Lesson 2 -- Thou Wast Chosen Before Thou Wast Born -- Alma 13

Lesson 2 -- Thou Wast Chosen Before Thou Wast Born -- Alma 13

  3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being ^acalled and ^bprepared from the ^cfoundation of the world according to the ^dforeknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to ^echoose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great ^ffaith, are ^gcalled with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

  4 And thus they have been ^acalled to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and ^bblindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great ^cprivilege as their brethren.

  5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the ^asame standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared—

  6 And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his ^arest—

  7 This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being ^awithout beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from ^beternity to all eternity, according to his ^cforeknowledge of all things—

  8 Now they were ^aordained after this manner—being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end—

  9 Thus they become ^ahigh priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of ^bgrace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen.


from Robert L. Millet, “The Man Adam,” Ensign, Jan 1994, 8
The Prophet Joseph Smith thus taught that “the Priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the First Presidency, and held the keys of it from generation to generation. He obtained it in the Creation, before the world was formed, as in Gen. 1:26, 27, 28.” 4