Radio Beloved

This brief study was inspired by a recent post at Heavenly Ascents on the genealogy of Melchizedek.  I’ve been wanting to post some of my thoughts on “the blood of righteous Abel” for a while now, so this was a good opportunity to understand that passage a little more clearly.

Abel, son of Adam and in the patriarchal line of the priesthood, is a little-understood figure who seems to have far less folklore and curiosity surrounding his person than other similarly mysterious figures such as Melchizedek and Enoch.  A quick perusal of Wikipedia and other sources reveals, first, that most study is around the story of Cain and Abel, and secondly, that the focus is on Cain.  There is surprisingly little solid information in the Biblical record, yet this seems to be the only place where that stopped the authors of the apocryphal and gnostic works.

For all this ignorance, we do know a little through latter-day revelation.  We read of Abel’s high prominence in the priesthood:

[The holy priesthood was passed] from Enoch to Abel, who was slain by the conspiracy of his brother, who received the priesthood by the commandments of God, by the hand of his father Adam, who was the first man.
-D&C 84:16

Abel has been revered for centuries in his rightful place as the first martyr.  Jesus himself acknowledged this status:

From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.
–Luke 11:51, KJV

His martyrdom constitutes the majority of what we know of him, and what heresies are hinted at seem based on this understanding.  Perhaps most interesting is the juxtaposition of Hebrews 11:24 with Joseph Smith’s translation of Genesis 17, where the Lord speaks with Abraham:

But ye are come … to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
–Heb. 12:22, 24, KJV

My people have gone astray from my precepts, and have not kept mine ordinances, which I gave unto their fathers; ∙and they have not observed mine anointing, and the burial, or baptism wherewith I commanded them; ∙but have turned from the commandment, … ∙and have said that the blood of righteous Abel was shed for sins; and have not known wherein they are accountable before me.
–Genesis:17:4-7, IV

I can’t help but wonder if knowledge of this ancient apocryphal apostasy came down to the author of Hebrews, enough for him to point out the vast distinction between martyrdom and Martyrdom.  Joseph Smith’s inspiration to include this revelation in his translation underscores the author of Hebrew’s understanding, and casts further light on what exactly he was referring to.

In any case, we know certain things about Abel, such as his righteousness and justified sacrifice:

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
–Heb. 11:4

This is the start of a list including Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and many other important prophets, yet we know so little of this one.  Hebrews is the only non-Old Testament source I’ve found that even mentions Abel extensively enough to indicate that the author may have had more information than has survived (barring Jesus’ mention of him in Luke, of course).

Even more intriguingly for what it portends of the early church, this chancel mosaic from San Vitale in Ravenna, where Abel offers sacrifice across from Melchizedek, over an altar decorated with gammadions and the seal of Melchizedek (built A.D. 526-530).

Ultimately, I’ve only been able to find shadows and hints in my study of Abel, and, as stated before, most literary and scholarly treatment of him focuses on his death.  I hope to discover more about one of the earliest prophets and men of God, but I’ll leave you with some of my burning questions:

Why has there been little speculative folklore around him, as around so many other important but barely-mentioned Biblical figures?

What is his relationship to Seth as the continuation of Adam’s seed (Gen. 4: 25)?

What is his role as a patriarch in the line of the priesthood (compare D&C 84:16 with D&C 107: 42)?

Life for life,
Eye for eye,
Tooth for tooth,
Hand for hand,
Foot for foot,
Burning for burning,
Wound for wound,
Wound for wound,
Wound for wound for wound for wound for wound,
Stripe for stripe for stripe for stripe for …

… and stone laws of stone table yield.

Wounded for our transgression,
with his stripes we are healed.
–Neal Davis

¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: ∙But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. ∙And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. ∙And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. ∙Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
–Matthew 5:38-42

The gospel of the second mile. Christ exemplifies the practical application of this most practical doctrine throughout his eternal ministry. Consider, for a moment, the Parable of the Good Samaritan:

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ∙And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ∙And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. ∙But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, ∙and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ∙And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
–Luke 10:30-35

It was morally incumbent on the Samaritan to bind the man’s wounds and care for him, even to go so far as the inn with him. Certainly no less would be expected by any ethical system, but note the further action of the Samaritan–he pays, in advance, for the further care his charge will require. We can nod knowingly at this gesture and say, “He was certainly a charitable man,” but I think that if that alone were the target of this parable, Jesus wouldn’t have watered down the precious words of his few parables with gratuity. No, this line from the Fisher of Men is intended to draw us into deeper waters of truth.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

Jesus Christ is inviting us to go a mile farther than we have been compelled to go, as included in the Sermon on the Mount, the seminal moral discourse for any Christian. He’s reminding us that part of life is putting more in than you receive. I know that in a salvational sense that isn’t true, but in interpersonal relationships it can be, and must be, if we are to bring souls to Christ.

In the Book of Mormon, Jesus spent an entire day with the people of the New World preaching, teaching, and prophesying. Towards the late afternoon, he drew his ministering to a close:

Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.
–3 Nephi 17:3

The Nephites sadly considered Jesus’ departure, but, as the record states, “they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them (3 Nephi 17:5).” Strictly speaking, the Lord’s ministry for the day among the Nephites was complete, for he had taught them the principles of the gospel. Here, however, was an opportunity to go the second mile. Jesus spent much longer in direct ministry to the Nephites, and their lame, and their children. Marvelous miracles, on the scale of those at Jerusalem, were performed for God’s children in America, and the sacrament was administered for the first time in that new dispensation of grace. The second mile.

In the broadest sense, the Atonement itself embodies this principle. We know that Christ paid the price for our moral separation from God, due to the Fall:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ∙being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ∙whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.
–Romans 3:23-25

We learn through modern revelation that the Atonement was, however, broader than this, and that Christ took upon himself even more:

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. ∙And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
–Alma 7:11-12

Jesus Christ took upon himself voluntarily death. He took upon himself voluntarily sin. These were necessary elements for our redemption. However, he also chose to take upon himself our infirmities, that he might know how to succor (from L. to run to) us. The Holy One of Israel chose to set the ultimate example for us of going the second mile, and succoring us beyond what we may view as having strictly been required.

Now I’ve written a bit about what is required ethically. I suggest that what is “required”, in that sense, is insufficient. It draws us into a terrestrial sphere, but not into the celestial.

For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? ∙And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? ∙Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
–Matthew 5:46-48

This is the genius of true Christianity, the deeper requirement that is so often glossed over. In total consecration, more than the minimum, ethically required good is performed, and the maximum good is sought.

Freely ye have received, freely give.
–Matthew 10:8

The iron rod is two miles long: one mile from the lonely way of Eden to the gate of salvation, and another to the circles of exaltation.