Scriptural repetition -- Book of Mormon examples 1

I introduced this topic in my previous post, citing heavily from a paper by Alan Goff. It has made me think of other previous posts on this blog giving examples of such "types of repetition and shadows of history" in the Book of Mormon that perhaps have not been framed in this context. Consider for instance:

• The first and second Moses. People as types is common in the Old Testament and ancient Hebrew tradition. It is clear to me that the Book of Mormon authors follow that same tradition. Here is another example.
• Think about the times when the tree of life from the Garden of Eden shows up again in visions and teachings. There are several blog posts discussing this topic
• Many allusions to the creation account are made in the Book of Mormon. See here, here, here and here. In many cases, "creator of heaven and earth" or similar phrase is used. This is a good example of metalepsis that I introduced in the previous post. By quoting a key phrase you invoke the entire previous story or concept. 
• Another good example of metalepsis are the references to the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants, invoked by "God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" and "keep my commandments and ye shall prosper in the land", respectively.
• Lord Wilmore has identified several theological patterns, like the office of the ministry of angels, crying out for mercy and finding it through Jesus Christ and sermons with specific, repeated and consistent doctrinal teachings (that he has labeled "the sermon").
• The Book of Ether is a miniature Book of Mormon within the Book of Mormon: The rise and fall of a nation in the promised land. Moroni compiles the story on the Jaredite plates, including their fall, which undoubtedly reminds him of the fall he has just witnessed among his own people. This post also points out the common roots in Babel/Babylon and this post shows how both journeys are related to the number 8 symbolism.
• The exodus out of Egypt and to the promised land is a type and shadow of the latter-day gathering of Israel, our modern day exodus out of sin and into Zion. See this post. Isaiah also plays a lot on that imagery.

And so we could go on. But in addition to what has been written already, I can think of several other examples. Here are a couple and I will also save some for the next post:

Alma and Samuel

Alma's first attempt to preach the gospel in Ammonihah results in him being cast out. We read about it in Alma 8. He is about to give up and move on, but an angel stops him and asks him to go back. Alma is obedient, finds another entrance to the city, meets Amulek, and the rest is history as we say. Had this not happened, we would not have the subsequent chapters in the Book of Mormon.

This story is echoed 75 years later. Samuel the Lamanite attempts to preach the gospel in Zarahemla but is cast out. (Cast out becomes a major theme in both of these two stories). "He was about to return to his own land" (Helaman 13:2) but the voice of the Lord told him to go back to Zarahemla. He was obedient and creative finding his way into the city climbing the city wall. Had this not happened we would not have the subsequent chapters in the Book of Mormon. 

In both stories, the people are wicked and God needs to give them a warning. The warning is an echo of many Old Testament prophets: "Repent or be destroyed". The people don't (except a few that are cast out) and the cities are both destroyed some time later (see Alma 16 and 3 Nephi 8).

Was Joseph Smith running out of ideas here, just drawing on a previous narrative? So the critics would probably claim but the argument is too shallow in my opinion. The differences between the stories display more originality than the similarities display lack thereof. I will try to explain: The similarities are found in the main outline of the stories. The differences are found in the sermons. If we compare Alma and Amulek's sermons in Alma 11-13 with Samuel's sermon in Helaman 13-15, they are very different. Of course, they talk about Christ's atonement, repentance and the plan of salvation, as one would expect from any Christian sermon, but the approaches and detailed contents are very different. After an explanation of the Nephite monetary system in Alma 11, Alma goes back to the Garden of Eden to lay the groundwork for an explanation of the ministry of angels, including the ancient High Priestly role and the Hebrew concept of rest in Alma 12-13. Samuel prophesies of the signs of Christ's birth and death in Helaman 14 and addresses the Nephite/Lamanite tension in Helaman 15. 

Reading only the sermon part of these two stories, one would not see any parallels whatsoever. And that is my point: The sermons with all their detailed prophecies and expansions of doctrine make up the vast majority of these chapters. In other words, Joseph could easily have left out the story of being cast out and returning in at least one of the accounts to avoid displaying his lack of creativity without losing much of the text. For me, this points to an ancient text written by people who had a worldview similar to Israelites of old, where God's ways are "one eternal round" and history repeats itself, in different times and circumstances.

One might object to this notion by arguing that these were actual events regardless of the worldview of the authors. Obviously, I believe there was a real Alma and a real Samuel, who were both cast out and asked to return to warn the people. This fact is independent of the worldview of the people who wrote down the stories. So I view this as confirmation that God in fact does deal with his children in certain ways following distinct patterns. But I do believe that the authors recognized that and that their worldview influenced how they recorded it. They were eager to identify and point the reader to these patterns because they witnessed of God's hand.

The dramatic conversion of Lamanite kings

I have not thought much about it before, but anybody who reads Book of Mormon will notice that King Lamoni and his father both faint as part of a rather dramatic conversion to the Lord. This is a very specific example of the old rabbinic saying, "what happens to the father, happens to the son". But in this story, the order is reversed. It happens to the son first and then the father. I don't know if there is any significance in that, but it marks some sort of shift/reversal with the Lamanites embracing the gospel.

The repetitive element is clear. A Nephite missionary stands in front of a king, who is ready and willing to listen and even says he is going to believe whatever they tell him. 

And the king answered him, and said: Yea, I will believe all thy words. (King Lamoni to Ammon in Alma 18:23)

And if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe. (King Lamoni's father to Ammon's brother in Alma 22:7)

After they have been taught the gospel, the cried unto the Lord in mighty prayer and fall to the ground as if they are dead. Again, the circumstances are different, what happens next is different, but this particular pattern is repeated in both events, for son and father.

What are we to make of it? I am not exactly sure but later in Alma, Mormon inserts a comment after Ammon has had a similar experience.

16 And it came to pass that as Ammon was going forth into the land, that he and his brethren met Alma, over in the place of which has been spoken; and behold, this was a joyful meeting.
17 Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.
18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness. (Alma 27)

This passage contains two examples of internally consistent references. "The place of which has been spoke" in verse 16 refers back to Alma 17:1. Alma 17-27 consist of a long flashback and now we are back at the starting point. "Fell again to the earth" in verse 17 is also a very subtle example of internal consistency. There is no other mention of Ammon falling to earth in Alma 27. We need to go all the way back to Alma 19 when he taught King Lamoni.

Now Ammon seeing the Spirit of the Lord poured out according to his prayers upon the Lamanites, his brethren, who had been the cause of so much mourning among the Nephites, or among all the people of God because of their iniquities and their traditions, he fell upon his knees, and began to pour out his soul in prayer and thanksgiving to God for what he had done for his brethren; and he was also overpowered with joy; and thus they all three had sunk to the earth. (Alma 19:14)

This reference ties Ammon's second falling to the earth to his first in the king's palace so that Mormon links his comment also to the conversion of the Lamanite kings. But as Ammon fell to the earth, both the first and the second time, he was a faithful missionary with much gospel knowledge unlike the Lamanite kings who had barely heard about God. But they all experienced this same joy. Perhaps the lesson is that no matter our circumstances and knowledge of the gospel, whether we are recent converts or lifelong members, we must be "truly penitent and humble seeker[s] of happiness". 

I will leave this post with these two new examples and give some more in the next post.

Thoughts, words and actions from the heart

I know there are lots of Hebrew-related posts these days. But learning about an ancient Hebrew worldview helps understand the possible worldview of Book of Mormon authors, which I find highly rewarding in my Book of Mormon studies. An odd phrase that we frequently find in the Old Testament is "thoughts of the heart" (Genesis 6:5, 1 Chronicles 29:18, Job 17:11, etc.).

The modern understanding is that our thoughts originate in our head/brain, not heart. But the main point of the scriptures is not to give an anatomy lesson. The Hebrew word, 'lev', typically translated into 'heart', may also be translated to 'chest' or simply 'center', referring to the central, inner part of man. This is where all our thoughts, intents, words and actions originate. In his book, "70 Hebrew words every Christian should know", Matthew Richard Schlimm explains:

Humans can intuitively sense that our thoughts, emotions, convictions, character, and sense of identity flow out from someplace within, guiding what we do and who we are. How do we describe our inner drivers? Biblical writers spoke about the physical center of our bodies. Our heads, arms, legs, and blood literally come out from this center, while our actions, behaviors, and deeds figuratively come out from here.

This is the essence of the Hebrew, 'lev', often translated to 'heart', but containing more meaning than that. Not surprisingly, we see this older understanding in the Book of Mormon too. Thoughts always come from the heart, not the mind/brain/head. For example:

And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts. (Mosiah 24:12)

As a little side note, but with relevance to this topic: One thing I have noticed is that the Book of Mormon sometimes repeats an expression to make a statement or teach a lesson. In Alma 18:20, King Lamoni asks Ammon

And the king said: How knowest thou the thoughts of my heart? Thou mayest speak boldly, and tell me concerning these things

Ammon starts teaching the King about God. Then he says:

...he looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning. (Alma 18:32)

Alma answers King Lamoni 12 verses later by subtly referring back to that phrase. He knows the thoughts of the King's heart because God, who created man, knows, and a portion of his Spirit dwells in Ammon (v.35)

Here is another example clearly demonstrating the ancient Hebrew understanding of heart.

Now when Alma had spoken these words, Zeezrom began to tremble more exceedingly, for he was convinced more and more of the power of God; and he was also convinced that Alma and Amulek had a knowledge of him, for he was convinced that they knew the thoughts and intents of his heart; for power was given unto them that they might know of these things according to the spirit of prophecy. (Alma 12:7)

Zeezrom began to understand that Alma and Amulek knew the thoughts of his heart, similar to King Lamoni and Ammon. What follows is a lesson on the heart.

10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.
12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.
13 Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.

It's all about the state of our hearts, this center within us from which thoughts, intents, emotions, words, actions, etc. emerge. With this worldview, the state of the heart will logically determine what is found "in us". If it is hardened, it naturally leads to the consequences described in the next verse:

14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.

Words, works and thoughts all come from the heart, from this place within, and if it is hardened, what comes out is not good and will condemn us.

These are all small details that are easily missed when reading the scriptures from a modern, Western perspective, but make a lot of sense and enrich my studies once I learn more about the worldview of the authors.

"Catch/Caught" in the Book of Mormon

As I was studying the double-meaning of "carried away" in the scriptures (see here, here and here), I noticed a similar term is used in the same way: "catch/caught"

The positive examples are intimately connected with the word of God and heavenly experiences:

• We find people "[catching] hold of the end of the rod of iron" in 1 Nephi 8:24, 30. 
• The three disciples who were to tarry are "caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things" which were "forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard." (3 Nephi 28:13, 26).  Compare 2 Corinthians 12:2-4.
• Nephi is "caught away in the Spirit of the Lord" as he sat pondering in faith "into an exceedingly high mountain" (see 1 Nephi 11:1). Compare Moses 1:1 where Moses is "caught up into an exceedingly high mountain" and Moses 6:64 where Adam is "caught away by the Spirit of the Lord" and was baptized.
• As Alma recounts his conversion, he explains that as he was "racked with torment," he remembered his father prophesy concerning Jesus Christ. "Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me..." This leads to a vision of "God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels..."
• Ammon "caught" King Lamoni with guile in convincing him to believe all his words. (See Alma 18:23.) Compare 2 Corinthians 12:16.
• In Alma 12:1, Alma sees that Amulek had silenced Zeezrom by "[catching] him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him." Alma sees an opportunity to teach. Seeing that Zeezrom "began to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to explain things beyond..."

The negative examples connect with the concept of a trap or snare:

• The best example of this might be Alma 12:6, which is contained in the same passage as the final positive example above. "6 And behold I say unto you all that this was a snare of the adversary, which he has laid to catch this people, that he might bring you into subjection unto him, that he might encircle you about with his chains, that he might chain you down to everlasting destruction, according to the power of his captivity." (See a similar usage in Luke 11:54.)
• Alma 10 offers us a detailed description of the plans of these same men. In verse 13: "...there were some among them who thought to question them, that by their cunning devices they might catch them in their words, that they might find witness against them, that they might deliver them to their judges that they might be judged according to the law, and that they might be slain or cast into prison, according to the crime which they could make appear or witness against them." From Amulek's rebuke in verse 17: "O ye wicked and perverse generation, ye lawyers and hypocrites, for ye are laying the foundations of the devil; for ye are laying traps and snares to catch the holy ones of God."
• As Alma-1 refuses to be king over his people, he offers this counsel: "But remember the iniquity of king Noah and his priests; and I myself was caught in a snare, and did many things which were abominable in the sight of the Lord, which caused me sore repentance..." (Mosiah 23:9)

We also find multiple examples in the Doctrine & Covenants:

D&C 88:

96 And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened and be caught up to meet him.

97 And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth, for their graves shall be opened; and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven—

98 They are Christ’s, the first fruits, they who shall descend with him first, and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up to meet him; and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.

See also D&C 101:31, D&C 109:75, D&C 75:102. A similar example is also found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

D&C 27:

18 ...be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also.

D&C 61:

18 And now I give unto you a commandment that what I say unto one I say unto all, that you shall forewarn your brethren concerning these waters, that they come not in journeying upon them, lest their faith fail and they are caught in snares;

19 I, the Lord, have decreed, and the destroyer rideth upon the face thereof, and I revoke not the decree.

In the New Testament:

Luke 8:

29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

Conclusion

I don't think it is a coincidence that the two positive contexts involve hearing the word of God and having an encounter with the divine. I believe the one naturally leads to the other. These two elements bookend the way of life.

Similarly and by contrast, the negative examples connect being caught by words and being taken captive.  These two points illustrate the way of death.

Thus, just like with "carried away" there will necessarily be a "catching" for each one of us -- either we "catch" the rod of iron and allow ourselves to be led back to God's presence, or we allow ourselves to be caught by Satan's lies and end up caught in his carefully prepared snare of damnation. 

Ancient temple theology in the Book of Mormon

In my last post, I wrote about the veil and its symbolism. Learning more about the first temple and associated theology from Margaret Barker's Book, "Temple theology", I find it remarkable how well it matches temple imagery in the Book of Mormon. I mentioned in my last post that the first temple mirrored the creation account. This is one aspect of the creation-covenant connection that Lord Wilmore (the other blogger for those who are new to this blog) has posted extensively about. I also mentioned that the veil reflected the second day of creation. The holy of holies or the inner sanctuary of the temple, reflected the first day of creation. According to Barker

In the second temple, it was empty, yet the mystical and apocalyptic texts from that period were set in a richly furnished holy place, a place of fire where the great Holy One was enthroned before countless angels.

This can be seen in the Book of Enoch. In chapter 14, Enoch, a high priestly figure, has a vision

the vision caused me to fly and lifted me upward, and bore me into heaven

Here he enters into a heavenly temple 

And its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path ¹⁸ of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire. And I looked and saw therein a lofty throne: its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of ¹⁹ cherubim. And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look ²⁰ thereon. And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and ²¹ was whiter than any snow.

When Barker argues that Enoch's vision reflects ancient temple practice, it's very natural to conclude the same for Lehi

8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.
9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.
10 And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. (1 Nephi 1)

The context is also interesting. Lehi was a prophet living in Jerusalem born in the mid-7th BC century, a few decades prior to the deuteronomic reform. I will not go into that in detail here, but this article provides more context. The main point is that Lehi probably came from the high priestly first temple tradition that Barker writes about. Consequently, it is reasonable to assume that the Nephite temples and theology corresponded to the high priestly theology associated with the first temple. In 2 Nephi 5:16, Nephi built a temple and wrote that he "did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon".

With this background, I came to the surprising realization of a possible temple setting for King Lamoni's story. I touched upon this in a previous post with the heaven-earth theme but without making the temple connection. Since the holy of holies reflects the first day of creation, the creation of "heaven and earth", we naturally associate it with the "heaven" part and the light that was created on the first day.

To recap briefly, in Alma 18, Ammon makes an allusion to the creation account when he asks King Lamoni if he believes in God who "created all things which are in heaven and in the earth". Lamoni responds that he only knows the earth but is not familiar with heaven. In a temple context, the veil has blocked Lamoni's view of the holy of holies. He has not walked the covenant path through the temple that ultimately will allow him to enter, as I describe in the previous post that I linked to.

But this all changes at his conversion. In Alma 19:6, we read:

Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God

This seems like a temple setting. King Lamoni, who knew nothing about heaven (holy of holies) because of the veil, had the veil cast away from his mind. It permitted him to see the light that was created on the first day and that the holy of holies in Nephite temples would represent. Notice also the "glory of God" that was the name Enoch used in his temple vision quoted above. In my previous post, I also quoted Barker's statement about "those who passed beyond the veil [who] found themselves outside time". This is the "light of everlasting life" that was lit up in Lamoni's soul. "Carried away" is another covenant/temple marker as Lord Wilmore explains in this post.

My guess is that an "endowed" Nephite reading this, would immediately recognize the temple allusions here as the author probably intended. Who knows, perhaps Lamoni, the king and first Lamanite convert, went on to become a high priest in a temple in the land of Jershon?

Heaven and earth -- Part 2

In part 1 we considered how the pairing of heaven and earth in scripture comes from an ancient Israelite tradition and signifies God's power and major events in his dealings with his children. An important part of that is his desire that we enter into covenants with Him. In Alma 7:9 that I quoted in part 1, the covenant term, "walk in his path", (that Lord Wilmore has recently written about, see here and here) is coupled with the heaven-earth dualism. There are many other examples of covenant terms appearing together with heaven-earth, like Mormon 9:11

But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. 

or Helaman 10:7

Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven

or 1 Nephi 22:9

And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

There are several aspects of this heaven-earth pairing and covenant relation.

• When a covenant is entered into or renewed, both heaven and earth serve as witnesses. This was the backdrop for Deuteronomy 32:1, for example, quoted in part 1. See also D&C 128:2-7, where Joseph Smith explains the book-keeping both on earth and in heaven when ordinances are performed.
• A covenant is between a person on earth and a God in heaven. Covenant making unites the two. See for instance the verse just quoted from 1 Nephi 22. The Father of heaven blesses the people on earth by enabling them to ascend to His heavenly home through covenants.
• The major events listed in part 1, are all part of God's plan for his children and the covenant established "before the foundation of the world". The creation, the atonement, the restoration, etc. are all part of this and involve both heaven and earth. 

This realization made me think of the story of King Lamoni and see his dialogue with Ammon in a new light. I will try to explain as I go through some of those verses.

And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth? (Alma 18:28)

The heaven-earth coupling in the scriptures is often related to creation. This supports the idea of heaven-earth as a covenant symbol, because creation and covenant seem to originate from the same root, as Lord Wilmore has previously explained. See this post for an introduction and several other posts for more detail.

So in a sense, Ammon is asking King Lamoni if he is familiar with the covenants of God. Lamoni answers that he is not

And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens. (Alma 18:29)

King Lamoni only knows about the earth/man/physical things. But since he is unfamiliar with heaven/God/spiritual things, he cannot make the connection between the two. The purpose of a covenant is to unite the two and bring them together. King Lamoni is not yet ready to do that. He needs to know about the heavens first. So Ammon explains.

And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels. (Alma 18:30)

Ammon is familiar with the heavens. He has even been visited by one of those "holy angels" as recounted in Mosiah 27. That chapter focuses on Alma but we know that Ammon was in the group. It is also interesting to see how Mormon describes the consequence of the angelic visit at the end Mosiah 27.

36 And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.

37 And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth.

In verse 37, Mormon quotes Isaiah 52 coupled with the term "blessed". This happens several times in the Book of Mormon and "blessed" seems to be referring to the Abrahamic covenant ("in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed"). See this post for details.

After having been visited by an angel, Ammon became "blessed" by entering into a covenant. After that he also became an angel/messenger (those two words have the same Hebrew root), a publisher of peace whose feet are on a mountain, according to Isaiah 52. The mountain is where heaven and earth meet. It is also often used as symbol of the temple where covenants are made. Lord Wilmore has written several posts about angels and used the phrase "see an angel, be an angel", as several stories in addition to Ammon show this pattern. Here is one example (see point 4). As for Ammon, Mormon includes this detail:

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—therefore, when Ammon and his brethren saw this great work of destruction, they were moved with compassion (Alma 27:4)

Notice how Ammon and his brethren were considered "angels sent from God" to the Lamanite converts. The exact same phrase that is used about the angel who once appeared to Ammon and his brethren.

And now behold, can ye dispute the power of God? For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also behold me before you? And I am sent from God. (Mosiah 27:15)

So Ammon sees an angel, enters into a covenant as a result and becomes an angel to help others entering into the covenant, signified by the unification of heaven and earth. As Ammon goes on to teach Lamoni and his servants, he explains about those major events that I listed in part 1: The creation, the fall, the atonement and the whole plan of redemption. Lamoni and his servants believe and are converted. Mormon relates:

34 And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen angels and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things of God, and of his righteousness.

35 And it came to pass that there were many that did believe in their words; and as many as did believe were baptized; and they became a righteous people, and they did establish a church among them.

See what happened to the Lamanite converts? They too learned about "the heavens" as they saw angels who told them "things of God". Now they were ready for the heaven-earth connection, the first covenant of baptism. Later, we learn that they also made a covenant pertaining to their use of weapons (see Alma 24:18).

Come, Follow me: June 22–28. Alma 17–22: “I Will Make an Instrument of Thee”

This week's Come, Follow Me lesson covers Alma 17-22. Here are additional resources from this blog for each chapter to supplement your study:

Alma 17 -- The missionary companions of the Sons of Mosiah, More about swelling hearts, Covenant symbols in Alma 17, Tracking the timeline, and more...


Alma 18 -- Fear and Darkness (a pattern), Crying for mercy (another pattern), Hebrew wordplay in the name "Ammon"


Alma 19 -- Internal consistency in Alma 19, "Filled", The Creation-Covenant Connection


Alma 20 -- Physical deliverance as a metaphor for spiritual deliverance, "Cast" and Hard Heart", "Cunning"


Alma 21 -- (no relevant posts)


Alma 22 -- "Born Again" (Distinct voices), Internal consistency regarding "dry bones"

Fear and Darkness -- A pattern in the Book of Mormon

As I was preparing this recent post, I came across many references to fear and darkness.  In some cases, the fear immediately precedes a marvelous conversion/revelation and coming to Christ.  In other cases, the fear stems from a desire to hide from divine judgement.

One point from the post is that Satan's main tool to use against us and blind us from God's light is the creation itself.  This is a really important principle. Satan's darkness is described as a veil and a chain in the same verse (see Moses 7:26). It simultaneously blinds us and takes us captive.

Those experiencing this fear draw closer to the creation -- in some cases they fall to the earth. In other cases they attempt to hide in the earth (or wish they could).

Below, I'll list the many examples I found of fear and darkness.

Fear of Judgement

10 O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the Lord and the glory of his majesty shall smite thee. ...19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the glory of his majesty shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. ...21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them and the majesty of his glory shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. (2 Nephi 12/Isaiah 2)

11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell. ...

14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence. (Alma 12)

Fear prior to a marvelous conversion/revelation

6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear.
7 And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?
8 And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood. (Ether 3)

5 ...Lamoni began to fear exceedingly, with fear lest he had done wrong in slaying his servants;41 And he began to cry unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.
42 And now, when he had said this, he fell unto the earth, as if he were dead.
6 ...Ammon...knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind... (Alma 18:5, 41-42; 19:6)

28 And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them. ...
34 And it came to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness which did overshadow them; yea, and also they were immovable because of the fear which did come upon them. (Helaman 5)

20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness; ...22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them. (3 Nephi 8)

11 And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;
12 And so great was their astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which he spake unto them. ...
18 And now Alma and those that were with him fell again to the earth, for great was their astonishment; ...
19 And now the astonishment of Alma was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father. ...
29 My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more. (Mosiah 27)