The Gentiles and the Holy Ghost

For someone who has grown up in a modern Western culture, it may be difficult to understand God's different dealings with different people throughout history. For instance, when Abraham receives special promises concerning his seed, does that favor one nation above other nations unfairly? Personally, I have no problems with this because I simply observe that life favors us all differently anyway, and that is apparently part of the plan. What is important, is what each of us do, individually, in our unique circumstances and with the possibilities that we have been given. "Unto whom much is given, much is required" etc. 

But I also can't help but think that there is wisdom in God's dealing with his children throughout history, also where different nations have been treated differently.

37 And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.

38 And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes. (1 Nephi 17)

One can argue that we are saved individually and as families, but I have never heard anyone teach that we are saved as nations. But there must be a reason for this focus on nations, even though we don't always fully understand His purposes. For instance, we find a lot of separation between Israel and the Gentiles in the scriptures. Jesus himself said

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)

Still, only a short time later, Peter received the revelation that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles. Why was it first wrong and then right to preach to the Gentiles? We don't really know but obviously timing is of essence here.

Because of the Abrahamic covenant, Israel became God's chosen people. As such, they even had God dwelling among them. This was the idea with the tabernacle and later the temple. It was a place where God could dwell in their midst. Even though God's covenant people were not always true and faithful, God eventually became flesh and dwelled among them in plain sight. Meanwhile, the Gentiles were ungodly and disfavored. Still, there had been prophecies like this one in Nephi's vision:

And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. (1 Nephi 13:42)

The time was not there yet but it would come and it would happen according to a certain pattern, the first (Jews) being the last and the last (Gentiles) being the first. There also seems to be a certain pattern as to how God would manifest himself unto the different nations. As mentioned, God would manifest himself directly to the Jews who had the temple. He did the same for other scattered parts of Israel. In 3 Nephi 15, he told them:

21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching.

23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost.

These words were spoken at the temple in Bountiful to a branch of the house of Israel. Jesus was there in their midst. This was right around the time when the gospel started being preached to the Gentiles in the Old World. But they would not hear his voice like the Jews and the Nephites had. To the Gentiles, Jesus would only manifest himself by the Holy Ghost. This is consistent with the prophecy in 1 Nephi 10:11

And it came to pass after my father had spoken these words he spake unto my brethren concerning the gospel which should be preached among the Jews, and also concerning the dwindling of the Jews in unbelief. And after they had slain the Messiah, who should come, and after he had been slain he should rise from the dead, and should make himself manifest, by the Holy Ghost, unto the Gentiles.

Not only is the Holy Ghost the means to make God manifest among the Gentiles, it is also a source of strength leading to the scattering of the House of Israel

And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel. (3 Nephi 20:27)

What we observe is "the first" (the House of Israel) having the privilege of God dwelling among them, both in the tabernacle/temple and in an earthly tabernacle. But they reject him. Instead, God manifests himself to "the last" (the Gentiles). But he does not show himself to them and they don't build a temple. Instead, God manifests himself to them through the Holy Ghost. After the day of Pentecost, right before Peter received the revelation to also preach the gospel to the Gentiles, the Holy Ghost plays a more dominant role. In the Old Testament, at least, his role is quite obscure.

Why does God not dwell among the Gentiles? Why is he "replaced" by the Holy Ghost? I am not able to answer that, but again I think there might be hidden wisdom and a pattern that is part of a greater plan. In the latter days, the roles are reversed. The Gentiles, who have the Holy Ghost shall be the instrument to bring back the scattered house of Israel to the fold.

And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed (1 Nephi 15:13)

This is the fulfillment of the first becoming last and the last becoming first. But there is another important element to this grand narrative:

Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel. (2 Nephi 10:16)

When the Gentiles are numbered among the house of Israel in the latter days, both the power of the Holy Ghost and the privilege of having God in their midst is now offered to the new, united Israel. In 1836, after the gospel had been restored again to the Gentiles, they became like Israel of old with a temple among them where God could dwell. At the temple invocation in Kirtland:

For thou knowest that we have done this work through great tribulation; and out of our poverty we have given of our substance to build a house to thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to his people. (D&C 109:5)

We see the same sentiment in the next chapter where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery have a glorious vision in that temple

7 For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.
8 Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house.

For those who are willing to enter into covenants today and become part of the fold, there is no real division between Gentile and the House of Israel any longer. We have temples among us where God can dwell, like Israel of old, and the power and gift of the Holy Ghost, like Gentiles of old. At some point in the future, Jesus will also dwell among us in plain sight, just like he did among the Jews. There will be one fold and one shepherd in the New Jerusalem.

 

Hearing, Seeing, Smelling, and Speaking the Word of God

In this post I'm going to introduce a concept from a fascinating presentation given by John Thompson, PhD, as part of the Interpreter Foundation 2021 Egypt Lecture Series. I'll have more to say in future posts on this presentation, but this post will focus on a one-minute segment dealing with ancient Egyptian anointing rituals.

Here is the one minute clip:

When he mentioned seven openings to the head and how each one is anointed, my curiosity was piqued. These rituals he is describing are extremely old, far older than Moses or Solomon's temple. The tombs in which this iconography is found are from ~2600 BC. 

Dr. Thompson points out that the Book of Abraham offers an intriguing explanation for where these rituals came from:

26 Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah ... (Abraham 1)

In other words, these rituals were sincere imitations of the Priesthood ordinances established and passed down by Adam.

Hearing, Seeing, Smelling, and Speaking the Word of God

Three out of four of these are pretty easy to connect with the Gospel.  We "hear" the word of God by hearkening to the messengers and to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.  We "see" the word of God when we rend the veil of unbelief and see the heavenly light. Let's skip the nose for now. And, of course, Nephi teaches us quite clearly how we can "speak" the word of God:

2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 32)

Most of my life, I interpreted "speaking with the tongue of angels" in a very broad and generic way.  Anytime anyone speaks words that are inspired by the Spirit, they are speaking with the tongue of angels. I still believe that is an entirely valid interpretation. But like so many Gospel principles, there is deeper covenant significance to be found when we understand the doctrine and symbols of the temple (modern and ancient).  Recent experiences in the temple and in the scriptures have opened my eyes to a deeper meaning for speaking with the tongue of angels. The ordinances of the priesthood literally add power -- priesthood power -- to our prayers to God. Our walk on the covenant path is an ascension. Metaphorically speaking, that added elevation takes us out of the world and draws us closer to heaven, where our prayers will be heard by God in a way not previously possible.

Notice these beautiful closing words from the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple, including the three-fold repetition "O hear" in verse 78:

77 O Lord God Almighty, hear us in these our petitions, and answer us from heaven, thy holy habitation, where thou sittest enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness, from everlasting to everlasting.

78 O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord! And answer these petitions, and accept the dedication of this house unto thee, the work of our hands, which we have built unto thy name;

79 And also this church, to put upon it thy name. And help us by the power of thy Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright, shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the Lamb! (Doctrine & Covenants 109)

"Speaking" the word of God, then, involves fully embracing His covenant path and "mingl[ing] our voices" with the angels who constantly sing praise to God. Notice also the tight connection in 2 Nephi 32 and D&C 109 between the "power" of the Holy Spirit and the voice of angels. We'll come back to that after we tackle the mystery of the nose in all of this.

So now we've covered "hearing," "seeing," and "speaking." What about "smelling"?

How does one "smell" the word of the Lord?

In short, temple incense, or to put it a little bit more accurately, the desire to serve God according to His divine pattern. I think we can summarize the essence of what it means to "smell" the word of the Lord as the natural effect that hearing the word and seeing the heavenly light has upon a person -- it creates a strong desire to worship God and offer Him praise for His mercy and love. 

Stisa covered much of this in this post, and one point he makes in that post is key:

The reyach [sweet savor associated with temple sacrifice rituals] should be done with ruach [the Spirit]. 

The sweet aroma produced by the burning incense is a symbol of the Spirit. Anciently, only with a broken heart and a contrite spirit could a disciple of Christ please God by sacrificing an animal, shedding its blood, and burning it on an altar. It was to be done with humility and according to the specifications given by God. The ritual, in addition to producing a "sweet savor," would also point the mind to the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God.

When Noah exited the ark, he emulated Adam and built an altar and offered sacrifice, which created a "pleasing odor" to the Lord (Genesis 8:21 NRSV). God then covenanted with Noah and gave him commandments (see Genesis 9:1-17). (More to come on that "pleasing odor" in a future post.)

As an aside, this a great example of a symbol that would have been so obvious to any temple-worshipping Israelite that it would have gone without saying, but for us it is almost completely foreign, especially since we do not use incense at all in our modern temple worship. Instead, we have certain symbols which evoke the image of temple incense when understood in their original context. This paper summarizes the symbolism associated with incense in the temple.

Conclusion

There are seven openings in the head, and the arrangement and function of each outlines a heavenly pattern. As part of "becoming a new creature" in Christ (see Mosiah 27:26), each of these openings can be consecrated for the purpose of seeking the word of God. Ears to hear, eyes to see, a nose to smell (a symbol of our humble efforts to worthily worship and praise God), and a mouth to speak with the tongue of angels.  

The arrangement of these openings also points to unity with God. The ears are situated on opposite sides of the head, and we see progressive closeness with the eyes and then the nostrils, until we are united with God and the angels and are taught to speak (through one mouth) with the tongue of angels and the power of the Spirit. 

This is a beautiful set of symbols. I am constantly amazed by the layers of depth embedded in these sacred things.

"an help meet for him"

I used to think that "helpmeet" was an archaic noun meaning something like "helper". But these are two separate words translated from the Hebrew "neged" and "ezer" in Genesis 2:18. Ezer means a help or helper. Neged is in the KJV translated into meet, an archaic word meaning something like suitable. But the Hebrew , "neged", is much more multi-faceted than that. It can mean "in front of", "in sight of" or "opposite to". This is what is conspicuous, what you have right in front of you and are facing. But a more implicit and perhaps symbolic meaning is "counterpart". 

Here is what is written in Genesis 2:18

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him

"The man" in the Hebrew text is Adam. It can be interpreted as a personal name or a noun meaning "man" or "mankind". We see both interpretations in the English translations of the first chapters of Genesis. Eve means "life" or "living". It was not good for man to be alone and so God made him a counterpart, life. I see different levels of symbolism here. Man and woman fit together like two pieces of a puzzle, being incomplete on their own and fulfilling each other. Perhaps a more subtle meaning is this: In Genesis 2:7 man becomes a living soul. In the Hebrew text, Adam becomes a chayah soul. Chavah, which is spelled Eve in English, is a derivative from chayah. So this is a similar concept to Adam getting Eve/life as help meet for him later on. (There are numerous wordplays in the first few chapters of Genesis). Mankind and life go together like man and woman. The existence of mankind is meaningless without the life on earth/mortal experience and possibilities for eternal life.

As mentioned before on this blog, the creation account is full of opposites like heaven and earth, light and darkness, water and dry land, etc. Adam and Eve is the culmination of that account. I sense this understanding in the words of Book of Mormon prophets also. Here is one example

the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise. (1 Nephi 7:1)

The idea that the Lord said it was not good to be alone is a reflection of Genesis 2:18. Just like man needed woman to have life, Lehi's sons needed wives to have offspring. Not only that, they needed to raise up seed unto the Lord. This is the seed that can prosper and grow into life. The Book of Mormon is full of references to the life and prosperity that comes with keeping the Lord's commandments and the death that follows covenant rebellion.

Interestingly, the idea of opposites also frequently show up together with references to Adam and Eve in the Book of Mormon. At least, the passages where opposites are discussed are also those with the most extensive references to the creation and the story of Adam and Eve. The obvious Book of Mormon chapter that comes to mind when speaking of opposites, is 2 Nephi 2, with its famous "it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11). In the verses that follow, Lehi discusses the creation, heaven and earth, the tree of life and tree of knowledge, and Adam and Eve.

Another Book of Mormon chapter that is full of opposites but perhaps less known for it, is Alma 42. This is, after all, a beautiful discourse on justice and mercy, as masculine and feminine counterparts:

For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved. (Alma 42:24)

Another example:

Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul. (Alma 42:16)

Another one (this one is beautiful):

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 42:14)  

...and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God (Alma 42:23)

This also happens to be the chapter in the Book of Mormon with possibly the most direct and extensive references to Adam and Eve. Similar to 2 Nephi 2, it discusses the two trees, what happened in the garden and the consequences of it.

In light of all this, and hopefully without getting too political, I find it sad that there are strong forces in the modern western world that try to rid society of gender differences altogether. I am all for women's rights and equal opportunities, but I think we lose something valuable when we try to make women more like men or erase the concept of sex/gender altogether. There is beauty in the counterparts. Not only that, but they are the essence of creation and a necessary ingredient in the plan of salvation. Without it, "all things" would just be "a compound in one" and "created for a thing of naught" (2 Nephi 2:11-12)

 

A note about "frankincense" -- labenah (לָבַן)

As a follow-up to my most recent post on brimstone, here is another short note about a different material also made from plant resin -- frankincense.

The Hebrew for frankincense is: לָבַן -- labenah

This word derives from the root "laben" which can mean "to make white" or "purify." For example in Isaiah 1:

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1)

The words in bold italics are translated from "laben." 

Frankincense

a vegetable resin, brittle, glittering, and of a bitter taste, used for the purpose of sacrificial fumigation. (Exodus 30:34-36) It was called frank because of the freeness with which, when burned, it gives forth its odor. It burns for a long time, with a steady flame. (Smith's Bible Dictionary)

Here is the reference to Exodus 30:

34 The Lord said to Moses: Take sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (an equal part of each), 35 and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy; 36 and you shall beat some of it into powder, and put part of it before the covenant in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you; it shall be for you most holy. 37 When you make incense according to this composition, you shall not make it for yourselves; it shall be regarded by you as holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume shall be cut off from the people. (Exodus 30, NRSV)

It is interesting that this precious substance was to be given freely as a holy offering to the Lord and was forbidden for personal use. This is the same general pattern outlined in the gold and riches series (see part 1 here).

Getting back to Isaiah 1, I find it interesting to contrast the symbolic significance of brimstone and frankincense. In the same chapter that the Lord condemns Israel for covenant rebellion, He pleads with her to "wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;" (verse 16).

That is certainly interesting. The temple significance seems obvious enough (this is stated explicitly in verse 11). Notice how these the temple-related purification symbols are juxtaposed with brimstone-related symbols:

• "your cities are burned with fire" in verse 7
• "Sodom" and "Gomorrah" in verses 9-10

And this one from the final verse:

The strong shall become like tinder,
    and their work like a spark;
they and their work shall burn together,
    with no one to quench them. (Isaiah 1, NRSV)

I see a dualistic pattern in the symbolism of frankincense and brimstone. Both derive from the resin of plants.  Both are burned. One is a temple symbol of purity. The other symbolizes the burning that will be the fate of those who reject their Redeemer. We are free to choose which path we will follow. 

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.

A note about "brimstone" -- gophrith (גָּפְרִית)

This is a short note that came up as a result of my deep dive into gold and treasure in the scriptures (see part 5 here) about the Hebrew word for brimstone 'gophrith' (גָּפְרִית) which appears 7 times in the Old Testament.  I did not know this, but the word is directly related to 'gopher' cypress wood, the same material Noah was commanded to use in building the ark (see Genesis 6:14). As discussed in previous posts (see here for example) the ark is a symbol of covenants, which can carry us safely through the chaos of mortality.

'Gophrith' doesn't refer to the wood of the cypress tree, however, it refers to the resin, which is highly flammable. I find that quite interesting.  I see a connection to the plan of salvation.  Those who inherit the telestial kingdom must suffer the pain for their own sins, having rejected the vicarious sacrifice offered to them by Jesus Christ (see Doctrine & Covenants 76:84, 104-106). They "received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant" (Doctrine & Covenants 76:101).

Thus, having rejected the saving and exalting power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ (symbolized by the ark), they get the resin instead.  The suffering they will endure will meet the demands of justice, and they will thereafter inherit a kingdom of glory -- a kingdom whose glory "surpasses all understanding" (Doctrine & Covenants 76:89).

The sons of perdition experience endless torment and do not inherit a kingdom of glory. Their "worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, which is their torment— And the end thereof, neither the place thereof, nor their torment, no man knows; Neither was it revealed, neither is, neither will be revealed unto man, except to them who are made partakers thereof" (see Doctrine & Covenants 76:44-46).

If we look at all the instances of "brimstone" in the scriptures (which I may do in a future post), we see that it symbolizes the fate of these wicked individuals.  The fire and brimstone of the Sodom and Gomorrah can be seen as the symbolic fate of those who reject the prophets and ripen in wickedness.

It is very interesting to be how these symbols fit together, and how some of the deeper meanings are embedded within the Hebrew language itself.

A general note on Book of Mormon names

The Book of Mormon contains a large amount of names: More than 300 altogether, including both personal and geographical names. Many Book of Mormon readers would consider them largely irrelevant, because they are used to a culture where names have little meaning beyond an identifier and they make no difference to the message of the Book of Mormon. I only partially agree because we have seen several examples of names and their meaning being used in wordplays to enhance or add depth to a certain message. Beyond that, I am interested in the original culture and language of the Book of Mormon and think that the names can teach us a great deal. This is because most of the names seem to be transliterated rather than translated.

What conclusions can we draw from the names in general? Based on my somewhat limited knowledge, I will attempt to answer that question.

There is a lot of Hebrew influence

This is obvious since there are many Book of Mormon names that we find in the Bible: Jacob, Benjamin, Samuel, Noah, etc. but also more obscure ones that are found in the Old Testament but few know about, like Lemuel, Lehi and Sidon. This is all expected. We know that the brass plates that Lehi and his family brought with them to preserve their language contained much of the Old Testament that we have today, including the names. We also know that they contained writings that we don't have today in the Old Testament. Perhaps the Nephites got some authentic, Hebrew, yet non-Biblical names from those parts. In addition it can be expected that a people developing their own history and culture over a span of 1000 years will develop their own names.

All this is matching the observations. Names like Alma, Sariah, Mathoni, Abish and Mulek have clear Hebrew origin and meaning, even though they are not found in the Bible. In some cases they are even attested authentic, ancient Hebrew names in non-Biblical sources.

There is some Egyptian influence

Some Book of Mormon names sound more Egyptian than Hebrew. Pahoran and his sons, Paanchi and Pacumeni, for instance, all have Egyptian sounding names. Nephi might be derived from the Hebrew, "Nephil" (meaning large/giant) but many scholars relate it to the Egyptian root for "good" or "fair". Knowing that the brass plates were written in the "language of the Egyptians" (see Mosiah 1:4) and the Book of Mormon writers also used it, there was definitely some Egyptian influence giving a perfectly reasonable explanation for these observations.

Uncertain etymologies

We have defined three categories of names so far:

• Names found in the Old Testament
• Names with clear Hebrew origin but not found in the Old Testament
• Names with apparent/possible Egyptian origin

A final category would be names with unknown origin. It is not always straight-forward to separate the categories. For instance, some names can be similar to known Hebrew words, but since we only have the English spelling/transliteration, it is impossible to know exactly how they were pronounced and spelled in the Nephite language. This makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact underlying Hebrew root or know if there is underlying Hebrew at all. The Book of Mormon onomasticon has a lot of interesting suggestions but much of it remains speculative. 

Some may think this is a sign of weakness in the argument of ancient Hebrew origins of the Book of Mormon. But having many names with uncertain meaning or origin is expected, too. It would be strange had it not been the case. The Biblical names are usually known because we can see how they are spelled in Hebrew. Despite that, there are still names in the Bible, whose origin and meaning we are unsure about. Perhaps even more importantly, it is unknown how the spoken and written Nephite language developed over the years, so it cannot be used as basis to evaluate Book of Mormon names. But it should not come as a surprise if at least some of the names have little or no direct relation to Hebrew because of changes/differences in the Nephite language. Mormon is an example of such a name where there are few obvious etymological candidates. 

There is some KJV influence in the transliteration

I will explain what I mean by this subheading. Those who transliterate names from a completely different language with different sounds and alphabet, rarely have one obvious choice of how to do that. Let's take the name, Jacob, as an example. Yaakov is a more phonetic spelling, true to the original Hebrew, but it's not a very English one. So we spell it differently and end up pronouncing it slightly differently as well. This has often been the choice of Bible translators (I mention KJV in particular because I haven't checked all other versions, but my impression is that other standard English translations mostly use the same spelling). In the Book of Mormon, we also see the tendency to Anglicize the transliteration a bit. Jacob (Nephi's brother) is spelled just like Isaac's son in the English KJV. Given the general tendency to follow the KJV linguistics in the English translation of the Book of Mormon, this is hardly a surprise either.

A case for ancient origins

Still, there are some clear markers that these names are not coming from Joseph Smith's mind, in addition to all the categories I have already mentioned that make perfect sense when viewing the Book of Mormon as ancient scripture originating from Hebrew (and some Egyptian). One interesting fact is that among all the 300+ Book of Mormon names, none start with X, Q, Y, F, V or W. 

The fact that no names start with X does not raise any eyebrows. There is no such sound in Hebrew and this is also rare in English. No names starting with Q and Y has to do with the transliteration and anglicisation. The example I just used, Jacob, might as well have started with 'Y' considering how it is pronounced in Hebrew. But there is a tendency to use 'J' instead in the KJV and we see the same in the Book of Mormon. Jehovah instead of Yahweh is another example. As for the Q, this sound at the beginning of names is always represented by C or K in the English scriptures.

The last three letters, F, V, and W are interesting, though: These are all common letters in English, not only at the beginning of names, but common in the 1800s and several even in Joseph Smith's immediate circles. Fred, Frank, Frederick, Fannie, William, Will, Walter, Vilate, Victor, Victoria, etc. Statistically speaking, there should be names starting with any of these letters in the Book of Mormon if this came from Joseph Smith. But in Hebrew, it's different. V and W correspond to the Hebrew letter, 'waw' that can be used both as a vowel (with 'o' or 'u' sound) and a consonant ('w' sound in Biblical Hebrew). But this is found only very rarely at the beginning of a word. There are no Old Testament names starting with 'W'. There are a handful starting with 'V' but these are usually foreign names (Persian queen, Vashti, for instance).

The same goes for F. There are no Old Testament names starting with that letter. This is because it corresponds to the Hebrew letter, pey/fey. This sounds like a ph, but only after a vowel. So it can never be at the beginning of the word with that sound. This letter at the beginning of a word will always be pronounced as P.

All in all, based on Book of Mormon names, it seems that the Nephites kept much of their Hebrew heritage. It is also clear to me, both based on the thoughts shared in this post and previous discussions on specific names and Hebrew wordplays on this blog, that this could not have been made up by a young farmer in upstate New York in the 1800s. 

Gold and the Two Ways -- part 5 (Conclusion)

This is the conclusion of a series of posts about Gold and treasure in the scriptures and how they are used in connection with the doctrine of the Two Ways. Here is an overview and summary of each part with links:

Part 1 -- We begin with an introduction to the concept and a few key examples demonstrating how multiple bible authors speak of God's hidden wisdom as more precious than gold or treasure. 

Part 2 -- In this part we cover examples from the Old Testament and the Book of Moses. The Tabernacle was to be built of gold and treasure given "willingly with [the] heart" (Exodus 25:2, NRSV). One great sin of Israel involves adorning themselves in gold and treasure and holding the necks high (and stubbornly) rather than caring for the poor. Ironically, the gold they begin to worship corrupts them and transforms God's precious chosen people into "earthen pots" (Lamentations 4:2, NRSV)

Part 3 -- This post covers references to gold/riches in the New Testament.  Particular attention is given to how often Jesus speaks of treasure as a potential barrier to spiritual progress. In addition, James 5:1-4 alludes directly to the story of Cain, indicating this is an ancient metaphor/teaching. This post concludes with 1 Corinthians 3:10-16, which discusses a "testing by fire" which will happen at the day of judgment to see what kind of temple each individual has built upon the foundation that is Jesus Christ.

Part 4a -- This post covers references to gold and treasures in the Book of Mormon. We see that wealth is mentioned quite frequently in the context of pride and wickedness.

Part 4b -- This post discusses a closely related covenant symbol of "slippery treasure" and lays out how this curse connects not only to the covenant people's righteousness (regarding how they handle and esteem their riches), but also to a much older doctrine regarding the corrupting "sins of the fallen angels" as taught in the Book of Enoch. The Book of Mormon makes direct reference to demons and angels of Satan in relation to the curse of slippery treasures.

Part 5 -- This post (see below) will attempt to tie this all together and connect several important and powerful metaphors about mortality and the day of judgment 

Dross versus gold at the Day of Judgment

As noted in the previous sections above, several scriptures refer to a test by fire at the day of judgment. This metaphor is referenced in many different ways. Ezekiel 22 offers one particularly stark example. As the Lord is condemning Israel for rebellion, we get this metaphor:

17 The word of the Lord came to me: 18 Mortal, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them, silver, bronze, tin, iron, and lead. In the smelter they have become dross. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As one gathers silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into a smelter, to blow the fire upon them in order to melt them; so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted within it. 22 As silver is melted in a smelter, so you shall be melted in it; and you shall know that I the Lord have poured out my wrath upon you. (Ezekiel 22, NRSV)

Book of Enoch references

I won't attempt to list every reference in the Book of Enoch on this topic. I may address these in more depth in a future post, but for now it seems sufficient to offer a few of the clearest examples from the Book of Enoch.

The sins of the fallen angels relating to metal working and treasure can be found in 1 Enoch 8. The bigger context is very interesting, but will have to wait for a different post to keep this one from being way too long.

[Chapter 8]

¹ And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments ... ² ... And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they ³ were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. ... And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . . (source)

Later in the book, as Enoch is seeing visions of the fate of the earth, his eyes "saw all the secret things of heaven that shall be, a mountain of iron, and a mountain of copper, and a mountain of silver, and a mountain of gold, and a mountain of soft metal, and a mountain of lead. " (1 Enoch 52:2)  Enoch asks his angelic escort what the meaning of this vision is, and eventually receives this answer:

6 And these mountains which thine eyes have seen, The mountain of iron, and the mountain of copper, and the mountain of silver, And the mountain of gold, and the mountain of soft metal, and the mountain of lead, All these shall be in the presence of the Elect One As wax: before the fire, And like the water which streams down from above [upon those mountains], And they shall become powerless before his feet. 7 And it shall come to pass in those days that none shall be saved, Either by gold or by silver, And none be able to escape. 8 And there shall be no iron for war, Nor shall one clothe oneself with a breastplate. Bronze shall be of no service, And tin [shall be of no service and] shall not be esteemed, And lead shall not be desired. 9 And all these things shall be [denied and] destroyed from the surface of the earth, When the Elect One shall appear before the face of the Lord of Spirits.' (1 Enoch 52)

Even a mountain of gold will be meaningless at the day of judgment.  It will flow away like water in a stream. The vision continues with more explanation about the fate of those kings and rulers who exploited the knowledge of the fallen angels, not to mention the fallen angels themselves:

[Chapter 54]

¹ And I looked and turned to another part of the earth, and saw there a deep valley with burning ² fire. And they brought the kings and the mighty, and began to cast them into this deep valley. ³ And there mine eyes saw how they made these their instruments, iron chains of immeasurable weight. ⁴ And I asked the angel of peace who went with me, saying: ' For whom are these chains being prepared ? ' And he said unto me: ' These are being prepared for the hosts of Azazel, so that they may take them and cast them into the abyss of complete condemnation, and they shall cover their jaws with rough stones as the Lord of Spirits commanded. ⁶ And Michael, and Gabriel, and Raphael, and Phanuel shall take hold of them on that great day, and cast them on that day into the burning furnace, that the Lord of Spirits may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.' (1 Enoch 54)

This imagery falls right in line with the symbols we've been discussing from the scriptures.

If mortality is a test of our mettle (pun intended), to see if we will serve God or seek treasure, then it stands to reason that the day of judgment metaphor will exalt those who have not set their hearts on riches in mortality (they become gold in this metaphor) and those who have set their heart on gold in mortality will find their riches slipping away from them in the day of judgment (they are dross in this metaphor).  It is a grand reversal -- the lofty and haughty shall be abased and the humble shall be exalted. A king who used a knowledge of metal working to oppress his people and wage war will be cast into a fiery pit as one might do with dross.

It occurs to me that the metaphor of this purity test by fire at the day of judgment described in multiple scriptures and in the Book of Enoch may be a direct reference to this ancient metaphor. See 2 Nephi 9:16, 19, 26; Jacob 3:11; Jacob 6:10; Mosiah 3:27; etc.

Conclusion

These deep and seemingly ancient purification metaphors/doctrines related to gold and other treasure offer us a wonderful and sweeping view of God's plan for His children.  To realize our divine destiny, we must be able to overcome the short-term temptations which stem from the sins of the fallen angels. We must see ourselves as gold, not dross, and seek for God's hidden wisdom by consecrating our worldly riches for God's purposes. When we do this, as we read in the scriptures and in the apocryphal Book of Enoch, the earth finds harmony with heaven and creation flourishes. This is the way of mercy, made possible by Jesus Christ, and is the only way we can withstand the day of judgment.

We can tie all of these symbols together by reading Joseph Smith's words to the saints from 1842, found in Doctrine & Covenants 128:

23 Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers!

24 Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand; and who can abide the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap; and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation. (D&C 128)