New Witnesses for God (Volume 3 of 3)Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
New Witnesses for God (Volume 3 of 3)
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Book of Mormon; Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
mark their belief of the accomplishment of that prophecy, in the
person of Quetzalcohuatl, that they named him Topiltzin; no less
account of his having been born from a virgin of the daughters of
men, then because another equally celebrated prediction of the
same prophet declared that he should receive a name from that very
circumstance: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign,
Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel." And the proper name Topilitzin does in fact bear
a signification corresponding, if not literally, yet entirely in
substance with that of Immanuel: since "God with us," which is the
interpretation of the Hebrew name, means God domiciliated amongst
men; and the full force of the expression is preserved in the term
Topilitzin, which might be interpreted the Son of Man, or God on a
level with men; for the Mexicans believed that Quetzalcohuatl took
human nature upon him, partaking of all infirmities of man, and
was not exempt from sorrow, pain, or death, and that he suffered
voluntarily to atone for the sins of mankind. [39]
As already remarked, there is much attributed to this Deity of native
American tradition that seems incompatible with the character of
Messiah, and with his labors while in the western hemisphere; but for
all that one may see in outline here the leading truths respecting the
Son of God as made known to the Nephites through prophecies and the
Christ's advent among them, all of which is set forth in the Book of
Mormon; while that which is not congruous to Messiah and his mission to
the Nephites, results--as already pointed out--from the confusion of
a number of traditions concerning several other great characters who
have figured in native American history, and of whom the Book of Mormon
speaks. But, in the foregoing excerpts from the works of those skilled
in the lore of ancient America, we have the account of "The great or
the glorious Man of the country," [40] that can be no other than the
Hebrew Messiah--the Jesus Christ of the Book of Mormon. There are the
signs of his birth: the signs of his death; his sudden advent among the
people; his personal appearance--not incompatible with the personal
appearance of Messiah, but rather in harmony with it; his birth of a
virgin; his being the only son of God; his name signifying "God with
man;" his being the creator of heaven and earth; his crucifixion for
the sins of the world; his being peculiarly "the Lord" to whom men
prayed; his love of peace, his hatred of war; his respect for existing
religion, yet his enlargement of it and the addition of religious
rites and ceremonies; his teaching the people perfectly in their own
tongue, yet also in new and honied words; his compassion for the sick,
and healing them; his choosing special disciples to teach his religion
and making them priests of the same order as himself; the beauty and
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