"Stretch forth thine hand" -- Part 3 (Book of Mormon)

This post will take us back to continue a series of posts from a few weeks ago on the phrase "stretch forth thy hand."

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Old Testament

In today's post, we'll look at how this phrase is used in the Book of Mormon. 

So far, we've seen (in part one) that Nephi subtly compares himself to Moses using this phrase in 1 Nephi 17. In part two, we noted that the underlying Hebrew term 'shalach' is used in Genesis 3 both to describe God send Adam and Eve out of the Garden and to describe why He expelled them -- to prevent them from stretching forth their hand and partaking of the tree of life. 

As is often the case, the Book of Mormon sheds a lot of light on how this phrase relates to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We find this phrase many time in the Book of Mormon, often in the context of calling a people to repentance.  

I've already cited two examples from the Book of Mormon back in part 1.  See Helaman 13:4 and 1 Nephi 17:53.)

Here are a few more examples:

In Jacob 5, the Lord of the vineyard weeps and laments the corruption of his fruit (see verse 41):

47 But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?

As he calls King Noah and his wicked priests to repentance, Abinadi says this:

2 Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand and prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into bondage, and shall be smitten on the cheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh. (Mosiah 12)

And again:

1 And now, it came to pass that after Abinadi had spoken these words he stretched forth his hand and said: The time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people shall see eye to eye and shall confess before God that his judgments are just. (Mosiah 16)

Alma-2 and Amulek stretch forth their hands on multiple occasions as they preach repentance:

25 But Amulek stretched forth his hand, and cried the mightier unto them, saying: O ye wicked and perverse generation, why hath Satan got such great hold upon your hearts? Why will ye yield yourselves unto him that he may have power over you, to blind your eyes, that ye will not understand the words which are spoken, according to their truth? (Alma 10)

21 And now it came to pass that when Alma had said these words unto them, he stretched forth his hand unto them and cried with a mighty voice, saying: Now is the time to repent, for the day of salvation draweth nigh; (Alma 13)

7 Therefore he did say no more to the other multitude; but he stretched forth his hand, and cried unto those whom he beheld, who were truly penitent, and said unto them: (Alma 32)

The soldier who smote off the scalp of Nephite dissenter Zerahemnah uses this gesture as he invites the enemy soldiers to lay down their weapons and enter into a covenant (I discussed covenant imagery contained in this chapter in this post):

13 And it came to pass that the soldier who stood by, who smote off the scalp of Zerahemnah, took up the scalp from off the ground by the hair, and laid it upon the point of his sword, and stretched it forth unto them, saying unto them with a loud voice: (Alma 44)

Finally, we see Christ stretching forth His hand twice before "crying" unto the people:

9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:

10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. (3 Nephi 11)

1 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am. (3 Nephi 12)

There is a definite theme here.  Prophets are an extension of God, sent to fallen man to proclaim repentance. It is also interesting to note that Alma-2 explains the reason why God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden before they had a chance to partake of the fruit of the tree of life. It was to grant them time and space to repent prior to partaking of the fruit of the tree of life:

2 Now behold, my son, I will explain this thing unto thee. For behold, after the Lord God sent our first parents forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence they were taken—yea, he drew out the man, and he placed at the east end of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the tree of life—

3 Now, we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit—

4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.

5 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. (Alma 42; see also Alma 12:23-24)

What I've learn from these verses is that God always warns His children of the danger of turning away from Him. This is accomplished by messengers, descending from Mount Zion, stretching forth their hand, and calling the covenant people to repentance. 

I believe Jacob summarizes it best when he says:

4 And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God. (Jacob 6)

We read several times in Isaiah chapters quoted in 2 Nephi the the hand of the Lord is "stretched out still" (see 2 Nephi 19:12, 17, 21; 20:4). I typically see this referenced in a positive sense -- and it surely is a positive thing that we have time and space granted to us to repent and prepare to meet God.  Scholars note that the imagery referred to by Isaiah is actually harsh and threatening. (See this paper by Ann Madsen for a more detailed discussion.) I enjoy the dual nature of this phrase: at the same time a loving invitation to the penitent and a stern reminder to the rebellious. This is yet another manifestation of "the two ways."


In the final installment in this series, we'll look at the Book of Moses. We find there are remarkable and unique example of "stretching forth" of hands during a visionary experience Enoch had with God.

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

Links to 

• Part 1 
• Part 2

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

5 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.

6 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.

3 And they fled eight days’ journey into the wilderness.

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

5 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.

"an help meet for him"

I used to think that "helpmeet" was an archaic noun meaning something like "helper". But these are two separate words translated from the Hebrew "neged" and "ezer" in Genesis 2:18. Ezer means a help or helper. Neged is in the KJV translated into meet, an archaic word meaning something like suitable. But the Hebrew , "neged", is much more multi-faceted than that. It can mean "in front of", "in sight of" or "opposite to". This is what is conspicuous, what you have right in front of you and are facing. But a more implicit and perhaps symbolic meaning is "counterpart". 

Here is what is written in Genesis 2:18

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him

"The man" in the Hebrew text is Adam. It can be interpreted as a personal name or a noun meaning "man" or "mankind". We see both interpretations in the English translations of the first chapters of Genesis. Eve means "life" or "living". It was not good for man to be alone and so God made him a counterpart, life. I see different levels of symbolism here. Man and woman fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, being incomplete on their own and fulfilling each other. Perhaps a more subtle meaning is this: In Genesis 2:7 man becomes a living soul. In the Hebrew text, Adam becomes a chayah soul. Chavah, which is spelled Eve in English, is a derivative from chayah. So this is a similar concept to Adam getting Eve/life as help meet for him later on. (There are numerous wordplays in the first few chapters of Genesis). Mankind and life go together like man and woman. The existence of mankind is meaningless without the life on earth/mortal experience and possibilities for eternal life.

As mentioned before on this blog, the creation account is full of opposites like heaven and earth, light and darkness, water and dry land, etc. Adam and Eve is the culmination of that account. I sense this understanding in the words of Book of Mormon prophets also. Here is one example

the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise. (1 Nephi 7:1)

The idea that the Lord said it was not good to be alone is a reflection of Genesis 2:18. Just like man needed woman to have life, Lehi's sons needed wives to have offspring. Not only that, they needed to raise up seed unto the Lord. This is the seed that can prosper and grow into life. The Book of Mormon is full of references to the life and prosperity that comes with keeping the Lord's commandments and the death that follows covenant rebellion.

Interestingly, the idea of opposites also frequently show up together with references to Adam and Eve in the Book of Mormon. At least, the passages where opposites are discussed are also those with the most extensive references to the creation and the story of Adam and Eve. The obvious Book of Mormon chapter that comes to mind when speaking of opposites, is 2 Nephi 2, with its famous "it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11). In the verses that follow, Lehi discusses the creation, heaven and earth, the tree of life and tree of knowledge, and Adam and Eve.

Another Book of Mormon chapter that is full of opposites but perhaps less known for it, is Alma 42. This is, after all, a beautiful discourse on justice and mercy, as masculine and feminine counterparts:

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. (Alma 42:24)

Another example:

Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul. (Alma 42:16)

Another one (this one is beautiful):

And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence. (Alma 42:14)  

...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 (Alma 42:23)

This also happens to be the chapter in the Book of Mormon with possibly the most direct and extensive references to Adam and Eve. Similar to 2 Nephi 2, it discusses the two trees, what happened in the garden and the consequences of it.

In light of all this, and hopefully without getting too political, I find it sad that there are strong forces in the modern western world that try to rid society of gender differences altogether. I am all for women's rights and equal opportunities, but I think we lose something valuable when we try to make women more like men or erase the concept of sex/gender altogether. There is beauty in the counterparts. Not only that, but they are the essence of creation and a necessary ingredient in the plan of salvation. Without it, "all things" would just be "a compound in one" and "created for a thing of naught" (2 Nephi 2:11-12)

 

Subtle evidence that the latter-day Gentiles are meant to be a covenant people

32 (And these are the words which I spake unto my servant Moses, and they are true even as I will; and I have spoken them unto you. See thou show them unto no man, until I command you, except to them that believe. Amen.) (Moses 4)

As I finished up my most recent three part post series about Adam and Even in the scriptures, an idea grabbed my attention. It has a lot to do with the verse above, which is the final verse in Moses 4 contained in parentheses.  

The other important context has to do with the target audience in each sermon in the Book of Mormon that contains references to Adam and Eve:

• 2 Nephi 2:15-26 (Lehi speaking to his son Jacob)
• 2 Nephi 9:9,21 (Jacob speaking to Nephites)
• Jacob 4:3-5 (Jacob speaking to Nephites)
• Mosiah 3:11-26; 4:7 (King Benjamin speaking to his people/s as they enter a covenant)
• Mosiah 16:3 (Abinadi speaking to apostate Nephite priests)
• Alma 12:21-26 (Alma-2 speaking to rebellious Nephites)
• Alma 42:2-7 (Alma-2 speaking to his son Corianton)
• Helaman 14:16-18 (Samuel the Lamanite speaking to wicked Nephites)
• Mormon 3:20 (Mormon writing to latter-day Gentiles)
• Mormon 9:11-14 (Moroni writing to latter-day Gentiles)
• Ether 8:25 (Moroni writing to latter-day Gentiles)
• Moroni 8:8 (Mormon writing to his son Moroni)
• Moroni 10:3 (Moroni writing to latter-day Gentiles)

Do you see a pattern? Aside from the Gentiles, the audience is always comprised of covenant-keepers or those who were once covenant-keepers.

I see a message embedded in the fact that the last of these prophets spoke to us in the same way and about the same topics their predecessors spoke to other covenant-keepers. We are part of the house of Israel. We belong in the fold of God. That we have these words is an indication that the latter-day work has commenced (see Ether 4:17). This fits with the purposes outlined in the Title Page:

Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations

Furthermore, this detail gives us a plausible explanation for why/how these doctrines came to be suppressed/lost.  Suppose they were given to given from the beginning with the instruction that they only be shown to believers.  As apostasy set in, it wouldn't take long for these hidden doctrines to come to be viewed with suspicion and eventually left behind altogether.  

There is a pretty close parallel in the early Christian church that is well documented, where esoteric teachings and rites were widely practiced at first, but eventually considered heretical and excised from the practice of Christianity.

Even in the church today there are quite a few mainstream believing members who consider the temple problematic. This could be a pattern. Unlike previous dispensations, though, we know there won't be another global apostasy, so it becomes an individual question.  Will we embrace these doctrines and seek to understand them?  Or will we reject them and lose the understanding they offer?

Adam and Eve in the scriptures, part 3

This is the final post in a series about references to Adam and Eve in the scriptures. Part 1 offered a numerical overview. Part 2 looked qualitatively at references to Adam and Eve in the Bible and the Doctrine & Covenants. This final part will first look at references to Adam and Eve in the Book of Moses and Book of Abraham, and then we'll conclude with a look at the Book of Mormon.

Book of Moses

Moses 1:34 -- The first man of all men is called Adam.

Moses 3:19-23 -- Adam named all living things; Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs.

Moses 4:6-31 -- Satan beguiles Adam and Eve; the ground is cursed for their sake; they are clothed with coats of skins; they are driven out.

Moses 5 -- Adam and Eve obey the law of sacrifice and are taught by angels. Cain slays Abel and secret combinations are formed.

Moses 6 -- Adam and Eve hearken unto the voice of the Lord and repent. They teach their children the Gospel. Adam is baptized.

Moses 7:1 -- 

And it came to pass that Enoch continued his speech, saying: Behold, our father Adam taught these things, and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins, and are looking forth with fear, in torment, for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God to be poured out upon them.

Book of Abraham

Abraham 1:3, 26 -- The priesthood came to Abraham through Adam.

Abraham (Facsimile 2) -- Key-words of the Holy Priesthood were given to Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Abraham 5:13-21 -- Creation account.

Book of Mormon

Doctrinal topics found in connection with references to "Adam" or "Eve" or "first parents" abound in the Book of Mormon. It's impressive to see how often and how deeply the doctrine connects.  There is also a conspicuous amount of overlap with doctrinal concepts in the Book of Moses.

2 Nephi 2:15-26 (Lehi)

• God created all things “to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man” including opposition in all things. 

• Satan seeks our misery.

• In mortality mankind is given the opportunity to repent.

• Men are that they might have joy.

• Christ came to redeem mankind.

2 Nephi 9:9,21 (Jacob)

• Satan seeks our misery.

• Satan beguiled our first parents.

• He “transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light”

• Christ suffered the pains of all mankind.

Jacob 4:3-5 (Jacob)

• “All the holy prophets” had a hope of Christ’s glory.

Mosiah 3:11-26; 4:7 (King Benjamin -- quoting an angel in ch. 3)

• The natural man in each of us can be “put off” through:

• The Atonement of Jesus Christ

• Yielding to the enticings of the Holy Spirit

• Becoming submissive meek, and humble

• The atonement was prepared “from the foundation of the world for all mankind who ever were, are, or will be.

Mosiah 16:3 (Abinadi)

• Satan beguiled Adam and Eve and caused their fall

Alma 12:21-26 (Alma-2)

• Death came about by the fall.

• Space was granted unto man to repent

• The purpose of life is to prepare to meet God and prepare for the endless state that comes after the resurrection.

Alma 42:2-7 (Alma-2)

• Becoming cut off from God’s presence allowed mankind to “[become] subjects to follow their own will”

Helaman 14:16-18 (Samuel the Lamanite)

• Adam’s fall cut us off from the presence of the Lord.

• Christ brought about the resurrection and conditions of repentance to bring us “back into the presence of the Lord”

Mormon 3:20 (Mormon)

• Every soul must stand before the the judgment seat of Christ to be judged

Mormon 9:11-14 (Moroni)

• The fall came by Adam, the redemption of Adam came by Christ

Ether 8:25 (Moroni)

• Satan beguiled our first parents.

Moroni 8:8 (Mormon -- quoting the word of the Lord)

• The curse of Adam is taken from little children through Christ.

Moroni 10:3 (Moroni)

• God was merciful to Adam

Conclusion

I can't help but marvel at the amount of deep yellow in that Book of Mormon list.  There is a tight connection between references to deep gospel doctrine and Adam and Eve.  This is essentially absent from the Old Testament.  Why? Was it because the temple doctrines once had by ancient Israelites ended up suppressed and stripped away?  Was this doctrinal tradition preserved on the brass plates?