Land of our inheritance -- Part 2

In Part 1 we looked at the covenant connection of the Hebrew yeresh, meaning to inherit/possess. The promised land is an inheritance given by covenant. It is a blessing ("flowing with milk and honey") but also a great responsibility. 

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 Deuteronomy, Israel are repeatedly instructed to purge the evil out of their midst when they possess the promised land. The evil that should be purged comes from breaking God's statutes, judgments and commandments. Sin made unclean and defiled the whole land.

As we have often seen from Old Testament rhetoric, the blessings and cursings associated with the promised land were temporal and physical in nature. It was all about crop yields, weather, success or failure in warfare, children and posterity. There was little concern with the afterlife. But then the Book of Mormon comes along and adds a spiritual dimension to it all, indicating that the Old Testament instructions and events also functioned as "a type and a shadow" (Mosiah 13:10). For instance, in 1 Nephi 15, Nephi teaches his brothers about the Abrahamic covenant and the restoration of the Jews and ties it into his and his father's vision of the tree of life. His brothers seem confused about the temporal and spiritual aspects of this.

31 And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the body in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the things which are temporal?

32 And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation.

33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.

34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy. (1 Nephi 15)

The temporal promised land of inheritance for Israel should be kept clean, otherwise God could not dwell there among them. This is a type and a shadow of our eternal inheritance. No unclean thing can enter in there, because then "the kingdom of God must be filthy also". Another example from Alma 40:26

But behold, an awful death cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God;

The bolded phrase is recurrent in the scriptures, especially the idea that the kingdom of God is an inheritance, like the promised land was to Israel. But Laman and Lemuel's confusion about the physical and spiritual dimension of this may be the reason for their statement in 1 Nephi 2:11

11 Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things, to perish in the wilderness. And this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of his heart.

1 Nephi 17:21

Behold, these many years we have suffered in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance; yea, and we might have been happy.

Learning about the covenant context of yeresh (possess/inherit), I realize that Laman and Lemuel's lament here is also an appeal to the Abrahamic covenant. Their land of inheritance was according to their tribe, Manasseh, granted as a covenant promise from God. They had gold, silver and other possessions, indicating covenant blessings in the land. So why should they leave it? This seems like a fair argument but they are missing the bigger point that Nephi explains. He launches into a long speech in 1 Nephi 17 after their comment that I will not quote. But the point is that God establishes different lands of promise for the righteous. "he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth" (1 Nephi 17:38). 

This is a common theme in the Book of Mormon. Lehi leaves the land of his inheritance in 1 Nephi 2 and arrives at the promised land, later described by Book of Mormon prophets as the land of their first inheritance. Then history repeats itself. The Nephites become wicked for the most part and Mosiah-I leads a small group out of that land that the Lamanites take over, as prophesied by Jacob

And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repent they shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will lead away the righteous out from among you. (Jacob 3:4)

Later, the sons of Mosiah-II go back to "the place of their father's first inheritance" (Alma 22:28) to preach the gospel. They have great success, but their coverts are under serious threat by the wicked and must once again be led out of the land into a new land of inheritance. The Nephites come to the rescue and grant the Lamanite converts the land of Jershon, meaning "place of inheritance/possession" according to rules of Hebrew name formation. The 'Y' in yeresh becomes 'J' according to typical English transliteration of Hebrew, and the suffix, "on", indicates a place. The wordplay is evident

And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: Behold, we will give up the land of Jershon, which is on the east by the sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the land Bountiful; and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance...And now behold, this will we do unto our brethren, that they may inherit the land Jershon...And it came to pass that it did cause great joy among them. And they went down into the land of Jershon, and took possession of the land of Jershon (Alma 27:22, 24, 26)

According to Matthew Bowen, the land grants to the Lamanite converts therefore stand as a symbol of the restoration of the Abrahamic covenant and reintegration into the House of Israel. His most recent article in the Interpreter Journal touches upon several of the aspects in these two posts as well as some that I have not addressed.

The Book of Mormon is also full of promises about lands of inheritance in the latter days. For example

7 But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance.

8 And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance.

9 Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?

10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land. (2 Nephi 10)

As covenant children of Abraham, we are part of the restoration of the latter days where, according to the Book of Mormon, the righteous inherit their original promised lands, preparing for a time when we may inherit a place at the right hand of God (see Alma 5:58).

Covenant as messenger -- "[God's] strong reasoning" (Part 2 of 4)

This post is a continuation of this post, in which I looked at the description of the covenant as the messenger before God's face as noted in Doctrine & Covenants 45. In part 2, we'll look at the first of three phrases from Section 45 which describes how the covenant helps prepare a Zion people: the "strong reasoning" of God.

"[God's] strong reasoning"

How does God reason with man? This is a question I've been pondering for some time. My first thought went to a famous verse in Isaiah containing the word "reason":

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 1)

In light of the "two ways" reference in those verses, here's my summary of what God's strong reasoning looks like:

1) Without the covenant, mortality ends in death -- not just a return to the dust, either. We are talking about permanent separation from God. "...an awful death cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter cup." (Alma 40:26)

2) The covenant prepares the way whereby man may inherit all that the Lord has.  In light of all the He stands ready to give us, it is disheartening how easy it is for us to lose sight of that and choose some other path instead! (See Helaman 12:4-6.)

I can't think of stronger reasoning than this. God's "strong reasoning" is to convince us of our infinite worth and persuade us to follow His Son in order to experience a fulness of joy in this life and an eternal reward (exaltation) in the next life. (See D&C 76:59.)

Yet we know that without faith in God, it is easy to discount the value of covenant blessings. Perhaps for this reason, Paul speaks of the wisdom of God as "hidden wisdom" --

4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2)

The wisdom of the world, taught openly, comes to an end, just as the rewards of this world. God's wisdom is hidden and teaches us (through the power of the Spirit) of a reward of incomparable worth, "which God ordained before the world unto our glory."

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Corinthians 2)

To obtain this reward, we must embrace the reality of a day of judgment and the need to repent prior to that great day. The only way to be found clean is through the grace of Jesus Christ, offered freely to all as a wrapped gift (the covenant) and put into effect by those willing to unwrap the gift and make it effective in their life. (See Ether 4:13-15.)

The day of judgment is described in detail in Section 133. Just after describing those who will stand on His right hand at that day, we are told this about the everlasting covenant:

57 And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fulness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant, reasoning in plainness and simplicity—
58 To prepare the weak for those things which are coming on the earth, and for the Lord’s errand in the day when the weak shall confound the wise, and the little one become a strong nation, and two shall put their tens of thousands to flight. (Doctrine & Covenants 133)

There you have it. God's strong reasoning. He does not want us to be deceived, yet He will not force us to accept the gift He has laid up for us. He invites us to "consider the end of [our] salvation" (D&C 46:7) as we seek Him and do those things which the Spirit testifies unto us.

In the next post, I'll move on to the next topic in the chain (D&C 45:8-13) -- "hearken ye together."  When it comes to becoming a Zion people, personal righteousness is necessary but not sufficient. We must also learn to be one.

Cast out -- Part 3

This is a continuation and finalization (I think) of the "cast out" theme and how it is used in the scriptures. It is used in different ways, but as I have shown in the previous posts in this series, it is often about removing whatever does not fit in a given environment. It may be a righteous minority in a wicked society, who are cast out because they don't belong. It may also be the "filthy" cast out on the last day to avoid making the kingdom of God filthy (1 Nephi 15:34-35).

Post 1 here

Post 2 here

In this post, I will discuss how "cast out" applies on a personal level. As is often the case, a fundamental religious concept like this has its roots in the first few chapters of Genesis. In Genesis 3:24, Adam and Eve were "driven out" of the Garden of Eden. The original Hebrew word is "garash" and it literally means to cast out. It is the same word describing the children of Israel driving out the other nations from the promised land in Exodus 23:28-31, for instance.

In this previous post, I list several examples of Alma drawing on language from the first chapters of Genesis when comparing the word to a seed in Alma 32. One of the parallels includes Alma's extended use of "cast out" in the chapter as an allusion to the Garden of Eden account. Alma's starting point is the group of people he is addressing. They are poor and have been cast out from the Zoramite places of worship. "Cast out" in relation to the poor Zoramites is repeated seven times in Alma 32 before he starts the allegory of the word and the seed. The allegory continues the "cast out" theme

Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief... (Alma 32:28)

Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away (Alma 32:32)

But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out. Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof. (Alma 32:38-39)

Why the allusions to Genesis in the first place? I think Alma is trying to teach us a deeper lesson. Adam was commanded to "dress and keep" (serve and watch over) the Garden of Eden, but failed and was cast out. The poor Zoramites were also cast out but the circumstances were different. Still, Alma seizes the opportunity to use this theme to describe a personal development. When Adam was cast out, things got a lot harder. He was cast out to "till the ground from whence he was taken" (Genesis 3:24). Alma asks the same of the Zoramites but the ground is their hearts and the seed is the word. Just like Adam we have all been cast out to this fallen world to till the ground, but it's all part of a plan for the greater good.

There is another level to this symbolism. Alma 31:5 describes the outset of the mission to the Zoramites:

And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.

Alma came to the Zoramites with the word. But Alma and those who believed in his word were cast out

And it came to pass that after they had found out the minds of all the people, those who were in favor of the words which had been spoken by Alma and his brethren were cast out of the land (Alma 35:6)

This is quite ironic, considering the fact that Alma managed to squeeze in a lesson on not casting out the word before he as the messenger of the word was cast out himself. The lesson he gave to the poor among the Zoramites, is for all of us. In this fallen world, tilling the ground requires effort. In the last three verses of Alma 32, Alma repeats in each verse that faith, diligence and patience are required to grow the tree. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread fruit"!

Tilling the ground of our hearts is a personal matter, but comparable to the "cast out" scenarios that happened for a group of people in the examples that I gave in the previous posts. In the first post we saw a pattern of a hardened people casting out the messenger of the word, after which they suffered destruction. If we harden our hearts, the word cannot grow and we cast it out. This leads to spiritual destruction in the end as we are cast out from the kingdom of God. How does this happen? Alma explains

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. (Alma 12:13)

13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil...
26 But behold, an awful death cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter cup. (Alma 40)

A hardened heart is no good soil for the word. But casting out the word does not leave it empty, it is filled with something. God is merciful and gives us the chance to plant and nourish the word, even if it is only a particle. Just like the group of mostly wicked people are spared because there are a few righteous among them. In the end, if we cast out the word so that it is not found in us, the spirit of the devil enters in and possesses our house, and we are left with no excuse. We are cast out and, interestingly, confined to "partake of the fruits", but it is the bitter kind.

The devil entering in, leads me to another point. Studying "cast out", I also encountered several passages where Christ or his servants are casting out devils.

And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men. (Mosiah 3:6)

Again, the word of God and the devil occupy the same space in us. Ever since Satan was cast down to earth (Moses 4:3) and Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden, there has been a constant battle. In this battle, we should not cast out the word but rather let Christ cast out the evil spirit in us. Then we will not be cast out on the last day.

I know I used the expression, "cast out", a record number of times in this post, but we see how extensive this symbolism is.

Another side note about "No one knoweth"

This post is designed to point out a curious connection between Alma's sermon to the apostate Nephites in Ammonihah and usage of the phrase "no one knows" in the Book of Mormon.  As I outlined in this post, "no one knows/knoweth" occurs only 5 times in the entire Book of Mormon, in four passages:

1. Alma 40 (twice), in the context of no one but God knowing the timing of the end of the misery of those who died in their sins.
2. Helaman 2, in the context of the origin of secret combinations aimed at destroying the Nephites through secret works of murder and robbery.
3. 3 Nephi 5, in the context of no one in Jerusalem knowing that the Lord led Lehi out of the land.
4. Mormon 8, where Moroni goes out of his way to point out that "no one knoweth the end of the war."  

Curiously, several of these context appear at the start of Alma's sermon in Ammonihah, found in Alma 9, right before he warns the people they will be "visited with utter destruction" "in a time when [they] know not." I've color-coded the relevant parts above and below.

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?
10 And have ye forgotten so soon how many times he delivered our fathers out of the hands of their enemies, and preserved them from being destroyed, even by the hands of their own brethren?
11 Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time, and perhaps been consigned to a state of endless misery and woe. (Alma 9)

Of course this could be a complete coincidence, but I've learned to trust that this book is capable of teaching really important lessons to those who open their heart to learn from it, so I'm making this note and paying attention to this detail as I continue to study. 

"No one knoweth" -- Part 1

Please read this post to learn how and why I began this deep dive into Mormon 8:8.

To summarize my hypothesis, I believe Moroni points to covenant themes three times in the second half of Mormon 8:8, in a display of just how tightly and subtly the aithors of the Book of Mormon embedded additional layers of meaning into the text.

8 And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it. And behold also, the Lamanites are at war one with another; 

1. and the whole face of this land 
2. is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; 
3. and no one knoweth the end of the war.

This post will outline how the phrase "no one knoweth" (and similar variants) is used intentionally to point our minds to the Nephites' covenant with God.  In part 2, we'll look at "no one knoweth" and "great knowledge" as a pair of contrasting covenant elements.

As I studied Moroni's dark contrast between "one continual round of murder and bloodshed" with examples of a similar phrase ("the Lord's course is one eternal round"), I wondered if I could find more evidence to support my growing suspicion that this contrast was intentional. I believe I succeeded.

I turned my attention to the phrase that follows: "no one knoweth the end of the war" and searched for every instance of "no one" and "know/knoweth/knew" showing up in the same sentence. I was surprised to find only five instances. I had assumed it would be much more common. I was further surprised to find that among those five examples were three distinct contexts related to aspects of the Nephites that contributed to their eventual fall.  In other words, "no one knows" seems to be a key phrase intended to remind us of the unique covenant circumstances in which the Nephites existed.

Context #1 -- The establishment of the Lehite branch of Israel

This first context is probably the weakest in terms of its direct connection to Mormon 8:8, but as we'll see by the end of this post, it sets the stage for the other contexts.

In 3 Nephi 5, Mormon writes:

20 I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi. I have reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ, that he brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, (and no one knew it save it were himself and those whom he brought out of that land) and that he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls.
21 Surely he hath blessed the house of Jacob, and hath been merciful unto the seed of Joseph. (3 Nephi 5)

A righteous remnant of the covenant people escaped the destruction that came to those in Jerusalem according to the mercy of God.  This is foundational Nephite doctrine, an essential part of their origin story. We find it referenced repeatedly through the Book of Mormon. "No one knew" but God and those whom he had blessed.  Notice how the idea that "no one knew" in verse 20 is immediately enhanced further with the acknowledgement that God gave the Nephites "so much knowledge unto the salvation of [their] souls." 

We can certainly contrast the fact that "no one knew" the origin of the Nephites with the description of the war that caused the "great and marvelous fall," the end of which "no one knows." As we'll see, the importance of this phrase grows when we look at the other contexts it is used in the Book of Mormon.

Context #2 -- Secret works of darkness

Another example of "no one knoweth" is found in Helaman 2:

3 But behold, Kishkumen, who had murdered Pahoran, did lay wait to destroy Helaman also; and he was upheld by his band, who had entered into a covenant that no one should know his wickedness.
4 For there was one Gadianton, who was exceedingly expert in many words, and also in his craft, to carry on the secret work of murder and of robbery; therefore he became the leader of the band of Kishkumen. (Helaman 2)

In this passage, we learn that the fundamental purpose of entering into this secret covenant was to conceal the "secret work of murder and of robbery."  Kishkumen murdered Pahoran and "did lay wait to destroy Helaman," supported by a band ready to protect him, "that no one should know his wickedness." 

Isn't it ironic, then, that this secret combination ultimately brought about the destruction of the Nephites and subjected those who remained ("there are none save it be the Lamanites and robbers that do exist upon the face of the land") end up locked in a war, the end of which "no one knoweth?"  

Context #3 -- The timing of the resurrection of the dead

Concerning the eternal fate of the fallen Nephites, we find one additional lesson by looking at uses of the phrase "no one knoweth." In Alma 40:3-4 at the start of a passage about the resurrection of the dead, Alma-2 introduces the topic by writing about the mysteries of God:

3 Behold, he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead. But behold, my son, the resurrection is not yet. Now, I unfold unto you a mystery; nevertheless, there are many mysteries which are kept, that no one knoweth them save God himself. But I show unto you one thing which I have inquired diligently of God that I might know—that is concerning the resurrection.
4 Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth from the dead. Now when this time cometh no one knows; but God knoweth the time which is appointed.

Just a few verses later we read:

13 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.
14 Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.

From these verses (I've highlighted in yellow the relevant text to make it easier to find in the passage above), we learn:

1. No one knows the timing of the resurrection of the dead but God.
2. Until their resurrection, the spirits of the wicked are "in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them."
3. They remain in this state "until the time of their resurrection."

If we combine what we learn here with Mormon 8:8, we can see how the phrase "no one knows" is meant to point our minds to the state of the fallen Nephites. Rather than keeping God's commandments and thereby prospering in the land, as was promised to them many times (see Alma 37:13 above as one example), the Nephites rebelled and fell. Their promised land fell into "one continual round of murder and bloodshed." Furthermore, just as their spirits are "in darkness" until a time "no one knows," the Nephite lands have fallen into war. "And no one knoweth the end of the war."

"And behold, it is the hand of the Lord which hath done it."

Chilling.

Conclusion

When I undertake a study like this, I can't help but ask myself if this is all just a coincidence.  In this case, I feel confident concluding it is not.  Here's why:

1. "No one knows" is rarely used in the Book of Mormon, with only five total occurrences. 
2. In my experience, the more unique a phrase is, the more likely its use is intentional by the author, especially when the context aligns.
3. The context of every occurrence aligns.  
• In Alma 40, the context is the fate of wicked spirits who await the resurrection to bring an end to their awful state.
• In Helaman 2, the context is the origin of secret combinations among the Nephites, with a focus on their goal of murdering the righteous Nephite leaders.
• In 3 Nephi 5, the context is a fundamental component of the origin of the Nephites -- that their fathers were led out of the land by God without anyone else knowing.
• In Mormon 8, right after Moroni goes out of his way to point out that God brought about the fall of the Nephites because of their rebellion, he points out that no one knows the end of the war. It's poetic and poignant, but incredibly subtle.

In the next post, I'll show how "no one knows" complements "great knowledge" to create yet another contrasting pair of covenant terms. 

Judgment and food

How about that for a heading? I'm not quite sure what to make of this yet, but there is a pattern I noticed recently. This is a rather long quote from 1 Nephi 15

27 And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.

28 And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.

29 And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.

30 And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.

31 And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the body in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the things which are temporal?

32 And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation.

33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.

34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.

35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.

36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.

Nephi talks about

• Standing before God to be judged
• The judgement is based on our works
• There is a separation of the wicked/unclean/filthy and the righteous (the two ways)
• It is associated with water, trees and fruit that can be positive or negative, depending on the point above

Standing before God to be judged is a common theme in The Book of Mormon. The connection to works and the two ways is interesting, considering recent posts by Lord Wilmore about works and their covenant connection. I don't know if Nephite prophets had the full understanding about degrees of glory as outlined in D&C 76. But I do think that they were very much aware of the fact that they were a branch of the House of Israel, a covenant people to whom much had been given and from whom much was required ("highly favored"). They also knew about the latter-day remnant that they alrgely adressed and to whom promises had been given. With this focus on covenants, it is all about either accepting or rejecting them.This leads to a heavy emphasis on the concept of "the two ways" in the Book of Mormon, not so much degrees or some middle ground.

When the covenant people one day stands before God to be judged, the important thing is if we kept our covenants (our "works") and this is often symbolized by fruit or water for some reason. In Lehi's dream (that Nephi explains to his brothers in 1 Nephi 15 just quoted) there were two kinds of water, the filthy water and the living waters, representing each of the two ways. There was also the positive symbol of the tree of life. But as we soon shall see, it also has a negative equivalent.

This pattern is something that Alma talks about repeatedly. In Alma 40, we read

21 But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works...

25 And then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of God.

26 But behold, an awful death cometh upon the wicked; for they die as to things pertaining to things of righteousness; for they are unclean, and no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God; but they are cast out, and consigned to partake of the fruits of their labors or their works, which have been evil; and they drink the dregs of a bitter cup.

We notice not only the same pattern, but several phrases similar to 1 Nephi 15: "no unclean thing can inherit/enter into the kingdom of God", "stand before God to be judged", "awful hell/death" (marked with bold). Alma seems to have 1 Nephi 15 in mind when speaking to his son. Or perhaps both Nephi and Alma refer to a more ancient idea that is perhaps conveyed more clearly on the brass plates than our current Bible?

It is interesting to note the eating/drinking metaphor showing up again. 1 Nephi 15 talks about the tree of life. Notice how Alma uses the same expression as Lehi, "partake of the fruit", but with negative connotation. This is another illustration of the two ways; the rightous partake of the fruit of the tree of life and the wicked partake of the fruits of their evil works (i.e. broken covenants). With all these connections one may wonder if the filthy water in 1 Nephi 15 and the bitter cup in Alma 40 also are connected or somehow describe the same thing.

Like I said, this pattern is repeated by Alma several times. In Alma 5

15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?

16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?

17 Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?

18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect remembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?...

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?...

34 Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely;

35 Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire—

36 For behold, the time is at hand that whosoever bringeth forth not good fruit, or whosoever doeth not the works of righteousness, the same have cause to wail and mourn.

and in Alma 42

23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.

24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.

25 What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God.

26 And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and misery.

27 Therefore, O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds.

Alma 42 also talks about the tree of life earlier in the chapter.

So what is the connection between judgment and fruit/water? Ask Alma or Nephi. All I have done so far is seeing a pattern and given some thoughts about it. But I will have to study and reflect on this to gain a deeper understanding. In any case, I find it interesting.