Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 4 -- More symbols and their meaning

This has turned into a pretty long series so far, but we aren't done yet.  I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

This post will cover a few additional symbols which appear frequently in the 'endowment pattern' I've outlined in this series.  

Before I get to that, it's probably useful for us to recap what we've covered already:

In part 1, I outlined the basic story structure:

1) There is a call to leave the fallen world behind.
2) Those who heed this call find themselves cast out into the wilderness.
3) Through obedience they gradually regain the presence of the Lord and they are led to a state of rest and abundance.

I included a list of twelve symbols commonly included in the story.

In part 2a and part 2b, I detailed eight different examples of this story pattern in the Book of Mormon.

Part 3 focused on the meaning of each of these twelve symbols and how they relate to the symbolism of the endowment. (Part 3a, part 3b, and part 3c.)

Two Additional Symbols

In the process of reading and rereading these example, I noticed a few additional elements which seem to belong on the list: 'Seeds' and 'crying for mercy.'

Seeds/Grain

The symbolism of the seed is found in many of the examples I've listed. The symbolism here is pretty easy to see.  Partly, the seed "of every kind" language evokes creation imagery. Also, the seed is often likened to the word of God. In another sense, seed/grain represent domesticated plants which are useful for man, and so the same symbolism related to flocks and herds applies to seeds/grain. This helps explain why these two elements are often mentioned together.

A related symbol ("tilling the ground") is a reference to Adam and Eve and is also found immediately after Lehi and his family reach the promise land (1 Nephi 18:24) and right after Jared and his group reach the promise land (Ether 6:13). See also Mosiah 9:9.

Lehi: 

1 Nephi 8:1; 1 Nephi 18:6

Nephi:  

2 Nephi 5:11

Mosiah - Benjamin - Mosiah: 

Not found.

Limhi: 

Mosiah 23:1

Alma-1: 

• (First Pattern) Mosiah 23:1
• (Second Pattern) Mosiah 24:18

(This is very interesting. In consecutive chapters this pattern is repeated in describing two different escapes by the same group of people, and both times it describes them bringing their grain with them. That indicates to me that the grain is an important symbol.)

Anti-Nephi-Lehi: (Not found)

Jared: 

Ether 1:41

Omer: 

Ether 9:17

'Crying' or praying with 'all their heart'

I've posted on this topic in the past (here, here, and here). A person finds mercy through Christ after they cry out to God. In the covenant/endowment context, this is extremely powerful symbolism.

Lehi: 

1 Nephi 1:5 - "my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people."

Nephi:  

2 Nephi 5:1 "I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord my God"

Mosiah - Benjamin - Mosiah: 

Mosiah 4:2 - "they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men."

Limhi: 

Mosiah 21:14 "they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions."

Alma-1: 

(First Pattern) Mosiah 23:28 

...they hushed their fears, and began to cry unto the Lord that he would soften the hearts of the Lamanites, that they would spare them, and their wives, and their children.

(Second Pattern) Mosiah 24:10-12

10 And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God.

11 And Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries; and he put guards over them to watch them, that whosoever should be found calling upon God should be put to death.

12 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.

Anti-Nephi-Lehi: 

I couldn't find a perfect fit, but Alma 22:17 describes the King of all the land crying to God.

Jared: 

38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.

39 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared. (Ether 1)

Omer: 

Ether 9:34 "...Now when the people saw that they must perish they began to repent of their iniquities and cry unto the Lord."

Conclusion

Now that we've added in these two details, I think our list is pretty strong.  So many common elements between these eight stories cannot be a coincidence. The creation of a new covenant people is recorded with these Adam and Eve symbols in order to tell the reader they were striving to fulfill the first commandment God gave to Adam and Eve.

In the next part, we'll look at a few additional scripture stories and see how the archetypal Adam and Eve endowment narrative follows in the stories of Christ, Moses, Abraham, Enos, Lehi's dream, and a few others. Recognizing the pattern helps us unlock additional meaning from these important stories.

Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 3c -- Finding Meaning in the Symbols

The last two posts have focused on the symbolism and meaning of the elements I've identified as belonging to an "endowment pattern" in the Book of Mormon.  This post will discuss the remaining six symbols.

Tents (a symbol of the presence of the Lord)

A deep dive into the symbolism of the tent can be found in this series of posts by Stisa (here, here, and here). To summarize, there is a linguistic/wordplay connection in Hebrew associating the presence of the Lord (shekinah) with a tent/tabernacle (mishkan). To quote Stisa from part 2 of his series, the tent is:

...a place for the shekinah glory. Lehi dwelt [shakan] in a tent [mishkan] and God dwelt with them and guided them along. The journey to the promised land was commanded by God and he was with them every step being a light to them in the wilderness and preparing the way (see 1 Nephi 17:13).

In part 2 of this series, I detailed how often tents are specifically mentioned when a new covenant-keeping group leaves a wicked situation. Think of all the items a group of people might bring on their journey into the wilderness.  It includes much more than tents. Weapons for hunting and defense, clothing, tools, cooking implements, etc.  The author specifically mentions tents for their symbolic significance. This is a symbol of new birth and is the author's way of telling us that they enjoyed the presence of the Lord to guide them along their journey.

They inherit a land/They obey the commandments of the Lord/Abundance & Prospering

In this next section, we'll discuss three elements which are intimately connected. If the tent represents God's guidance while in the wilderness, the land of inheritance represents the culmination of that journey, where an even greater blessing awaits the covenant people. The tent is the symbol of the  "cloud by day and pillar of fire by night," (see Exodus 13:22)  and the land of inheritance is Mount Sinai -- a place of holiness and rest, "to go no more out." (See Alma 7:25.) This land of inheritance is obtained and possessed by strict obedience to God's law.

The symbol of a promised land is at least as old as Israel itself. A land of inheritance was promised to Abraham for his posterity. One author describes it this way:

In the Bible, the term “Promised Land” refers to a specific region of land that God endowed to His chosen people, as part of their heritage. ... For migrating herders like the Jews, having a stable home of their own would be a true blessing. The promised land was a place to rest from their continual wandering. But this promise came with conditions. First, God commanded that Israel, the name of the new nation, had to trust and follow Him. Second, God demanded faithful worship of Him (Deuteronomy 7:12-15). (source)

God conditionally endows His nomadic people with a permanent dwelling place flowing with blessings as long as they serve Him and obey His word.

This theme is carried into the Book of Mormon in two key narratives.  First, at the time of Lehi's departure from Jerusalem (the original land of promise during a period of severe wickedness)he was promised that by obedience he could obtain a land of promise and prosper. (This post from Stisa demonstrates how often this 'proverb' appears in the Book of Mormon.) Notice the connection between obedience, prospering, and the land of promise from the very beginning of the Book of Mormon:

20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. (1 Nephi 2)

Lehi later describes the promises associated with this land of promise in greater detail:

9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever. (2 Nephi 1)

This pattern is repeated over and over again.  Here's Alma-2 reminding the wicked people in Ammonihah of this same set of promises and a warning:

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?

...

13 Behold, do ye not remember the words which he spake unto Lehi, saying that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land? And again it is said that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. (Alma 9)

This same promise is had among the Jaredites, first mentioned in the very earliest portion of Moroni's Jaredite account:

38 And it came to pass that Jared spake again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance. (Ether 1)

What follows is a highly repetitive warning that the condition for possessing this choice land of promise is to serve God:

7 And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.

8 And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.

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 our modern temple worship, the same pattern is demonstrated.  We progress toward God's presence by making sacred promises to follow His commandments until we symbolically obtain a fulness and enter into His rest. We are also given warnings that by entering these covenants we take upon ourselves sacred obligations to serve God. 

New names are given (see Genesis 2:20)

The symbolism of naming is ancient and deep.  In the ancient near east, the very existence of a thing (or person) was inextricably linked to it having a name given.

If creation is the act of bringing something into existence, we must ask what constituted existence in the ancient world. In our culture, we consider existence to be either material (i.e., having molecules/taking up space and extending to energy and subatomic particles) or experiential (e.g., abstractions such as love or time). Those definitions, however, are culturally determined. By contrast, in the ancient world something existed when it had a function -- a role to play. In Mesopotamia one way to accomplish this was to name something, because a name designated a thing's function or role. (NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, "Creation and Existence")

When it comes to the formation of a covenant people, giving them a new name would symbolically represent that they have also been given a new purpose for existence. Giving a new name in a covenant context could even be seen as an act of (spiritual) creation.

They are led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member

I'd love to say I left the most intriguing detail for the end, but that's not the case.  I honestly don't know what to make of this element of the endowment pattern, aside from the fact that I noticed it. It could certainly be that groups of people in the Book of Mormon tend to be led by men who are often kings, prophets, or their sons. That being said, I couldn't help but notice how often a group is led by a righteous royal figure or a father/son combination: Lehi-Nephi, Mosiah-Benjamin-Mosiah, etc.

The symbolic significance of this is pretty clear -- a king/son of king comes to the rescue of a lost people and reclaims them. Christ of course plays this role for each of us in the covenant context, acting both as our Father of our salvation as as the Son of God the Father.  This post from Stisa will shed more light on the concepts if you want to read more.

Conclusion

Now that we have taken our time identifying the pattern and discussing some of the symbolism contained within the elements of the pattern, we will continue on to the remaining parts of the series. Here is what comes next:

Part 4 -- A discussion of details that didn't make the initial list of twelve but deserve some discussion.

Part 5 -- Other scripture stories which contain elements of the pattern (including Abraham, Moses, and Christ).

Part 6 -- The endowment pattern in the latter days.

Endowment Narratives in the Book of Mormon, Part 2b -- The (second half of the) Big Picture

This post will continue detailing five additional examples of the "endowment pattern" I am describing in this series. By the end of this post, I hope you will be convinced that there is a pattern. Future posts will detail the deeper meaning of the pattern.  

Please read part 1 and part 2a if you haven't already. I will discuss the significance and possible symbolic significance of each symbol in future posts. I will also outline how this pattern fits a pattern we also see in the accounts of Adam and Eve, Abraham, and Moses.

As a side note -- The first two examples given below are variants of the main pattern. I'll explain more about this in a future post. I believe there is a purpose for these stories, and the contrast between the two accounts helps teach an important spiritual lessons. This is a technique frequently employed by Mormon, as detailed in a recent series of posts (here, here, and here).

Let's get into the details for the five additional examples:

Limhi

	Detail	Limhi (variant account -- no prophet among them)
1	Warned to depart	By Gideon and a consensus of the people (Mosiah 22: 1, 3)
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	"Bondage by the sword" (Mosiah 22:2)
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	The people prosper by hearkening to Gideon (Mosiah 22:3,9)
4	Pass through a wilderness	Mosiah 22:2, 6, 8, 11-13
5	"Many days"	Mosiah 22:13
6	Tents	Mosiah 22:2
7	Animals	Mosiah 22:2, 6, 8, 10, 11
8	Inherit a new land	Joined Mosiah's people (Mosiah 22:13)
9	New names	---
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	---
11	Abundance/Prosper	---
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	No prophet among them -- their king was a good man but not a prophet

Alma-1

	Detail	Alma-1 (double pattern)	second pattern (escaping Amulon)
1	Warned to depart	Mosiah 23:1	Mosiah 24:13
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	"wicked priests of King Noah would come upon them" (Mosiah 23:1)	"persecution" Mosiah 24:8, see also verse 11
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	Mosiah 18:3	---
4	Pass through a wilderness	Mosiah 23:1	Mosiah 24:20
5	"Many days"	"eight days' journey" (Mosiah 23:3)	"all day" Mosiah 24:20
6	Tents	Mosiah 23:5	Mosiah 24:20
7	Animals	Mosiah 23:1	Mosiah 24:18
8	Inherit a new land	Mosiah 23:4	"Valley of Alma" Mosiah 24:20
9	New names	(see Mosiah 18:10)	Mosiah 24:20
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	Mosiah 23:18	---
11	Abundance/Prosper	Mosiah 23:19	---
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	Alma-1 refused to be their king	Alma-1 refused to be their king

Additional Notes: There is a third mini-iteration of the pattern when Alma is warned by the Lord that the enemy is approaching and they "took their journey into the wilderness" for twelve days and traveled to Zarahemla

Anti-Nephi-Lehi

	Detail	Anti-Nephi Lehi
1	Warned to depart	Alma 27:11-12
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	Alma 27:2
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	** (see Alma 27:14)
4	Pass through a wilderness	Alma 27:14
5	"Many days"	implied in Alma 27:15-25
6	Tents	Alma 27:25
7	Animals	Alma 27:14
8	Inherit a new land	Alma 27:22, 24
9	New names	"they were called by the Nephites the people of Ammon; therefore they were distinguished by that name ever after." (Alma 27:26)
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	"perfectly honest and upright in all things" (Alma 27:27)
11	Abundance/Prosper	"a highly favored people of the Lord" (Alma 27:30)
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	Lamoni -- ANL; also Ammon son of Mosiah

Jared

	Detail	Jared
1	Warned to depart	The Lord commands them to gather and depart in Ether 1:40-41
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	N/A (but the Lord was confounding and scattering the people because of the Tower of Babel
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	Families and "friends" (Ether 1:37)
4	Pass through a wilderness	"the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been." (Ether 2:5)
5	"Many days"	four years (Ether 2:13-14)
6	Tents	Ether 2:13
7	Animals	"of every kind" Ether 1:41; 6:4
8	Inherit a new land	Ether 1:38, 42; 2:7-12, 15;
9	New names	---
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	Ether 6:17
11	Abundance/Prosper	Ether 6:28
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	First prophet is BoJ; first king is his son Orihah

Additional notes: They are commanded to gather animals and grain "of every kind" (Ether 1:; see also Ether 2:3 "all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind."

Omer

	Detail	Omer - Emer -- Corinatumr
1	Warned to depart	Ether 9:3
2	Escaping from secret combinations/plan to murder	Ether 9:1, 5
3	Bring all who would "hearken"/listen	"all his household but Jared" (Ether 9:3)
4	Pass through a wilderness	Shim and Ablom; no definite wilderness
5	"Many days"	Ether 9:3
6	Tents	Ether 9:3
7	Animals	Ether 9:17-18
8	Inherit a new land	"a place which was called Ablom" (Ether 9:3)
9	New names	---
10	Obedience to the commandments of God	Ether 9:21
11	Abundance/Prosper	"All manner of ..." Ether 9:17-19; "Exceedingly rich" Ether 9:16
12	Led by a righteous patriarch/king/royal family member	Omer -- Emer -- Coriantumr

Conclusion of this part

Between this post and part 2a, we have detailed eight examples of this same pattern. I hope you will take the time to read each account in this set of examples and notice how tight the pattern is.  It seems clear to me that the author of each of these accounts was intending to show that each of these groups were embarking on a new path and playing the role of Adam and Eve on their journey to a new land.

As I stated above, in the next part I'll begin detailing what these symbols mean and how they fit into a temple/covenant context.