A major theme from the Book of Mormon summarized in D&C 29:42-44

I enjoy finding succinct summaries of major themes of the Book of Mormon in other books of scripture, especially the Doctrine & Covenants. Here is one example:

42 But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son.

43 And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe;

44 And they that believe not unto eternal damnation; for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not; (D&C 29)

Angels declaring repentance show up all over the Book of Mormon, actually from its very first chapter to its very last. In some cases, the angels are heavenly messengers, which is how we commonly think of angels.  But the word simply means 'messenger' and the Book of Mormon shows us over and over again how humans can hearken to the word and become angels delivering the message of repentance. 

Deep doctrine taught plainly

The verses from D&C 29 above teach a very deep point of doctrine: The fall of Adam brought us into mortality and made inevitable a future day of judgment.  We are also taught that angels will be sent forth declaring repentance prior to that day of judgment. Everything that we experience between now and our day of judgment can/should be thought of as "today" --

23 Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.

24 For after today cometh the burning—this is speaking after the manner of the Lord—for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon.

25 Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today. (D&C 64)

Deeper doctrine taught a little less plainly 

Years of thinking and studying about the role angels play in mortality have led me to understand that it is God's intention to turn each of us into a ministering angel.  Participation in the everlasting covenant requires this. Many scriptures teach this point, but do so a little more subtly, as in verse 25 of section 64 above. I've posted many times about this (see here).  See also D&C 88:77-81.

The "labor" which is to be performed is mediated by God's word and God's messengers, also known as "Cherubims and a flaming sword" (see Genesis 3:24). In D&C 88:74-75 the work is defined in detail:

"[God's] work" defined:
"I give unto you ... a commandment that you:

• assemble yourselves together, and 
• organize yourselves, and 
• prepare yourselves, and 
• sanctify yourselves; yea, 
• purify your hearts, and 
• cleanse your hands and your feet before me, 

that I may:

• make you clean; ...
• testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation; ...
• fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you, when I will.

The cleansing of the hands and feet makes reference to joining in the work. Thus, it seems that an important component of the process of sanctification is our willingness to simultaneously enter into God's rest and labor in the vineyard. I love the symmetry there.  It seems Mormon did, too.  Notice this subtle description of Alma-2 near the end of his time among the Nephites:

1 And now it came to pass that the sons of Alma did go forth among the people, to declare the word unto them. And Alma, also, himself, could not rest, and he also went forth.
2 Now we shall say no more concerning their preaching, except that they preached the word, and the truth, according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation; and they preached after the holy order of God by which they were called. (Alma 43)

I love it.  Alma taught about the word, the "holy order of God" and entering into God's rest in his sermon found in Alma 12-13. This note from Mormon ties all of those concepts together and relates them to his specific actions. Having long since entered into God's rest, Alma, though he was old, could not watch his sons go off to preach the word among the people without joining them.

"Word", "thing" and Christ -- Part 4: The priesthood

I was not planning a fourth part of this series. But when I study a topic, I occasionally come across things that add a new dimension. This happened again. To recap briefly, the previous posts were based on the Hebrew root, 'dbr'. It is both a verb and a noun and is associated with speaking or word. But as a noun it can also be translated into "thing" or "matter". It is even the name of the inner sanctuary in the temple.

In another recent post, I shared some reflections on the priesthood. As mentioned in that post, the term "priesthood" is not common in the Bible and Book of Mormon. Rather, it is referred to as "the order of God" or the "order of Mechizedek". In D&C 107:1-4

1 There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.

2 Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest.

3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.

4 But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Even though Lehi left Jerusalem long after the days of Melchizedek, it seems that the Nephites kept the older tradition of referring to the priesthood as the "order of the Son of God". As I tried to understand the original meaning of the word that has been translated into "order" in this context in English, I found something interesting. This is a rare word in the Old Testament, but the "order of Melchizedek" is found in Psalm 110:4. The Hebrew word for "order" in this case is "dibrah". It is based on the triliteral root, 'dbr' and derived from "dabar" ("word").

In English, you would not usually connect "order" and "word". But that is the case in Hebrew. Consequently, "the order of God" is derived from and associated with "the word of God". Considering all that I have studied and found about this topic recently, I find that profound. For instance, as touched upon in a few blog posts, there is a relation between the word and power in the scriptures. See here and here, for instance. This makes a lot of sense when I connect that power to his "order"/priesthood. Also, the importance of "the word" in the creation account makes sense when it is linked to the priesthood. Further, this realization humbles me when I exercise the priesthood to speak the words of an ordinance, like blessing the sacrament at home church. I feel that I borrow God's power of the word, to bind in heaven and on earth, the same power that was used to create heaven and earth.

Again, I cannot help but think that this Hebrew tradition and feature of their language carried over into Nephite tradition. The "order of (the Son of) God" in the Book of Mormon is often closely linked to "word"/"thing" or "speak". In Hebrew or a language similar to Hebrew, the following examples look like wordplays.

Now we shall say no more concerning their preaching, except that they preached the word [dabar], and the truth, according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation; and they preached after the holy order [dibrah] of God by which they were called. (Alma 43:2)

Yea, and there was continual peace among them, and exceedingly great prosperity in the church because of their heed and diligence which they gave unto the word [dabar] of God, which was declared unto them by Helaman, and Shiblon, and Corianton, and Ammon and his brethren, yea, and by all those who had been ordained by the holy order [dibrah] of God, being baptized unto repentance, and sent forth to preach among the people. (Alma 49:30)

For I am called to speak [dabar] after this manner, according to the holy order [dibrah] of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things [dabar] which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things [dabar] which are to come. (Alma 5:44)

There are several other examples but these are sufficient to illustrate my point. This connection to the priesthood adds another layer to this topic. Hopefully, with all these layers, it has not become too muddled at this point, but I will try to summarize:

• The Hebrew root, 'dbr', means "speak" or "word", but can also be translated into "thing" or "matter". Further, it is associated with the temple and the priesthood. Thus, in ancient Hebrew language and tradition, especially in a religious context and when associated with God, the concept of word and speaking is much more than a string of letters or a sound in your ear.
• This link between word and power and matter is particularly evident in the creation account. It is an account of the word materializing and demonstrates God's power.
• When Alma compares the word with a seed, he uses much of the same language and imagery. He seems to invite us to become creators and benefit from the power of the eternal word.
• The plan of salvation is reflected in the movement from the invisible and eternal world associated with "the Word" to the material creation and then back again. The "back again" is symbolized in the ancient temple, which is the creation in reverse.
• All of the above represents the "order" of God. It is manifest in and possible through the priesthood.

 

Nephite splinter groups and Book of Mormon wars

A few years ago I started making an overview of all the wars in the Book of Mormon: When they occurred, who was involved, how it was initiated, etc. It was a bit difficult since there are so few details sometimes, like Enos just saying that "I saw wars between the Nephites and Lamanites in the course of my days." (Enos 1:24). I don't know exactly what I expected to get out of it, I just thought it could be interesting. Although I didn't really finish it, I made at least one observation that I thought was interesting: Every single war during the reign of the judges until the coming of Christ (Alma, Helaman, 3 Nephi up to chapter 11) is initiated by Nephite dissenters and never the Lamanites. And these are a lot of wars too. Here is an overview:

87 B.C. - Amlici wants to be king, the Nephites vote against him, he gets mad and mixes goes to the Lamanites along with his followers. They go to war against the Nephites. See Alma 2.

81 B.C. - The Sons of Mosiah had been preaching among the Lamanites and had much success. Many Lamanites converted but none of the Nephite dissenters among them (Amalicites and Amulonites) except for one. Instead they stirred up the others that had not converted to anger against the converts and later the Nephites and went to war against them. See Alma 16 and 28.

74 B.C. - In the aftermath of the Zoramite mission, those who believe are cast out and those who don't believe are mad at the Nephites for giving them refuge and land. They mix with the Lamanites and go to war. See Alma 43-44.

73-57 B.C. - Amalickiah is another one who seeks to become king. When it doesn't work he goes to the Lamanites and eventually even becomes their king. But he is not happy with that and goes to war against the Nephites. There is at least one period of peace in-between, but all the wars going on in this period are initiated by Amalickiah and perpetuated by his brother, Ammaron, when he dies. This is a long one and is covered in Alma 46-62.

52 B.C. - We get little information about this one but enough to know that it is caused by Nephite dissenters stirring up the Lamanites to anger. See Alma 63:14-15

50 B.C. - We don't know much about the background for this war, just that the Lamanites came. But we learn that their armies were led by someone called Coriantumr who was a Nephite dissenter and that the king stirred them up. The Lamanite king at the time was Ammaron's son and Amalickiah's nephew, i.e. a Nephite by birth. See Helaman 1:14-34

38-30 B.C. - History repeats itself. Nephite dissenters go to the Lamanites, and manage after some persuation to stir them up to anger against the Nephites and go to war. They capture a lot of Nephite land, but give it back after a lot of them convert through miraculous events. See Helaman 4-5.

15-16 A.D. - This is the longest period without wars between Nephites and Lamanites in the reign of judges. But there has been much unrest at times and the Gadianton robbers have been established and have taken over much of the government and caused murders and plundering. It is hard to pinpoint a war in this period until 15-16 A.D. where more of a battle is described between the Nephites and the Gadianton robbers. Not surprisingly, the Gadianton robbers originate from Nephites. See 3 Nephi 2:17-18.

19-22 A.D. - Another battle with the Gadianton robbers. At this point, the terms "Nephite" and "Lamanite" seem to have little to do with who their forefathers were. "And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites" (3 Nephi 2:14). Considering all the Nephite dissenters who have joined the Lamanites before this, a genetic test would probably fail to determine who is who. See 3 Nephi 4. 

Depending on how we count, we have about 9 distinct wars in this period of judges. Every single one is initiated by people who were Nephites by birth. In fact, at least in two of these accounts, there were Lamanites who refused to go to war and had to be persuaded by Nephite dissenters. See Alma 47:2 and Helaman 4:3.

I guess Mormon was right:

And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things. (Alma 24:30)

Moroni and the Title of Liberty -- Connections to the Northern Kingdom, Joseph of Egypt, and "nakedness"

Stisa's recent post on the origins of the Brass Plates reminded me of the symbolic significance of the Title of Liberty in Alma 46.

As Stisa also points out in this post, there is a clear cultural context channeled by Moroni as he rends his garment, writes covenant language on it, and uses this symbol to unite his people to stand up for their defense.  He doesn't stop there, either.  Notice how in verse 23 he explicitly references Joseph in Egypt:

23 Moroni said unto them: Behold, we are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; yea, we are a remnant of the seed of Joseph, whose coat was rent by his brethren into many pieces; yea, and now behold, let us remember to keep the commandments of God, or our garments shall be rent by our brethren, and we be cast into prison, or be sold, or be slain.

Notice in this verse the direct connection between the garment and faithfulness to the covenant.

I want to take this same idea and tie it into the concept of the covenant/garment themes laced (pun intended) throughout the Book of Mormon. In verse 21, the rending of garments becomes a ritual performed to remind the people of their covenant:

21 And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression, and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments.

It goes without saying, then, that the people were already wearing garments to rend at the time of Moroni's impassioned speech. These Nephites, descendants of the tribes of Joseph, who were at the time living in the middle of the tropical jungle in Mesoamerica 500 years after Lehi left Jerusalem, were clothed in a garment of special significance.

For this to be the case so many generations later indicates to me how culturally vital it must have been to them.  Remember that Joseph's "coat of many colors" (mentioned in the KJV in Genesis 37:3) is thought by some biblical scholars to be a mis-translation. Other scholars believe it refers to a ceremonial garment of special, temple-related significance: 

"The article so described was a ceremonial robe which could be draped around statues of goddesses, and had various gold ornaments sewed onto it."

Indeed, the NIV translates this as "ornate robe." The NRSV calls it "a long robe with sleeves." The Expanded Bible calls it "a special robe with long sleeves."

The Lamanites, on the other hand, were frequently described as naked. Alma 43:20, for example:

20 Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; they had only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings; and they were naked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites;

Notice this reference mentioning that all of the Lamanites were naked except the Zoramites and Amalekites.

This begs the question: what is different about the Zoramites and the Amalekites that caused them to be clothed among all the naked Lamanites?

In short, both groups used to be Nephites. It seems that despite abandoning their loyalty to the Nephites, they maintain a cultural commonality and continued to wear a garment like the Nephites.