Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 3c -- Finding Meaning in the Symbols

The last two posts have focused on the symbolism and meaning of the elements I've identified as belonging to an "endowment pattern" in the Book of Mormon.  This post will discuss the remaining six symbols.

Tents (a symbol of the presence of the Lord)

A deep dive into the symbolism of the tent can be found in this series of posts by Stisa (here, here, and here). To summarize, there is a linguistic/wordplay connection in Hebrew associating the presence of the Lord (shekinah) with a tent/tabernacle (mishkan). To quote Stisa from part 2 of his series, the tent is:

...a place for the shekinah glory. Lehi dwelt [shakan] in a tent [mishkan] and God dwelt with them and guided them along. The journey to the promised land was commanded by God and he was with them every step being a light to them in the wilderness and preparing the way (see 1 Nephi 17:13).

In part 2 of this series, I detailed how often tents are specifically mentioned when a new covenant-keeping group leaves a wicked situation. Think of all the items a group of people might bring on their journey into the wilderness.  It includes much more than tents. Weapons for hunting and defense, clothing, tools, cooking implements, etc.  The author specifically mentions tents for their symbolic significance. This is a symbol of new birth and is the author's way of telling us that they enjoyed the presence of the Lord to guide them along their journey.

They inherit a land/They obey the commandments of the Lord/Abundance & Prospering

In this next section, we'll discuss three elements which are intimately connected. If the tent represents God's guidance while in the wilderness, the land of inheritance represents the culmination of that journey, where an even greater blessing awaits the covenant people. The tent is the symbol of the  "cloud by day and pillar of fire by night," (see Exodus 13:22)  and the land of inheritance is Mount Sinai -- a place of holiness and rest, "to go no more out." (See Alma 7:25.) This land of inheritance is obtained and possessed by strict obedience to God's law.

The symbol of a promised land is at least as old as Israel itself. A land of inheritance was promised to Abraham for his posterity. One author describes it this way:

In the Bible, the term “Promised Land” refers to a specific region of land that God endowed to His chosen people, as part of their heritage. ... For migrating herders like the Jews, having a stable home of their own would be a true blessing. The promised land was a place to rest from their continual wandering. But this promise came with conditions. First, God commanded that Israel, the name of the new nation, had to trust and follow Him. Second, God demanded faithful worship of Him (Deuteronomy 7:12-15). (source)

God conditionally endows His nomadic people with a permanent dwelling place flowing with blessings as long as they serve Him and obey His word.

This theme is carried into the Book of Mormon in two key narratives.  First, at the time of Lehi's departure from Jerusalem (the original land of promise during a period of severe wickedness)he was promised that by obedience he could obtain a land of promise and prosper. (This post from Stisa demonstrates how often this 'proverb' appears in the Book of Mormon.) Notice the connection between obedience, prospering, and the land of promise from the very beginning of the Book of Mormon:

20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. (1 Nephi 2)

Lehi later describes the promises associated with this land of promise in greater detail:

9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever. (2 Nephi 1)

This pattern is repeated over and over again.  Here's Alma-2 reminding the wicked people in Ammonihah of this same set of promises and a warning:

9 Do ye not remember that our father, Lehi, was brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God? Do ye not remember that they were all led by him through the wilderness?

...

13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. (Alma 9)

This same promise is had among the Jaredites, first mentioned in the very earliest portion of Moroni's Jaredite account:

38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance. (Ether 1)

What follows is a highly repetitive warning that the condition for possessing this choice land of promise is to serve God:

7 And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.

8 And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.

9 And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.

10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off. (Ether 2)

In our modern temple worship, the same pattern is demonstrated.  We progress toward God's presence by making sacred promises to follow His commandments until we symbolically obtain a fulness and enter into His rest. We are also given warnings that by entering these covenants we take upon ourselves sacred obligations to serve God. 

New names are given (see Genesis 2:20)

The symbolism of naming is ancient and deep.  In the ancient near east, the very existence of a thing (or person) was inextricably linked to it having a name given.

If creation is the act of bringing something into existence, we must ask what constituted existence in the ancient world. In our culture, we consider existence to be either material (i.e., having molecules/taking up space and extending to energy and subatomic particles) or experiential (e.g., abstractions such as love or time). Those definitions, however, are culturally determined. By contrast, in the ancient world something existed when it had a function -- a role to play. In Mesopotamia one way to accomplish this was to name something, because a name designated a thing's function or role. (NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, "Creation and Existence")

When it comes to the formation of a covenant people, giving them a new name would symbolically represent that they have also been given a new purpose for existence. Giving a new name in a covenant context could even be seen as an act of (spiritual) creation.

They are led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member

I'd love to say I left the most intriguing detail for the end, but that's not the case.  I honestly don't know what to make of this element of the endowment pattern, aside from the fact that I noticed it. It could certainly be that groups of people in the Book of Mormon tend to be led by men who are often kings, prophets, or their sons. That being said, I couldn't help but notice how often a group is led by a righteous royal figure or a father/son combination: Lehi-Nephi, Mosiah-Benjamin-Mosiah, etc.

The symbolic significance of this is pretty clear -- a king/son of king comes to the rescue of a lost people and reclaims them. Christ of course plays this role for each of us in the covenant context, acting both as our Father of our salvation as as the Son of God the Father.  This post from Stisa will shed more light on the concepts if you want to read more.

Conclusion

Now that we have taken our time identifying the pattern and discussing some of the symbolism contained within the elements of the pattern, we will continue on to the remaining parts of the series. Here is what comes next:

Part 4 -- A discussion of details that didn't make the initial list of twelve but deserve some discussion.

Part 5 -- Other scripture stories which contain elements of the pattern (including Abraham, Moses, and Christ).

Part 6 -- The endowment pattern in the latter days.