The (s)word of God -- Part 2

In part 1, I pointed out how the sword can be a symbol for the word of God. I also proposed that the sword of Laban had particular symbolic value for the Nephites and that it is one of several sacred relics both among Nephites and ancient Israelites, that can all be linked to "the word". There is another aspect of this symbolism that I want to discuss in this post. Again, it might be a bit speculative, because I don't know if the Nephite record keepers saw or intended these connections. But regardless, I think that God makes sure to leave layers of meaning in the scriptures for us personally, that we can uncover if we search. 

In relation to swords, I was pondering the curse that was prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite and later fulfilled. We read about his prophesies in Helaman 13. First, in verse 4, he says

Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the sword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people.

As discussed in the previous post on this, the sword symbolizes the word of God that can give understanding to some and judgment to others. The Nephites in Zarahemla at this time were in a state where the word would judge them. Then there is a stranger and more specific prophecy in verses 32-36

And then shall ye lament, and say:
33 O that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out. Yea, in that day ye shall say: O that we had remembered the Lord our God in the day that he gave us our riches, and then they would not have become slippery that we should lose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us.
34 Behold, we lay a tool here and on the morrow it is gone; and behold, our swords are taken from us in the day we have sought them for battle.
35 Yea, we have hid up our treasures and they have slipped away from us, because of the curse of the land.
36 O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord came unto us; for behold the land is cursed, and all things are become slippery, and we cannot hold them.

The connection between the sword and the word of God is illustrated by the fact that when they no longer held on to the word represented by the iron rod, they couldn't hold on to their swords any longer either. They became slippery along with their treasures. Their physical treasures and swords slipped from them, because they had broken the covenants and not clung to the word that is sharper than the sword and the real treasure. Referring again to the previous post, I'm thinking of the ark of the (new) covenant as a treasure chest and a symbol of the real treasure in heaven. 

The fulfillment of the prophecy is described in Mormon 1:17-18

17 But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake.
18 And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again.

Again, they did not obtain the word and concurrently they lost their treasures. Their loss of earthly treasures symbolizes their loss of heavenly treasures. Just like the value of the plates, the Liahona and the sword of Laban is not in the precious metal but in what they contain or symbolize: The word of God. 

And I am the same who hideth up this record unto the Lord; the plates thereof are of no worth, because of the commandment of the Lord. For he truly saith that no one shall have them to get gain; but the record thereof is of great worth; and whoso shall bring it to light, him will the Lord bless. (Mormon 8:14)

This connection or symbolism might be a bit of a stretch but the implication is relevant and important: As covenant people, we should protect the word of God, keep it sacred and hand it to our children like a valuable treasure. If not, it will slip from us.

"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.

...

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.

...

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.

Tasting

Recently, as I read Alma 36, I noticed the curious use of the word, "taste"

Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste...For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted (Alma 36:24, 26)

Alma is talking about tasting joy. I recalled that I wrote about tasting love a while ago and looked up this old post, quoting King Benjamin.

if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love (Mosiah 4:11)

It's a rather strange use of the word. Of course it is metaphorical, but why the word, taste? I believe that the reformed Egyptian that the Nephites wrote was a variant of the Hebrew spoken language written with Egyptian script. Looking up a possible Hebrew equivalent of the English word or expression in the Book of Mormon has often made sense and given added meaning to the text. So it is in this case. I usually use biblehub.com for that. Sure enough, in Hebrew, to taste, טָעַם (taam), can also mean to perceive and the meaning is literal or figurative. This is just one of many examples of traces of ancient Israelite culture and language in the Book of Mormon. Here is one more verse with this metaphorical use of "taste":

and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect? (Alma 32:35)

So the Book of Mormon describes tasting joy, love and light. Another example:

And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus. (Mormon 1:15)

I cannot help but think of the fruit of the tree of life. It represented God's love, it filled those who ate it with joy and it was described as sweet and white. So this makes sense on multiple levels. The metaphorical taste descriptions in the shared quotes might well be allusions to Lehi's dream of the tree of life. But they also make sense linguistically when understanding the possible underlying Hebrew. In fact, I realized that the Old Testament also has some similar uses of the word.

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalm 34:8)

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. (Proverbs 31:18)

In the example from Proverbs, it is still the Hebrew, "taam" (same as "taste in Psalm 34), but in this case translated into perceive in the KJV Bible.

The Book of Mormon proverb

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.
21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

Sounds familiar? If it does, it is because it is consistently repeated throughout the pre-Christ phase of the Book of Mormon. This is from 1 Nephi 2, the first time this statement is spoken by the Lord himself to Nephi while he was in the wilderness. This is also what Nephi refers to in 1 Nephi 4 when he is back in Jerusalem to get the brass plates

14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.

It is repeated several more times in 1st and 2nd Nephi
1 Nephi 17:13

wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land

2 Nephi 1:9

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

(It seems that both Nephi and Lehi had received this promise individually directly from the Lord. The "have obtained" refers to a previous occasion probably recorded on the large plates. A couple of times in Alma, this "Book of Mormon proverb" is referred to as something the Lord told Lehi.)

2 Nephi 1:20

And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence. 

2 Nephi 4:4

For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

2 Nephi 5:20

Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off from his presence.

Interestingly, after the books of Nephi, each of the small books contain this same statement. They write so little, yet they make sure to repeat this particular promise.

First, a variant of this spoken directly by the Lord to Enos in verse 10

I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity

Then a reference to what the Lord had said to "our fathers" in Jarom verse 9. We note the plural and the fact that Jarom's father, Enos, his granduncle, Nephi, and his great-grandfather, Lehi, had all received this promise individually

But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land

Another reference to what the Lord had said to "our fathers" in Omni verse 6

he would not suffer that the words should not be verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land.

Over to the large plates of Nephi. I will not quote every single one but here is an overview:

• King Benjamin to his sons in Mosiah 1:7
• King Benjamin to the people in Mosiah 2:22 and 31
• Alma to the people of Ammonihah in Alma 9:13
• Alma to his son, Helaman, in Alma 36:1 and 30 (beginning and end of the chiasmus)
• Alma to his son, Helaman again in Alma 37:13
• Alma to his son, Shiblon, in Alma 38:1
• References by Mormon in his abridgment in Alma 48:15, 25 and 50:20

Altogether 20 repetitions of this promise. That is a lot! One may wonder why this is repeated so consistently from 1 Nephi through Alma and then it seems to disappear except a few possible allusions, like Helaman 12:21

And if the Lord shall say—Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence—he will cause that it shall be so.

Why this is the case, I don't know. But the rest of the Book of Mormon is a fulfillment of this promise. After the Saviour's visit in 3rd Nephi, the people keep the commandments and prosper as promised in 4th Nephi

7 And the Lord did prosper them exceedingly in the land

Then they turn away from God, and are cut off from his presence (see for instance Mormon 1:14)

And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief.

Finally, the Nephites, as we know, are completely cut off from the land.

Keeping track of the timeline

Many posts have been written about the internal consistency of the Book of Mormon. Those who believe that a poor young farmer invented it and dictated it at record speed without notes or manuscript, would need to answer why he made it so complicated for himself. A collection of revelations of the type "thus saith the Lord" should do. But in addition to the theology, we get complex interwoven stories, about 200 personal names, a consistent geography with an additional 100 names, internal references and a timeline. Some examples of the latter are given in this post. We have seen some examples of long side stories resuming. Another one of those is the flashback to the Lamanite mission of the Sons of Mosiah. In Alma 16:21

thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

In the next chapter, Alma meets the sons of Mosiah. In 17:4

And they had been teaching the word of God for the space of fourteen years among the Lamanites

This is consistent with Mosiah 28, where the Sons of Mosiah leave on a mission to the Lamanites, right before the start of the reign of the judges in Mosiah 29, i.e. the first year. In Alma 17, when Alma meets his old friends, the flashback starts and we follow them on their mission to the Lamanites. This story is told over 10 chapters and in Alma 27, we get a second account of their meeting. After that, in Alma 28:7:

And thus endeth the fifteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi

Since the fifteenth year ends after they meet and the fourteenth year ends before they meet, this is all consistent, but due to the flashback, these two are 12 chapters apart. In order to keep the timeline straight, the author needs to not only know what happened in previous chapters but when.

Some other examples:

Mosiah's reign

Mosiah 6:4: 

And Mosiah began to reign in his father’s stead. And he began to reign in the thirtieth year of his age, making in the whole, about four hundred and seventy-six years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem

Then 33 years later in Mosiah 29:46

And it came to pass that Mosiah died also, in the thirty and third year of his reign, being sixty and three years old; making in the whole, five hundred and nine years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem

These are not numbers just thrown out there. Anything else in Mosiah 29 would make it inconsistent with Mosiah 6.

The reign of judges

The reign of judges started in Mosiah 29 and with it a new time reckoning. Mosiah 29:46:

making in the whole, five hundred and nine years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem

So the reign of the judges started 509 years after Lehi left Jerusalem. Then in 3 Nephi 1:1, 80 chapters later:

Now it came to pass that the ninety and first year [of the judges] had passed away and it was six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem

509+91=600

Mormon's age

4 Nephi 1:48

when three hundred and twenty years had passed away, Ammaron, being constrained by the Holy Ghost, did hide up the records which were sacred

Mormon 1:2

about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age…)

So Mormon was about 10 years old when 320 years had passed, and in Mormon 2:2

In my sixteenth year… 326 years had passed

And it adds up again. It always does. The Book of Mormon authors have been thorough with their time-keeping. Or was it just Joseph Smith making this up without notes or manuscript? Ummm, no!