The State of Mankind: Redeemed---By Rachel Chase

As a little girl I was obsessed with playing dress-up. Decked out in clip-on earrings, bright red lipstick, a loose-fitting, much too long gown, and high heeled shoes that were five sizes too large, I would emerge from the toy closet and strut into my father’s office den. He would ooh and awe for my sake and then, smiling, would hoist me onto his lap and tell me that I was his princess, his little girl.

All fathers have a tendency to call their daughters, “my little princess.” To our father in heaven this is not simply patriarchal biased, it is fact. Especially to the rising generation of young people today, the prophets and apostles have repeatedly expressed that this group is a “chosen generation” and how as spirit sons and daughters of God we have the opportunity to become literal kings and queens in his kingdom.

In Exodus 33:11, Moses describes his conversation with God as a dialogue in which Heavenly Father talked to him “face to face”. God thought Moses important enough to make a personal visit, despite the fact that Moses was a fallen mortal, and this displays our price in the eyes of God. It is His work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Our heavenly father dips into human affairs despite how far we are from being like him and this shows the value he sees in his spirit children. Just the fact that we are indeed children of an omnipotent being is a powerful concept—we are people of a noble birthright.

Yet there are several passages in the scriptures which seem to challenge our royal significance. In Mosiah 2:25-26 it states: “And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you. And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am no better than ye yourselves are; for I am also of the dust…” Not even as much as the dust of the earth, he says. This is enough to shatter all human hopes of gaining godhood when we are no better than even the dirt.

So is Man God’s crowning creation or is Man lower than even the dust of the earth—insignificant and worthless? There are evidences to support both from the scriptures and the prophets, yet they seem to be two ideas than can never harmoniously exist. This is a problem: these two spiritual concepts seem to be a dichotomy to each other. Am I supposed to see myself as a “little princess” in God’s kingdom, or am I truly lower than the dust of the earth? Should I think highly of myself as a chosen daughter of God or am I only an insignificant speck in the spectrum of God’s power and all of his creations? And they would be contradicting themselves and unable to occupy the same sentence if not for another factor that has not been mentioned yet. I submit to you that we should not feel like dust; we should not feel like royalty; what we should feel is redeemed.

In Hebrew, the word “redeem” has several connotations. In application to Christ’s redeeming of all mankind the synonyms “ransom” and “pay the price” certainly apply. He, our kinsman, fulfilled the cost so that we could one day live with him again. This is the thing that bridges the gap between our state of dust and our potential to earn godhood. In Mosiah 4:2 it reads: “And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.” In our lowest times, Christ sacrifice is able to lift us to new heights.
I find this illustrated in one of my very favorite songs called “You raise me up.”

“When I am down and oh! My soul so weary,
When troubles come and my heart burdened be,
Then I am still and waiting in the silence
For you to come and sit a while with me.
You raise me up so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be.”


As he always has and will, Christ serves as our perfect mediator between queenship/kingship and feeling like the dust of the earth. You see, he is the one that makes it possible for us to become from our dust-composed, imperfect, insignificant selves a king or queen in his kingdom—the only requirement is to draw upon the power of his atoning sacrifice, which power has the ability to change ordinary people into extraordinary ones. We needn’t feel insignificant and become depressed, nor need we feel so “chosen” that we fall into a pattern of pride; we only need rely on our elder brother who paid the price for us. He built the bridge between these two truths, he paved the way and it is marked by the dark red stain of his blood.

Enos testified of this as well in Enos 1:27: “And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father.” Christ is the one who carries with him hope, a hope in a kingdom someday where the saints can find peace and rest to their souls because of what he did for us. “And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.” (Omni 1:26)

To conclude I would like to echo the words of Mormon: And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. (Ether 12:41). As always, Christ is the one who makes it possible for us to reach the full potential that a son/daughter of God deserves. I love him as a friend, trust him as my brother, and worship him as my savior. May God grant us all the desire and faith to use the atonement in our own lives. I know that Christ died for us, and I also know that he lives again. One day, I hope to join him in God’s kingdom. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Works cited:

*The Holy Bible
*The Book of Mormon
*You raise me up lyrics