This PPT was prepared for the California North institute Directors inservice at UC Berkley Friday Feb. 10th...LDS Seminaries and Institutes

1. Presentation for Northern California LDS
Institute Directors, February 2023 - UC Berkley
God the Father: In the New Testament

2. John 5 Premortal memories?
Seer ?
Did Jesus see the life of the
Father in mortality?
19 …The Son can do nothing of
himself, but what
he aseeth the bFather do: for
what things soever he doeth,
these also doeth the Son
likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the
Son, and sheweth him all
things that himself doeth: and
he will shew him greater works
than these, that ye may marvel.

3. CR Oct. 2003 JRH
It is the grand truth that in all that
Jesus came to say and do, including
and especially in His atoning suffering
and sacrifice, He was showing us who
and what God our Eternal Father is
like, how completely devoted He is to
His children in every age and nation.
In word and in deed Jesus was trying
to reveal and make personal to us the
true nature of His Father, our Father
in Heaven.

4. To Know God
Lowell L. Bennion writes in his book Legacies of
Jesus:
“One of the most important things we need to
learn is what are the attributes of God. Christ
came to earth to reveal to us the character of
God. He is the revelation of God to human beings,
teaching us by precept and example the meaning
of faith, humility, integrity, and love”
-Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990, p. 61
Elder Hans B. Ringger, “Lord, to Whom Shall We Go?”, Ensign(CR),
November 1995, p.83

6. Comma Johanneum
1 John 5:7-9
The "Johannine Comma" is a short clause
found in 1 John 5:7–8. Erasmus omitted the
text of the Johannine Comma from his first
and second editions of the Greek-Latin New
Testament (the Novum Instrumentum
omne) because it was not in his Greek
manuscripts.

8. Luke 2:21, 26-27; (25-39)
Was the Father at his circumcision
Baby Blessing

10. JST, Luke 2:46. Compare Luke 2:46
The doctors in the temple listen to Jesus and ask Him
questions.
46 And it came to pass,
after three days they found
him in the temple, sitting in
the midst of the
doctors, and they
were hearing him, and
asking him questions.

11. JST Luke 2:46 c
"Wist ye not that I be about my father’s business”
son of the commandment

12. Jehovah as Jesus the
Seer
President Clark says, "picking their way among the
boulders that strewed the path, we cannot escape
wondering what were the thoughts of Jesus. That
He was exceeding wise, the experience in the
Temple shows.
But was this wisdom earthborn from His studies,
or did He have also a spiritual memory that
brought to Him a recollection of all that had
before happened, and a vision to show what was
thereafter to happen along this road to Jerusalem,
a road richer in incidents of God's dealings with
His children, than any other road on the face of
the earth? . . .

14. Baptism of Jesus Matt. 3:16-17

15. JST, Matthew 3:43–
46. Compare Matthe
w 3:15–17
45 And Jesus when he was baptized,
went up straightway out of the
water; and John saw, and lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and lighting upon Jesus.
46 And lo, he heard a voice from
heaven, saying, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well
pleased. Hear ye him.

16. CHAPTER 4
Jesus fasts forty days and is tempted—He
begins His ministry, calls disciples, and heals
the sick.
JST 1. Then Jesus
was led up of the Spirit,
into the wilderness,
to be with God.
Wilderness = GK eremon 2048
Solitary, desolate a symbol of the
fallen world; Cross ref 1 Ne. 16

17. What could the
Savior have been
taught in forty
days and forty
nights with God
the Father?

18. JST Matt. 4:2
… and had communed with
God, he was afterwards an
hungered, and was left to be
tempted of the devil.

19. The Temple Mount
Near the commencement of the Savior’s ministry, “Jesus
was taken up into the holy city, and the Spirit setteth him
on the pinnacle of the temple.” (JST, Matt. 4:5.) There
Satan made a vain effort to tempt him. During the three
years that followed, Jesus was frequently in the Temple
courts and in the Temple—that is, in various structures
or colonnades of the inner Temple—though apparently
not in the Holy Place itself.

21. Matthew 4- What did the Father teach Jesus on
the pinnacle of the temple before Satan came?
JST Matt.
4:5 Then Jesus was
taken up into the holy
city, and the
Spirit setteth him
on the pinnacle of the
temple.
JST Matt. 4:6 Then the
devil came unto him and

23. The Pinnacle of the Temple
This inscribed stone is thought to be
from the 1st century AD discovered in
1968 by Benjamin Mazar in his early
excavations of the southern wall of
the Temple Mount. The stone, shows
just two complete words ( ‫לבית‬
‫התקיעה‬, "lebeit hatekiya") written in
the Square Hebrew alphabet, was
carved above a wide depression cut
into the inner face of the stone.

25. Trumpeter Stone
The first word is translated as "to the place" and the second
word "of trumpeting" or "of blasting" or "of blowing", giving
the phrase "To the Trumpeting Place". The subsequent
words of the inscription are cut off. The third word (...‫)לה‬,
which is incomplete, has been interpreted as either
"declare" or "distinguish", giving either: "to declare [the
Sabbath]" or "to distinguish [between the sacred and the
profane. It is believed to be a directional sign for the priests
who blew a trumpet announcing the beginning and end of
the Shabbat in the Second Temple period. It is thought to
have fallen from the southwest corner of the Temple Mount
to the street below prior to its discovery.

28. Healed in the
Temple
“The blind and the lame
came to him in the
temple; and he healed
them.” (Matt. 21:14.)
“About the midst of the
feast Jesus went up into
the temple, and taught.”
(John 7:14.)

29. John 8

31. Taught in Jesus Temple
“And early in the morning he came again into the
temple, and all the people came unto him; and he
sat down, and taught them.” (John 8:2.)
“He taught daily in the temple.” (Luke 19:47.)
“All the people came early in the morning to him in
the temple, for to hear him.” (Luke 21:38.)
“I spake openly to the world,” he said; “I ever
taught in the synagogue, and in the temple,
whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I
said nothing.” (John 18:20.)

32. Jesus in the Temple
“Then said the Jews,
Forty and six years
was this temple in
building, and wilt
thou rear it up in
three days?
“But he spake of the
temple of his body.”
(John 2:19–21.)

33. Widows Mite-Mark 12:41

35. Cleansed the Temple
On at least one occasion, people in the Temple
cried to him in praise, saying, “Hosanna to the
Son of David.” (Matt. 21:15.)
Jesus was protective of the sanctity of his
Father’s house. In the very early days of his
ministry, he cleansed the Temple court of the
merchandisers and money changers. (See John
2:13–16.) Then during his final week in
mortality, he again “went into the temple of
God, cast out all them that sold and bought in
the temple, and overthrew the tables of the
money changers.” (Matt. 21:12.)
As he taught, Jesus made figurative use of the
Temple to foreshadow his death and
resurrection: “Destroy this temple,” he said,
“and in three days I will raise it up.

36. Jesus and the veil of
the Temple
At Jesus’ death, the veil in the
Temple’s most sacred chamber, the
Holy of Holies, was “rent in twain
from the top to the bottom.” (Matt.
27:51.) For generations, only the
high priest had been permitted to
pass through the veil and enter the
symbolic presence of God—and even
he had that privilege only once a
year.
But through his death, Jesus rent
that partition, signifying, among
other things, that all people could
reach God’s presence. (See Paul’s
explanation of the symbolism, Heb.
9:11–14; Heb. 10:19–22.)

37. The Triumphal Entry

39. Matthew 4
JST
8 And again, Jesus was in the
Spirit, and it taketh him up into an
exceeding high mountain, and
showeth him all the kingdoms of
the world and the glory of them.
JST
9 And the devil came unto him
again, and said, All …
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get
thee hence, aSatan: for it is written,
Thou shalt bworship the Lord thy God,
and him only shalt thou serve.

40. Matthew 4
Father must have revealed to
him that John was in Prison
Jesus the Seer
JST Matt. 4:11–12 And now Jesus knew that
John was cast into prison, and he sent
angels, and, behold, they came and
ministered unto him [John]. And
Jesus departed into Galilee …
Matthew records in his gospel that after Satan had
tempted Christ in the wilderness “angels came and
ministered unto him.” 8 Even the Son of God, a God
Himself, had need for heavenly comfort during His
sojourn in mortality. And so such ministrations will be to
the righteous until the end of time.
(Howard W. Hunter)

41. John 5 Premortal memories?
Seer ?
Did Jesus see the life of the
Father in mortality?
19 …The Son can do nothing of
himself, but what
he aseeth the bFather do: for
what things soever he doeth,
these also doeth the Son
likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the
Son, and sheweth him all
things that himself doeth: and
he will shew him greater works
than these, that ye may marvel.

42. CR Oct. 2003 JRH
It is the grand truth that in all that
Jesus came to say and do, including
and especially in His atoning suffering
and sacrifice, He was showing us who
and what God our Eternal Father is
like, how completely devoted He is to
His children in every age and nation.
In word and in deed Jesus was trying
to reveal and make personal to us the
true nature of His Father, our Father
in Heaven.

43. Mark 1:35

44. JST John 4:23-24, 34

45. Matthew 5-7

46. John 11
41 Then they took away the stone from the
place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted
up his eyes, and said, Father, I athank thee that
thou hast heard me.

47. Mt. Tabor, Galilee

48. Mount of Transfiguration
Matt. 17
1 And after six days
Jesus taketh aPeter,
James, and John his
brother, and bringeth
them up into an high
mountain apart,

49. Mount of Transfiguration
Matt. 17
2 And was atransfigured before
them: and his face did shine as
the sun, and his raiment was
white as the light.
3 And, behold, there appeared
unto
them aMoses and bElias talking
with him.

50. Mount of Transfiguration
Matt. 17
…
5 While he yet spake,
behold, a
bright acloud overshadowed
them: and behold
a bvoice out of the cloud,
which said, This is
my cbeloved dSon, in whom I
am well pleased; hear ye
him.

51. What else was taught by the Father? Endowment; Atonement preparation;
Why show the Celestialized Earth

52. John 12:23, 27-30

54. Luke 22:24
Abba

57. President M. Russell Ballard,
Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, in a broadcast to the 120 stakes in the Utah
North Area on October 28, 2018.
I have also been called to be
an Apostle of Jesus Christ,
and as a special witness of the
Lord, I testify, as Paul did in
his letters, that Jesus Christ
gave Himself for us, that the
Father raised Him from the
dead.

58. The Father raised
Jesus from the dead.
Gal. 1:1
1 Paul, an apostle,
(not of men, neither
by man, but by Jesus
Christ, and God the
Father, who raised
him from the dead;)

59. 2 Ne. 2:8
Holy Messiah,
who layeth down
his life according
to the flesh, and
taketh it again by
the power of the
Spirit,

61. John 5:26
26 For as the Father
hath life in himself;
so hath he given to
the Son to have life
in himself;

62. Mormon 7:5
5 Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of
your fathers, and repent of all your sins and
iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the
Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and
by the power of the Father he hath risen again,
whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave;
and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.

63. Acts 3:26
26 Unto you first God, having
raised up his Son Jesus,

64. Hewbrews 13:20-21
20 Now the God of peace, that
brought again from the dead our
Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of
the sheep, through the blood of
the everlasting covenant,
21 Make you perfect in every
good work to do his will,

65. Who Can Resurrect ?
Those that have already passed
through the resurrection. Who
have been resurrected in their
time and season by some
person else, and have been
appointed to that
authority...You have not power
to baptize yourselves neither
have you power to resurrect
yourselves...
(JD - Brigham Young, vol. 6 p. 275)

66. Resurrection Is an Ordinance
We are in possession of all the ordinances that can be
administered in the flesh; But there are other ordinances and
administrations that must be administered beyond this world. I
know you would ask what they are. I will mention one, we
have not neither can we receive here, the ordinance and keys
of the resurrection. They will be given to those who have
passed off this stage of action and have received their bodies
again,...They will be ordained , by those who hold the keys of
resurrection, to go forth and resurrect the saints...
(JD - Brigham young, vol. 15 p. 137).

67. Psalms 88:
8…I am shut up, and I cannot come forth
This finds fulfillment if he is
speaking of being in the grave and
unable to resurrect himself. Could
The Savior not resurrect Himself?
Is having life in himself the same
as the power to resurrect?

68. Prophets have taught that resurrection
is an ordinance
President Brigham Young (in Journal of
Discourses, 6:275; 15:136–39) and Elder
Erastus Snow (ibid., 25:34), when they
explained that the resurrection will be
conducted much as other things are done in
the kingdom: by those in authority and by
delegation. As one cannot baptize himself,
nor can he baptize others until he himself is
baptized and ordained and given the
authority,

69. Prophets have taught that resurrection
is an ordinance
…even so one cannot resurrect himself, but
will be called forth by someone in authority.
Men will be given the authority to perform
this ordinance after they are resurrected, and
then they can resurrect others. Jesus raised
Lazurus the daughter of Jairus and others
from the dead. Resurrection is different than
bringing some one back to life

70. JD - Brigham young, vol. 15 p. 137
We are in possession of all the
ordinances that can be
administered in the flesh; But
there are other ordinances and
administrations that must be
administered beyond this world.
I know you would ask what they
are.

71. JD - Brigham young, vol. 15 p. 137
I will mention one, we have not neither
can we receive here, the ordinance and
keys of the resurrection. They will be
given to those who have passed off this
stage of action and have received their
bodies again,...They will be ordained , by
those who hold the keys of resurrection, to
go forth and resurrect the saints...

72. 1 Thess. 1:10
10 And to wait for his
Son from heaven,
whom he raised from
the dead, even Jesus,
which delivered us
from the wrath to
come.

73. Romans 8:11
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised
up Jesus from the dead dwell in you,
he that raised up Christ from the dead
shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you

74. 1 Peter 1:3
3 Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to his abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead,

75. Acts 2:24
23 Him, being delivered by
the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken, and by
wicked hands
have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up,
having loosed
the pains of death: because it
was not possible that he should
be holden of it.

76. Acts 7:55-56
What do we learn about the Father from
this event?
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost,
looked up steadfastly into heaven, and
saw the Glory of God,
and dJesus estanding on thefright
hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see, the heavens
opened, and the cSon of man standing
on the right dhand of eGod.

77. The Appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith
What else was taught?

78. Terryl L.
Givens
“Those mortals who operate in the grey
area between conviction and incredulity
are in a position to choose most
meaningfully, and with most meaningful
consequences […] Perhaps only a doubter
can appreciate the miracle of life without
end.”

79. Terryl L.
Givens
“The call to faith, in this light, is not some
test of a coy god, waiting to see if we "get
it right." It is the only summons, issued
under the only conditions, which can allow
us fully to reveal who we are, what we
most love, and what we most devoutly
desire. Without constraint, without any
form of mental compulsion, the act of
belief becomes the freest possible
projection of what resides in our hearts...

80. Terryl L.
Givens
The greatest act of self-
revelation occurs when we
choose what we will believe,
in that space of freedom that
exists between knowing that a
thing is,and knowing that a
thing is not.”

81. Terryl L.
Givens
“What we choose to embrace,
to be responsive to, is the
purest reflection of who we
are and what we love. That is
why faith, the choice to
believe, is, in the final
analysis, an action that is
positively laden with moral
significance.”

82. Terryl L.
Givens
“Whatever sense we make of
this world, whatever value we
place upon our lives and
relationships, whatever
meaning we ultimately give to
our joys and agonies, must
necessarily be a gesture of
faith.

83. Terryl L. Givens
Whether we consider the whole a
product of impersonal cosmic forces, a
malevolent deity, or a benevolent god,
depends not on the evidence, but on
what we choose, deliberately and
consciously, to conclude from that
evidence.”
( Terryl Givens, The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes
Sense of Life)