Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p. 235; “Cease troubling yourselves about who God is; who Adam is, who Christ is, who Jehovah is. For heaven’s sake, let these things alone. Why trouble yourselves about these things? God has revealed himself, and when the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants is fulfilled, whether there be one God or many gods they will be revealed to the children of men, as well as all thrones and dominions, principalities, and powers. Then why trouble yourselves about these things?” – Wilford Woodruff
Isaiah 43:10-11; “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.”
Mr. Woodruff’s comment is so damning it’s difficult to quantify just how awful it is.
God in His mercy has called us to be His witnesses. The biblical passage we’ve used today is a great example of how and why God has chosen and called us. The Hebrew word for witness is ‘ēd, and ‘refers to the legal element of witness. One rendered testimony which was to be true and faithful’. (Holman’s Bible Dictionary)
A witness was someone who testified to the act of redemption which we have in the life of Boaz in the book of Ruth. What a beautiful picture that is of Boaz being a Kinsman Redeemer just as Jesus is for us today!
You’ll notice in our text God has stated that beside Him there is no other savior. This word in the Hebrew is yāsha’ and means to free, deliver, to be safe, defend, preserve, rescue, save.
Jesus reminded us in John 5 that John the Baptist, the Father and the Scripture all bear witness to Him. Believers then and now are also called to bear witness of Him in Acts 1:8. The death of the martyrs (Stephen being the first) is a stark reminder of how serious the call is to be a witness for God.
Now with the biblical examples of what a witness is, do you really suppose that we aren’t to worry ourselves about who God is?
Why wouldn’t we want/need to know about the God who saves?
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