Divine Investiture

The experience of Moses in the first chapter of the book of Moses is certainly one of the most incredible in all of holy writ.  He came “face to face” with God and was given a sweeping vision of the earth, its inhabitants, and all of God’s creations.  A natural question about this chapter is this: to whom was Moses speaking?  Was it the Father or the Son?  Much of the text suggests that He was talking to God the Father, or Elohim.  For example, He said, “Thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth” (v6).  Later again God said to him, describing his creations, “And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth. And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten” (v32-33).  Those references which refer in 3^rd person to Christ, the Son of the Father, would lead us to believe that it was the Father speaking to Moses.  But modern prophets have taught otherwise. 

               Concerning the great heavenly manifestations such as this one of Moses, President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “All revelation since the fall has come through Jesus Christ, who is the Jehovah of the Old Testament. . . . He is the God of Israel, the Holy One of Israel; the one who led that nation out of Egyptian bondage, and who gave and fulfilled the Law of Moses. The Father has never dealt with man directly and personally since the fall, and he has never appeared except to introduce and bear record of the Son” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 1:27).  Elder Cook referenced this teaching by President Smith in his most recent general conference talk, saying (in the printed footnote): “See Moses 1:6–9. This is Christ speaking with divine investiture of authority.”  This principle of divine investiture of authority was laid out by the First Presidency in a Doctrinal Exposition in 1916.  They summarized, “In all His dealings with the human family Jesus the Son has represented and yet represents Elohim His Father in power and authority….  Thus the Father placed His name upon the Son; and Jesus Christ spoke and ministered in and through the Father’s name; and so far as power, authority, and godship are concerned His words and acts were and are those of the Father.”  So, when Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, spoke to Moses and said, “Thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten,” He was simply saying what the Father would say even though He Himself was that Only Begotten.  In all things Christ represents the Father perfectly, and so to us it really doesn’t even matter whether it is the Father or the Son speaking—they would tell us the same thing.  As Christ said to Philip, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).  Or as He said on another occasion, “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things….  The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:28-29).  To see or hear Christ is to see or hear the Father.

            And yet, despite the fact that the Father generally does not reveal Himself on earth as the Son has, we have the opportunity of praying directly to the Father—we don’t pray to the Son.  We may not be able to be in the presence of the Father—man was cast out at the Fall—but we can still communicate with Him through His Spirit in prayer.  Thus the Father’s absence from the earth is not because He cares not or does not want to minister to men; we are invited, even commanded, to pray to Him daily on our journey to come back into His presence.  The whole purpose of the plan is that we can return and be with Him as we become like Him through the help of His Son.  What an incredible sacred privilege is ours to communicate with the most Holy Being in the Universe.  The challenge is to retain that kind of reverence while participating in a practice so common.