I woke up at 6:35 to a knock on my door. When nobody answered my response I got up to investigate and find Enoch at the bedroom door. As soon as I opened it he said, “Dad, let me tell you how to kill a snake.” I guess I know what he was dreaming about last night. (For those who are curious, the options are “step on its head, shoot it with a bow and arrow, or shoot it with a gun.”)
How backward is it that the people at the time of Christ tended to view prophets as simply messengers (secondary sources) from God while scribes we viewed as primary sources if wisdom regarding the law.
We know that John the Baptist and his parents lived within the zone where Herod declared that all boys under 2 should be killed so John was supposed to have been killed just like Jesus was supposed to have been killed. John was taken into the wilderness to escape that edict. His father was soon killed in the temple because he wouldn’t divulge the whereabouts of his young son. We never hear of his mother again so we assume with her she that she died while John was growing up in the wilderness where he remained until his ministry.
President Eyring compared John the Baptist to the presiding Bishop today as far as his authority. He held the presiding keys of the Aaronic priesthood.
I wonder whether John knew that he would baptize Christ. He knew he was supposed to prepare the way but he may not have known that he would baptize the Savior – especially considering that he knew the Messiah was perfect and without sin.
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