The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote of the Savior: “His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: ‘I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.’”
Grandpa lived his whole life in a way that bore testimony of the Lord and qualified him so that he could kneel before the Savior and wet His feet with tears of gratitude.
The Living Christ
“We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”
Through the restoration, we have come to know the attributes of God and His Son. When you have seen the Son, you have indeed seen the Father...
• one in characterBecause of the Son, we know the Father. He is our advocate with the Father.
• one in goodness
• one in perfection
• one in purpose
We gratefully serve Him.
Gerald Lund tells a charming story about a time when he and his wife went to the Holy Land... “Some years ago, my wife and I were traveling in the Holy Land with a group of seminary and institute teachers. As we were moving through the crowded streets of Old Jerusalem, I noticed a street vendor up ahead of us. He was seated on the narrow sidewalk with several large burlap sacks of grain arranged around him. As we approached, I noticed an Arab woman coming toward him from the opposite direction. She had a large clay pot balanced on her head. As she reached the vendor, she stopped and took down the jar.
“Charmed by the scene, my wife and I stopped to watch, for it was obvious that the woman had come to purchase grain, just as people in the Holy Land had done before the days of Jesus.
“After a few words were exchanged, the man took the jar, held it over the large sack of wheat, and quickly filled it up uising a metal scoop. The last scoop left a small heap of grain rising above the top of the jar. Then the vendor did an interesting thing. He reached down and picked up a small, flat stick, somewhat like a ruler. Very carefully, holding the jar over the grain sack, he scraped the stick across the top of the jar, pushing any excess wheat back into the sack.
“For a moment I was irritated. Was he trying to cheat this woman? But she was not at all upset. . . . I realized that he wasn’t being dishonest. He was giving her an honest measure. She had asked for a full jar of grain and that was what he was giving her. He just wasn’t going to sell her one grain more than what she had paid for.”
“Now compare this with the Savior's description of how the Father blesses us. “Be ye merciful,” He said, “as your Father also is merciful. . . . Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over” (Luke:38)
“What a difference from how man deals with his fellowman. When God fills our jar, He fills it to the top. Then He tamps it down to compress the grain. That is followed by a vigourous shaking, which aligns the kernels of grain so the level in the jar drops perceptibly. Then once again the jar is capable of holding more, the Father fills it to the top again. Only with Him, there is no scraping off any excess. He fills it to overflowing, giving us more than our containers can possibly hold. The Psalmist taught the same principle in these words: “My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever” (Psalm 23:5-6)
“Pressed down, shaken together, and running over”—that's the Heavenly Father I have come to know.
The Loving Arms of Christ
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