Our Perfect Older Brother

I am in Scottsdale, Arizona this week for work. I have been putting in a lot of hours so I haven’t had much time to write a blog post. I was able to get away early yesterday morning and attended a 5:30 am temple session at the Mesa Temple. Each time I attend an early morning session at any temple I am awed by the number of people that are dedicated to making temple attendance work in their busy lives. It is wonderful to associate with like minded people. I have a few hours to myself tonight so would like to share some thoughts about what I have been reading.

Tonight’s post is definitely just my opinion or simply some thoughts I have been having. I fully expect others to disagree with me on this one or to have a differing point of view. I welcome your comments and perhaps we can learn together.

I made a goal at the beginning of the year to read the entire “Messiah” series by Elder Bruce R. McConkie. I started with “The Promised Messiah” and am about half way through this volume that tops out at 635 pages. I have learned many wonderful things from this book but I would like to address one topic in particular.

In Chapter 10 of Elder McConkie’s book, he writes “Our Lord, who is the Firstborn spirit child of the Eternal Elohim, is himself also the Eternal One.” The part of this sentence that struck me was that Christ is not only the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh, but also the firstborn spirit child of the Father. Now this is nothing new, but I guess it is the first time I have seen it written by someone with authority. I know it is a widely believed concept in the church. It is likely scriptural as well but I don’t know the verse.

Where my thoughts went as I pondered this topic was in the following direction: What makes Jesus more special than us? Now I don’t mean this in any disrespectful way. I have a testimony of his divinity and of His mission and calling. I mean this in the most respectful way possible. What made Christ perfect and obedient when we come from the same “source” as Him? Why is He strong and we are weak? Why is He perfect and we are full of sin? What is it about Him being the oldest? I have a theory! Let’s take a look.

We know from modern revelation that Michael, who helped create the earth, became Adam, out first father. I have heard many times in the church as well, that we too were there during the creation of the earth. Many times in the scriptures we know we can place ourselves in the stories and know they apply to us as well. I believe that we too, along with Adam were a significant part of the creation.

In Abr. 3 we read the following: 22 “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;”

Who do these “noble and great ones” include? Is this limited to just a few “Prophets and Apostles”, or were we, as endowed faithful followers among them as well?


Before I write the following I wish to clarify here that I by no means wish to bring Christ down to our level and make us equals in any way. I do however hope to lift us to a higher level: closer to His.

In Ether 12 we read “27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

This is one of the most misquoted scriptures in the church. Most people read it and believe that God shows us our “weaknesses”. This is not what it says… He shows us our weakness! The verse then goes on to say I give men “weakness” to make them humble. Does he give us weakness because in reality we are strong? If he doesn’t make us weak would we not be able to learn to rely on Him? Have we taken a giant step down in this life in order to make our mortal probation more meaningful and to become more like God knowing good from evil?” Are we more ready to receive “crowns of glory” than we give ourselves credit for?

In the Pre-existence were we part of the noble and great ones, who helped create the earth, and were valiant followers of the Fathers plan? Is this why we were so willing to support the great Jehovah being our redeemer and rejecting Lucifer’s plan?

Is Jesus, our older spirit brother, greater than we are because He was willing to step forward in the beginning, and to be our Redeemer? Is this one of the things that makes Him greater than us? Did this willingness raise Him to perfection in the premortal world?

Christ is not only perfect spiritually speaking. We know that he is the only perfect mortal being as well. Is the fact that He is the only mortal being to have our Heavenly Father as the father of his body and spirit what makes him perfect? If he had had an earthly father and an earthly mother, would he have sinned as we do, and thus be unable to be the Savior?

My theory is that we are much closer to the Savior than we give ourselves credit for. We were great beings in the premortal world. We were leaders there and helped create the earth. Where we fall short in being like the Savior is the fact that He stepped forward and was willing to take on the sins of all the world. His mortal body that has God’s “DNA” made it possible for him to live a perfect life as well. His strength to withstand evil and temptation was a combination of His perfect spirit and his perfect body: His Mother made him mortal so he could understand our “weakness” but his Father made him divine.

I don’t want to diminish the importance or the perfection of the Savior in any way. I am simply hoping that we can look at ourselves as children of God. I want us to see ourselves in true light… as potential Kings and Queens. I believe that if we know who we are, we will strive harder to live up to our full potential. We must all be better at repenting of our sins and keeping the commandments.

As I mentioned earlier, these views written in this post are simply thoughts I have had. I don’t mean to imply they are true or doctrine in any way. I encourage contrasting points of view that can help teach me the truth. I can tell you that I have a firm testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and that he died for our sins. And that only through him can we return to live with the Father. He is our Perfect Example.