Mosiah 15-17

Reading for class on Dec 6: Mosiah 15-17

Points to Ponder:
Why is Jesus referred to both as the Father and the Son?

Add these quotes to your scriptures and ponder them as you read:

Elder Holland “As Abinadi taught, Christ was ‘conceived by the power of God’ [Mosiah 15:3] and therefore has the powers of the Father within him. In addition to that divine lineal relationship, Christ also acts as the Father in that he is the Creator of heaven and earth [see Mosiah 15:4], is the father of our spiritual rebirth and salvation, and is faithful in honoring—and therefore claiming the power of—the will of his Father above that of his own will” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [1997], 183–84).

 Elder Scott:
Elder Richard G. Scott

“Justice … requires that every broken law be satisfied. When you obey the laws of God, you are blessed, but there is no additional credit earned that can be saved to satisfy the laws that you break. If not resolved, broken laws can cause your life to be miserable and would keep you from returning to God” (Richard G. Scott, “The Atonement Can Secure Your Peace and Happiness,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 42).


Want More?
Commentary and Background Information
Mosiah 15:1–9. “The Father and the Son”
In August 1916, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued a doctrinal exposition to clarify scriptural teachings about the roles of God the Father and Jesus Christ. In this exposition, they explained the meaning of certain scriptures in which Jesus Christ is designated as the Father. The following excerpts from that statement may help students understand Abinadi’s teaching about Jesus Christ as Father and Son:

“[One] sense in which Jesus Christ is regarded as the ‘Father’ has reference to the relationship between Him and those who accept His gospel and thereby become heirs of eternal life. …

“Salvation is attainable only through compliance with the laws and ordinances of the gospel; and all who are thus saved become sons and daughters unto God in a distinctive sense. In a revelation given through Joseph the Prophet to Emma Smith, the Lord Jesus addressed the woman as ‘my daughter’ and said, ‘For verily I say unto you, all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom’ (D&C 25:1). In many instances the Lord had addressed men as His sons (e.g., D&C 9:1; 34:3; 121:7).

“That by obedience to the gospel men may become sons of God, both as sons of Jesus Christ, and, through Him, as sons of His Father, is set forth in many revelations given in the current dispensation. …

“If it be proper to speak of those who accept and abide in the gospel as Christ’s sons and daughters—and upon this matter the scriptures are explicit and cannot be gainsaid nor denied—it is consistently proper to speak of Jesus Christ as the Father of the righteous, they having become His children and He having been made their Father through the second birth—the baptismal regeneration” (“The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles,” Ensign, Apr. 2002, 14, 15, 17; originally published in Improvement Era, Aug. 1916, 936–37, 939).