“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39) These are the words spoken to Moses by Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. Immortality and Eternal life for man are based on two conditional attributes: our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and our willingness to follow Him and keep His commandments. He established His Church in the meridian of time, and his disciples (followers) were commanded to go into all the world and preach His Gospel, and all who believed and were baptized became members of His church and eligible for immortality and eternal life. His church failed during the third generation, having been corrupted by designing men who knew not God. During the course of history, as described by the prophet Isaiah, man would have many periods of apostasy, and the earth was devoid of light from above. Isaiah saw the final or last dispensation when the gospel would be restored for the last time. In the 49th chapter and 3rd verse of Isaiah’s writings, he described how the Father’s work and His glory would be achieved. “Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Israel would be the means by which the Father’s work and His glorify would finally be achieved. Who was Israel and how was he going to be able to achieve such a great accomplishment on behalf of the Father? Israel (formerly Jacob) was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. Of all the great men of Old Testament times, Abraham was the greatest, and though he lived nearly 4,000 years before Christ, yet he had many Christ-like attributes. Abraham was, without a doubt, a faithful servant and loved by our Father. The scriptures describe that relationship this way: “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” Abram, like Christ, had compassion for all mankind. An example of that was when angels appeared to Abraham and told him that they were instructed to destroy Sodom, and he tried to dissuade them. Abraham asked the angel, “Peradventure fifty righteous shall be found there. The angel replied, “I will not destroy it for fifties sake.” Abraham kept pressing until he was finally down to ten and the angel said, “I will not destroy it if ten righteous shall be found there.” Abraham and Sarah were miraculously blessed in their old age with a son whom they named Isaac. They loved and cherished their son who was born long after their childbearing years. As a challenge of Abraham’s faithfulness, he was asked to sacrifice his son on a sacrificial altar. This was Abraham’s “only begotten son,” and his faithfulness was tested right down to the final second before the blade would have pierced Isaac’s body. Has any other human ever been tested in such a way as was Abraham? That is to say other than God the Father who was willing to sacrifice His “only begotten son” even Jesus Christ. The Father had such a great love for righteous Abraham that He blessed him and his seed above all others. That blessing is as follows: He said to Abraham, “My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father… I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed…shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.” (Abraham 2:8–11) This blessing was passed on to Abraham’s son Isaac and then to Jacob whose name was changed to “Israel” and so on. If you have accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you are of the seed of Abraham, and that should be viewed as a great honor. People express great pride in being a member of various social organizations. But I have never yet heard anyone express joy in being of the seed of Abraham. Yet, that may be the greatest honor one can ever possess. I feel blessed to say that not only am I a Christian, a disciple of Jesus Christ, but I am also of the seed of Father Abraham. Israel had twelve sons, and before passing, he blessed his sons. The birthright blessing from Abraham went to Isaac to Jacob/Israel’s hand and was given to Joseph’s son, Ephraim. If you will review your Patriarchal Blessing, you will see that you are most likely from the seed of Abraham through Joseph’s son, Ephraim. Therefore, as the seed of Abraham, this work we are doing is to fulfill the prophesy, “Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Therefore, through us “shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation,” even those who have passed on to the other side without having had an opportunity to even hear of Jesus Christ. Thus Paul to the Hebrews said: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (Hebrews 15:19) The early church, as established by the Savior, practiced baptism for the dead. Paul also declared to the Hebrews, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:29). God bless us to be steadfast and loyal to our great heritage as Abraham’s seed.