Feet and the work of Angels

In light of yesterday's post, this verse stands out.

16 Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you; (D&C 27)

See an angel, be an angel. Another verse connecting missionary work with our feet.

It seems Mormon understands this same connection.  Notice how he describes the actions of Alma-2 and the sons of Mosiah after their encounter with the angel:

32 And now it came to pass that Alma began from this time forward to teach the people, and those who were with Alma at the time the angel appeared unto them, traveling round about through all the land, publishing to all the people the things which they had heard and seen, and preaching the word of God in much tribulation, being greatly persecuted by those who were unbelievers, being smitten by many of them. ...
35 And they traveled throughout all the land of Zarahemla ... publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who desired to hear them.
36 And thus they were instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.
37 And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth. (Mosiah 27)

To me, this sounds like the same work Enoch ("the initiated one") was engaged in.

19 And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion.
20 And it came to pass that Enoch talked with the Lord; and he said unto the Lord: Surely Zion shall dwell in safety forever... (Moses 7)

Brought into the light or perish in the dark

In 2 Nephi 32:4, we read

Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

This is another reminder of the two ways: Depending on whether you seek the things of God or not, you are either brought into the light or perish in the dark. Nowhere is this better illustrated, I think, than in this week's CFM assignment.

1 Nephi 11:1

For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me

Compare this with Laman and Lemuel's attitude in 1 Nephi 15:8-9

8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.

I think this textual connection is deliberate. The belief that that the Lord was able to make these things known, made the difference between asking and not asking. The result is that Nephi was "brought into the light" by being "carried away in the Spirit" and seeing a glorious vision. In the meantime, Laman and Lemuel "were disputing one with another" (1 Nephi 15:2) and could not understand (1 Nephi 15:7). They spiritually perished in the dark.

Zion and Beautiful Feet

In yesterday's post, I attempted to make a connection between the high mountain to which Nephi was carried by the Spirit and Enoch's City of Holiness/Zion. For me, this connection has everything to do with living according to the covenants we make in the temple. As we do so, we progress from the telestial and draw closer to the celestial realm where God lives. It isn't hard to think of that celestial realm as a "high mountain." 

The work associated with this covenant is what we typically refer to as "missionary work," but it could just as easily be called the work of angels.  Divine messengers bring glad tidings of peace and the authority to create binding covenants between God and His children.  Once we make those covenants, we become the children of Christ in a specific sense -- He becomes the father of our salvation.

It is this context that helps us understand Abinadi's words to the priests of King Noah:

14 And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!

15 And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!

16 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace!

17 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time henceforth and forever!

18 And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people;

19 For were it not for the redemption which he hath made for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished. (Mosiah 15)

In these verses, we get a connection between a mountain, Zion, and the feet of those who "publish good tidings of good" and "salvation." (Notice the past/present/future symbolism as well.) This is a clear reference to the covenant path / Way of Eternal Life. In verse 18, Christ is mentioned as "the founder of peace." I love these verses. "Feet" is a symbol of their willingness to "come down" from their place of safety to share the message of redemption with a fallen world.

"Tears as rain upon the mountain"

Notice how the tears of "the God of heaven" are described in these verses, taken from the vision of Enoch (the initiated one):

25 And he saw angels descending out of heaven; and he heard a loud voice saying: Wo, wo be unto the inhabitants of the earth.
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.
27 And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.
28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains? (Moses 7)

God's tears are compared to rain upon the mountains, perhaps a reminder to those who are dwelling in safety on the mountain to remember those who are still wandering in the mists of darkness along strange roads and forbidden paths.

Two Rivers in Lehi's dream -- what do they have in common?

The fountain of living water from Lehi's dream is a representation of "the love of God" (see 1 Nephi 11:25), whereas the fountain/river of filthy water is described as "the depths of hell" (1 Nephi 12:16).  What is the common link?  In the context of "the two ways," I see a clear connection between these two sources of water.  One leads to eternal life, the other leads to certain destruction.  The one is found by following the word of God up the mountain (see 1 Nephi 8:19), the other is encountered as one crosses the gulf that divides the wicked from the righteous in an effort to reach the great and spacious building.

Interestingly, it is from the depths of hell that some converts are grasped and brought to feel the love of God.  Notice how this imagery colors the conversion story of Alma-2:

12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
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.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! (Alma 36)

The stark contrast here is part of what makes Alma-2's conversion so remarkable. In a smaller way, each of us experiences the same pattern as we become aware of our sins, feel the anguish that comes from realizing we are guilty before God, and then come to feel the Love of God through Jesus Christ's atonement.

A pure mountain spring becomes filthy when it is trodden under foot by man or animal, or when it is mixed with impurities, representative of the ideas of men.  The purity of the fountain of living water--God's love for us--is found by leaving the large and spacious field and the mists of darkness and rising above. This path naturally leads us to love Him, and then feel that same love for others.  The "love of God" can thus have multiple meanings and can flow in more than one direction.

What does this have to do with Zion or being carried away by the Spirit?

The goal of this series is to connect the concept of Zion with the concept of being carried away by the Spirit.  How does this relate? In short, the answer (for me) is consecration.  When we are living according to the covenant we make with God, we dedicate our lives to the building up of Zion. The work of angels coming down from the mountain to declare good tidings becomes our work. See an angel, be an angel. "Let us go down."

I'll end this section with a passage referenced by Stisa in his two-part series of being carried away in the Spirit.  This has to do the with change that took place in the Three Nephites when they were "caught up into heaven." We see very clearly that they were given knowledge of the mysteries of God and were thenceforth engaged in the work of salvation:

13 And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.
14 And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard;
15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God.
16 But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven.
17 And now, whether they were mortal or immortal, from the day of their transfiguration, I know not;
18 But this much I know, according to the record which hath been given—they did go forth upon the face of the land, and did minister unto all the people, uniting as many to the church as would believe in their preaching; baptizing them, and as many as were baptized did receive the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 28)

In the next part, we'll take a side road down to the Dead Sea to compare the concepts we've discussed so far with what can be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Holy Ghost - truth - eternity

There have been several posts on the past/present/future topic recently. For those who have not followed that from the beginning, here is Lord Wilmore's introduction to the topic. Reading his posts helped me pay more attention to this concept in the Book of Mormon. I noticed another one reading 1 Nephi 12:18

And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever.

Several things came to my mind reading this. First of all, the verse in in D&C 130:8 that "past, present, and future, [...] are continually before the Lord" or in Alma's words: "all is as one day with God, and time only is measured unto men" (Alma 40:8). Eternity is a concept that is difficult to grasp for the mortal man, but it is different for the "Eternal God" who has past, present and future continually before Him. This language expresses his nature. He is "Alfa and Omega, the beginning and the end" (3 Nephi 9:18). He is also the great Jehovah, i.e. the great I AM. Of Him, the Holy Ghost bears record, as the cited scripture states. 

That leads me to another thing that came to mind. The past/present/future topic seems to always involve the idea of truth in some form. It is often about the everlasting gospel/plan of salvation or the Holy Ghost, who testifies of truth. As I mentioned in a previous post, the past/present/future idea is even embedded in the Hebrew word for truth. The example in that post also involved the Holy Ghost, just like the scripture in 1 Nephi 12:18. Here are some other examples of the past/present/future topic involving truth/the Holy Ghost:

Jacob 4:13

for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old.

D&C 93:24

And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come

Again in 1 Nephi 10:19

For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.

Moses 6:66-67

And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever; And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.

The pattern is quite clear. God is a "God of truth" (Ether 3:12) and is "from all eternity to all eternity". Hence, truth is also eternal. He invites us to learn these truths and sends messengers to teach us and the Holy Ghost to testify of it. In that way we may eventually take part in His eternal glory.

Thoughts on Zion in the Book of Mormon

Stisa has been at it again.  This might be the 10th time I've read a post of his and had it shed light on a seemingly unrelated concept I've been working on at the same time.

As I read his last two posts (here and here) on being "caught up in the Spirit," I was studying Zion.  To my surprise, it seems these two concepts are intimately connected.

Consider these words from Nephi:

1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot. (1 Nephi 11)

Is it possible this verse is connected to this passage from the Book of Moses?

27 And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion. (Moses 7)

That's what I will attempt to demonstrate in this series of posts, but it'll take some time to get there.  I have come to believe that "being caught up in the Spirit" has to do with the covenant path (also known as the Way of Eternal Life). To make this connection as clear as possible, we need to start with Enoch and "the City of Holiness, even Zion."

Enoch means "Initiated One"

The name Enoch comes from the Hebrew root: חָנַךְ "chanak"

According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance:

A primitive root; properly, to narrow (compare chanaq); figuratively, to initiate or discipline -- dedicate, train up.

I love the proper meaning "to narrow," which seems to literally point us to one particular way to go (see 1 Nephi 8:20).  Figuratively, the name refers to dedication to a purpose or initiation.  In 2 Chronicles 7:5, when the people dedicate the House of God, the verb "dedicate" comes from this same root.

There couldn't be a more perfect name for the man who established Zion. This is not a coincidence.

How did he establish Zion?

We learn quite a bit about Enoch in the Book of Moses. Here is a detail that intrigues me:

18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.
19 And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even Zion. (Moses 7)

The city is established on the principles of unity, righteousness, and charity. They are taken up into heaven to dwell in safety, but the work wasn't finished yet:

27 And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion. (Moses 7)

This is important -- even after Zion was taken up to heaven, the work continued and others were brought to Zion by the work of the angels.

In this context, consider Nephi's words:

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)

This surprised me when I connected it to Nephi's mountain, because I am pretty familiar with both of these chapters and yet I hadn't ever made the connection between the Holy Ghost, the work of angels, and Zion.

Consider Alma-2's borderline obsession with angels and the work of salvation:

22 Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth declare it unto all nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may have glad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings among all his people, yea, even to them that are scattered abroad upon the face of the earth; wherefore they have come unto us.
23 And they are made known unto us in plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err; and this because of our being wanderers in a strange land; therefore, we are thus highly favored, for we have these glad tidings declared unto us in all parts of our vineyard.
24 For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.
25 And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, we know not how soon. (Alma 13)

Glad tidings, mouth/tongue of angels, power of the Holy Ghost.  These are all connected. I can't say I'm surprised, but I don't think I've ever considered these concepts connect to Zion.

I hope that is enough information to pique your interest.  In the coming posts, we'll dive deeper into these ideas and look at Zion as the opposite of the great and spacious building.  We'll also look at what the Dead Sea Scrolls might say about these ideas, and how some of this related to mysteries of heaven, the Two Ways, etc.

What does it mean to be "carried away in the Spirit"? -- Part 2

As I commented in part 1, Nephi's vision started by him being caught away in the Spirit. This is also how he closes the account of his visionary experience.

And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit (1 Nephi 14:30)

Interestingly, while Nephi is carried away in the Spirit he sees others carried away in the Spirit. In verse 15, Nephi sees the virgin Mary. She is carried away in the Spirit in verse 19 and when he sees her again she carries a child in her arms. In verse 29, he sees the 12 Apostles following Jesus. They are also carried away in the Spirit until they reappear some time after Christ's death.

As we can see, this is a dominant theme in Nephi's vision. We find it other places in the scriptures too. In the Bible, this expression is mentioned only a few times. We saw one example of Paul being caught up to Heaven in part 1. Philip is caught away by the Spirit in Acts 8. Ezekiel 40:2 is the closest we get in the Old Testament, I think. It reads

In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain

But this theme is the most prevalent in the Book of Revelation. He starts off his vision with

On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit (Revelation 1:10)

Also, twice more in Revelations, John describes himself being carried away in the Spirit; in 21:10 and 17:3. Not surprisingly perhaps, because there are several connections between Nephi's and John's visions. There is some common language, like "nations, kindreds, tongues and people" and the whore sitting on many waters (see Revelation 17:1 and 1 Nephi 14:11) and of course the fact that John is explicitly mentioned in the end of Nephi's account (1 Nephi 14:27).

In the Book of Moses, we find it too. In part 1, I mentioned Adam. Also, in Moses 1:1

The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain

I see a recurring theme in many of these accounts. Perhaps it goes without saying that they are typical precedents for Heavenly manifestations. But they seem to be very special, personal and sacred events involving the presence of the glorified divine that requires a transformation of the body to endure as discussed in Part 1. In fact, they are so sacred that they are often forbidden to talk or write about it.

Nephi is forbidden to record everything he saw (1 Nephi 14:28). Mary, who he sees carried away in the Spirit, has become the mother of the Savior when he sees her again. Definitely a sacred experience we know little about. One thing we know is that Joseph was not the father! The other "carried away" he sees is the 12 Apostles. This one is more difficult for me to understand. But one thing that comes to mind is that the Mount of Transfiguration fits the pattern. They experience sacred things, saw Christ's glory and probably much more than what is recorded. And again, they are forbidden to speak about it. The 3 disciples in 3 Nephi, who were "caught up into heaven" also follow the same pattern:

And it was forbidden them that they should utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the things which they saw and heard (3 Nephi 28:14)

A final example is Joseph Smith. Although we don't see the language "caught up/carried away" used, we learn about his first vision and read that "many other things did he [Christ] say unto me, which I cannot write at this time." Don Bradley's research shows that "caught up" would be a very fitting term here.

Conclusions

• Even though I still don't understand the metaphysics, "caught/carried up/away in/by (the Spirit)" are expressions that seem to signify going through a transformation to be able to endure the presence of the divine and being physically lifted or at least guided to a "higher" place, like a mountain or even heaven.
• The expression is typically used in connection with very profound, sacred and personal experiences. These are often forbidden to write down or talk about.
• This theme is particularly prevalent in Nephi's vision and John's revelation, making up just one of several connections between the two.

The Angel Moroni uses the Bible to summarize the purposes of the Restoration -- Part 2

In part 1, we reviewed quotations from Malachi and Isaiah used by Moroni to teach Joseph Smith about the purposes of the restoration.  In this post, we'll look at the rest of what he said.

We begin in the New Testament.

Acts 3:22-23

22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Moroni offered some explanation for these verses:

He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when “they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,” but soon would come.

The phrases "destroyed from among the people" and "cut off from among the people" seem to refer to the Way of Death, or rejecting the covenant/Gospel of Christ. Thus, in contrast, it seems to me that the saying "him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you" refers to the Way of Life, or accepting the covenant/Gospel of Christ.

Joel 2

Next, Moroni quotes the end of Joel chapter 2, with some obvious references to covenants (see verse 32) and also some obvious references to spiritual gifts (see verses 28-29):

28 ¶ And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Verse 31 clearly references a coming day of judgment -- the "great and terrible day of the Lord." The purpose of the restoration is to give us what we need in order to withstand that day. We find deliverance through calling upon the name of the Lord in Mount Zion. In other words, the Priesthood, together with its ordinances (including temple ordinances) prepare us to stand clean before God on the day of judgment.

Joseph says the angel mentioned that this prophecy of Joel is "not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be."

Then Joseph says this:

And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here.

We're left to wonder what was quoted and what was said.

We also learn that this divine message was repeated four times over the next few hours.

Conclusion

What I take away from reviewing these scriptures is that the purposes of the restoration have been clear and consistent from the very beginning.  The plan laid out by the voice of the angel echoes the same things we hear President Nelson emphasizing today: Faith, repentance, saving ordinances, Priesthood, and temples. Moroni makes it clear that all of this is designed to offer us a way to withstand the day of judgment and stand clean before God.

In these visits to Joseph Smith, Moroni summarizes the purposes of the restoration using the Bible.  At the very end of the Book of Mormon, he summarizes the purpose of the Book of Mormon (the instrument of the gathering of Israel) using his own words.  Notice the references to judgment, prophecies being fulfilled, spiritual gifts, covenants, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and standing clean before God.

27 And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?
28 I declare these things unto the fulfilling of the prophecies. And behold, they shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the everlasting God; and his word shall hiss forth from generation to generation.
29 And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true.
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.
31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.
32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.
34 And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen. (Moroni 10)

The Angel Moroni uses the Bible to summarize the purposes of the Restoration -- Part 1

I'm currently studying the purposes of the restoration. In this post, I pointed out the symbolism of the the Feast of Trumpets and the latter-day restoration.

Today I noticed something as I studied Joseph Smith's account of the visit of the Angel Moroni in 1823 -- the scriptures quoted by Moroni neatly summarize the most important points of the restoration.  This should come as no surprise, but I find it to be very interesting, because Moroni conveys the message he needs Joseph to understand using words familiar to Joseph -- the King James Bible (with a few variations).

In this post and the next one, I'll lay out precisely what Moroni said and how it summarizes the purposes of the restoration.

What are the purposes of the Restoration?

I've thought a lot about this in light of this statement from President Nelson:

One question we've wrestled with is how to take the gospel in its simple purity and the ordinances with their eternal efficacy to all of God's children without having basketball hoops get in the way.

The "simple purity" of the gospel is a concept I've thought a lot about.  It certainly involves restored doctrines, but above all it reduces down to faith, repentance, baptism, the endowment, and the sealing ordinance, as well as the priesthood by which ordinances can be performed. Everything else, it seems, is an appendage.

Notice then, as we go through the verses quoted by Moroni during his 1823 visit to Joseph Smith, how often the concept of sacred ordinances and the priesthood are mentioned.

Malachi 3

First, Moroni quoted "the first part of the third chapter of Malachi." I don't think he makes it clear exactly how many verses were quoted, so I included the first 7:

1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
3 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.
4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.
6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
7 ¶ Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?

Malachi 4 (variant)

Next, he quoted Malachi 4 with some changes, as noted below, and references to the temple and the priesthood in bold:

1 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2 ¶ But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 ¶ Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

5 Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

6 And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

Isaiah 11

After Malachi, the angel quotes Isaiah chapter 11. For the sake of brevity, I'll note a few verses here which I believe to be most pertinent to the purposes of the restoration:

1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
...
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
...
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
10 ¶ And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, ...
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.
...

In these verses, I see numerous references to the temple, and of course in verses 11-12 we have one of the clearest statements of God's intention to gather Israel in the latter days. The Book of Mormon is the instrument designed by God to accomplish that feat.

Summary

The purposes of the restoration are all about the Priesthood, the saving ordinances, and by extension the temple.  Moroni knew this of course, even if young Joseph did not, and taught him using words he knew well enough to recognize.  This shows us three important truths:

1) All of the prophecies of the prophets will surely come to pass. (This also happens to be a major theme in the Book of Mormon.)

2) The restoration of the gospel, the re-establishment of the everlasting covenant, and the gathering of Israel in the last days were promised to Israel through prophets before the scattering of the ten tribes around 2700 years ago. God remembers His promises. (This is also a major theme of the Book of Mormon.)

3) God desires to teach us His ways, but He will do so according to our own understanding.  For Joseph Smith, that understanding centered on the King James Bible, thus Moroni used that as his guide in teaching the boy prophet.

In part 2, we'll review the rest of Moroni's words to Joseph Smith.

What does it mean to be "carried away in the Spirit"? -- Part 1

Nephi's visions starts this way

I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot. (1 Nephi 11:1)

The term "caught away in the Spirit" caught my interest (pun not intended), mainly because I'm not quite sure what it means. 2 Nephi 4:25 sheds more light on this verse.

And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.

This is a clear reference to 1 Nephi 11-14. We recognize the term, "exceedingly high mountain" from 1 Nephi 11:1 and also the fact that he was forbidden to write parts of his vision. From this verse it is clear that the high mountain wasn't just non-physical and part of the vision. Nephi's body was actually there. But what does it mean to be carried away there in the Spirit? I don't know the answer but I have two thoughts.

1. A transformation of the body?

In 2. Corinthians 12:2, the Apostle Paul refers to himself when he says:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

In a similar account in 3 Nephi 28:13

And behold, the heavens were opened, and they were caught up into heaven, and saw and heard unspeakable things.

Paul says he doesn't know whether he was in or out of his body. The three disciples don't know either.

And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; (3 Nephi 28:15)

But Mormon finds out

36 And now behold, as I spake concerning those whom the Lord hath chosen, yea, even three who were caught up into the heavens, that I knew not whether they were cleansed from mortality to immortality—37 But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord, and he hath made it manifest unto me that there must needs be a change wrought upon their bodies, or else it needs be that they must taste of death (2 Nephi 28:36-37)

So we learn that they were in their bodies, but their bodies were somehow transformed. Could it be that "caught up into heaven" and "caught away in the Spirit" mean similar things, in which case Nephi describes a transformation of his body to be able to endure the presence of heavenly beings and see the things he was shown?

2. Guided/aided/lifted by the Spirit

Finding the expression, "wings of his Spirit" in 2 Nephi 4 quite interesting, I tried to learn more about wings. The Hebrew word for wing is "kanaph". It can also mean edge, border or corner and is associated with clothing, typically the edge of a garment. I don't know who "the Spirit" is in this case, but we learn from 1 Nephi 11 that he had the form of a man that Nephi could converse with face to face. So presumably he wore a garment of some kind? Perhaps the "caught/carried" away is more literal than I initially thought and Nephi was somehow helped or guided by the Spirit up to the mountain by holding on to the edge of his garment and/or being lifted somehow?

The Hebrew preposition "be" is translated as either "in" or "by", so "carried away in the Spirit" and "carried away by the Spirit" is the same thing. In the Book of Moses 6:64, we read

And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.

Notice the same passive language: Nephi was caught/carried away and Adam was caught away and carried down. So who baptized Adam and how? I'm not quite sure, but it seems that the Spirit of the Lord took the active role and somehow baptized Adam. Presumably, he also helped Nephi up to that mountain top in a similar way. I know this all sounds very physical, while realizing that "the Spirit of the Lord" likely did not have a physical body. I have no idea how this all works, I'm just going where the scriptural accounts seem to lead me.

Of course, these two possible interpretations are not mutually exclusive.

In Part 2 we will look at common patterns in the various "carried away in Spirit" accounts.

Lehi and Nephi's visions -- Part 2

In Part 1, I looked at how the symbols in Lehi's dream and his prophecies in Chapter 10 connected in Nephi's vision. Searching for something else I stumbled upon this chart showing parallels between Lehi's dream and Nephi's vision. Another observation that underscores the point that Nephi also saw in vision what Lehi prophecied in Chapter 10, is several textual connections. There may be more, but these are the ones I found

Lamb of God: 1 Nephi 10:10, Lehi introduces this expression. He talked about a Messiah already in Chapter 1, but this is the first time the "Lamb of God" is used. In Nephi's vision, in Chapters 11-14, Christ is constantly refered to as "Lamb" or "Lamb of God". It appears 56 times in these chapters and only 13 times in the rest of the Book of Mormon.

Dwindle in unbelief: This is another expression introduced by Lehi in 1 Nephi 10. Nephi repeats this expression 3 times in his vision.

Fulness of the gospel: Another term introduced by Lehi in 1 Nephi 10 and repeated by Nephi in chapter 13.

Redeemer of the world: 

And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken (1 Nephi 11:27)

Obviously, this is a reference to 1 Nephi 10:5

And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these things, concerning this Messiah, of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world.

Nephi really sees in vision what his father prophecied and uses much of the same language. These subtle textual connections contribute to the complexity of all the things outlined in part 1 of this post.