Lessons on the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ and His Apostles
Lesson No. Four

The Lord’s Pre-Earth Life and Calling - JST John 1

Our pre-earth life – Most people and religions have little, if any, understanding of our pre-earth life. Latter day prophets have revealed great knowledge of who we were and who Jesus Christ was before we came to this life. If we know that we were prepared and worthy, and that were knew and loved the Lord in the pre-earth life, this will increase our determination to continue that way in this life.

Our knowledge of a pre-earth life is also very helpful in answering many of the issues the world struggles with. Our belief in a pre-earth life gives us understanding on issues such as equality, opportunity, adversity, gender, and abortion to name a few.

JST John 1:1-18 adds considerable light on Jesus’ pre-earth life and calling – Because John wrote to members of the ancient Church who understood the Gospel of Jesus Christ he began with his testimony of the Lord Jesus in the pre-earth life. JST John 1:1-16 gives a much greater understanding about who Jesus was and what He did in the pre-earth life.

Jehovah Creates the Earth, by Walter Rane

We learn from D&C 93:6-18 that much of the doctrine about Jesus in the pre-earth life, then known as Jehovah, was first taught by John the Baptist. John the Apostle, before becoming a disciple of Jesus, was first a disciple of John the Baptist. The Apostle likely first learned from the Baptist about Jesus’ pre-earth life and calling:

  • “In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son” (JST John 1:1). “In the beginning” is a phrase used in the scriptures that refers to the pre-earth life. (See also Genesis 1:1; Ether 3:15; D&C 93:7; Moses 2:1) In the pre-earth life the gospel was preached through and about Jehovah and his calling as the Mortal Messiah, even the Lord Jesus Christ. In the pre-earth life we know that Jehovah was the Advocate of the Father’s plan and as such he preached the gospel. We believed and accepted the gospel when it was taught to us in our pre-earth life.

  • “And the gospel was the word, and the Word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God” (JST John 1:1). D&C 93:8 teaches that Jesus “was the Word, even the messenger of salvation.” Salvation comes through Christ and in no other way.

  • Under the direction of his Father “all thing were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made” (JST John 1:3).

  • “In him was the gospel; and the gospel was the life, and the life was the light of men” (JST John 1:4). The gospel, centered in Jesus Christ, is how we obtain light and life, even eternal life.

  • “And the light shineth in the world; and the world perceiveth it not” (JST John 1:5). The world did not accept the light when Jesus lived on the earth as a man, and it does not accept the Light today.

  • “The true light, which lighteth every man who cometh into the world. Even the Son of God” (JST John 1:9-10). Every person who is born into this world is given the light of Christ or a conscience. (See Guide to the Scriptures, Conscience) A conscience is what separates men from animals. If a man loses the light of Christ or his conscience he becomes like an animal.

  • “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, only to them who believe on his name” (JST John 1:12). As “the sons of God” is used here it does not refer to man as the spirit off spring of God, but rather through faith and righteousness we have power to become “the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for…he hath spiritually begotten you” (Mosiah 5:7). “The sons of God” also means the sons of the Father by adoption into the family of Christ. Jesus is the rightful heir of the Father, and through faithfulness we become joint heirs with Jesus, and receive, inherit, and equally posses with him exaltation in the kingdom of his Father. (See DNTC, p. 73-75)

  • “For in the beginning was the Word, even the Son, who is made flesh, and sent unto us by the will of the Father” (JST John 1:16). “Christ became mortal; he inherited mortality from Mary, his mother, even as he inherited the power of immortality from…his Father. As a mortal man, the Lord Jesus was subject to all of the trials, tribulations, temptations, and vicissitudes of mortality” (Ibid).

  • “And as many as believe on his name shall receive of his fulness. And his fulness have all we received, even immortality and eternal life, through his grace” (JST John 1:16). “To gain the fulness of the Father means to attain exaltation and godhood…As is the case with all men, our Lord worked out his own salvation and exaltation. Having been made flesh, he continued in obedience to the whole law, until having overcome all things, he rose in the triumph of a glorious resurrection to receive, inherit, and posses all things…Having set the example Himself, our Lord now proclaims: ‘If you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father (D&C 93:20)’ (Ibid, p. 76)”

  • “And no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son” (JST John 1:18). The JST sheds marvelous light on this verse. The translation of this verse found in the various other translation of the New Testament have it wrong. Men have in fact seen the Father. “What John actually taught was that the Father had never appeared to any man except for the purpose of introducing and bearing record of the Son. The joint appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith shows the pattern that has always been followed” (Ibid, p.77).

The Book of Mormon gives additional knowledge of the Lord’s pre-earth life and calling – More detailed discussion of the Lord’s pre-earth life and calling can be found at my web page – www.lessonsonlife.net in Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Commentary, Lesson 24 entitled “The Pre-mortal Existence, a Preparatory Redemption, and Election.”

Testimony – My purpose of writing this and my other Lessons, given in the concluding words of John’s Gospel, is that “ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31).