The Door (John 10:7, 9)
A door is the place of entrance into a location. In this situation, “the door” is symbolically the entrance into a Kingdom called the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is both the earthly physical kingdom of believers and the spiritual kingdom (Matt. 6:10) which is organized in Heaven and will join itself with the earthly at the second coming of Christ. Note that Christ said he is “the door” and not “a door.” Christ, as “the door,” leads the faithful to eternal life, in fact he is the only entrance to that kingdom (John 3:16).
The faithful are encouraged to “knock” (Matt 7:7; Luke 11:9). To knock is to act in faith by seeking and following the Lord. The reward is a sure promise, “To him that knocketh, it shall be opened.” (Matt 7:8; Luke 11:10)
The Life (John 14:6)
Christ is the source of life in two ways: first, through the creation of the earth and the universe (Gen 1:1) he brought life to the earth and all living things on it; and second, through His role of the atonement, He offers mankind both the universal resurrection and conditionally eternal life (John 17:3).
In that creation, he brought life to the planet and to the universe. On the first day – light; on the second day – the sky; on the third day – dry lands, seas, plants and trees; on the fourth day – the sun, moon, and stars; on the fifth day – creatures that live in the sea and creatures that fly; on the sixth day – animals, and finally man (who was created in God’s image).
The Atonement is the sacrifice Jesus Christ made to help us overcome sin, adversity, and death. Jesus’s atoning sacrifice took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. He paid the price for our sins, took upon Himself death, and was resurrected. This is the redeeming power of the Atonement is as one turns to Christ and repent of their sins, He will forgive you and cleanse you and change your heart. Through his atonement, “just men are made perfect.” (D&C 76:69). It is the “greatest miracle in human history… nothing done before or since has so affected mankind as the atonement wrought by Jesus of Nazareth..” (Pres. Gordon B Hinckley, Apr 1994 general conference)
The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
Christ’s claim to be the “Resurrection and the Life,” means that he is the source for both things. His statement comes at the death of Lazarus. When Christ was outside Bethany, Lazarus’s sister Martha went out to meet Jesus. “If thou hadst been here,” she said, “my brother had not died.” Such was her faith in Jesus’ power to heal. Jesus replied by assuring Martha that her brother would rise again. Martha responded again in faith: “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” At this point, Jesus makes His fifth “I Am” statement in John’s gospel, “I am the resurrection, and the life,” and He follows it with a call to faith: “He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die” (John 11:21-24).
What Life is Christ referring to and what is the Resurrection?
The “life” is the promise that “he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.” (D&C 84:33–38.).
The Resurrection is the joining of the body and the spirit, never again to be separated. A resurrected person is no longer subject to disease nor death. It is made possible through
Christ who provided the opportunity for all to be resurrected (Alma 40:2-3; 1 Cor 15:21-23)
Where does the body go after death while it is awaiting its resurrection? To the Spirit world. But what happens in the spirit world while one is awaiting their resurrection?
Brigham Young recounted, “Father Smith [Joseph Smith Sr.] and Carlos [Smith] and Brother [Edward] Partridge, yes, and every other good Saint, are just as busy in the spirit world as you and I are here. They can see us, but we cannot see them unless our eyes were opened. What are they doing there? They are preaching, preaching all the time, and preparing the way for us to hasten our work in building temples here and elsewhere.” (Ref: Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p 378).
Who will be resurrected? All individuals who have ever lived or who will yet live on the earth will be resurrected. (see 1 Cor 15:22)
Who will judge an individual for their resurrections? What criteria? At the time of a person’s resurrection, they will be judged according to their works and have a bright recollection of their guilt (Alma 11:41, 43). The Criteria will be: works, thoughts, intents of heart.
Are all resurrected bodies the same? Are all raised to the same glory in the resurrection?
No, they are resurrected with different bodies and abilities according to their righteousness. (1 Cor. 15:39-42; D&C 76). Only the Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial souls will be assigned to a Kingdom of Glory. Sons of Perdition are assigned to “outer darkness” which is not a kingdom of glory. Every kingdom has laws, for “unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions.” (D&C 88:38)
What abilities and attributes will those with resurrected bodies have? We only have descriptions of those of a celestial resurrection, whose glory will be like the Sun. Those in the top degree of that kingdom will have the ability to create spiritual offspring.
Spencer W Kimball has said, “Each one of you has it within the realm of his possibility to develop a kingdom over which you will preside as its king and god. You will need to develop yourself and grow in ability and power and worthiness, to govern such a world with all of its people.” Ref: … The Matter of Marriage” [address delivered at University of Utah Institute of Religion, 22 Oct. 1976], 2).
In addition to all mankind, plants, animals, and even the earth itself be resurrected. Animals have spirits and will be resurrected (D&C 77). The earth was “baptized” in the days of Noah, will be “confirmed” with burning at the second coming of Christ, and will be resurrected and be prepared for it’s celestial glory (D&C 88:17-20)
The Truth (John 14:6)
What is truth? In metaphysics and the philosophy of language, beliefs, thoughts, assertions or propositions that are said, in ordinary discourse, to agree with the facts or to state what is the case. Truth is absolute and is not based on an individual’s opinion. Truth can be pleasant or it an be bitter. Truth is permanent. Truth emancipates itself from error. Truth is always real. Truth will always be and cannot be destroyed. Truth can be built upon, expanded and enlarged.
But the truth the Savior is referring to is a selected group of truths that impact the eternal prospects of man. Other truths, like science, math, history, geography are useful in everyday activities but not generic to the salvation of man. It is interesting that man, in an exalted state, will eventually need to know all truths associated with the universe to fulfill God’s commands to receive a fullness of his knowledge and prepare man for future creative activities.
Truth is in fact a verified or indisputable fact. However a lack of knowledge of truth does not negate its existence or confer on it a negative status. There are facts and truths throughout the universe, but all are not equal? Truth can be prioritized for eternal purposes. Psalm teaches, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth.” (Psalm 86:11).
How do we obtain truth through Christ? Look for verfiable evidences that point to truths: 1- Read the word of God. Search for truth from reliable sources – Christ, the messenger of truth. 2- Listen and measure “representatives” of God to determine their trustworthiness. 3- Measure new truths against known facts already established of truth. 4- Test all truths to see if they bring about verifiable results. 5- Reject false “truths” that often are common to mankind. 6- Seek spiritual understandings through prayer, pondering, study, contemplation and self-inquiry and compare them to known “truths.” 7- To begin to learn the truths of God, one must have an open mind and consider the possibility that God exists. 8- To learn new truths about one’s relationship to God, one must seek to understand both the attributes and characteristics of God. 9- Seek evidences of the Holy Spirit whose mission it is to testify of truths. 10- An atheist would declare that there are no deities and would reason that the evidence is insufficient… using that as a measure, find evidences that seem to indicate that there is a God; and after the preponderance of evidence is statistically measurable, then proceed with testing and the possible establishment of facts derived from the tests.
The Way (John 14:6)
Inherent in “the way” is the question, “the way to where?” Once we understand the “where,” then the way can be reasonably considered.
What is man’s purpose on earth? That is the key question. Most individuals would say their existence is purposeful in the acquisition of education, security, good health, recognition, pleasure, some community service, and feeling of approval of individuals in their core group.
However, the question is “why is man on the earth,” but from God’s point-of-view. Did mankind exist before birth on the earth? If so, for what purpose. Why would man be sent to the earth? And what awaits man after death?
The answer to “why is man on the earth,” is found in three statements:
1– “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3);
2– “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) and
3– “God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. … He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 210)
Man, having a godly purpose to gain a physical body, to be tested, and to learn godly attributes and characteristics with the end in mind of joining God in “eternal life,” now can look for the most direct path with this end in mind.
The “way” to the presence of Godly pursuits both in this life and he after-life is through his son, Jesus Christ. It is not solely “the way,” but it is “the only way.” Exclusive, unique, specific things to do, traits to obtain, and practices to inculcate to follow that “way” to Godliness.
The Word (John 1:1)
“The Word of God” has two different meanings.
First, it means the things God has said, such as the scriptures, the words of living prophets, his voice to believers through prayer, and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost on individuals and the teachings of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Second, “The Word of God” is an individual called “The Word,” that is Jesus Christ.
He is a God (“the Word was God,” – John 1:1)
and dwelled with God before coming to earth (“and the Word was with God,” – John 1:1-2); through whom the worlds were made (“all things were made by him” – John 1:3),
through whom the Father speaks to mankind (“spoken unto us by his Son” – Heb. 1:2)
who came among mankind (“the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” – John 1:14)
to bring to pass God’s plans for his spirit children who have come to earth to take bodies and be tested
True Vine (John 15:1)
The message of the “true vine” is to “remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4).
The symbolism of the vine is threefold:
1- The person who cultivates the land (a farmer) was called a husbandman and represented God.
2- The vine of the plant was Christ and
3- The fruit (branches) are the faithful in the fold of God who are fed from the vine (Christ).
Jesus warns the branches (faithful) that with Christ they can bring forth much fruit, but apart from the vine (Christ), they can do nothing (John 15:5). He indicates that unfruitful branches are gathered and thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6) which is also a reference to the burning of the wicked at the second coming of the Lord (Malachi 4:1). A good gardner will not let the overall health of the vineyard be destroyed by wild, unruly, or rotten fruit. Instead, he cuts off wilting branches and bad fruit (John 15:2). However, pruning does not necessarily mean cutting people out of the kingdom, pruning also means getting rid of areas in one’s life that are not in harmony with God.
In the Old Testament, the vine also represents wicked Israel who strayed often — The Psalmist recounts, “Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. (Psalm 80:8-9) but along the way, the vine grew wild, stopped bearing good fruit, withered and was consumed by fire (Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 19:10-14, Isaiah 5:1-7).
Wonderful (Isaiah 9:6)
The Hebrew word for “wonderful” is pele which means “a miracle, a marvel, a wonder” which indicates “something extraordinary, incomprehensible, inexplicable.” All of the instances of wonderful in the King James version of the Bible are used to mean “astonishing” and not “extremely good.”
Yahweh
Yahweh (biblical pronunciation of “YHWH”) is the savior and deliverer and is the exact Hebrew name revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:13-15) and given to the Israelites for their God/Messiah. He is the national god of ancient Israel and Judah.
Yeshua
Yeshua is the Aramaic short form for yehoshu’a. It is a Hebrew verbal derivative from “to rescue,” “to deliver.” It can be translated Jesus or Joshua.. When Yeshua is translated into greek, it becomes lesous, which in English is “Jesus.” Jesus is the modern term for the Son of God.
Hidden names of Christ
To avoid the too frequent repetition of the name of God (D&C 107:4; Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God in vain; – Exodus 20:7), sometimes in the scriptures the name is veiled but still means literally “Jesus Christ”
– “like unto the Son of man” (Rev 14:14)
– “like a son of man” (Daniel 7:13)
– “Melchizedek Priesthood” is the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God (D&C 107:3)
