Monday, January 31, 2022

Blood, murder and guilt

The Book of Mormon is a Jewish book. This has become increasingly clear to me as I have studied it in much detail while learning more of ancient Israelite culture and language. I mean "Jewish" in a broad sense, since Lehi was from the tribe of Manassah, but he came from Jerusalem and the inhabitants there at the time are generally referred to as Jews. This is what Nephi does too. 

I have charity for the Jew—I say Jew, because I mean them from whence I came. (2 Nephi 33:8)

This post only gives one example of the Book of Mormon as a Jewish book by which I mean, the Book of Mormon is telling the story of a people with Jewish heritage. There are many other examples here.

There is a Jewish idea (and ancient Near Eastern idea in general) of guilt from homicide associated with blood pollution. For instance, Moses kills an Egyptian and flees to Midian. Upon his return many years later, he is still carrying the guilt and undergoes a ritual that seems rather strange to us in Exodus 4:25-26, involving blood. The NRSV cultural backgrounds study Bible explains:

The idea may be that, even though Moses is free in a legal sense to return, he still carries about on his person a kind of spiritual or religious pollution as a result of the homicide— a pollution that must be purged. In the case of homicide, the pollution is referred to by the Hebrew word dam (“ blood”); the perpetrator has been contaminated by the victim’s blood. This notion of blood contamination turns up in ancient Greece and Mesopotamia as well. An Assyrian text from the mid-600s BC declares that the perpetrator of a homicide must make a payment (what is really a ransom for his own life) to the victim’s family and in so doing “wash the blood away.” A text from Mari (c. 1800 BC) refers to a “criminal who is polluted with that blood (shed in murder).” In ch. 4, Yahweh cannot allow Moses to emerge from his place of asylum unless the contamination is purged.

Notice how Alma 5 is completely aligned with this line of thinking. 

22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?

23 Behold will they not testify that ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are guilty of all manner of wickedness?

24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white? (Alma 5)

I have noticed that the Book of Mormon frequently applies secular Jewish traditions to our relationship with God. I have written about several such examples before. "Cut off from among the people" in the Old Testament becomes "cut off from the Lord's presence" in the Book of Mormon. The tradition of a kinsman-redeemer in the Old Testament is applied to our redemption from sin in the Book of Mormon. Etc. In Alma 5, the idea of blood pollution reflects ancient Jewish culture but also applies on a more spiritual level, in this case judgment day. 

Friday, January 28, 2022

Searching the scriptures -- Moses 7:59-69

I've had an incredible experience studying Moses 7:59-69 for the past week.  This is a truly remarkable passage of scriptures.

I've had people ask me what system I use to study the scriptures. I have developed a few patterns over the years and I was amazed to listen to a devotional given by Elder David A. Bednar in 2007 in which he underscores the importance of several principles related to scripture study, including the importance of studying connections between various concepts and stories. By the time I found this talk, I had already learned for myself how important this principle is. I wrote about that talk in this post if you'd like to learn more. Here is a one minute clip where he describes what connections are and why they are a source of spiritual truth:





Today's post will be unlike any of my previous posts.  My focus is on attempting to demonstrate how interconnected the scriptures are. I'll do this by creating hyperlinks in the Moses 7 passage below. Each link will take you to a section at the bottom with additional scriptural references connected to that word or phrase. This is not comprehensive, nor is it intended to detail all of the learning that can take place by studying the references listed.  Rather, I just want to show how 11 verses in one book of scripture can take us on a journey through many other passages of scriptures if we take the time to study using Elder Bednar's principles.

Long post warning -- typically, a post of mine represents an hour or two of dedicated study.  This post will contain notes and references from about ten hours of study over a week.  The reason I'm not breaking it up into many posts is so that all of the references stay in one place for future reference, rather than spread out over many posts. However, I will circle back to these lists in future posts to discuss some of the insights I've gained as a result of this study, which I consider vital to understanding Moses 7.



Moses 7:59-69




59 And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father; and he called unto the Lord, saying: Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but through thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee if thou wilt not come again on the earth.

60 And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah;

61 And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve;

62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.

63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;

64 And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.

65 And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years;

66 But before that day he saw great tribulations among the wicked; and he also saw the sea, that it was troubled, and men’s hearts failing them, looking forth with fear for the judgments of the Almighty God, which should come upon the wicked.

67 And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy;

68 And all the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were three hundred and sixty-five years.

69 And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled. (Moses 7)


Each of the links in the passage above will take you to the corresponding section of references related to that word or phrase below.  In future posts, I'll look at the references in each list and discuss what I believe each of these concepts adds to the whole picture. In some cases, it is clear that multiple concepts tend to cluster together (I've indicated this by listing these in parentheses next to references where it applies).  

Taking the process of studying these references as groups and taking the time to develop a deeper sense of what the term is referring to is the essence of this pattern of scripture study.  I have learned so much, often completely unexpectedly, as I've taken this approach.  



"through thine own grace"





"fulfill the oath"


  • Moses 7:50-51



"darkness"


  • JS-Matthew 1:33
  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:14
  • Exodus 10:21-23



"tribulation"


  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:8 (prepare, gather)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 58:2-4


"preserve"


  • 1 Nephi 22:17
  • Mosiah 2:20-21
  • Alma 46:24
  • Psalm 37:28



"sweep"


  • Jacob 5:66
  • Doctrine & Covenants 109:30



"gather"


  • 1 Nephi 22:25
  • 3 Nephi 16:5
  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:7-8 (elect, prepare, tribulation) 



"elect"


  • JS-Matthew 1:27-29, 37-39
  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:7-8 (gather, prepare, tribulation) 
  • Doctrine & Covenants 33:6 (gather)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 84:34
  • Isaiah 65:9, 22


"prepare"


  • 1 Nephi 10:18
  • 1 Nephi 22:20
  • 2 Nephi 9:10
  • Jacob 5:61
  • Mosiah 4:6-7
  • Alma 13:3, 5
  • Alma 16:16
  • Alma 42:10, 13
  • 3 Nephi 21:27
  • Ether 3:14
  • Ether 9:28
  • Ether 12:11
  • Moroni 7:31-32
  • Doctrine & Covenants 29:7-8 (elect, gather, tribulation)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 38:9 (gird up loins)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 38:30
  • Doctrine & Covenants 42:9 (gather)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 78:20-21
  • Doctrine & Covenants 88:88-93 (quake -- see Moses 7:61 "shake")
  • Doctrine & Covenants 133:57-59

"bosom"


  • Doctrine & Covenants 38:4
  • Doctrine & Covenants 88:13
  • Doctrine & Covenants 109:4
  • Moses 7:24, 27, 63, 69



"gird up loins"


  • Doctrine & Covenants 27:15-16
  • Doctrine & Covenants 36:8
  • Doctrine & Covenants 38:9
  • Doctrine & Covenants 43:19
  • Doctrine & Covenants 61:38
  • Doctrine & Covenants 73:6
  • Doctrine & Covenants 78:22
  • Doctrine & Covenants 106:5
  • Doctrine & Covenants 112:7, 14




"abode"


  • Moses 7:21
  • Numbers 9:17-22



"rest"


  • Jacob 1:7
  • Alma 12:34-37
  • Alma 13:6, 12, 13, 16, 29
  • Alma 16:7
  • Alma 40:12
  • Alma 60:13
  • 3 Nephi 27:19
  • 3 Nephi 28:3
  • Moroni 7:3
  • Moroni 9:6, 25
  • Doctrine & Covenants 15:6 (16:6)
  • Doctrine & Covenants 19:9
  • Doctrine & Covenants 54:10
  • Doctrine & Covenants 59:2
  • Doctrine & Covenants 84:24
  • Doctrine & Covenants 101:31
  • Doctrine & Covenants 121:32
  • Doctrine & Covenants 124:86



"all things"


  • 1 Nephi 9:6
  • 1 Nephi 14:26
  • 1 Nephi 19:21
  • 1 Nephi 22:2, 20
  • 2 Nephi 2:24
  • 2 Nephi 6:3
  • 2 Nephi 9:20
  • 2 Nephi 27:10-11, 22
  • 2 Nephi 30:16-18
  • 2 Nephi 32:3, 5
  • Mosiah 5:3
  • Moroni 10:5, 13, 23
  • Moses 1:4-6



"day of the righteous"


  • 2 Nephi 9:46


"fulness of joy"



  • 3 Nephi 27:31
  • 3 Nephi 28:10



"walked with God"


  • Genesis 6:9
  • Doctrine & Covenants 107:49



Conclusion


The Book of Moses astounds me.  I see this passage of scripture in a new light as dozens of connections to other verses have become apparent to me.  There is a lot to say about it.  I'll highlight the significance I've found in these lists of references in upcoming posts.  I hope you'll take the time to look them up and make lists of your own.

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Adam and adamah -- Part 3 ("in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed")

Links to 

We have looked at the story in Genesis 2-4 from the perspective of the ground (Hebr. adamah) because it plays a central role and is even sometimes personified, but also because it forms an intimate relationship with man (Adam) in the text emphasized through the similarity of words. In part 1 we considered these three levels

  1. Garden of Eden. No cultivation needed because the ground brings forth "every tree" (Genesis 2:9)
  2. Cursed ground outside the Garden of Eden. Needs cultivation by man to bring forth fruit. (Genesis 3:19,23)
  3. Both ground and tiller of the ground (Cain) are cursed. The ground no longer yielding its strength. (Genesis 4:12)

To make it back to the tree of life, we need to reverse these curses. The plan of salvation can be framed in different ways but the reversal of these curses is one of them. I think Alma agrees

For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partaken of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, according to the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated.

But behold, it was appointed unto man to die—therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man. (Alma 42)

In part 2 we considered the connection of blood (Hebr. dam) to adamah and adam. As Alma later explains in this chapter and as discussed in the last post, the sanctifying blood of Christ provides the means to reverse these curses. In this post I will demonstrate that keeping covenants is another. We are back to Christ and covenants (see here and here). No surprises there really. 

The intimate relationship between man and ground characterizes the curses from Genesis 3 and 4 and their reversal. We see this pattern clearly in Lehi's dream, for example. It starts out in a dark and dreary wilderness. The wilderness is a place where the ground does not yield its strength. The endowment pattern that Lord Wilmore has discussed often starts there. Next, Lehi sees a large field. Then he gets to the tree of life.

After the wilderness phase, there is tilling of the ground. Lord Wilmore points out in this post that both the Nephites and Jaredites start tilling the ground as soon as they get to the promised land. I want to include additional examples because I think they tie back to the reversal of the curses in Genesis. They also link to covenants. Recall in Mosiah 5, when King Benjamin has finished his speech, his people enter into a covenant. In Mosiah 6, they write down the names of all those who have entered into the covenant, Mosiah starts his reign, and then they till the ground

And king Mosiah did cause his people that they should till the earth. And he also, himself, did till the earth, that thereby he might not become burdensome to his people, that he might do according to that which his father had done in all things. And there was no contention among all his people for the space of three years. (Mosiah 6:7)

We see the same pattern in Mosiah 23. The people of Alma have just entered into a covenant at the waters of Mormon. This is what happens next.

And they fled eight days’ journey into the wilderness.

And they came to a land, yea, even a very beautiful and pleasant land, a land of pure water.

And they pitched their tents, and began to till the ground, and began to build buildings; yea, they were industrious, and did labor exceedingly. (Mosiah 23)

The intimate connection between man and ground is reflected in a covenant people prospering in the land and the land yielding its strength. I quoted Moses 7:15-17 in the previous post with the promise that I would get back to that. It is worth repeating in this context of curses and blessings on man and land alike, (in this case also coupled with bloodshed)

15 And the giants of the land, also, stood afar off; and there went forth a curse upon all people that fought against God;

16 And from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness.

17 The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish.

When we enter into and keep covenants, the earth yields its strength. The land is blessed and flourishes and so does the covenant people. This prepares us for Zion, the enclosed garden, where we can finally "put forth [our] hand" and "partake of the tree of life". Here is a final covenant example:

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)

This is Yahweh's covenant with Abraham. "Earth" in this verse is from the Hebrew, adamah. Breaking the covenant brings a curse, keeping the covenant (by "blessing" Abraham as his seed) brings blessings. Adamah was cursed for Adam's sake after his transgression, but as a reversal of that curse, the families of adamah will be blessed in Abraham when entering into and keeping covenants.

I think all these examples are sufficient to conclude that the intimate relation between man and ground is reflected not only in Genesis 2-4 when they are cursed, but also in the covenant path that reverses those curses to blessings. Along with the sanctifying blood of Christ, covenants are what brings us back to the garden and the tree of life.



"Zion ... shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made"

This post will focus on the final section of Moses 7, verses 58-63, which contains beautiful and powerful promises and prophecies related to Enoch. Much of this will harmonize with other posts from this blog. My hope is to bring together several seemingly unrelated concepts to show how intimately connected they are. This will likely allow other passages to reveal deeper layers of meaning.  That's how this process works. :)

Furthermore, since we've been studying the early chapters of Genesis for Come Follow Me the past few weeks, I've also had the purpose of the creation on my mind. Readers of the blog will recall the connection between covenant and creation.  More and more I see covenant as the continuation of the physical creation -- the spiritual creative process made possible by the physical creation.

The title of the post perhaps states it best.  The earth was created in order to allow the celestial heirs of God to "prove themselves" and receive all that God has to give them. The final state of the earth is perfect rest -- total harmony with God's order (see this post) -- but until that day arrives there will be sadness and struggle.

In this post, I will walk through these verses and connect various elements which we've written about previously.


When Shall the Earth Rest?


This is the question on Enoch's mind after seeing Christ's death in vision and the subsequent mourning of "all the creations of God" (Moses 7:56).

There is a follow-up question in verse 59 which gives us an important clue about the connection between Christ's second coming and the earth's long-awaited rest:


59 And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father; and he called unto the Lord, saying: Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou hast sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but through thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee if thou wilt not come again on the earth. (Moses 7)


Enoch is not only asking when Christ will come again, he is also reminding God of His promises to mankind, and stating his understanding of man's divine inheritance through Christ's grace.

In response, God makes it abundantly clear to Enoch that all of His promises will be fulfilled:


60 And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah;


Interestingly, the answer that follows isn't a specific date and time, but rather a description of the conditions and events which will precede the second coming of Christ:


Conditions:

  • wickedness and vengeance (v. 60)
  • men's hearts failing them (v. 66)
  • the sea is troubled (v. 66)

 

Events:

  • gathering of the elect unto Zion (v. 62)
  • great tribulations among the wicked (v. 66)



Moses 7:62


To conclude, the Lord's promise to come again happens after a flood of a different type:


62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood ...



The purpose of this flood is very different, too.  Rather than destroying the wicked, this flood is sent to bring about the gathering:


...to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.


Just as the ark carried Noah and his family to safety, "righteousness and truth" in the form of the temple ordinances will carry those who are willing into safety, the Lord's rest, where they will avoid the chaos that awaits the wicked. The new Zion will meet Enoch's Zion as heaven and earth unite.


63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;

64 And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.



The next post will continue on this same theme.  As I've researched these verses, I've come across a wealth of references related to phrases and words in these verses. I plan to share this "web" of references in the next post.

Monday, January 24, 2022

Adam and adamah -- Part 2 ("the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood")

Adamah as the mother of adam

When I write adam with lower case 'a' in the heading, it is in the meaning of mankind, not as a personal name. 

With so much focus on the earth (Hebr. adamah) in Genesis 2-4, it is an interesting exercise to read these chapters from the perspective of the earth instead of the perspective of man. Part 1 displayed the role that the earth/ground is playing in this story. It is portrayed as much more than a lifeless planet of rock and dirt. It is "the mother of men" (Moses 7:48). Even though we all have mothers who have given us birth individually, the earth is portrayed as the mother of mankind in general. Adam/mankind is formed from the dust of the earth and has an intimate connection to adamah as shown in part 1. In Job 1:21, we read

Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither

Obviously, Job does not think that he will return into his mother's womb, unless he considers earth itself to also be his mother. This is a reference to Genesis 3:19. But let's have a look at the larger passage for context

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

The bold part is the allusion made by Job. It is also interesting to note that in the next verse, Adam calls his wife Eve because she is the mother of all living. As if there is a connection to the ground in the preceding verses. Eve brings forth life, just like mother earth.

Bloodshed and curse

In part 1 I noted that there are two curses in these chapters involving the ground. The passage from Genesis 3 quoted above, recounts the first curse that came as a consequence of Adam partaking of the fruit. A bit later in the story, in Genesis 4, Cain tills the ground and makes an offering of fruit. After God rejects it, he kills his brother, Abel, resulting in the second curse. So Abel also returns unto the ground, but in this particular case, the text focuses on his blood rather than his dead body made of dust. 

10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; (Genesis 4:10-11)

This presents a vivid and somewhat strange image. The adamah, mother earth, opens her mouth to receive Abel's blood. I am not sure if I fully understand the symbolism here, but eating and drinking in the Bible often has cultural and symbolic meaning. I wrote here about the covenant meal. Eating together binds people together because they partake of the same substance. Whatever you eat and drink becomes part of you. This is powerful symbolism that applies to the sacrament, for instance. In this case with the ground drinking Abel's blood, there is a negative connotation. There are several examples of that in the scriptures too. In Numbers 5:23, an adulterer is made to drink bitter water. In Exodus 32:20, Moses grinds the golden calf to powder, mixes it with water and makes the Israelites drink it. This all as a way to show that you internalize the bitter consequences of your actions. 

But what did the ground do wrong? Nothing, I guess. The story just shows the close relationship between adam and adamah (and in this case also dam). Mother earth involuntarily and unjustly suffers the consequences of human iniquity. In the Pearl of Great Price the story goes on and we get details that we don't find in Genesis. As the "children of men" began to multiply and became "numerous upon all the face of the land", there was "wars and bloodshed" (see Moses 6:15). More of that in Moses 7

15 And the giants of the land, also, stood afar off; and there went forth a curse upon all people that fought against God;

16 And from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness.

17 The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land, and they were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish.

Here is another curse because of bloodshed, but also a contrasted blessing upon the land. I will get more into that in the next post. Adamah suffers because of this bloodshed but has no other choice than to receive it. Here is how Mormon describes the bloodshed among his people.

15 And it came to pass that there were ten more who did fall by the sword, with their ten thousand each; yea, even all my people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me, and also a few who had escaped into the south countries, and a few who had deserted over unto the Lamanites, had fallen; and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth. (Mormon 6)

As a side note, there are two Hebrew words with similar meaning, adamah and erets. Erets is usually translated as "earth" or "land". But when "face of the land/earth" is used in the Old Testament, it is usually from the Hebrew adamah.

Bloodshed and sanctification

I quoted Moses 7:48 in part 1, when mother earth cries out in agony longing for sanctification. Verse 45 explains where the sanctification comes from

And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth; and he cried unto the Lord, saying: When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life?

...as does Moses 6:60

by the blood ye are sanctified

Bloodshed both curses and sanctifies. The bloodshed by wicked men corrupting the earth is contrasted by the bloodshed of "the Righteous" that sanctifies. The latter is fulfilled in Gethsemane

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44)

Perhaps there is a symbolic parallel between the bitter cup that Jesus had to drink and the blood that the ground had to "drink". Hebrews 12:24 ties this event to the blood of Abel that cried from the ground.

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

The blood that speaks

Why does the blood of Jesus speak better things that that of Abel? The speaking blood is an interesting aspect of the Cain and Abel story. Not only is adamah personified (that is, assigned attributes of adam), but also the dam is personified and cries unto God from the ground. This is unique in the Old Testament but alluded to about a dozen times in the Book of Mormon. Here is one example

22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not. (Ether 8)

Note that the name Cain comes from the Hebrew word for "get gain". Like the blood of Abel, the blood of the saints will cry from the ground for vengeance upon the modern Cains who seek to get gain. The blood of Abel and by extension, the blood of all righteous and innocent who are killed by the wicked, always cry for justice. The blood of Jesus, however, cries for mercy and sanctifies. This is probably why Paul says that it "speaketh better things".

Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—

Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;

Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life. (D&C 45)