Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Repeating the pattern of angelic deliverance

In thinking about the Christmas story, I noticed this pattern in the story of the shepherds:


  1. An angel delivers an important message.
  2. A person/people listen to the message.
  3. It points them to Christ.
  4. They are led to a new place.


This caused me to think about a general pattern in the scriptures, especially in the Book of Mormon.  It isn't hard to see this four-step pattern in the origin story of the Nephites. Lehi sees a vision in 1 Nephi 1:5-6. He heeds it even though the wicked people of Jerusalem do not (1 Nephi 1:18-19).  The message he taught was definitely about Christ:

19 ...he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world. (1 Nephi 1)
Two verses later (1 Nephi 2:2) Lehi is commanded to depart into the wilderness, and in 1 Nephi 2:20, Nephi learns they are being led to a land of promise.

This pattern shows up more than once in the Book of Mormon.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehis


Take for example the Lamanites who accept the Nephite religion as a result of the missionary work of the sons of Mosiah.  We can find each of these four elements in the description of their deliverance from the wicked Lamanite neighbors:

Mormon goes out of his way to point out that Laman's people considered their Nephite missionaries to be angels:

4 Now when Ammon and his brethren saw this work of destruction among those whom they so dearly beloved, and among those who had so dearly beloved them—for they were treated as though they were angels sent from God to save them from everlasting destruction... (Alma 27)

They had certainly heeded the message, which led them to Christ:

27 And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end. (Alma 27)

 And they were were led by Ammon to a new land (and given a new name):

26 ... And they went down into the land of Jershon, and took possession of the land of Jershon; and they were called by the Nephites the people of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after.

All of this points to a covenant (we know these Lamanites made and kept covenants even when it meant certain death). They had been given a new name.  Mormon makes one more overt reference to their new-found covenant status:

30 And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord.

As discussed in this post, "highly favored" seems to be a reference to a covenant with God.



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