ˇ°ˇ¦we will look
unto Abraham our father, and to Sarah who bore us, for if we are Christ's, then
we are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promiseˇ¦How was it, then,
with Abraham? He is said to be the father of the faithful, and the great head
of the Church in the days of the Patriarchs, and the head of those who have
been adopted into the covenant of Jehovah through the blood of His only
begotten; for if we are Christ's then we are Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise. If, by the virtue of the Savior's blood, our sins are
washed away, we are the children of Abraham; we hail him as our father, and
Sarah as our mother; he is the father of the faithful, he is the father of many
nations. How was it with Abraham? Did he please God, walk before Him uprightly,
and obtain this testimony that he pleased God, and obtain promises that no
other man has obtained since the days of Abraham, the Son of God excepted?
Jehovah promised that in him and in his seed all the nations of the earth should
be blessed, as a pattern of piety, and as the great head of the Church. Because
of his faithfulness in keeping the commandments of Jehovah on earth, he drew
from on high this great promise. Who has lived since that time who has been
thus blessed? I will venture to say not one. Then if we are his children, will
we not do the works of faithful Abraham?ˇ± (Journal of Discourses, 26
vols. [London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886], 2: 79.)