Lifespans in the Book of Mormon

This is a bit different from what I usually post about. It's a purely academic exercise with no deeper meaning, symbolism or spiritual lessons. But in addition to the Book of Mormon's main purpose to remind Israel of their covenants and bring us to Christ, there is a historical element that fascinates me. These were real people who were a branch of Israel living in a promised land. I am very interested in the historical elements and would love to learn more about the Nephite society and people. Mormon, who abridged their records, comes across as a historian. In addition to inviting us to Christ and conveying important spiritual lessons, he is a thorough narrator of events and places.

Still, we don't have many examples of the exact age of Book of Mormon people. A few years ago, I tried to track the timeline and deduct some reasonable lifespans for Book of Mormon prophets. I will not go into all that speculation here but list the ones that we know directly from the text:

• Alma-I: 82 years old (Mosiah 29:45)
• Mosiah-II: 63 years old (Mosiah 29:46)
• Coriantum's wife: 102 years old (Ether 9:24)
• Coriantum: 142 years old (Ether 9:24)
• 9 Nephite disciples: 72 years old (3 Nephi 28:3)

The last one is interesting. 72 years old is simply a result of the disciples' own granted wish and the Lord's decision. But their granted wish to come to Him in his kingdom after having "lived unto the age of a man" says something about what the typical "age of a man" was considered to be at the time.

As far as I know, these 5 examples are the only ones we have knowing the exact age of someone in the Book of Mormon. There are others that come close, Mormon himself was born 310 AD and the last battle at Cumorah was likely in 385 AD. He did not die in that battle but according to his son, he died shortly after. So Mormon must have been 75 years old or a bit older. For the timeline of the keepers of the Small plates of Nephi to work, some of them must have been quite old, perhaps more than 100. The record keepers after Alma-I until the coming of Christ did not seem to live that long, typically somewhere between 45-60. These are some rough calculations I have made and I will not go into all those details. But it is also important to note that two of those prophets, Alma-II and Nephi-II did not seem to die natural deaths and just left the land at a certain point without anyone knowing where they had gone. 

In the above list with specific ages, obviously, Coriantum, and partly his wife, stand out. One might even claim that 142 sounds unrealistic. Some scientist (but definitely not all) would claim that it is simply beyond the upper limit of a theoretical human life. It is also reasonable to ask how 72 years old could be considered the "age of a man" when it was possible to live twice as long. But I find it quite interesting that we get this apparent difference between Nephite and Jaredite lifespans, because it aligns very well with the Bible. We know that the ancient patriarchs lived much longer lives than this. They could become more than 900 years old. I have my own theories about how that was possible, but that requires some explanation that I will keep for myself for now. This does not appear to be merely symbolic because there are certain trends in these Old Testament lifespans, eventually stabilizing around the values we expect today. 

I have written before on the timeline of the Book of Ether. Coriantumr, who lived to 142 years old, was the seventh generation from Jared. Based on the calculations in that post, he lived around the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham was 175 years old, Sarah 127, Isaac 180, Jacob 147 and Joseph 110 at their death. At this time, the convergence into what is considered normal lifespans today had not yet been reached. But Coriantum's age fits well into this small sample. 

By the time of the first Israelite kings, this convergence had been reached. They lived up to ages between 40 (41 in the case of King Jotham) and 80 (in the case of King Solomon), quite consistent with the few Nephite lifespans we know about and the idea of 72 years as the "age of man". 

The Nephite governmental transition

I am very fascinated by and interested in Nephite history. Obviously I wish we had more information, What was on the large plates that Mormon abridged from? What information did he leave out? What was on the translated pages that Martin Harris lost? I expect it will take a while before I can get those answers (although Don Bradley provides some great insight in his book). So the only thing I can do except for learning directly from the Book of Mormon, is paying attention to details and reading between the lines. Doing so, I have been trying to better understand the Nephite government and the transition from kings to judges. Interestingly, this transition is a reversal of the Biblical transition from judges to kings.

The transition from kings to judges is also a monumental event in Nephite history. It is marked by a long speech by the king in the last chapter of Mosiah and the transition from the Book of Mosiah to the Book of Alma. It is also an event that happens in the middle of Nephite history. King Mosiah died and Alma became the first chief judge 509 years after Lehi left Jerusalem, according to Mosiah 29:46. Fast forward another 509 years and we are in 419 AD when Moroni was wandering around alone with the plates about to bury them in the ground.

This milestone of changing the governmental form was so monumental that they changed the time reckoning for the first time since Lehi left Jerusalem. The laws that king Mosiah established that the people were to be governed by under the rule of the judges, are referred to several times later in the Book of Mormon.

Reading between the lines, the transition may not have been without complications. A king is usually considered the highest authority in all affairs of the kingdom. He has his royal court so that he gets advise and help with all the affairs but he always has the final word. Nephite kings had at least the following responsibilities:

• Secular affairs (law enforcement etc.)
• Ecclesiastical affairs
• Warfare
• Record keeping

It is obvious that the first point should become the new responsibility of the judges. But what about the rest? I think this was not obvious and perhaps not sufficiently discussed or thought through before the transition was made. Here are some comments on how this was managed before and after the transition from kings to judges.

Secular affairs (government)

As mentioned, the Book of Mormon frequently refers back to the law that were prepared by king Mosiah for the reign of the judges. This does not mean that there were no laws before then. Jarom says about the Nephites:

They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict. (Jarom 1:5)

But they weren't referred to often. These rare occasion mentions it in conjunction with the law of Moses. I get a sense that the laws they lived by pretty much were based on the Torah ("law" or "instruction" in Hebrew) on the brass plates. In Israel, any righteous king at least would let the Torah comprise the governing principles of the land. I expect the Nephites to have followed that tradition. Practical matters that were not covered by the Torah may have simply been up to the king to decide. It makes sense that a change from king to judge would necessitate a more detailed law. 

37 And now it came to pass, after king Mosiah had sent these things forth among the people they were convinced of the truth of his words.

38 Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal chance throughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins.

39 Therefore, it came to pass that they assembled themselves together in bodies throughout the land, to cast in their voices concerning who should be their judges, to judge them according to the law which had been given them; and they were exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them. (Mosiah 29)

Their "equal chance" was not based on the king's mood, righteousness or whim, but a detailed law that should apply to everybody. For instance, King Benjamin said to his people: "Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons" (Mosiah 2:13) whereas King Noah cast Abinadi in prison for his preaching. What crimes warranted a prison sentence were probably more up to the king to decide than determined by a detailed juridical system. This changed when Mosiah established laws that the people should be judged by under the new system and Alma became the first appointed chief judge.

Ecclesiastical affairs

Alma was the first chief judge and also the high priest of the church. So one would think that this responsibility automatically followed in a system with little separation between church and state. Think again. Alma was already the high priest before the reign of the judges. It just so happened that he also became the first chief judge. But this was quite independently from his position as high priest.

Before Alma-2's father, Alma-1, became the first high priest, there really was none. That is, there were priests who served in the temple and prophets, but no high priest over the church (who had a similar role as the president of the church today) because there was no church! At least, there is no mention of a church organization among the Nephites before Alma-1 established one. This was another milestone for the Nephites that is referred back to many times later in the Book of Mormon.

Before that time, the king was the primary ecclesiastical leader as long as he was righteous. When he wasn't, prophets like Abinadi came with a warning. But unfortunately because of the lost pages, we know very few Nephite kings. In the Words of Mormon 1:17-18 we read that King Benjamin, "with the assistance from the holy prophets", preached the word of God to the people. The kings were responsible for ecclesiastical affairs even though there was no church organization as such. But they were helped by prophets and priests. King Noah's priests followed this tradition, even though they were wicked. But we read that his father had priests too, as probably all Nephite kings did.

Not long after the reign of the judges started, Alma gave up the judgment seat to focus on his role as high priest. Those two tasks were simply too much. In the rest of the Book of Mormon the two roles are usually held by two different people. Why would it be too much when the kings managed just fine, and more? Probably because the kings had their court and a larger network around them to assist. The chief judge was perhaps more left to himself. A bit speculative but that is what I think.

Warfare

Again back to King Benjamin (we don't have a lot of Nephite kings to choose from), we read:

And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban. (Words of Mormon 1:13)

He who had the sword of Laban was the leader of the army, no doubt. This is also made clear by "gathered together his armies". The question is who becomes the leader of the army when there are no more kings. Reading between the lines, I think this was not really thought through. It is obvious that the king should be leading the army but perhaps not so obvious that the chief judge should have that role. This happened nonetheless but it didn't last for very long. In Alma 2, he had only been chief judge for a little more than four years

Now Alma, being the chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with his people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his armies, against the Amlicites to battle.

He is the chief captain of the army at this point. Only six years later

Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites. (Alma 16:5)

In the meantime, Alma has also given up the judgment seat and is focusing on his role as high priest. He is also not the chief captain of the army and more. Is that because he gave up the judgment seat? No. Because if the role as chief captain followed the role as chief judge, Nephihah, the chief judge should also have been captain of the army. Instead it is a man named Zoram. In this case he approaches the high priest and former chief captain, Alma, to see if he can inquire of the Lord.

I can easily imagine some events here that have not been carried over into Mormon's abridgment. Alma is chief captain of the army just because the kings used to be and he is the closest equivalent of former kings in the new system. But after a while he (or others) ask. "Who said the chief judge should lead the army anyway? We haven't really thought this through, have we?" Or the question comes up when Alma leaves the judgment seat to Nephihah. "OK, I'll be the chief judge but I'm not going to lead the army. I'm not a warrior, I'm terrible with the sword". From this time on, the chief captain (of which captain Moroni is the most famous) is never the same person as the chief judge. 

Record keeping 

The large plates of Nephi went from the hands of one king to the next, starting with Nephi himself who made the plates. This was not a minor task. At least the righteous kings took it very seriously and handing the plates and other sacred relics to the next generation was like a ceremonial event. Most of Mosiah 1 is describing this as King Benjamin hands them over to his son, Mosiah. So what happened at the transition to the reign of the judges? Alma, the first chief judge, was handed the records from Mosiah as we can read in Mosiah 28:20. The question is if Alma was expected to keep the records because he was the chief judge or because he was the high priest? It turns out that it probably was because of his role as chief judge.

37 And it came to pass that in the same year that the people of Nephi had peace restored unto them, that Nephihah, the second chief judge, died, having filled the judgment-seat with perfect uprightness before God.

38 Nevertheless, he had refused Alma to take possession of those records and those things which were esteemed by Alma and his fathers to be most sacred; therefore Alma had conferred them upon his son, Helaman. (Alma 50)

Alma first offered the records to Nephihah, the chief judge, rather than his son Helaman, who was high priest over the church. It shows an expectation that the records were the responsibility of the chief judge. But after Helaman took them, this changed, and the Nephite records stayed in that family of prophets/high priests rather than the judges.

Eventually, the four roles of the king became distinct roles for three different people after the reign of the judges. The high priestly office and responsibility for record keeping was held by the same person.  For instance, later in Alma, Pahoran was the chief judge, Moroni was the chief captain of the army and Helaman was the high priest and record keeper.

Even more on the number 8

I just found a detail that should have been part of this post, but I didn't know at the time so I will make a short, separate post as add-on to it. To recap briefly, in Hebrew, the number eight represents new beginnings and is derived from the word "to grow fat" and therefore also linked to abundance. More details are found in the linked post, where I gave two examples. Lehi and his family sojourned eight years in the wilderness before they came to the promised land. Jared, his brother and their families journeyed to the promised land in eight vessels. It makes sense that the number eight is brought up in conjunction with new beginnings in a promised land with an abundance of resources.

Here is the third example that I should have included in the linked post: Alma was one of the priests of King Noah. He believed Abinadi's message, taught his word in secret among the people and gathered a group of believers. The king sent his army to kill them but they were warned and fled.

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

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

5 And they pitched their tents, and began to till the ground, and began to build buildings; yea, they were industrious, and did labor exceedingly. (Alma 23)

There it is again. New beginnings for a group of recent converts in a "very beautiful and pleasant land". Alma's conversion and the church he established is considered of major significance by Book of Mormon authors. In fact, there is no talk about a church among the Nephites before Alma establishes it. King Benjamin's people take upon them the name of Christ and enter into a covenant but they are not described as a church. Likewise, Nephi, Jacob and Enos preach to their people but they are not described as a church. Alma's organisation of a church is therefore a unique event in the Book of Mormon.

In addition, Alma became the first chief judge and his posterity became the record keepers and authors of the large plates of Nephi. Alma and his people's escape and establishment of a church is therefore a pivotal moment in Book of Mormon history. There are frequent reminders of this scattering in the remainder of the Book of Mormon. Here are some examples:

and thus ended the days of Alma, who was the founder of their church. (Mosiah 29:47)

3 I, Alma, having been consecrated by my father, Alma, to be a high priest over the church of God, he having power and authority from God to do these things, behold, I say unto you that he began to establish a church in the land which was in the borders of Nephi; yea, the land which was called the land of Mormon; yea, and he did baptize his brethren in the waters of Mormon.
4 And behold, I say unto you, they were delivered out of the hands of the people of king Noah, by the mercy and power of God. (Alma 5)

Yea, and I also remember the captivity of my fathers; for I surely do know that the Lord did deliver them out of bondage, and by this did establish his church; yea, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did deliver them out of bondage. (Alma 29:11)

And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression. (3 Nephi 5:12)

Mormon was even named after the waters where Alma and his group first gathered and were baptized. Seeing the number eight showing up at this significant event that perfectly fits the description of a new beginning in addition to the two voyages to the promised land cannot just be dismissed as coincidence. It also shows that Hebrew traditions were kept among the Nephites, at least the scribes who were "taught in all the language of [their] fathers" (Mosiah 1:2).

 

Scriptural repetition -- Book of Mormon examples 2

This topic was introduced in this post and is largely based on a paper I read. It made think about posts we have already written that fit into this framework and other examples of "types of repetition and shadows of history" in the Book of Mormon. I presented several examples here, but I want to add some more in this post.

King Benjamin and King Mosiah

In my previous post I discussed another pair kings who happened to be father and son. The Book of Mormon also establishes parallels between two righteous Nephite kings, Benjamin and Mosiah-II by using repetition. Consider these two passages

13 Neither have I suffered that ye should be confined in dungeons, nor that ye should make slaves one of another, nor that ye should murder, or plunder, or steal, or commit adultery; nor even have I suffered that ye should commit any manner of wickedness, and have taught you that ye should keep the commandments of the Lord, in all things which he hath commanded you—

14 And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day. (King Benjamin in Mosiah 2)

13 Therefore, if it were possible that you could have just men to be your kings, who would establish the laws of God, and judge this people according to his commandments, yea, if ye could have men for your kings who would do even as my father Benjamin did for this people—I say unto you, if this could always be the case then it would be expedient that ye should always have kings to rule over you.

14 And even I myself have labored with all the power and faculties which I have possessed, to teach you the commandments of God, and to establish peace throughout the land, that there should be no wars nor contentions, no stealing, nor plundering, nor murdering, nor any manner of iniquity (Mosiah in Mosiah 29)

Notice that Mosiah 29:13 references Benjamin before the description of Mosiah starts paraphrasing the description of his father in Mosiah 2. Notice also the reverse order. In addition to the reversal of the color coded parts, murdering, plundering and stealing in King Benjamin's case becomes stealing, plundering and murdering in King Mosiah's case. The Hebrew scribal tradition of both repetition and poetry shines through. 

These verses describe the epitome of a good king. So what is the purpose of this parallel? Is it just teaching us that if you are a king, you should be a good one? That would not apply to many of us. Is it enough just to show that "what happens to the happens to the son" as the old rabbinic saying goes, at least in this case? Just like the example of the two Lamanite kings in my last post where Ammon was tied into it and there was an underlying lesson, I think we can tie this to Nephi and obtain a deeper lesson.

Mosiah 29 is part of a longer discourse where Mosiah advises against continued monarchy. Simply because history has shown that kings like Benjamin and Mosiah are the exception rather than the rule. When Mosiah ended monarchy, it was the end of a 500 year old Nephite line of kings. This line started with Nephi

17 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be industrious, and to labor with their hands.

18 And it came to pass that they would that I should be their king. But I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power. (2 Nephi 5)

Nephi was a reluctant monarch. He desired that his people should have no king but he was their leader and the people regarded him as king (see also Jacob 1:9-11). Nephi taught his people to labor with their hands while he did that which was in his power. I think that might be the lesson to be learned from this repetitive element that fits into a larger discussion about monarchy as a form of government and its effect on society. The point is: Kings and subjects alike, or any leader and the people they are responsible for, should all labor and take responsibility. We should avoid being a people who "labor exceedingly to support iniquity" (Mosiah 11:6) because of a lazy king like King Noah or, on the other hand, leaving all responsibility to the king to provide for us.  

Spacious buildings

Speaking of King Noah, there is another example of scriptural repetition involving two kings. This example follows a similar pattern as the example above and the one with two Lamanite kings in the previous post. In all cases, there is scriptural repetition in the description of two kings, but also reference to a third element that contextualizes the descriptions beyond the basic "what happens to the father, happens to the son" idea. I actually wrote a post about this a while back, but it is worth repeating and expanding in the context of scriptural repetition.

Consider the parallels between Mosiah 11 and Ether 10.

Mosiah 11 2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness. 3 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain. 4 And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his concubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines; thus he had changed the affairs of the kingdom… 6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity… 8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper; 9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.

Ether 10 5 And it came to pass that Riplakish did not do that which was right in the sight of the Lord, for he did have many wives and concubines, and did lay that upon men’s shoulders which was grievous to be borne; yea, he did tax them with heavy taxes; and with the taxes he did build many spacious buildings. 6 And he did erect him an exceedingly beautiful throne; and he did build many prisons, and whoso would not be subject unto taxes he did cast into prison; and whoso was not able to pay taxes he did cast into prison; and he did cause that they should labor continually for their support; and whoso refused to labor he did cause to be put to death. 7 Wherefore he did obtain all his fine work, yea, even his fine gold he did cause to be refined in prison; and all manner of fine workmanship he did cause to be wrought in prison. And it came to pass that he did afflict the people with his whoredoms and abominations. 8 And when he had reigned for the space of forty and two years the people did rise up in rebellion against him; and there began to be war again in the land, insomuch that Riplakish was killed, and his descendants were driven out of the land.

It is not hard to imagine Moroni abridging the Jaredite record and highlighting the information about the wicked king, Riplakish, that mirrors what he has read about King Noah in the record abridged by his father. It is also not hard to imagine wicked kings in general falling into the same patterns of sin, thereby repeating history. 

As pointed out in a previous post, "spacious building" is a term from Lehi and Nephi's visions and only found in these two descriptions of wicked kings outside of that. This link to Lehi's dream and Nephi's subsequent vision is another interesting way to frame this recurring narrative of a wicked king. The spacious building is "the world and the wisdom thereof", "the pride of the world" and "vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men". When a wicked king erects spacious buildings, this might metaphorically say something about them and the potential effects on their people.

I will not go into details now, but Nephi's vision of the spacious building evolves into the great and abominable church. There are many textual elements linking the two. Nephi sees that gold, silver and precious things and harlots are the desires of this abominable church. The link places two wicked kings in a bigger picture of wicked behavior and influence leading to covenant breaking, perverting the right ways of the Lord and taking away plain and precious gospel truths.

Achaz -- part 2

In my last post, I outlined the various meanings of the Hebrew root "achaz" in the Old Testament.  I've searched the Book of Mormon for passages with similar words and found the verses listed below.  Each reference is highlighted in red if has a negative connotation or green if the connotation is positive.

Grasp/Seize

10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. 11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave. 12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel. (2 Nephi 9)

19 For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish; ... 22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. 23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment. (2 Nephi 28)

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

Hold

24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. (1 Nephi 8)

24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction. (1 Nephi 15)

18 And he said unto the servant: Behold, the branches of the wild tree have taken hold of the moisture of the root thereof, that the root thereof hath brought forth much strength; and because of the much strength of the root thereof the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit. (Jacob 5)

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

18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death. (Alma 36)

29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked— 30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out. (Helaman 3)

30 And behold, it is he who is the author of all sin. And behold, he doth carry on his works of darkness and secret murder, and doth hand down their plots, and their oaths, and their covenants, and their plans of awful wickedness, from generation to generation according as he can get hold upon the hearts of the children of men. 31 And now behold, he had got great hold upon the hearts of the Nephites; yea, insomuch that they had become exceedingly wicked; yea, the more part of them had turned out of the way of righteousness, and did trample under their feet the commandments of God, and did turn unto their own ways, and did build up unto themselves idols of their gold and their silver. (Helaman 6)

31 And behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that they become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them. ... 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. (Helaman 13)

19 And they were cast into prison by them who did not belong to the church. And the prisons could not hold them, for they were rent in twain. 20 And they were cast down into the earth; but they did smite the earth with the word of God, insomuch that by his power they were delivered out of the depths of the earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to hold them. (3 Nephi 28)

28 And this church did multiply exceedingly because of iniquity, and because of the power of Satan who did get hold upon their hearts. (4 Nephi 1)

8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you. (Mormon 7)

19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ. 20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing? 21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing. 22 For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing. 23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come. 24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them. 25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ. (Moroni 7)

30 And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing. (Moroni 10)

Possess

25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things. (1 Nephi 15)


3 And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates; and that the things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord. (1 Nephi 19)


20 I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another (Mosiah 2)


16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God. (Mosiah 8)


14 And even I myself have labored with all the power and faculties which I have possessed, to teach you the commandments of God... (Mosiah 29)


27 And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your women and your children, according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever. (Alma 7)


7 And it came to pass that he [Zeezrom] began to cry unto the people, saying: Behold, I am guilty, and these men are spotless before God. And he began to plead for them from that time forth; but they reviled him, saying: Art thou also possessed with the devil? And they spit upon him, and cast him out from among them, and also all those who believed in the words which had been spoken by Alma and Amulek; and they cast them out, and sent men to cast stones at them. (Alma 14)


42 Behold, I know that thou believest, but thou art possessed with a lying spirit, and ye have put off the Spirit of God that it may have no place in you; but the devil has power over you, and he doth carry you about, working devices that he may destroy the children of God. (Alma 30)


34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. 35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked. (Alma 34)


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. (Ether 2)