Bosom

I became interested in the word bosom as I studied the phrase "taken unto himself" in Alma 45 and Alma 46.  The connection comes from this verse:

69 And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is Fled. (Moses 7)

The Hebrew meaning of bosom reminds me of the metaphor of Zion as a hidden garden. The bosom is where you keep something that is both cherished and protected/hidden from plain view.

Bosom --חֵיק (ḥêq)

The word is translated in various ways, including 'lap' and 'arms.' It can even refer to the cloak covering the chest, where important things are stored (even the hands). As with many Hebrew terms, there is both a positive and and negative connotation to this term.  In the positive sense, the bosom of the Lord is a symbol of divine care and protection, as in Enoch.  See also this verse:

11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40)

In this Psalm, the author pleads with God to act on Israel's behalf by no longer withdrawing His hand in protecting and defending His people:

11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. (Psalm 74)

In the negative context, the word can refer to divine judgement as well, as in these verses:

6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,

7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom. (Isaiah 65)

According to the NIDOTTE, the expression in Hebrew is “pay back/measure/bring into the lap.” (See also Psalm 79:12 and Jeremiah 32:18.) The verses above offer a twist on the more familiar expression "burning in the bosom." 

One additional negative example: 

11 Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers’ bosom. (Lamentations 2)

In this verse, the author uses very stark imagery to make it clear that in the day of judgement a mother will not be able to save her precious child -- the children die in their mothers' arms. 

Let's close on a more positive note.  Getting back to Enoch, we learn some important truths from the Doctrine & Covenants about the gathering, centered on the word "bosom." For example, in Doctrine & Covenants 76, Christ is described three times as being "in the bosom of the Father" (see verses 13, 25, and 39).  Then in section 38, we see these three references to "bosom":

4 I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom; and verily, I say, even as many as have believed in my name, for I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them. ...

30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear. ...

38 See that all things are preserved; and when men are endowed with power from on high and sent forth, all these things shall be gathered unto the bosom of the church. (Doctrine & Covenants 38)

From these verses, we see that just as Christ is in the bosom of the Father, Enoch has been taken into the bosom of Christ. The same blessing is promised to us if we will "treasure up wisdom in [our] bosoms."  Finally, the gathering of property and possessions into the "bosom of the church" happens as a result of temple covenants and blessings.  It is the surrendering of our will to God, allowing Him to lead us, that creates peace and abundance on earth and brings about the conditions of the Second Coming. All of this is taught beautifully using the word bosom.

One final example is found in section 88, in reference to the celestial heirs and the final "resting" state of the earth:

4 This Comforter [the Holy Spirit of Promise] is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom;

5 Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son—

6 He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;

...

12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—

13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

...

17 And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.

18 Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;

19 For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;

20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified. (Doctrine & Covenants 88)

Rending the veil

Both Lord Wilmore and I have written about the veil before. See here and here. God's presence (heaven) and the material creation (earth) are separated by a veil. Rending the veil opens the pathway for man into God's presence and unites heaven and earth. This is symbolically represented by the temple. There are different ways and occasions where the veil can and will be rent. This became clearer to me as I read D&C 101 recently, which I will get to soon. Here are three ways of rending the veil:

Rending the personal veil of unbelief

This has been discussed on this blog before. Having been sent to earth, we are surrounded by the material creation and need to exercise faith to see beyond the veil.

And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad. (Ether 12:19)

The brother of Jared is one example of rending the veil by seeing with the eye of faith. King Lamoni also has an experience where the veil of unbelief is dispelled.

the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God (Alma 19:6)

The veil being removed and the light shining, in fact reminds of the veil taken off from the eyes of the Brother of Jared and seeing the finger of God giving light to the stones in Ether 3. The point is that unbelief and pride is withholding a portion of light from us, preventing all of us from seeing clearly.

And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. (D&C 88:67)

The glory of God is represented by the holy of holies / celestial room in the temple. If our eye is single to his glory, we are seeing beyond the veil into the light. Even though Christ has prepared a way into the holy of holies as I soon will show, we must each rend our personal veil of unbelief to walk that way. 

Christ's first coming: The way to salvation prepared

I think I have mentioned this symbol a few times before on this blog. I bring it up again for context since it is leading into my next point that I just learned. When Christ had completed the atonement and died on the cross, the veil of the temple in Jerusalem was "rent in twain" (Matthew 27:51). As the true high priest, Christ entered into the holy of holies, God's presence, like many high priests symbolically had done before him once a year on the day of atonement. But rending the veil meant that something was different this time. This was the ultimate sacrifice. Now the way was prepared so that anyone could enter in. This is why the holy of holies in the ancient temple was restricted to the high priest symbolizing Christ and the celestial room in the temple today is open to anyone who is willing to enter into covenants. Christ rent the veil of the temple through his atonement so that anyone who has rent their veil of unbelief can follow him into the holy of holies, God's presence. 

Christ's second coming: His glory revealed

Christ completed his atoning sacrifice when he come to earth the first time in a mortal tabernacle. He promised to come again in glory. D&C 101 explains that he will rend the veil separating heaven and earth at his second coming. Notice the temple symbolism. 

And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together. (D&C 101:23)

There is also an apt reference to Isaiah 40, that I did not pick up until I read the footnote of the verse.

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together (Isaiah 40:5)

According to Bible scholar, Margareth Barker, the setting of Isaiah 40 is the holy of holies. The glory of God was exactly what King Lamoni could see when the veil was cast away from his mind as I just quoted in Alma 19. At the second coming ("the revelation which is to come"), the veil of the temple shall be lifted once more in a way that reveals his glory to the whole earth and all flesh shall see it. Those who are not prepared will be consumed. D&C 101 continues:

24 And every corruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the sea, that dwells upon all the face of the earth, shall be consumed;

25 And also that of element shall melt with fervent heat; and all things shall become new, that my knowledge and glory may dwell upon all the earth.

The material creation cannot endure this glory. This is why a veil must separate the two in the first place. But we can prepare to endure the day by rending our personal veil of unbelief and follow Christ into the holy of holies. Then we can dwell on an earth where also his "knowledge and glory" dwells, an earth that is no longer separated from heaven by a veil. The bride removes her veil after she has become married to the groom. When the earth lifts her veil, we have a marriage of heaven and earth.

Scriptural repetition -- An introduction

In this paper, Alan Goff makes a good case for intentional repetition in ancient Hebrew scripture (including the Book of Mormon whose writers have Hebrew heritage). The modern notion among historicist biblical scholars is that many repetitive elements in the Old Testament are clumsy, narrative failures and often evidence of various origins and textual development over time. However, recent pushback against these ideas, including Goff's article, present ancient writers who used repetition deliberately as a literary style, not a defect. The article starts out by giving many examples

Hagar is twice expelled from Abraham’s household (Genesis 16:4–14; 21:9–19), thrice a patriarch endangers his wife in a foreign country by passing her off as his sister (Genesis 12:10–19; 20:1–16; 26:6–11), and multiple times a patriarch or prophet travels to a foreign country to meet a nubile girl at a well to secure a wife (Genesis 24:10–60; 29:1–16; Exodus 2:15–21). Pharaoh slaughters the infants as does Herod the Great (Exodus 1:15– 22; Matthew 2:16–18), and a prophetic figure — whether Moses or Jesus [Page 264]— miraculously provides food in the wilderness (Exodus 16:4–16; Matthew 15:32–38). I could cite many more examples of repeated biblical stories: conflicts as the younger brother supersedes the older (Joseph and his brothers, Genesis 37, 42–45; Esau and Jacob, Genesis 27; Laman and Lemuel against Nephi, 1 Nephi 3:28–31 and elsewhere), threats against out- of-towners appealing for hospitality (Genesis 19; Judges 19); twice Nephites send their attractive young women out to charm marauding Lamanites so the vulnerable group isn’t killed (Mosiah 19:12–15; Mosiah 23:33–34). Such doublets, as they are frequently called, are fundamental to the working of Hebraic narrative: two creation stories, two instances of animals boarding the ark (seven of each kind once and two of each animal the second time), two narratives of water provided in the wilderness during the exodus. To the modern mind these examples are historical problems in the text — duplications, narrative inconsistencies, failures, plagiarisms; biblical critics have in the past few decades rehabilitated these recurrences, noting their sophistication, revealing modern incapacities in scorning them. Sternberg notes of biblical repetitions that “the dismissal of its redundancies in terms of ‘noise’ is the reader’s last resort rather than first resort” and more likely the result of readerly failure than writerly shortcoming.

These ancient writers held a worldview where time ran in cycles and God's dealings with his children followed established recurring patterns. The ancient rabbis highlighted the repeating elements in biblical narrative, noting that “what happens to the fathers, happens to the sons.”

This worldview is clearly held by Nephi

...as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. (1 Nephi 10:19)

Therefore, we should not be surprised to find recurring events and patterns in the Book of Mormon just as we see in the Old Testament. This is something we have touched upon on this blog before, without necessarily fitting it into the framework that this paper provides. I want to highlight some of the recurring patterns or repetition previously discussed as well as demonstrate some new examples of this. The paper I linked to is quite long, so I will just highlight some of the important paragraphs here for convenience. The paper quotes Robert Alter saying

There are many kinds of ambiguity and contradiction, and abundant varieties of repetition, that are entirely purposeful and that are essential features of the distinctive vehicle of literary experience.

Goff himself notes

The biblical composers and editors used duplicate narrative devices to shape their narratives and provide meaning. Those approaches were built into the text from the beginnings and became a dominant feature of the collection of documents that became the Bible. The textual history is firmly marked by the feature.

He also argues that "to call repetitions “merely” metaphorical is to misunderstand both scripture and metaphor" and goes on to explain the concept of metaphors or types in scripture.

Old Testament priests “who serve unto the example [upodeigmati] and shadow [skia] of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern [typon] shewed to thee in the mount.” The Latin figura is the word most commonly used to translate the Greek typos. The secondary pattern matches the original. For the believer in the scripture and its ontology “a scriptural figure, in Christian theology, is not a literary metaphor that brings to the intellect some deeper meaning when attached to another image. A figure is a form that God actually makes historical experience fit, like some providential mold.” This scriptural view of time and history should never be condescended to by the modern reader who sees time in a fundamentally different, linear way. The type establishes a model that later events are going to repeat, which gives us recurrence in time and history; the analogous relationship may or may not be perceived by the reader of any given epoch, but the pattern is nevertheless manifest in the divine creative act. The modern reader needs to grasp and concede the sophistication of this view even if modern temporal notions obstruct adhering to it... Modern condescension toward ancient worldviews is too often framed after only a cursory (if that) examination of antiquity. If that modern condescension of the Bible’s textual assumptions slips over to the Book of Mormon, one can hardly be surprised if either book is read in a superficial way.

He also explains the concept of metalepsis

a mere reference to another text that reverberates with much stronger connection to the earlier text’s context by referring to only one small part but obliquely invoking the entire previous story...just by using a key word or citing a phrase, the later writer can evoke the larger context and storyline of the earlier text.

Learning about this, many Book of Mormon examples of metalepsis immediately comes to mind. This can come in many forms

The analogous element can be embedded in plot, character, word sound, word meaning, or theme. The repetitive component just needs to remind the reader of the earlier type.

There are many examples given in the paper. In addition to the ones given in the opening quote, the paper brings up several other examples that are discussed at various length.

Jonah and Exodus

In Jonah 4:2 we read

for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness

This is likely an allusion to Exodus 34:6-7

6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin

This is more obvious in the original Hebrew where e.g. "slow to anger" in Jonah and "longsuffering" in Exodus are the same word. This example is part of a discussion in the paper about the nature of relationships between two texts. In general, it is much easier to show that a relationship exists than to prove which one came first, especially in the Old Testament when sometimes little is known about original authorship. But some cases are easier than others. This example has all the specificity on the side of Exodus being the predecessor text. According to Goff

By citing just one detail from God’s previous mercy, grace, and longsuffering in the foundational event of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and receipt of the law of Moses, the Jonah passage evokes God’s previous works of salvation for Israel, extending mercy for thousands and forgiving Israel’s sins. God granted Israel mercy, grace, and longsuffering by sending Moses down the mountain with the tablets of the law after 40 days to find the children of Israel engaging in idolatry at the base of the mountain. The irony is that God is willing to extend the same mercy, grace, and longsuffering to the people of Nineveh that Jonah wants reserved only for Israel with the Israelite ancestors knowingly idolatrous while the Ninevites don’t know their moral right hands from their left (Jonah 4:11). The reader needs to know the larger story of granting the law of Moses to see what the book of Jonah is doing in the allusion, whereas one doesn’t have to know the book of Jonah to get the message from Exodus 34.

Alma's and Lehi's visions

In Alma 36:22, Alma sees a vision very similar to Lehi's vision. He explicitly refers to it and the verse contains a verbatim quote of 1 Nephi 1:8. Goff uses this example to challenge Brent Metcalfe's assertion that Joseph Smith is the author of the Book of Mormon and that the order of composition (Mosiah-Moroni -> 1 Nephi-WoM) points to the "real" author. This Alma-Lehi example is but one example to challenge that idea. It establishes the original and the reference even more clearly than the previous Jonah-Exodus example. Alma refers to Lehi by name, Lehi never mentions Alma. If Lehi's writings came first, Joseph Smith was not the author (unless you can make a good case for Joseph Smith hiding a manuscript in his hat and secretly reading from it, which you can't).

Helaman 6

There are some verses in these chapters that exemplify metaleptic allusion to evoke the larger context and storyline of earlier texts. 

25 Now behold, it is these secret oaths and covenants which Alma commanded his son should not go forth unto the world, lest they should be a means of bringing down the people unto destruction.

26 Now behold, those secret oaths and covenants did not come forth unto Gadianton from the records which were delivered unto Helaman; but behold, they were put into the heart of Gadianton by that same being who did entice our first parents to partake of the forbidden fruit—

27 Yea, that same being who did plot with Cain, that if he would murder his brother Abel it should not be known unto the world. And he did plot with Cain and his followers from that time forth.

28 And also it is that same being who put it into the hearts of the people to build a tower sufficiently high that they might get to heaven. And it was that same being who led on the people who came from that tower into this land; who spread the works of darkness and abominations over all the face of the land, until he dragged the people down to an entire destruction, and to an everlasting hell.

Helaman 6:25 refers to Alma 37 which in turn refers to Jaredite secret oaths in the Book of Ether. Verses 26-27 refer to Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel in the early chapters of Genesis and verse 28 refers to the Tower of Babel and the Jaredite exodus. It is clear from all these examples that they refer to past events. Again, this challenges the idea that Joseph Smith is the author because at this point in the dictation, the Book of Ether did not yet exist. Turning the logical order around and considering Ether a reference to an original text in Helaman 6 is like saying that the Garden of Eden story in Genesis is referring to Helaman.

Isaiah 40:3-4

This is a well-known verse

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain

Goff uses this example to demonstrate that "the very notion of repetitions runs against the historicist assertion that a text means only what the original author intended. Repetitions by nature imply the existence of multiple meanings and symphonic reverberations within a single text, even when read in different historical contexts.

The historical setting for Isaiah 40 is clearly the preparation for a latter-day gathering of Israel. In 1 Nephi 10:3, Lehi talks about this context without referring to Isaiah 40 or its language. But only a few verses later, he ties this into a message about the coming of the Messiah and uses the Isaiah language.

even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews — even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world … And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord — Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing (1 Nephi 10:5,7-8)

We see something similar done in Matthew 3:3. In fact, many New Testament quotations of the Old Testament represent what modern historicist bible scholars would consider misinterpretations. But Nephi goes out of his way to recommend Isaiah more generally (2 Nephi 25:1-6). In Alma we see further examples of this passage applied differently. This language is used both in an uplifting message to the righteous people in Gideon in Alma 7 and the wicked people in Ammonihah in Alma 9.

But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying—Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth. (Alma 7:9)

Therefore, prepare ye the way of the Lord, for the time is at hand that all men shall reap a reward of their works, according to that which they have been—if they have been righteous they shall reap the salvation of their souls, according to the power and deliverance of Jesus Christ; and if they have been evil they shall reap the damnation of their souls, according to the power and captivation of the devil. (Alma 9:28) 

A conclusive note

There are even more examples brought up and discussed in Goff's paper but I will let this suffice for now. I want to spend future posts on identifying other examples from the Book of Mormon. There are plenty of them. Before going into that, I will share some general thoughts. 

One observation is the uniqueness of this scriptural feature. Perhaps others would disagree, but when reading novels or other literature, you would normally encounter events along a timeline without much repetition. Initial events establishing a blueprint for later events to follow is just not something we expect to find in literature other than the scriptures. 

Another point I would make relates to the good old debate about Book of Mormon origin. When we see similar patterns and literary devices in the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon, I see that as yet another affirmation that the authors held similar worldviews and followed similar scribal traditions. If Joseph Smith authored the Book of Mormon as some people claim, similar patterns in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon require entirely different explanations. I don't want to be accused of creating a straw-man argument, so I concede that the most likely explanations by critics would be that Joseph Smith simply mimicked features of the Bible that he was familiar with. Still, I think that identifying and mimicking ancient literary styles is a lot to expect from a young farmhand.

When viewed as intentional characteristics of the word of God, scriptural repetitions become gateways to additional learning and insight. In his book "Beholding the tree of life", Bradley J. Kramer suggests that we have something to learn from the rabbis who arguably spend more time with their text than the average Latter-Day Saint Book of Mormon reader. They pay particular attention when there is repetition and seeming redundancies. They believe that the learning lies in the differences between similar texts as well as in the similarities between different texts. That is, repetitions are rarely verbatim and if they are, the contexts are not identical. Once the allusion has been established, the learning points lies in the differences between the reference and the referred text.

I will spend the next posts presenting further examples from the Book of Mormon.

Plain speech, plainness, and highways

The covenant path is plain, not in the sense of being mundane, but rather in the sense that it is not complicated or convoluted. The Book of Mormon states this repeatedly in many different ways, often centering the description on the word 'plain.' This post will offer an overview of how this word is used in reference to God's word and God's way.  

Here are a few key themes I've taken away from this study:

• God delights in plainness, and those who love Him should as well. (2 Nephi 25:4)
• The wicked despise plainness, because it exposes their wickedness (Alma 14:3)
• Plainness can lead those who turn away to seek to destroy the work and servants of God (Alma 14:2, Alma 24:30, Helaman 8:4)
• God's word is plain, but over time wicked men take away the plainness, causing many to stumble. (1 Nephi 13:26, 28-29)

The metaphor of the "plain road"

• In his psalm, Nephi asks God: "O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road! O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy." (2 Nephi 4:32-33) 
• "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Isaiah 40) 
• "Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies." (Psalm 27)

In addition to the references above, a slight variant of this metaphor is prophesied as a literal manifestation of Christ's death:

And behold, there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great. And many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate. (Helaman 14:23-24)

This same prophetic metaphor was emphasized again at the time of its fulfillment:

13 And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough. (3 Nephi 8)

The Restoration is one of Plainness

40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. (1 Nephi 13)

"The whole face of the land" -- a third covenant allusion in Mormon 8:8?

The intricacy of the Book of Mormon constantly surprises me.  So often we find deeper layers of carefully-packed information which draw absolutely no attention to themselves. This is a source of excitement for me. It means incredible truths are waiting to be discovered by anyone willing to seek!  

The second half of Mormon 8:8 is a great example of this. I've spent the past few weeks cross-referencing and unpacking three subtle covenant allusions. 

...and the whole face of this land is one continual round of murder and bloodshed; and no one knoweth the end of the war. (Mormon 8:8)

I'm far from an expert when it comes to the scriptures, and I haven't been able to find any other online resource describing what I've found, so I'm working at the edge of my knowledge base here.  Even so, I'm confident that I'm onto something here for two reasons:

1. Each of these phrases is rarely used in the scriptures. 
2. It is quite easy for each phrase to be connected to covenant themes.

Moroni could have conveyed the surface-layer meaning using completely different words. Instead, he chose to word things precisely as he did for a specific set of reasons. Each of these three phrases can be cross-referenced to other scriptures.  It is within those passages we find the deeper layer of Moroni's intent. In other words, we are pointed to deeper insights about the destruction of the Nephites.

I'll circle back to summarize what I've learned as a result of this study in a final post of the topic, which will be my next post. Previous posts of mine have addressed "one continual round of murder and bloodshed" (see here) and "no one knoweth the end" (see here, here and here). In today's post, I'll look at the third allusion: "the whole face of the land"

"The whole face of the land" -- Connections to Genesis

We encounter a close variant of this phrase early in the creation account:

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2)

I've studied the meaning of this "mist" in the past and have convinced myself it is deeply significant, even if I can't quite seem to put my finger on it.  God causes the rain and man's role is to till the ground. Is this mist related to that, or is it a contrasting symbol, akin to the mists of darkness? 

Here is what I said on the topic in a previous post (with emphasis added):

The Two Mists

...

I don't think I'm stretching too far to connect the elements of "rain," "till the ground," "mist," and "water[ing] the whole face of the ground" to man's true purpose on earth, but I'll dive in deeper to this topic in a separate post. To quickly summarize, the water is God's message of salvation and covenants, the "breath of life" represents our divinity, and the "dust" represents our mortality, and the agriculture metaphor has to do with the work of salvation.

In contrast, the mist of darkness blinds us to our purpose here on earth.

23 And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost. (1 Nephi 8)

17 And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost. (1 Nephi 12)

I'll admit this could be a stretch, but it seems intriguing.

I still favor that interpretation, which connects this mist to Satan's ability to blind us while in mortality.  I believe this because of Enoch's vision:

26 And he beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced. (Moses 7)

Mist or streams?

For what it's worth, not every translation agrees on which word belongs in that verse.  The NIV uses "streams" in place of "mist."  The NRSV uses "stream." The Living Bible says: 

However, water welled up from the ground at certain places and flowed across the land.

More to learn

No doubt I have more to learn about this topic. Regardless, I am certain this passage contains "creation-covenant connection" significance.

In a previous post, I noted that tilling is a covenant symbol -- it's what two different groups of people do as soon as they reach the land of promise. In another post, I noted the significant connections between descriptions of Nephite destruction at the time of Christ's death with Enoch's vision in the Book of Mormon. In Mormon 8:8, we find yet another connection in the form of "the whole face of the land" mentioned in connection to the destruction of a covenant people.

Book of Mormon usage

Excluding Mormon 8:8, we find "whole face" six times in the Book of Mormon. Each example comes from the writings of Mormon and Moroni. As perhaps we should expect by now, each instance occurs in a pretty obvious covenant context:

Helaman 11 -- Happy example #1

18 And behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God, and the whole face of the land was filled with rejoicing; and they did no more seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a great prophet, and a man of God, having great power and authority given unto him from God.

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20 And thus it did come to pass that the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to build up their waste places, and began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole face of the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the sea west to the sea east. (Helaman 11)

We can see a clear connection between the people's joyful actions regarding the prophetic authority in their midst and the covenant blessings which came as a result.

Ether 10 -- Happy example #2

19 And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. ...

20 And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.

21 ... And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants.

28 And never could be a people more blessed than were they, and more prospered by the hand of the Lord. And they were in a land that was choice above all lands, for the Lord had spoken it.

This is a pretty straight-forward example, with themes mirroring the example above.

Mormon 1 -- A reference to a covenant blessing

7 The whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and the people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea.

Compare this to blessings promised to Abraham (see Genesis 22:17) and Jacob (see Genesis 32:12).

Ether 14 -- In the context of destruction (1 of 2)

21 And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead.

22 And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh.

23 And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof.

24 Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword.

25 And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction.

Centuries earlier, a different covenant people had encountered the same fate as the Nephites. Their destruction was a result of their rebellion. The war which brought their demise was "great, lasting, long, swift, and speedy." Notice also the description of the scent of the numerous dead bodies (certainly a twist on the promise of a countless posterity), which troubled the people "by day and by night." Moroni is cleverly playing off of a well-known Old Testament description of the cloud/pillar of fire which guided the covenant people. See Exodus 13:21-22.  We find a similar twist on the same phrase in Isaiah 28:19. Compare also D&C 133:35,40,56.)

3 Nephi 8 -- In the context of destruction (2 of 2)

12 But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth;

13 And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.

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16 And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away.

17 And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth.

18 And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.

19 And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours—and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.

20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;

21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.

At the time of great destruction among the Nephites, we find "the whole face of the land" and close variants used seven in the context of destruction. Mormon is apparently far less subtle than Moroni.  He goes out of his way to connect this phrase to covenant symbols, and creates several interesting twists similar to "by day and by night" in the example above.

• Notice the twist on Isaiah 40:3-4 in verse 13.
• In verse 16 we get a twist on the story of Elijah being carried away in a whirlwind. Compare 2 Kings 2:11.
• "No man knoweth" offers a twist on Deuteronomy 34:6 describing Moses' death.  This also has obvious ties to "no one knoweth" in Mormon 8:8. See also Alma 45:18 and 3 Nephi 1:3.
• "Carried away" has a clear double-usage pattern in the Book of Mormon.  Compare the positive example in 1 Nephi 1:8 contrasted soon after in 1 Nephi 1:13. (I'll create a separate post to detail this, it's a very interesting one.) 
• Notice also the people only know that some were carried away, not "whither they went."
• In verses 12, 17, and 19, we get a three-fold repetition of the destructive elements at work. I've pointed out before how this resembles the forces of nature promised to be unleashed by God on the enemies of His covenant people, found in Psalm 18.
• Verses 19-23 create a twist on the first day of creation.  There was no light, only darkness. This is repeated over and over.  There was nothing the people could do to change this. It's an ominous condemnation. Notice the wording at the end of verse 22, which closely resembles Genesis 2:6 (with a twist, of course).
• "Groanings" is a concept I've touched on before in the context of what I call the "creation-covenant connection." This whole passage plays on that theme.

Conclusion

I hope I've convinced you that Mormon 8:8 was written with the intent to get us thinking about covenant-related themes, particularly in the context of the consequences of rebellion.  It's beautiful and deep, and yet another example of the layers of complexity and intricacy packed into this marvelous book.