10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed?
11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.
12 For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed?
What did Isaiah mean when he asked, “Who shall declare his generation?” (
Isaiah 53:8) When we use the word “generation,” we usually mean “people who were born at about the same time.” However, another definition of the term is “the action or process of producing offspring” (
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2nd definition). Many places in the Old Testament, a list of descendants is prefaced by the phrase, “These are the generations of…” (See, for example,
Genesis 10:1,
Genesis 25:12,19,
1 Chronicles 1:29.)
We know that Heavenly Father is the “father of our spirits” (
Hebrews 12:9). We also honor our earthly fathers and mothers as the parents of our mortal bodies. In the same way, when we are spiritually reborn through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we recognize Him as the father of our new selves. As King Benjamin told his people when they testified that their hearts had been changed, “Ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you” (
Mosiah 5:7).
When Abinadi explains this concept to the priests of King Noah, he goes further, offering three answers to Isaiah’s question:
- All those who have been redeemed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ can testify that they have been born again. In that way, they declare his generation.
- All of the prophets throughout history as well as all of the prophets yet to come have declared that we can be saved by the grace of God. They have all declared his generation.
- The Savior himself declares his generation and invites us to experience joy and peace by receiving the gift of His Atonement.
Today, I will find an opportunity to testify of the power of the Atonement in my life. I will “declare his generation,” by sharing with others the joyful message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Excellent thoughts, thanks so much for sharing!
I had not seen the full meaning of the phrase quite like this before.
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you found this post useful.
How does the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost relate to this?
I loved this answer, thank you!
Thanks for the comment! Have a great day!