Continuing from a previous post, teachings of Elder Neal A. Maxwell The Great Question V:
Other Restoration scriptures make similar declarations: And thus the gospel began to be preached from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost. And thus the things were confirmed unto Adam, by an holy ordinance, and the gospel preached, and a decree sent forth, that it should be in the world, until the end thereof; and thus it was. Amen (Moses 5:58-59)
If scholars in the future make any additional discoveries of ancient records pertaining to the Old and New Testaments such may shrink the time between the origination of those scriptures and the earliest available documentation. However, any such shrinking will not lead to an automatic enlarging of faith. Future discoveries of inspired ancient documents may “throw greater views upon [the Savior’s] gospel (Doctrine and Covenants 10:45), but these may also focus on portions of the gospel which existed before Jesus’ mortal ministry. Unfortunately, some may then view such discoveries as diminishing the divinity of the Redeemer by implying that Jesus is, therefore, not Christianity’s originator. For Latter-day Saints the dispensationalism of the Restoration and its doctrines of course removes any such concerns.
The restored gospel gives us a crystal-clear reading of the spiritual history of mankind, showing God’s “tender mercies” (1 Nephi 1:20; Ether 6:12) from Adam on down. There is no need for us to be anxious about finding reliable portions of Christ’s gospel extent before Christ’s mortal ministry. After all, the gospel was preached and known from the beginning in the linkage with our first parents.
The linking together of the marvelous Restoration with previous dispensations was foreseen from the beginning and was foretold in the meridian of time: “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21).
Alma, after a discussion of the Fall, declared it was “expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof [God] sent angels to converse with them . . . and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world” (Alma 12:28-30). This underscores dispensationalism but also discloses a process, the very revelatory process which was followed in the first half of the nineteenth century through angelic visitations to Joseph Smith.
At the center of the architectonic responsiveness of the Restoration scriptures is a steady, Christian core. It points not only to Jesus Christ but also to submissive obedience of Saints throughout the ages. Jacob wrote: “We knew of Christ . . . many hundred years before his coming; . . . also all the holy prophets which were before us. Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name . . . [keeping] the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him” (Jacob 4:4-5). Jacob was emphatic: “None of the prophets have written . . . save they have spoken concerning this Christ” (Jacob 7:11). Moses and Abraham were part of this pattern: (continued) ~Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (deceased), Not My Will, but Thine (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2008), 22-24 (see The Great Question V) . . . . continued
