The Crossing - An Epic Testimony of Jesus Christ is based upon an early history of an emancipation, when God, the premortal Jesus Christ, led a united group of refugees to a promised land. That account is found among a collection of ancient texts assembled in The Book of Mormon, in a segment entitled The Book of Ether.

In Ether, we read the abbreviatedtrue story of the Jaredites, a community of Christians, who lived during the tyranny of Nimrod, a great grandson of Noah. They witnessed the destruction of the Tower of Babel, the prophesied confusion of tongues, and the scattering of Nimrod's nation, as described in Genesis 11.

Because of their prayerful faith in Christ, the Jaredites were spared the loss of their sacred Adamic language and were promised a new, choice land of promise. The opening canto of The Crossing - An Epic Testimony of Jesus Christ reveals a desolate group of people, who have survived the overthrow of the Tower of Babel.

Powerful winds have destroyed their homes. How will they live? Where should they go? What should they do? Their perplexity is paralyzing.

Jared and his brother, Moriancumer, a prophet of God, are pillars of strength and true leaders among these confused families and friends. Prayers offered in faith in the name of the Son of God are efficacious to bring the Lord's blessings.

They are promised a choice new land, far from the ruins of Babel and the impositions of wicked tyranny. The Lord leads them from the midst of a cloudy pillar and by regular revelations through their prophet, Moriancumer.

Their faith in Christ enables them to surmount every hindrance they encounter over a period of many years. They travel thousands of miles over land and sea, until they are brought safely to the land of ancient Eden.

The proposition that Jesus Christ was the focus of worship and source of power for the Jaredites and many of their predecessors long before His mortal nativity may seem preposterous to some. Yet, so it was.

Adam and Eve worshiped our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ and offered sacrifices in anticipation of His coming in the meridian of time. They rejoiced in their knowledge of the Savior's loving atonement, as taught to them by holy angels.

Christ was the Lamb, chosen before the foundation of the world, as acknowledged in the scriptures. He was the Ransom prepared in premortality for us before the earth was created.

The Crossing - An Epic Testimony of Jesus Christ addresses these truths. It teaches of our identity as children of God in a planned process of tutelage and progress in a setting of opposition.

It reveals the purpose of our creation with physical bodies. It teaches the great plan of salvation made viable by the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

It teaches of our perfectibility and ultimate empowerment through the holy atonement of Christ. The Crossing - An Epic Testimony of Jesus Christ is an epic poem.

It is historical fiction in verse. The Crossing bears witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

There is no other savior. He ransomed us from the power of sin and death, the ultimate impediments to our eternal progress.

The Lord loves us. He loves us so much He volunteered before the foundation of the earth to perform the excruciating atonement, which made our Heavenly Father's plan for our perfection possible.

Jesus Christ is our very best friend in the universe. He knows each of us completely.

He supports us in our trials and troubles. He is life, sustaining us moment by moment, and leading along to the glory of our eternal parents.

Faith in Christ and obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel will enable us, as nothing else can, to achieve the ultimate objective of our Heavenly Father's plan for us - eternal life. .