Our Father in Heaven went through all that and more, for in his case the hand was not stayed. He loved his Son Jesus Christ, better than Abraham ever loved Isaac, for our Father had with him his Son, our Redeemer in the eternal worlds, faithful and true for ages, standing in a place of trust and honor, and the Father loved him dearly, and yet he allowed this well-beloved Son to descend from his place of glory and honor, where millions did him homage, down to the earth, a condescension that is not within the power of man to conceive. He came to receive the insult, the abuse and the crown of thorns. God heard the cry of his Son in that moment of great grief and agony, in the garden when, it is said, the pores of his body opened and blood stood upon him, and he cried out. "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me."
In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon there dying struggles until even he could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child, has to be taken out of the room, so as not to look upon the last struggles, so he bowed his head, and his in some part of the universe, his great heart almost breaking for the love that he had for his Son. Oh, in that moment when he might have saved his Son, I thank him and praise him that he did not fail us, for he had not only the love of his Son in mind, but he also had love for us. I rejoice that he did not interfere, and that he love for us made it possible for him to endure to look upon the suffering of his Son and give him finally to us, our Savior and our Redeemer. Without him, without his sacrifice, we could have remained, and we would never have come glorified into his presence. And so this is what is cost, in part, for our Father in Heaven to give the gift of his Son unto men.
-Elder Melvin J. Ballard
