are eligi!le to !e given thepowers of Godhood% As :righam 3oung explained5

6)n the resurre&tion, men who have !een faithful and diligent in all things in the flesh, have kept their first andse&ond estates, and are worthy to !e &rowned Gods, even the sons of God, will !e (?EA)2E T((?GA)O2 MATT2?%6 7=ournal of Eis&ourses vol% 1@, p% 1$F9

@% (n&e 2lohim had !een given this power to organie matter, he &ame !a&k to the edge of spa&e andgathered up from outer darkness those of us who were to &omprise our present round of &reation% -e alsos&ooped up a suffi&ient 'uantity of primal matter with whi&h our intelligen&es &ould !e 6organied%6

4o this tells me how we got where we are% (ur -eavenly .ather &ame !a&k for us so we &ould parti&ipate in

a round of &reation and progress Iust as he has done%

2ver sin&e ) learned this ex&iting information, ) have earnestly thanked my -eavenly .ather repeatedly forin&luding me in this present round of &reation% And ) have thanked him for in&luding my wife and my &hildrenand the host of wonderful people ) have &ome to know as my friends% hat a !lessing for all of us to !etogether in this great adventure of eternal progression%

+hat It eans to #chieve Godhood

2ventually, all of the priesthood holders who attain exaltation and are ordained to organie matter will doexa&tly what our .ather has done !efore us% e will go out to the edge of spa&e as .ather did and gather up

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

9/21

from outer darkness a host of intelligen&es, together with an appropriate amount of primal matter, so that we&an !egin our own round of &reation%

Thus "e "ill learn for ourselves "hat it is like to 2e a God3

(ur first task will !e to sort out these !illions of intelligen&es and organie them with !its of primal matter%Then we will tea&h them to love us and o!ey us as we unite them with one another in a vast array of orderly

&om!inations% e will then explain to them how we plan to organie a galaxy of our own% This will helpexpand the 6spa&e6 of the Gods and add to the glory of those who went !efore us%

A very signifi&ant part of this stage of training will !e to help these individual intelligen&es de&ide where theywant to fit into this vast new order of things% (ne might think that they will all want to !e&ome Gods, !ut notso% A!raham tells us that as the intelligen&es are graded they will &hoose different levels of existen&ea&&ording to their desires% 7A!raham $51C#""/ Tea&hings of =oseph 4mith, p% $F$9

4ome want to !e part of the planet, whi&h will eventually !e resurre&ted% 4ome will !e attra&ted toparti&ipation in the kingdoms of plant life% (thers will desire to !e part of the animal kingdom% And a smallersegment whi&h &onstitute the foremost intelligen&es will aspire to have opportunities &ompara!le to that oftheir -eavenly .ather%

The most signifi&ant aspe&t of this epi& of training and de&ision#making is the fa&t that on&e the de&isionsare made they will last through all eternity% 2a&h intelligen&e will not only &hoose its role in the spirit world

and in earth life !ut also in the eternities following the resurre&tion%

evertheless, ea&h intelligen&e will have had the satisfa&tion of knowing that it made its own free &hoi&e andthere!y fixed the &ourse of its development forever%

hen it &omes time for the laun&hing of the spirit &reation, ea&h intelligen&e will take its &hosen pla&e%=oseph 4mith des&ri!es this remarka!le transition as the intelligen&es move eagerly from mere theoreti&alanti&ipation to a&tual parti&ipation% -e says5

6The organiation of the spiritual and heavenly worlds, and of spiritual and heavenly !eings, was agreea!leto the most perfe&t order and harmony/ their limits and !ounds were fixed )??2L(A:*3 andL(*>TA?)*3 su!s&ri!ed to in their heavenly estate !y T-2M42*L24, and were !y our first parentssu!s&ri!ed to upon this earth%6 7hur&h -istory vol% L), p% @19

This tells us that after the intelligen&es have &hosen the eternal role, whi&h they desire to fulfill, the signal

will !e given, and they will all immediately take their pla&es in the most perfe&t order and harmoniousarrangement% Then every intelligen&e in Gods ela!orate stru&ture for this round of &reation will !e ready tore&eive its spiritual em!odiment% ith this ex&iting and glorious &ommen&ement of the spirit &reation, the.irst 2state will have !egun%

+hat #2out Those +ho )esire to Beco,e 4ike Heavenly &ather%

)t may seem puling that all the intelligen&es do not aspire to !e&ome Gods% -owever, when we refle&t onthe statement of A!raham that the intelligen&es are graded a&&ording to their attri!utes it is understanda!lewhy the intelligen&es of lesser development would resist the responsi!ilities asso&iated with the higherlevels of existen&e% )n fa&t, the genius of ea&h round of &reation is that there are opportunities forparti&ipation, whi&h extend from the most simple involvement to the extremely &omplex responsi!ilities ofGodhood%

The s&riptures make it &lear that an exalted !eing who is a mem!er of the Priesthood and has !een

ordained to Godhood will undou!tedly en&ounter at least three monumental &rises that, &an Ieopardie hisrole as a -eavenly .ather and threaten to destroy his immediate round of &reation%

Three Heavenly -rises

The first &risis will !e a revolution during the spirit &reation% This o&&urs when an over#am!itious leaderde&ides to &hallenge the .ather and put himself in &omplete &ontrol of the whole round of &reation%

-ow &ould this happen

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

10/21

)t is the very nature of intelligent !eings who have risen to a level whi&h they &onsider to !e e'ual or superiorto their -eavenly .ather, to suddenly aspire to take over and repla&e the very !eing who has helped themgain their high status of a&hievement% (!viously this passionate aspiration of an arrogant spirit &onstitutes a&hallenge to a -eavenly .ather sin&e he must deal with this explosive eagerness lest it su!vert and&ompletely shatter that parti&ular round of &reation%

Therefore this is a maIor &risis even among heavenly !eings% The .ather must defuse this am!itious usurper

and, if ne&essary, suppress an out!reak of an angry &onfli&t in heaven% ?estoring pea&e will !e the firstthreatening &risis fa&ing a -eavenly .ather%

The se&ond &risis will o&&ur during the se&ond estate when the .athers &hosen ?edeemer falters in terroras he draws near to the agonies &onne&ted with the redemptive sa&rifi&e% -owever sin&e the .ather knowsthe end from the !eginning he realies that eventually the hosen (ne will over&ome his terror and fulfill hisgreat &alling% evertheless there is a moment of supreme &risis as this round of &reation hangs perilously inthe !alan&e%

The third &risis &omes at the end of the Millennium when 4atan mo!ilies his vast host of followers to makehis final desperate attempt to overthrow the .ather and his ?edeemer 4on% The intensity of the final war ismagnified !y 4atans realiation that if he loses this war, he and his followers will !e disem!odied and &ast!a&k into outer darkness as stripped naked intelligen&es% To prevent this horri!le Iudgment of losing theirvery identity, they will make this war the most violent upheaval in all human history%

(f &ourse, a 4upreme :eing in &harge of a round of &reation will know the end from the !eginning% -e willknow that ea&h of these &rises will !e su&&essfully resolved, !ut this knowledge will not make the solutionany less violent or strenuous to endure until it is over%

(f &ourse, all of us know that up to the present time, our -eavenly .ather has already passed through thefirst two &rises in this round of &reation% )t is part of our edu&ation in this life to know what happened%

)t all !egan when 2lohim, our -eavenly .ather, sele&ted the most advan&ed intelligen&e in our family of his&hildren to !e trained for the role of general manager over this round of &reation% -e !e&ame the first !orn ofall of the .athers &hildren, and our .ather gave him the name of =ehovah%

The Training of !ehovah

)t was a long and somewhat tedious task to prepare =ehovah for Godhood% Amaingly, =ehovah had toattain the status of Godhood even in the spirit world !efore he &ould !e&ome the .athers general manager

of this round of &reation%

=ohn the :aptist re&orded the following &on&erning the 4aviors initial training% This was later revealed to=oseph 4mith5

6), =ohn saw that he =ehovah re&eived not of the fullness at the first, !ut re&eived gra&e for gra&e%%%and hewas &alled the 4on of God, !e&ause he re&eived not of the fullness at the first%6 7EJ C$51"# 19

4in&e the restoration of the gospel, we have learned myriads of ex&iting details &on&erning the early stagesof our present round of &reation% These all took pla&e on the &elestial residen&e of our -eavenly .atherlo&ated near the huge planet +olo! whi&h is &lose to the &enter of our galaxy% 7A!raham $5"#$9

e think of this opening period when the vast 'uantity of intelligen&es were !eing gathered in from outerdarkness and trained as the first stage of our existen&e as part the .athers kingdom%

The $pirit -reation

ow the .ather populated his &elestial planet with a vast 'uantity of &hildren% Paul said these &hildren wereall the 6offspring6 of the .ather 7A&ts 1F5"C9 !ut =ehovah is given &redit for assem!ling the highly refinedspiritual matter from whi&h their spirit !odies were made% Thus we read5

6Therefore, in the !eginning the ord was, for he was the ord even the messenger of salvation%%%Theworlds were made !y him/ M2 2?2 MAE2 :3 -)M%6 7EJ C$58#109

The s&ripture is plain that =ehovah was the general manager of the entire spirit &reation#planets, people,plants and animals% 7Moses "5$"#$$9% -is intimate relation with the hosts of intelligen&es throughout this

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

11/21

round of &reation made him !eloved Iust as they loved the .ather% As we shall see later, this was a!solutelyessential to 'ualify him for his role as the ?edeemer%

The &irst -ouncil in Heaven

.inally the .ather was ready to transfer this mighty host of spirit &hildren to their own planet where they&ould !e trained and prepared for the 4e&ond 2state% This would !e a tremendous undertaking and so the

.ather held a massive &oun&il meeting with all his &hildren parti&ipating% The s&ripture says5

6ow the *ord had shown unto me, A!raham, the intelligen&es that were organied 7with spirits9 !efore theworld was%%%And there stood one among them that was like unto God%6

oti&e that this leader was not God, !ut someone 6like unto God6 who would undou!tedly !e =ehovah or=esus hrist% This person knew what the .ather wanted done, and so he said5

6e will go down for there is spa&e there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earthwhereon these may dwell% And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the*ord their God shall &ommand them%6 7A!raham $5"# "@9

The stru&turing of this new planet was a &olossal undertaking% As :righam 3oung taught, it was !uilt in thevi&inity of the .athers &elestial residen&e whi&h was near the planet +olo!% 7=ournal of Eis&ourses vol% 1F, p%1$9

The preparation of the earth took millions of years% )t had to provide the resour&es for tens of thousands ofgenerations of !oth animals and mankind%

)n &ontemplation of this mighty task, the *ord said5

6hom shall ) send And one answered like unto the 4on of Man5 -ere am ) send me% And anotheranswered and said5 -ere am ) send me% And the *ord said5 ) will send the first% And the se&ond was angry,and kept not his first estate/ and at that day many followed after him%6 7A!raham $5"F#"89

The +ork of the &irst Estate

Meanwhile there were divine la!ors that had to !e performed !y =ehovah and the &oun&il of the 6no!le andgreat ones6 su&h as A!raham, )saa&, =a&o!, Moses, =oseph 4mith and others who would !e the leaders ofthe various dispensations%

Tens of !illions of the .athers &hildren also had to !e sorted out and designated for the various nations andempires that would o&&upy the earth during the seven thousand years of its temporal existen&e%

The work was further &ompli&ated !y the fa&t that empires and the distri!ution of population had to !e&al&ulated in terms of the availa!ility of the *ords leaders, &alled )srael or 4oldiers of God% Moses des&ri!esthis &hallenging task% -e says5

6%%%ask thy father, and he will shew thee/ thy elders and they will tell thee, when the most high divided to thenations their inheritan&e, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the !ounds of the%%%people

A(?E)G T( T-2 >M:2? (. T-2 -)*E?2 (. )4?A2*%6 7Eeuteronomy $"5F#89

Another arduous task during the preexisten&e was ordaining all of those who were designated for Priesthoodleadership during the 4e&ond 2state% Priesthood is simply a 6&all to servi&e,6 and many of those who wereeligi!le for the Priesthood reIe&ted this 6&all to servi&e%6 Alma des&ri!es this phenomenon5

6And this is the manner after whi&h they were ordained !eing &alled and prepared from the foundation of theworld a&&ording to the foreknowledge of God, on a&&ount of their ex&eeding faith and good works%%%whileothers would reIe&t the 4pirit of God on a&&ount of the hardness of their hearts and !lindness of their minds,while if it had not !een for this T-23 M)G-T -AL2 -AE A4 G?2AT P?)L)*2G2 A4 T-2)? :?2T-?2%67Alma 1$5$#9

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

12/21

The +ar in Heaven

After the preparations for the 4e&ond 2state were in order the .ather &alled another massive &oun&il of allhis &hildren% The purpose was to &hoose a ?edeemer or mediator without whi&h this entire round of &reationwould !e lost%

.irst of all, the .ather explained that with ea&h round of &reation there has to !e a ?edeemer% -e then asked

who would provide the redemptive sa&rifi&e% 4uddenly, a fantasti& development o&&urred% *u&ifer leapedforward%

4atan hated the idea of an atoning sa&rifi&e whi&h re'uired an infinite 'uantity of suffering !y the mediatorwhi&h would !e so &ompelling that the hosts of intelligen&es would overlook the sins of the repentant andgrant all the spe&ial !lessings for whi&h the 4avior might plead in our !ehalf as we as&ended the pathway ofeternal progression%

)t is highly signifi&ant that 4atan had not kept his first estate 7A!raham 5"89 !ut spent his time &onIuring upa s&heme whi&h he wanted the .ather to a&&ept in pla&e of the atoning sa&rifi&e whi&h the family of theGods had used down through the eternities% 4atan was so proud of his s&heme that he wanted the full honorof inventing it% 7EJ "C5$B9

The &ore of 4atans plan was to suspend free agen&y during the 4e&ond 2state and for&e the .athers&hildren to &onform to &elestial law so that none of them would !e lost !e&ause of sin% -e &arefully explained

how his marvelous s&heme would operate% >nder 4atans plan there would !e5

o ne&essity for an atoning sa&rifi&e%

o sin would !e allowed%

o evil would !e permitted%

o suffering would have to !e endured%

o Iudgment would !e re'uired%

o punishment would !e infli&ted%

o failures would o&&ur%

The entire family of the .ather would !e automati&ally saved under 4atans plan%

(f &ourse, 4atan had missed one important fa&t% The whole purpose of the 4e&ond 2state was to help the.athers &hildren distinguish !etween good and evil% Their exposure to evil and the &onse'uen&es of itsinfluen&e was needed to galvanize them against the temptations of evil throughout eternity% :ut o!viously,4atans plan would not do this% )t would a&tually deprive them of the &apa&ity to experien&e evil or evenre&ognie it% )n fa&t, under 4atans plan the .athers &hildren would go through life in a *u&iferian strait Ia&ketand learn nothing%

Therefore, when =ehovah per&eived how the a!omina!le plan of 4atan was shrewdly designed to ro! the.ather of his throne and deprive =ehovah of his divine mission, he stepped forward and volunteered to gothrough the agonies of the redemptive sa&rifi&e and there!y save this whole round of &reation%

)mmediately, the .ather a&&epted the offer of =ehovah and reIe&ted the su!versive plan of 4atan%

4uddenly there was an uproar in heaven%

A large portion of this vast multitude liked the plan proposed !y 4atan% After all, it guaranteed them salvationwithout any effort on their part% )t made all the &hoi&es for them% )t eliminated the awful ne&essity of a !loodsa&rifi&e and it offered them &omplete salvation on a silver platter% This multitude &ompletely agreed with4atan and they were willing to wage war to have it adopted%

4o the .athers first great &risis roared out a&ross the fa&e of the new planet% :ut this war was fought in ape&uliar way% o weapons were used% =ohn the :eloved says the furious en&ounter was fought with

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

13/21

argument and &ontentious de!ate% =ohn says the servants of God fought with their testimonies% 7?evelation1"5119

The line of argument pro!a!ly went something like this5 )f they followed 4atan they would never get temporal!odies, they would even lose their spirit !odies%

)t is interesting that those who la!ored on !ehalf of the 4avior were &alled 6The 4oldiers of God6 or 6)srael6

even in the preexisten&e% They testified with the most earnest passion that the only hope for the .athers&hildren was to a&&ept the .athers de&ision and follow =ehovah%

The &asualty rate in this war was very high% )n a very real way it was a war to the death% (ne third of the.athers vast host of offspring gam!led away their lega&y in Gods +ingdom !e&ause they wanted the .atherto adopt 4atans plan% o amount of reason and patient testimony#!earing would persuade them% .inally the.ather felt &ompelled to &ommand Mi&hael to for&e the host of mutinous re!els into exile#a&ross the veil andinto the temporal world%

There, for the next six thousand years, the war would &ontinue, and at the end of the seventh thousandyears 4atan and his followers would fa&e their ultimate doom%

Trilogy 5

The $ecret ission of !esus -hrist

Introduction

The first estate involved the sele&tion of the .athers general manager for the stru&turing of this entire roundof &reation% Then the .ather had to sele&t a redeemer for the se&ond estate% 4atan thought the redemptivesa&rifi&e of the ?edeemer was virtually stupid and he therefore offered a plan that had never !een tried!efore% hen the .ather &hose the traditional plan with =ehovah or =esus as the ?edeemer, it &aused a warin heaven !e&ause so many of the .athers &hildren preferred 4atans plan% 4atan wanted to eliminate theneed for a ?edeemer and guarantee salvation for all of the .athers &hildren whether they wanted it or not%The only draw!a&k to 4atans plan was the fa&t that it was !ased on for&e, and that is why the .atherreIe&ted it% This resulted in a war in heaven and &on&luded with one#third of the .athers &hildren !eingeIe&ted from their heavenly home%

The se&ond estate was filed with perils under the traditional plan !e&ause everyone was at li!erty to use hisor her free agen&y so they &ould learn the differen&e !etween good and evil%

(f &ourse, everyone would !e held a&&ounta!le for their a!use of free agen&y and would !e punished fortheir misdeeds to the uttermost farthing%

:ut what if a person learned the differen&e !etween good and evil and wanted to avoid the punishment forpast offenses% ould this !e a&hieved

The .ather said there was a way if you knew how it worked% )t was &alled the Atonement%

) urgently !egged 2lder =ohn A% idtsoe with whom ) had !e&ome a&'uainted to explain the Atonement so )&ould &omprehend it%

-e !egan !y &arefully tea&hing me everything we have &overed in Trilogy 1%

Then ) was extremely anxious to have him get to the su!Ie&t of the Atonement !ut, as usual, he !egan thedis&ussion a!out a hundred miles away from the su!Ie&t% )n fa&t, he !egan with several 'uestions% The firstone was, 6here do you think our .ather got his power6

) suggested that he pro!a!ly got it from -)4 .ather%

2lder idtsoe said, 6o, that is not &orre&t% All he got from his .ather was the authority or the keys to !uild anew round of &reation% -is .ather did not give him the power to do it%6

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

14/21

-e then asked me a se&ond 'uestion% 6hat makes a great !ishop6 ) told him ) thought it was hisordination% 6o,6 he said, 6a !ishop merely gets his A>T-(?)T3 from his ordination, !ut his P(2? to !e agreat !ishop &omes from the same pla&e that God gets his%6

)n total frustration ) asked, 6ell then, where does God get his power6

-e said, 6Two passages in the s&riptures will give you the key% They are !oth from the Eo&trine and

ovenants% )n 4e&tion "C, verse $B, the *ord says, M3 -((? )4 M3 P(2?% Then in 4e&tion B$, verse@C it says K) am from A:(L2, and my power lieth :22AT-%H

2lder idtsoe then asked me what exists !elow God that honors him and gives him power, or, for thatmatter, what is there !elow a :ishop that gives him honor and therefore his power

After a moment ) said, 6ell, with God it is the vast host of intelligen&es !elow God that honor him andtherefore o!ey him% That &ertainly gives him power% And ) suppose you &ould say, the same thing a!out a!ishop who is honored and o!eyed and therefore from them he derives his power%6

62xa&tlyN6 said 2lder idtsoe% 6This is a Priesthood prin&iple% God and his servants a&'uire their power fromthose over whom they preside%6

-e &ontinued, 6) think you also know what makes a great !ishop% )t is every!ody in their pla&es for the4unday servi&es% )t is dea&ons ready to serve the sa&rament and worthy priests to !less it% )t is tea&hers well

prepared and radiant with the 4pirit% )t is young priests who make themselves &onversant with the gospeland are anxious to !e &alled on missions% )t is vigilant ?elief 4o&iety visiting tea&hers who are 'ui&k to dete&tthe needs of the si&k and the poor% These are the things that make people say, KMy, what a great !ishopNH(!viously, his power &omes from the support of his ward and the honor, whi&h is demonstrated !y themem!ers of the ward responding enthusiasti&ally to his guidan&e and leadership%

Then he &ontinued5 6)t is the same way with God% The honor and o!edien&e whi&h he re&eives from his vastlegion of intelligen&es is what gives him his power%6

Ho" God -ould 4ose His Po"er

Then he surprised me !y saying5 6Eid you know our -eavenly .ather &ould lose that power6

(f &ourse that was a new do&trine to me, so ) said, 6-ow would that !e possi!le God is all#powerful% Atleast that is what ) was always taught%6

-e said% 6This amaing do&trine that God &ould lose his power is found in Alma &hapter "% There it plainlytea&hes that God is the great ar!iter of the universe and ea&h intelligen&e is depending on him to !ea!solutely honest, a!solutely Iust, a!solutely fair, and a!solutely un&hangea!le, otherwise -2 (>*E2A42 T( :2 G(E% 7Alma "5 1$, "", "@/ Mormon C51C9 This is why the s&ripture says, KGod &annot lookupon sin, with the least degree of allowan&e,H 7Alma @51B/ EJ 15$19 or if he did, he would &ease to !eGod% (r, in other words, G(E (>*E .A**N6

Then he 'ui&kly added, 6:ut, of &ourse, he isnt going to fall !e&ause he knows how to prevent it% -owever,he wants us to know that he (>*E fall% The .ather wants us to know that if he doesnt maintain the&onfiden&e and honor of the host of intelligen&es in this round of &reation, they would &ease to honor him,and then &ease to o!ey him, and without his honor, he would &ease to !e God% This is the powerfulmessage set forth in Alma, &hapter " and Mormon C51C%

-aving set down these amaing and somewhat surprising prin&iples, he &ontinued !y saying5 6ow, we are

ready to learn why the Atonement of =esus hrist was indispensa!le to the .ather% -e needed =esus to dosomething of supreme importan&e, whi&h the .ather &ould not do himself% )f he tried to redeem his &hildrenafter they had fallen, he would &ease to !e GodN6

+hy +as the &all 6ecessary%

(n&e ) re&ognied the dilemma of the .ather in the se&ond estate, ) asked, 6hy was the fall ne&essary6

:riefly, here is what he told me% (n the pathway of eternal progression it is ne&essary during the 4e&ond2state for mankind to learn the differen&e !etween good and evil% They must not only know the differen&e!etween the two !ut they must engrain into their very souls a determination to em!ra&e the good and a!hor

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

15/21

the evil% They must reIe&t the evil with an instin&tive vehemen&e that will &hara&terie their !ehavior in thefamily of the Gods forever% This is of paramount importan&e, parti&ularly for those who are aspiring to!e&ome Gods%

(ur -eavenly .ather knew that we are in&apa!le of en&ountering sin without partaking of some of it% )t isinherent in our very nature that !y attempting to learn a!out sin we &annot avoid some degree of&ontamination% Therefore, under &elestial law, our en&ounter with sin automati&ally &uts us off from the

presen&e of the .ather% Paul stated emphati&ally that !e&ause of the fall5 6A** -AL2 4)2E AE (M24-(?T (. T-2 G*(?3 (. G(E%6 7?omans $5"$9

This leaves the .ather helpless insofar as re&overing his fallen &hildren is &on&erned% This is what led ephito say5

6o un&lean thing &an dwell with God/ wherefore ye 7who have sinned while learning a!out sin9 are &ast offforever%6 71 ephi 105"19

4o hat is the Answer

:ut, of &ourse, if we have learned the differen&e !etween good and evil !ut &annot get !a&k to the domain ofour -eavenly .ather so as to &ontinue our eternal progression, the .athers plan to have us exalted and!e&ome Gods is defeated% Therefore, the family of the Gods had to adopt a devi&e that would Iustify the.ather in restoring us to his &elestial realm and &ontinue our eternal progression without Ieopardiing his

Godhood%

The o!Ie&t of the Atonement was to get the intelligen&es to overlook our imperfe&tions ) 4P)T2 of our sins%The Protestant s&holars !elieved that this was a&&omplished !y having =esus 6pay for our sins6 through hissuffering and there!y !alan&e the s&ales of Iusti&e% -owever, this theory involves a monumental pro!lemand that is the fa&t that it isnt Iust to have one person pay for the sins of another% Amulek points this out in

Alma $511#1"%

Amulek then goes on to explain that the Atonement is not !ased on trying to !alan&e the s&ales of Iusti&e!ut it is !ased on M2?3 -)- )P24 (>T T-2 E2MAE4 (. =>4T)2% 7Alma $51@9

)t turned out that this was the genius of the Atonement%

Ho" )oes the #tone,ent +ork%

There are three essential re'uirements in a divine Atonement to a&&omplish something, whi&h the .ather&ould never do himself% .irst, there must !e someone who is loved !y all the hosts of intelligen&es% Theymust love this person as mu&h as they love God himself% This was a&hieved !y making the ?edeemer thegeneral manager of the entire round of &reation% :y this means every intelligen&e learned to love and honorthe great =ehovah%

4e&ond, this mu&h#loved person must go through a horrendous &risis of infinite agony and suffering whi&h isso intense that it arouses an out&ry of &ompassion in every single intelligen&e who !elongs to this round of&reation%

Third, this mu&h#loved person must then re'uire repentan&e and a &omplete surrender to the re'uirementsof the gospel so that =esus will inter&ede and petition for the sake of his suffering that the &onvert &an returnto the .ather and &ontinue on the pathway of eternal progression%

Therefore, to summarie5 ith ea&h round of &reation there has to !e an infinite sa&rifi&e that arouses su&h

a flood of mer&y in the &ons&iousness of every intelligen&e that it &onsents to permit the .ather to !ring us!a&k into his presen&e so as to &ontinue our training and exaltation%

ow we &ome to the &limax of our dis&ussion%

+ho $hould Put the $avior Through the #toning $acrifice%

)n order to provide a redemptive sa&rifi&e, someone must slay the 4avior under ex&ru&iating &ir&umstan&es%ho should do this 4hould it !e planned in advan&e, or Iust left to &han&e and &ir&umstan&es o dou!tthis ugly 'uestion was dis&ussed at length !etween the .ather and the 4on in the preexisten&e% e are led

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

16/21

to presume that a dis&ussion similar to the following dialogue must have taken pla&e !e&ause that is exa&tlythe way it turned out5

The .ather5 My son, as you know, with ea&h new round of &reation we have to &hoose someone to make aredemptive sa&rifi&e% ) am grateful that you volunteered to provide the needed sa&rifi&e for this present roundof &reation% ow, whom are you planning to !e responsi!le for !ringing to pass your redemptive sa&rifi&e )nother words, who should slay you

The 4on5 ) would like to have my redemptive sa&rifi&e !rought a!out !y some of those who loved me andwho valiantly supported me during the ar in -eaven% 4in&e ) will !e &oming into mortality through the loinsof Eavid, ) !elieve ) would like to have the =ews !ring a!out my &ru&ifixion%

The .ather5 :ut they would never &ru&ify you if they knew who you were% )n fa&t, as Paul will later say, 6-adthey known it, they would not have &ru&ified the *ord of Glory6 71 orinthians "589%

The 4on5 Then ) must arrange it so they will not realie who ) am until after the &ru&ifixion is over%

The .ather5 -ow will you !ring that a!out

The 4on5 -ere is my plan% ) will have the =ewish prophets reveal that the Messiah will !e a =ew and that the=ews will think he is an impostor and slay him% (f &ourse, their leaders will say that they would never killtheir Messiah% o dou!t they will denoun&e the prophe&y as a myth and &onsider it an insult to the =ewish

people% They will not only for!id anyone to prea&h this do&trine !ut pronoun&e a death penalty on anyonewho dares to prea&h it% ) am sure they will also remove from the s&riptures the writings of any prophet whohas taught that the Messiah will !e killed !y his own people% As a result of this, they will have no way ofknowing who ) am when ) &ome among them as the ?edeemer% They will only know a!out my 4e&ondoming when ) will &ome in power as the great +ing Messiah% As a result, when ) &ome to the earth the firsttime, they will expe&t me to &ome in power and set up a worldwide =ewish kingdom% hen this fails tomaterialie, they will think ) am an impostor and allow me to !e killed%

The .ather5 Then what will happen to those who &onsented to your death !e&ause they thought you were animpostor

The 4on5 4in&e they merely assented to my death, thinking ) was an impostor, they will not !e guilty ofmurder% Therefore, they &an !e forgiven !e&ause of my atoning sa&rifi&e, whi&h they themselves will havehelped me !ring a!out% After my resurre&tion ) will explain to them that this was arranged in heaven !eforethe world !egan% ) will tell them that ) wanted to have the =ews, my own people, assist in !ringing a!out my

sa&rifi&e% (n&e it is explained to them how they inno&ently helped me through my redemptive ordeal, they&an repent of their sins, in&luding assenting to my death% ) &an then invite them to !e !aptied for theremission of their sins and wel&ome them into my kingdom%

The .ather5 :ut what a!out any of those who do not a&&ept your invitation to enter your kingdom or still!elieve they assented to the &ru&ifixion of an impostor

The 4on5 They will !e like anyone else who knowingly sins against the truth and reIe&ts the message of thegospel% They will have to suffer the &onse'uen&es%

The .ather5 ) approve of the plan% )t is identi&al with the one we have used in other rounds of &reationthroughout eternity%

Putting the Plan Into Operation

After the tri!e of =udah &ame into existen&e around 1800 :%%, the prophets of )srael taught the people thefullness of the gospel and explained to them that there would !e a Messiah who would serve as a mediatorto se&ure the forgiveness of their sins%

This seemed to !e understood and fully a&&epted, !ut around a thousand years later, when several prophetstaught how the =ews would help =esus through this ordeal they were stoned to death for prea&hing it%

This is what happened to the Prophet Oenos and Oeno&h 7-elaman 851C9 and in B00 :%% when the prophet*ehi des&ri!ed his vision of the 4avior !eing &ru&ified at the instigation of the =ews in the meridian of time,he had to flee for his life% 71 ephi "51#"9

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

17/21

!esus Begins His Earthly inistry

)t is rather amaing !ut =esus appeared in the -oly *and right a!out the time the =ews were expe&ting their+ing Messiah to arrive% This ex&iting anti&ipation was !ased on an erroneous interpretation of a prophe&y inthe se&ond &hapter of Eaniel%

)t will !e re&alled that around B"@ :%%, +ing e!u&hadnear of :a!ylon had a terri!le dream !ut &ould not

afterwards remem!er it% The king threatened to exe&ute all of his wise men if they did not tell him what thedream had !een and what it meant% Eaniel saved the lives of himself and three &ompanions, as well as all ofthe kings wise men, !y re&eiving a revelation from the *ord, whi&h told him what the king had dreamed andalso what it meant%

The king had seen a huge, grotes'ue image in his dream% The image represented the future kingdoms thatwould rule the world% The head was of gold, whi&h turned out to !e :a!ylon itself% The &hest and arms wereof silver, whi&h turned out to !e Persia that would &on'uer :a!ylon% The !elly and thighs were of !rass,whi&h turned out to !e Gree&e that would &on'uer Persia% Then the hips and legs, whi&h were made of iron,turned out to !e the ?omans who &on'uered Gree&e and later divided into the two legs of the eastern andwestern ?oman 2mpires% The feet of the image were made of iron and miry &lay whi&h turned out to !e themany 2uropean gentile nations, whi&h developed, in more re&ent times after the ?oman 2mpire &ollapsed%

Eaniel then told e!u&hadnear that in the days of these kings those of iron and miry &lay shall the God ofheaven set up a kingdom, whi&h shall never !e destroyed5 and the kingdom shall not !e left to other people,

!ut it shall !reak in pie&es and &onsume all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever%6 7Eaniel "59

Eaniel had said that the final s&enes of this vision would take pla&e 6in the latter days,6 7Eaniel "5"89 !ut the=ews in the days of =esus thought that sin&e the &ruel iron kingdom of ?ome had already !e&omeesta!lished, the stone of Gods kingdom should !e &oming forth shortly under the great Messiah% They felt itwould not only destroy all of the existing worldly kingdoms, !ut last forever%

The =ewish ra!!is were not willing to wait until the latter days !ut wanted to interpret the se&ond &hapter ofEaniel as !eing fulfilled in their day% The supreme key to their distorted interpretation was the overthrow ofthe ?omans% They therefore taught that no matter how many mira&les =esus might perform, if he didntoverthrow the ?omans, he was not the Messiah% 4o the people were waiting for =esus to set up his kingdomand overthrow the ?omans%

And we learn to our amaement that his apostles were expe&ting the same thing%

+hy the #postles +ere isled

e now know that it served the purposes of !oth the .ather and the 4on to have the apostles look upon=esus as the +ing Messiah%

)t was !y providential design, that all of the =ews in&luding the apostles#were allowed to think that =esus hadappeared on earth to fulfill the glorious prophe&ies of Eaniel &on&erning the &oming of the +ing#Messiah%

After all, hadnt =esus said5 6) appoint unto you a kingdom%%%that ye may eat and drink at my ta!le in mykingdom, and sit on thrones Iudging the twelve tri!es of )srael%6 7*uke ""5"C#$09 And the mother of =amesand =ohn was so &ompletely &ertain =esus was a!out to set up his kingdom that she re'uested the 4avior togive her sons preferred treatment after he took over as the +ing#Messiah of the world% 7Matthew "05"1#""9

The ew Testament makes it &lear that =esus was su&&essful in delivering his message without revealingthe fa&t that he had &ome as the ?edeemer rather than the +ing#Messiah% This was true even though =esusspoke of his &ru&ifixion and resurre&tion several times% evertheless, the 4pirit hid it from the apostles and

also those who &onsidered themselves the 4aviors dis&iples% *uke says, 6And they understood none ofthese thing, and T-)4 4A3)G A4 -)E .?(M T-2M%6 7*>+2 185$9 e also have the statement of Markwho said5 6They understood not that saying 7a!out his death and resurre&tion9 and were afraid to ask him%67Mark C5$"9

The assignment of the -oly 4pirit was to erase from the minds of the apostles and the dis&iples of =esus anyreferen&e to his death and resurre&tion% 4peaking of Peter and =ohn, the s&ripture says5 6They knew not thes&ripture, that he would rise from the dead%6 7=ohn "05C9 )t was only after =esus was glorified that the 4piritrestored to their minds everything he had said &on&erning his &ru&ifixion and resurre&tion during his ministry%7=ohn 15"B9

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

18/21

The $avior.s Heavy Burden

e do not know exa&tly when =esus first learned during his earth life that he was to provide the .athersredemptive sa&rifi&e%

e know that !y the age of twelve =esus knew that his real father was 2lohim and that he should 6!e a!outhis .athers !usiness%6 7*uke "5"#C9 -owever, it is unlikely the .ather would !urden his son with a

knowledge of the terri!le ordeal that lay ahead of him until he had a&tually !egun his mission in $0 A%E%

e spe&ulate that a logi&al time for ministering angels to share the message of the redemptive sa&rifi&emight have !een right after his !aptism% )t will !e re&alled that immediately after his !aptism he was'ui&kened and led into the wilderness% There he re&eived spiritual ministrations during forty days and fortynights% This would seem to have !een the sa&red interlude when ministering angels &ould have prepared=esus for what lay ahead% )t was a holy season of spiritual reinfor&ement when he thrived six weeks without!read% 7*uke 5"9

+hy )idn.t the !e"s 0ecogni/e !esus%

=esus performed his first spe&ta&ular mira&le at the wedding feast in ana and then prepared to go to=erusalem when he would turn thirty years of age and !e eligi!le, a&&ording to =ewish tradition, to laun&h hisministry%

?ight from the !eginning the ministry of =esus was spe&ta&ular% -e performed mira&les !y the hundreds% -ehealed the si&k, raised the dead, walked on water, &almed tur!ulent seas, and fed hundreds of people withfish already &ooked and !read already !aked%

)n fa&t, right from the !eginning great throngs of =ews really did think =esus was the Messiah, !ut the +)G#Messiah% Their !elief that he was the +ing#Messiah persisted right up to the last week of his life% :ut thentheir expe&tations &ollapsed%

:y the end of the week he had not only failed to overthrow the ?omans !ut the ?omans had &ru&ified him%.urthermore, =esus suffered death when the students of the prophe&y of Eaniel had de&lared he would liveforever%

!esus &alters at the 4ast $upper

As =esus drew near to the time of his !etrayal he seemed engulfed !y a dark and ominous shadow and

&ould not avoid &ontemplating the horri!le agony of the task that lay immediately !efore him% .inally he&ouldnt help telling his apostles that he was a!out to leave them%

Peter immediately wanted to know where he would !e going% The &hief apostle assured the 4avior that nomatter where he was going, Peter wanted to a&&ompany him and prote&t him from the enemies that seemedto !e in&reasing !y the hour%

=esus &ut him short and said5

6ilt thou lay down thy life for my sake Lerily, verily, ) say unto thee, The &o&k shall not &row, till, thou hastdenied me thri&e%6 7=ohn 1$5$89

This a!rupt predi&tion &ould have !een deeply offensive to Peter and 'uite out of &hara&ter for their lovingMaster% -owever, =esus knew that within a few hours Peter as well as all the other dis&iples would have losttheir testimonies and !e&ome totally &onfused &on&erning his divinity%

)n &onne&tion with his great -igh Priest prayer re&orded !y =ohn, =esus said5

6.ather, the hour is &ome%%%And now, ( .ather, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory whi&h ) hadwith thee !efore the world was%6 7=ohn 1F51,@9

Then he asked his apostles to a&&ompany him to his favorite pla&e of prayer on Mount Gethsemane% :y thetime they rea&hed Gethsemane the apostles !e&ame alarmed with the drasti& &hange in the 4aviorsdemeanor% )t seemed as though a mor!id depression had settled on his spirit% -e had always !een sosteadfast, so &ourageous, and so full of self#&onfiden&e% They had seen him defy storms, walk on the sea,raise the dead, and &ast out devils% They had always !een so proud of their +ing Messiah% :ut now he had

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

19/21

&hanged and the dis&iples were sho&ked as his spirits &rum!led and he !egan a&ting like an ordinaryfrightened human !eing% They heard him say5

6My soul is ex&eeding sorrowful, even unto death% 6 7Matthew "B5$89

All of this was so &ompletely out of &hara&ter for =esus that the inspired version says5

6The dis&iples !egan to !e sore amaed, and to !e very heavy and to &omplain in their hearts,(E2?)G ). T-)4 :2 T-2 M244)A-%6 7=4T Mark 15$B9 Their testimonies were &rum!ling%

The $avior &aces His $upre,e -risis

-e left eight of the apostles at the garden gate to guard it while he prayed% Then he took Peter, =ames and=ohn further up the Mount of (lives% There the apostle sat down and almost immediately went to sleep% :ut=esus went off !y himself and fell full length upon the ground% A&&ording to Mark 15$B he &ried out5

6A!!a .ather, A** T-)G4 -2 P(44):*2 >T( T-22% Take away this &up from me, nevertheless, notwhat ) will !ut what thou wilt%6

)n other words, thou art God% 3ou are all#powerful% Please work this out some other way% Eont make me gothrough with it%

At this moment the .ather was suffering a pang of the deepest anguish% -e knew the overwhelming tormentthrough whi&h =esus was passing, !ut he also knew that unless he fulfilled his mission this whole round of&reation would disintegrate and return to outer darkness% (f &ourse, the .ather knew the end from the!eginning and realied that =esus would persevere% :ut this knowledge did not diminish the penetratinganguish, whi&h he knew his 4on was having to endure% -e therefore sent an angel to &omfort the 4avior%7*uke ""5"$9 e dont know who he was !ut ) would not !e surprised if it turns out to !e Adam or Mi&hael%

e also dont know what he said, !ut we &an well imagine that it might have gone something like this%6=esus, you dont have to do this% 3ou still have your free agen&y% :ut if you do not fulfill your &alling, youought to know what the &onse'uen&e will !e%6 -e then may have des&ri!ed for =esus the &rash of this wholeround of &reation%

The :ook of Mormon spe&ifi&ally des&ri!es what would have happened to the human family if there had!een no Atonement 7Mosiah 1B5#@9 and we feel this merely represents what would happen to this entireround of &reation% on&erning mankind, every one of us would suffer the same fate as *u&ifer and his dark

angels% e would have !een disem!odied and left without any ta!erna&le, either spiritual or physi&al% Thenwe would have !een &ast 6!a&k6 into outer darkness as stripped, naked intelligen&es% 7EJ 885$"/F$9

And :righam 3oung des&ri!es what would have happened to =esus himself% -e says5

6=esus was foreordained !efore the foundations of the world were !uilt, and his mission was appointed himin eternity to !e the 4avior of the world, yet when he &ame in the flesh he was left free to &hoose or refuse too!ey the .ather% 6-ad he refused to o!ey his .ather he would have !e&ome a son of perdition%6 7=ournal ofEis&ourses, vol% 10 p% $"9

This would mean that eventually =esus would have followed the disem!odied *u&ifer and the rest of us intoouter darkness%

:ut, praise !e to God, =esus &hose the thorny pathway of terrifying torture for whi&h he was !orn% -e said tothe .ather5 6Thy will !e done%6 2ven as he said it, a flood of total anguish flooded over him% As a result, he

sweat great drops of !lood% After the passion of it all had su!sided, he awakened his apostles and wentdown toward the gate where =udas was already &oming with the soldiers from the temple%

Events leading up to the #postles 4osing their Testi,onies

Peter knew that =esus did not have to !e taken &aptive !y the soldiers% All he had to do was disappear as hehad done during &rises on a num!er of o&&asions in the past% :ut he didnt disappear and when Peter sawthat they were a!out to take him prisoner he drew out his sword and stru&k at Mal&hus, a relative of the highpriest% The !lade slid off the side of his head and sli&ed off the ear of Mal&hus% =esus instantly healed it andtold Peter to put up his sword% )t all happened so 'ui&kly/ Mal&hus pro!a!ly never realied that a mira&le had

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

20/21

!een performed% As the guards led =esus away the apostles fled in all dire&tions lest they !e arrested aswell%

*ater, Peter and =ohn went to the &ourtyard of the 4anhedrin where it was o!vious the highest religious&ourt in )srael was legally ensnaring =esus so the ?omans would &ru&ify him% (!viously =esus was not goingto overthrow the ?omans%

This would !e the end of the hopes of the =ews% hen a woman asked Peter if he were a dis&iple of =esus,he denied it% Another woman asked him if he were a dis&iple of =esus and he denied it% .inally, he was&hallenged !y Maltheus whose ear had !een mira&ulously healed and this time Peter &ursed and swore% -esaid he didnt know that man% Peters world was &rum!ling to pie&es% -e had lost his testimony and it sayshe went out into the night and wept% 7Matthew "B5F$#F@9

)n no way would Peter have guessed the thrill that would animate his soul when he was suddenly visited !ythe resurre&ted hrist three days after his &ru&ifixion% And fifty days later, at the &ele!ration of the .east ofthe Pente&ost he would explain the Atonement of hrist to a large &rowd of =ews and three thousand ofthem would apply for !aptism% A short time later, he would give the same talk at the Temple and fivethousand would apply for !aptism% hat a glorious message he had for all who would listenN

!esus $aves Our Universe +ith His 4ife

ow we are &onfronted with one final &hallenge% -ow did the &ru&ifixion of =esus redeem mankind and save

this whole round of &reation

There is only one pla&e in the s&ripture where you &an get the whole story% )t is in Alma &hapter $ whereAmulek the missionary &ompanion of Alma explained it to the Ooramites% -e !egins with the surprisingde&laration that the suffering of =esus was not to pay for our sins !e&ause one person &annot pay for thesins of another, !ut what =esus did was to arouse the mer&y and &ompassion in all the hosts of intelligen&esin our part of the universe so they would grant the 4avior anything he asked for in righteousness% As Amulekpoints out, this means the Atonement was not !ased on Iusti&e#so mu&h suffering for so mu&h sin !ut on the&reation of a vast reservoir of mer&y and &ompassion that would gain for us not only the forgiveness of sins!ut all of the gifts of eternal life and the upward as&ent in our eternal progression%

There were two aspe&ts of hrists Atonement that only he &ould have fulfilled% .irst of all, the atoningsa&rifi&e had to !e endured !y one who was 6infinitely6 loved% That means universally loved !y all theintelligen&es in this round of &reation%

4e&ondly, the suffering had to !e so intense it would arouse a great reservoir of mer&y and &ompassion thatwould last forever% That means it had to !e so agoniing that it would rea&h every tiny intelligen&e with su&hintensity it would last eternally%

+eeping all of this is mind we &annot help !ut ask, how mu&h did he suffer Many people have !een&ru&ified down through the ages, so what was there a!out this &ru&ifixion of =esus that &hanged the historyof the world

2no&h had a vision of the &ru&ifixion that would &ome nearly ,000 years later% -ere is what he re&orded%

6And the *ord said unto 2no&h5 *ook, and he looked and !eheld the 4on of Man lifted up on the &ross afterthe manner of men/ And he heard a loud voi&e, and the heavens were veiled/ and all the &reation of Godmourned/ and the earth groaned, and the ro&ks were rent%6 7Moses F5@B#@F9

This means that all the intelligen&es in this round of &reation shuddered in deepest anguish as the 4avior

endured those six hours of ex&ru&iating torture on the &ross%

The suffering of Mary was so heart#rending that =esus asked =ohn the :eloved to take her away, whi&h hedid%

:ut there was one other parti&ipant at the &ru&ifixion who%%%still had his torturous and ex&ru&iating role to fill%)t was the .ather% )n order for =esus to have drunk the !itter &up of the &ru&ifixion to the depth the .atherhad to &ompletely withdraw his supporting spirit% =esus was Iust a!out at the end of his ordeal !ut the.athers withdrawal of his spirit sent =esus into an in&reased surge of agony% -e &ried out 62loi, 2loi,6 MyGod my God% 6*ama sa!a&hthani6 hy has T-(> forsaken me )t was an inexora!ly &ruel &limax to hissuffering% -e later found it impossi!le to des&ri!e the agony of this moment% e dont know how long it

5/25/2018 Skousen Trilogy

21/21

lasted, !ut when the .athers spirit &ame surging !a&k into =esus, he literally &ollapsed% .inally hewhispered, 6)t is finishedN6 Then he said, 6.ather, into thy hands ) &ommend my spirit%6 And he died% At thatmoment =esus !e&ame the hrist%

ow, as Amulek so powerfully des&ri!es it, =esus had filled the reservoir of mer&y and &ompassion to thepoint where he &ould inter&ede to o!tain for us not only forgiveness of sins !ut eternal life and all the!lessings of eternal progression% This is why every upward step must !e done in the name of =esus hrist

!e&ause unless he inter&edes to get us ea&h of these !lessings, nothing happens%

*et me now &lose with the 4aviors passionate plea to the &hildren of men% )t is as though he were saying,6Eont let my suffering !e in vain%6 )n the 1Cth 4e&tion of the Eo&trine and ovenants verses 1@#1C, he says5

KTherefore ) &ommand you to repent/ repent, lest ) smite you !y the rod of my mouth, and !y my wrath, and!y my anger, and your sufferings !e sore/ how sore you know not, how ex'uisite you know not, yea, howhard to !ear you know not% .or !ehold, ), God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer ifthey would repent/ :ut if they would not repent they must suffer even as )/ hi&h suffering &aused myself,even God, the greatest of all, to trem!le !e&ause of pain, and to !leed at every pore, and to suffer !oth !odyand spirit/ and would that ) might not drink the !itter &up, and shrink evertheless, glory !e to the .ather,and ) partook and finished my preparations unto the &hildren of men%H

4o this is how =esus !e&ame our personal 4avior%

)mmediately after his resurre&tion =esus appeared !ut without his glory#near the garden tom!% MaryMagdalene mistook him for the Gardner and asked where the !ody of =esus had !een taken% )t was thenthat =esus said softly, 6Mary,6 4he re&ognied him and immediately em!ra&ed him, !ut in the original Greek=esus he is reported to have said5 6ease &linging to me% ) am not yet as&ended to my .ather in -eaven%6

Mary Ioyfully withdrew, and with the speed of thought =esus left the earth and arrived in his .atherselestial +ingdom near the glorious planet +olo!% As the resurre&ted =esus em!ra&ed the gloriousresurre&ted 2lohim, no dou!t =esus whispered into his fathers ear5 6) did it% ) did it% ) did it%6

hat a glorious a&hievement% The plan =esus had proposed was a total vi&tory for !oth the .ather and the4on% ow you know why the Atonement was so essential to the .ather as well as to us% And may ) &losewith my most solemn and sa&red testimony that he did it% -e did it% )n the name of =esus hrist, Amen%