All things bear record · Doctrine and Covenants
28 witnesses of Christ here.
And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world; Doctrine and Covenants 138:2
The vision begins while the prophet ponders the Atonement: the great sacrifice the Son of God made to redeem the whole world.
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Redeemer — one who pays the price to set captives free
And the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world; Doctrine and Covenants 138:3
The Father's love in sending and the Son's love in coming are shown together in Christ coming into the world as Redeemer.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
That through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved. Doctrine and Covenants 138:4
Salvation comes through Christ's Atonement joined with our obedience to His gospel — the same truth taught in the third article of faith.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
While I was thus engaged, my mind reverted to the writings of the apostle Peter, to the primitive saints scattered abroad throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and other parts of Asia, where the gospel had been preached after the crucifixion of the Lord. Doctrine and Covenants 138:5
Peter's letters were written to Saints who received the gospel after the Lord was crucified.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Christ — Greek for Messiah, 'the Anointed One'
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: Doctrine and Covenants 138:7–10
Peter teaches that Christ, the just one, suffered for the unjust to bring us to God, and after His death preached to the spirits in prison, so the gospel reaches the dead too. These are the verses that opened the vision.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him
"Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (1 Peter 3:18–20.) Doctrine and Covenants 138:9
Peter goes on (1 Peter 3:21) to call the ark's saving through water a figure of baptism, which saves 'by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.' The ark is a picture of being carried safely through by Him.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Jesus — 'Jehovah saves'
And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality; Doctrine and Covenants 138:12
What marked the righteous dead was their faithfulness to the testimony of Jesus — even those who lived before He was born.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him
And who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer's name. Doctrine and Covenants 138:13
The text itself says the animal sacrifices of the faithful were a likeness of the Son of God's great sacrifice. Every altar from Adam onward pointed to Christ, and they suffered for their Redeemer's name.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
Only Begotten — the only Son of the Father in the flesh
All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Doctrine and Covenants 138:14
Their hope of resurrection rested on the grace of the Father and His Only Begotten Son, named here in full as Jesus Christ.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him · a Church study aid lists it
I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand. Doctrine and Covenants 138:15–17
The faithful dead waited with joy for the Son of God to come and announce that death's bands were broken; through Him their bodies would be restored and joined forever to their spirits.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him
While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful; Doctrine and Covenants 138:18–19
Christ appeared in the spirit world after His death and proclaimed liberty to the captives, just as Isaiah prophesied. He taught them the resurrection and redemption from the Fall and from sins.
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But unto the wicked he did not go, and among the ungodly and the unrepentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh, his voice was not raised; Doctrine and Covenants 138:20–22
'He' is the Son of God. He went personally only among the righteous; the rebellious did not see His face, and where they were, darkness reigned.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Redeemer — one who buys back; Deliverer — one who sets free from bondage
And the saints rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell. Doctrine and Covenants 138:23–24
The righteous dead knelt and confessed Jesus as the one who freed them from death and hell. His presence made their faces shine as they praised His holy name.
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Savior — the one who rescues from sin and death
I marveled, for I understood that the Savior spent about three years in his ministry among the Jews and those of the house of Israel, endeavoring to teach them the everlasting gospel and call them unto repentance; Doctrine and Covenants 138:25–26
The Savior taught for about three years in mortality with mighty works, yet few received Him. That makes the prophet wonder how He could reach so many dead in so short a time.
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But his ministry among those who were dead was limited to the brief time intervening between the crucifixion and his resurrection; Doctrine and Covenants 138:27–28
Christ's visit to the dead fit into the short time between His death on the cross and His rising from the tomb.
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And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them; Doctrine and Covenants 138:29–31
This is the answer to the puzzle: Christ did not personally go to the disobedient but organized righteous messengers with His authority to carry His gospel to them. It explains how 1 Peter 3:19 was fulfilled.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
And so it was made known among the dead, both small and great, the unrighteous as well as the faithful, that redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross. Doctrine and Covenants 138:35
All the dead, righteous and unrighteous, were told the news: redemption was accomplished by the Son of God's sacrifice on the cross.
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Redeemer — one who pays the price to set captives free
Thus was it made known that our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh; Doctrine and Covenants 138:36–37
The Redeemer used His time among the dead to train the prophets who had testified of Him, so they could carry His words to everyone He could not visit Himself.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him
Abel, the first martyr, was there, and his brother Seth, one of the mighty ones, who was in the express image of his father, Adam. Doctrine and Covenants 138:40
Abel, the innocent shepherd who offered a lamb and was killed by his brother, is widely taught as a type of Christ. Here he is only named, so this is a soft echo.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Abel, the first martyr, was there, and his brother Seth, one of the mighty ones, who was in the express image of his father, Adam. Doctrine and Covenants 138:40
'Express image' is the phrase Hebrews uses for Christ as the image of the Father. Seth bearing his father's image quietly mirrors the Son bearing His Father's.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Redeemer — the Anointed One who frees captives
And Isaiah, who declared by prophecy that the Redeemer was anointed to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound, were also there. Doctrine and Covenants 138:42
This verse says outright that Isaiah 61 was a prophecy about the Redeemer, anointed to heal the broken-hearted and open the prison — fulfilled in His mortal ministry and in His visit to the spirit world.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a Church study aid lists it
Moreover, Ezekiel, who was shown in vision the great valley of dry bones, which were to be clothed upon with flesh, to come forth again in the resurrection of the dead, living souls; Doctrine and Covenants 138:43
Ezekiel's valley of dry bones is read here as a vision of the literal resurrection, which comes to all because Christ rose first.
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Elias, who was with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration; Doctrine and Covenants 138:45
The Mount of Transfiguration is where Jesus shone in glory and the Father declared Him His beloved Son; Elias is remembered as a witness of that event.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
And Malachi, the prophet who testified of the coming of Elijah—of whom also Moroni spake to the Prophet Joseph Smith, declaring that he should come before the ushering in of the great and dreadful day of the Lord—were also there. Doctrine and Covenants 138:46–48
Elijah was to come before the great day of the Lord and turn hearts through temple work, so that the earth would not be wasted 'at his coming' — the return of Jesus Christ.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
All these and many more, even the prophets who dwelt among the Nephites and testified of the coming of the Son of God, mingled in the vast assembly and waited for their deliverance, Doctrine and Covenants 138:49
The Nephite prophets, who testified that the Son of God would come, were among those waiting for His arrival in the spirit world.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a footnote points to Him
These the Lord taught, and gave them power to come forth, after his resurrection from the dead, to enter into his Father's kingdom, there to be crowned with immortality and eternal life, Doctrine and Covenants 138:51
The Lord gave the righteous dead power to rise after His own Resurrection and enter His Father's kingdom. His rising made theirs possible.
How we know: the chapter heading names Him
Only Begotten — the only Son of the Father in the flesh
I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead. Doctrine and Covenants 138:57
Faithful elders who die keep preaching to the dead the same message: repentance and redemption through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him
Jesus Christ — 'Jehovah saves', the Anointed One
Thus was the vision of the redemption of the dead revealed to me, and I bear record, and I know that this record is true, through the blessing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, even so. Amen. Doctrine and Covenants 138:60
The prophet seals his record with his testimony that he knows it is true through the blessing of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a Church study aid lists it