a remarkable vision.
the brother of jared had cut from mount shelem sixteen small stones, clear and transparent as glass. the barges in which his people were to cross the ocean were prepared; but he had been unable to devise a means of lighting them. so, with childlike faith and complete confidence he called upon the father.
"i know, o lord," said the brother of jared, "that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, o lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light when we shall cross the sea . . . .
"and it came to pass that when the brother of jared had said these words, behold, the lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones, one by one with his finger; and the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of jared, and he saw the finger of the lord; and it was like the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of jared fell down before the lord, for he was struck with fear."
you may easily imagine that such a vision would amaze any man. and the brother of jared, though he was a very good and righteous man, and a prophet of god, seems not to have suspected before this time that god and jesus christ had bodies of flesh as material {48} and tangible as man's. what the brother of jared thought god to be, we do not know. but when the lord saw that he had fallen to the ground in amazement, he said, "arise, why hast thou fallen?"
"and he saith unto the lord, i saw the finger of the lord, and i feared lest he should smite me; for i knew not that the lord had flesh and blood."
but much as the brother of jared was astonished at this marvelous revelation, there remained for him yet greater wonders. the lord commended him for his great faith, which had made it possible for him to see the finger of the lord. then the lord asked, "sawest thou more than this? and he answered nay; lord, show thyself unto me."
"behold, the lord showed himself unto him, and said....behold, i am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. behold, i am jesus christ. i am the father and the son. in me shall all mankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters. and never have i shown myself unto man whom i have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? yea, even all men were created in the beginning, after mine own image.
"behold, this body which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit, and man have i created after the body of my spirit; and even as i appear unto thee to be in the spirit, will i appear unto my people in the flesh."
{49} the pre-existence of jesus.
this marvelous vision, the brother of jared beheld many hundreds of years before jesus was born in bethlehem. do you think you understand the great truths that jesus here revealed to the jaredite prophet? first, it must be evident to everyone that jesus had existence—that he lived and worked—before he was born in the flesh upon the earth. but what kind of existence was this pre-existence? it was an existence in the spirit state. and the spirit body of jesus is in form and shape just like the mortal body; so that, when jesus helped to form man. he formed him after the image of his own body. this is the second great truth we learn from the remarkable vision. and a third is, that jesus was appointed "from the foundation of the world" to redeem mankind. in the pre-existence he labored for us; there he was chosen to redeem us. his mission upon the earth, and the sacrifice of his noble life, were but the completion of a plan formulated long before he was born.
the spirits of all men eternal.
now, you may say, "of course, we know that jesus lived before he was born in the flesh, and that he had a spirit of the same form and shape as his mortal body, and that he was chosen in that pre-existent life to redeem the world from sin. but it may not be so with man."
that is one of the wonderful things about life. we are here passing through only one small stage of it. jesus taught that the spirits of all men are eternal just like his own. for jesus truly recognized and understood his own pre-existence. said he, once, as he prayed, "and now, o father, glorify thou me with {50} thine own self with the glory which i had with thee before the world was." and at another time he asked, "what and if ye shall see the son of man ascend up where he was before? i came forth from the father, and am come into the world: again, i leave the world, and go to the father." thus, with complete assurance he spoke of the time that had been before; and with the same assurance he accepted the teaching that man, too, existed before he was born in the flesh.
the man born blind.
one day, in the temple, jesus had taught this very doctrine to the jews. in answer to one of their questions. he had replied, "verily, verily, i say unto you. before abraham was i am." the answer provoked the jews, and they took up stones to stone him. "but jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by."
then follows a remarkable little story, touching the doctrine he had just presented in the temple, and here discussed in this chapter. "as jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. and his disciples asked him, saying, master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
now, we must remember that in those days people believed affliction to be always a punishment for some sin or other. we can easily understand that the parents of the man might have sinned; and through their sin, they might have brought blindness upon their son. but since he was born blind, how could the affliction have come as the result of his own sin? in only one way. if the man had had an existence before he was {51} born in the flesh, he might there have sinned. the lord might then have punished him for his sin by causing him to be born blind.
evidently, the disciples understood that there is a pre-existent state. but were they right? if they were not, surely jesus would correct them. listen. jesus answered, "neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of god should be made manifest in him." jesus, then, did not rebuke them. he, too, accepted the doctrine. at least, the affliction of blindness was not because of sin committed in the spirit world. and the works of god were truly made manifest in the miracle which jesus then performed.
conclusion.
from the teachings of jesus, in the spirit and in the flesh, it is clear, then, that the spirits of all men existed in the spirit world long before they were born into bodies of flesh in this world; that the body of the spirit is like the mortal body in form; and that jesus was chosen before the earth was organized to redeem mankind from sin.
"we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the father of spirits, and live?"
the references
ether 3:4-16. john 17:28.
john 17:5. john 9:1-7.
john 6:62. heb. 12:9.
{52} the questions
1. relate the story of the vision of the brother of jared?
2. what was it that enabled the brother of jared to behold so remarkable a vision?
3. what three important points are taught in the vision?
4. how did jesus show in his teachings in the flesh that he believed in a pre-existence?
5. what lesson do you derive from the story of the healing of the man born blind?
6. what is the teaching of jesus brought out in this lesson?
7. how should this knowledge of a spirit existence affect our lives on the earth?
