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CANTO THREE
1—Title: **Elect of Elohim.** Elohim, or Eloheim, the Hebrew plural for God. To the modern Jew it means the plural of majesty, not of number; but to the Latter-day Saint it signifies both. As here used it stands for "The Council of the Gods," or, as in Psalms 82:1, "The Congregation of the Mighty." In that council or congregation was elected, before Earth was formed, the Redeemer of the World. (Pearl of Great Price—Moses 4:1-4; Abraham 3:22-28; Compendium p. 285.) This Canto glimpses the choosing of Messiah, the rebellion of Lucifer, the Saviour's descent to Earth, his crucifixion and return to Glory. It is the beginning of the poem proper.
2—450. **Olea's Silver Beam.** Olea, according to the Book of Abraham, is Moon; Shinehah (Shinea) Sun; and Kokaubeam, Stars. Kolob, according to the same authority, is a great governing planet "nigh unto the throne of God." (Abraham 3; D. and C. 76:25, 28.)
3—504. **Mighty Michael.** Michael the Archangel, leader of the hosts of Heaven against Lucifer and his rebellious legions, became Adam and fell from an immortal to a mortal state that he might become the progenitor of the human family.
4—516. **Tried Souls.** In "Mormon" theology "soul" means body and spirit combined, but in general literature, and especially poetry, "soul" and "spirit" are synonyms.
5—522. **The Stepping-Stone.** God's children, such as kept the first or spirit estate, were given bodies upon this planet, thus becoming souls, capable of eternal increase and advancement. (Abraham 3:26.) Two-thirds of the spirits then populating the Spirit World were found worthy of opportunities for experience and development in mortality, while one-third—those who rebelled—were denied that privilege. (Compendium p. 288.)
6—528. **The Love That Hath Redeemed All Worlds.** The Gospel of the Christ, the highest expression of God's love for man, has saved many worlds, and is destined to save many more. (Moses 1:33-39.) But the Gospel is more than a means of escape from impending ills; it existed before man had need of salvation. A divine plan for human progress, embracing both the Fall and the Redemption, it was framed in the heavens before this earth was organized, and is a free gift from God to man. Man, however, to avail himself of its benefits, must yield obedience to its requirements. Redemption (resurrection) comes unconditionally, but salvation and exaltation depend upon human works as well as upon divine favor. A soul may be redeemed—raised from the dead—and yet condemned at the final judgment for evil deeds done in the body. Likewise may a soul be redeemed and saved, and yet come short of the glory that constitutes exaltation. To redeem, save and glorify is the threefold purpose of the Gospel of Christ. The English word "Gospel" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Godspell" or God-Story—the story of God. In its fullest sense it signifies everything connected with the redemptive career of that Divine Being who gave His life that man might eternally live.
7—548. **Exception Scorns.** Lucifer, who fain would have been the Redeemer, proposed to save by coercive methods, involving the destruction of human agency, and demanded as his reward the honor that belongs to God. (Moses 4:1-4; Abraham 3:22-28)
8—560. **My Messenger.** It was Jehovah the God of Israel who became Jesus of Nazareth and died to redeem mankind (D. and C. 110:1-4). He is Son Ahman, concerning whom Orson Pratt, citing an unpublished revelation, says: "What is the name of God in the pure language? The answer says 'Ahman.' What is the name of the Son of God? Answer, 'Son Ahman, the greatest of all the parts of God, excepting Ahman.' What is the name of men? 'Son Ahman,' is the answer." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. II, p. 342.)