Mormon Musings

When asked why Abraham was commanded to go to Mount Moriah and offer his only hope of posterity, President Hugh B. Brown, an Apostle, said, ‘Abraham needed to learn something about Abraham.’ The Lord already knew what Abraham would do, but Abraham didn’t know the depth of his own faith in God until he was actually stopped from making the sacrifice in the very act of performing it. It was then that Abraham realized how far he was willing to go in the service of his God. This was a growth lesson for Abraham.

A short while before Gethsemane and Calvary, Jesus prayed, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour." Then, as if in soliloquy, he said, "But for this cause came I unto this hour" (John 12:27). The awful weight of the Atonement had begun to descend upon him. We next find him in Gethsemane. And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy.  [Mark 14:32–33] The Greek for "very heavy" is "depressed, dejected, in anguish." Just as the Psalmist had foreseen, the Savior was "full of heaviness" (Psalms 69:20). The heavy weight of the sins of all mankind were falling upon him. He had been intellectually and otherwise prepared from ages past for this task. He is the creator of this and other worlds. He knew the plan of salva

He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before Him, and all things are round about Him; and He is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by Him, and of Him, even God, forever and ever. D&C 88:41 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more  intelligent than they all. Abraham 3:19

Can we, even in the depths of   disease, tell Him anything at  all about suffering? In ways we   cannot comprehend, our sickne sses  and infirmities were borne   by Him even before they were b orne  by us. The very weight of   our combined sins caused Him t o  descend below all. We have ne ver  been, nor will we be, in de pths  such as He has known. Thu s  His Atonement made perfect Hi s  empathy and His mercy and His   capacity to succor us, for whi ch  we can be everlastingly gra teful  as He tutors us in our tr ials.  There was no ram in the t hicket  at Calvary to spare Him ,  this Friend of Abraham and Is aac.  Neal A. Maxwell (Even As I Am, pp.  116- 17.)

Romans 4: 1  What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?   2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath  b whereof  to glory; but not before God.   3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 18 Who against hope believed in hope , that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.   19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:   20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;   21 And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform . Hebrews 11: 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten  son,   18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy s