Amulek and "the foundations of the devil"

Stisa and I have both written about Amulek's words in Ammonihah. Here is a list of what we've already found in his words: 

• Amulek paraphrases King Mosiah (see item #31 here). 
• There is tremendous irony in the fate of the leaders of Ammonihah (see here).
• Mormon adds elements we know from the Book of Moses about Enoch as he compares the righteous people of God to lions (see here).

There is already so much going on here, and yet I've found another thread: Amulek is also referencing the writings of Nephi.

Compare Amulek's words ... :

17 Now they knew not that Amulek could know of their designs. But it came to pass as they began to question him, he perceived their thoughts, and he said unto them: O ye wicked and perverse generation, ye lawyers and hypocrites, for ye are laying the foundations of the devil; for ye are laying traps and snares to catch the holy ones of God.

18 Ye are laying plans to pervert the ways of the righteous, and to bring down the wrath of God upon your heads, even to the utter destruction of this people. (Alma 10)

... with the words of Nephi:

3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end. (1 Nephi 14)

13 And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.

14 And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it. (1 Nephi 22)

The foundation of the great and spacious building is a literal void -- the absence of the "sure foundation" (see Jacob 4:16-17, Helaman 5:12) -- and so its fate is determined by those who seek to build it up in the first place. Its fall is great for the same reason: it has no foundation.

The story has a poignant ending -- many of the righteous are slain and later the wicked leaders experience what it feels like to "bring down the wrath of God upon your heads" (see Alma 14:27).

 

"Word", "thing" and Christ -- Part 4: The priesthood

I was not planning a fourth part of this series. But when I study a topic, I occasionally come across things that add a new dimension. This happened again. To recap briefly, the previous posts were based on the Hebrew root, 'dbr'. It is both a verb and a noun and is associated with speaking or word. But as a noun it can also be translated into "thing" or "matter". It is even the name of the inner sanctuary in the temple.

In another recent post, I shared some reflections on the priesthood. As mentioned in that post, the term "priesthood" is not common in the Bible and Book of Mormon. Rather, it is referred to as "the order of God" or the "order of Mechizedek". In D&C 107:1-4

1 There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.

2 Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest.

3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.

4 But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Even though Lehi left Jerusalem long after the days of Melchizedek, it seems that the Nephites kept the older tradition of referring to the priesthood as the "order of the Son of God". As I tried to understand the original meaning of the word that has been translated into "order" in this context in English, I found something interesting. This is a rare word in the Old Testament, but the "order of Melchizedek" is found in Psalm 110:4. The Hebrew word for "order" in this case is "dibrah". It is based on the triliteral root, 'dbr' and derived from "dabar" ("word").

In English, you would not usually connect "order" and "word". But that is the case in Hebrew. Consequently, "the order of God" is derived from and associated with "the word of God". Considering all that I have studied and found about this topic recently, I find that profound. For instance, as touched upon in a few blog posts, there is a relation between the word and power in the scriptures. See here and here, for instance. This makes a lot of sense when I connect that power to his "order"/priesthood. Also, the importance of "the word" in the creation account makes sense when it is linked to the priesthood. Further, this realization humbles me when I exercise the priesthood to speak the words of an ordinance, like blessing the sacrament at home church. I feel that I borrow God's power of the word, to bind in heaven and on earth, the same power that was used to create heaven and earth.

Again, I cannot help but think that this Hebrew tradition and feature of their language carried over into Nephite tradition. The "order of (the Son of) God" in the Book of Mormon is often closely linked to "word"/"thing" or "speak". In Hebrew or a language similar to Hebrew, the following examples look like wordplays.

Now we shall say no more concerning their preaching, except that they preached the word [dabar], and the truth, according to the spirit of prophecy and revelation; and they preached after the holy order [dibrah] of God by which they were called. (Alma 43:2)

Yea, and there was continual peace among them, and exceedingly great prosperity in the church because of their heed and diligence which they gave unto the word [dabar] of God, which was declared unto them by Helaman, and Shiblon, and Corianton, and Ammon and his brethren, yea, and by all those who had been ordained by the holy order [dibrah] of God, being baptized unto repentance, and sent forth to preach among the people. (Alma 49:30)

For I am called to speak [dabar] after this manner, according to the holy order [dibrah] of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things [dabar] which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things [dabar] which are to come. (Alma 5:44)

There are several other examples but these are sufficient to illustrate my point. This connection to the priesthood adds another layer to this topic. Hopefully, with all these layers, it has not become too muddled at this point, but I will try to summarize:

• The Hebrew root, 'dbr', means "speak" or "word", but can also be translated into "thing" or "matter". Further, it is associated with the temple and the priesthood. Thus, in ancient Hebrew language and tradition, especially in a religious context and when associated with God, the concept of word and speaking is much more than a string of letters or a sound in your ear.
• This link between word and power and matter is particularly evident in the creation account. It is an account of the word materializing and demonstrates God's power.
• When Alma compares the word with a seed, he uses much of the same language and imagery. He seems to invite us to become creators and benefit from the power of the eternal word.
• The plan of salvation is reflected in the movement from the invisible and eternal world associated with "the Word" to the material creation and then back again. The "back again" is symbolized in the ancient temple, which is the creation in reverse.
• All of the above represents the "order" of God. It is manifest in and possible through the priesthood.

 

Plain speech, plainness, and highways

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

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

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

The metaphor of the "plain road"

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

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

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

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

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

The Restoration is one of Plainness

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

A note on Hebrew in the Book of Mormon

One of our readers asked why we look for Hebrew roots in the Book of Mormon. After all it was written in Reformed Egyptian. In case others wonder and because we are basing many of our blog posts these days on Hebrew roots, I wanted to make a note about that. 

We don't know exactly what Reformed Egyptian is. But most scholars agree that it is a variant of the Hebrew language expressed with Egyptian script. This article explains more.

Critics of the church make fun of Reformed Egyptian and claim that no such thing exists. But it's important to understand that this is just a label the Nephites used and a perfectly fine label for what is described in the linked article above. It is also important to understand the difference between spoken languages and a writing system. Some examples to illustrate this point:

• If I write "hallelujah", I can say that is a Hebrew word. But a Jew would not write it like that. I have expressed a Hebrew word with Latin script. In Hebrew, it would be הללויה, and impossible for me to read.
• English is a language but not a writing system. The writing system is actually Latin. You can use it to express English words, but you can also use it to express German, Italian, Spanish, even Vietnamese words, because they also use the Latin writing system.
• Yiddish is a dialect of German written with the Hebrew alphabet. 
• Japanese is written in a modified form of Chinese characters. Kanji literally means "Chinese characters."
• The Korean writing system "Hangul" was invented by Sejong the Great in 1443 to promote literacy. It suddenly replaced the Chinese writing system practically overnight, even though the spoken language didn't change at all.

As Mormon 9:32 states, it is the characters (writing system) that they call Reformed Egyptian. That makes sense since the language spoken by Lehi and Nephi in Jerusalem 600 BC was obviously Hebrew. So why did they not use the Hebrew writing system too? I think the answer is found in Mormon 9:33

And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew

Both Hebrew and Egyptian writing contain consonants only. But unlike Hebrew, Hieratic script (the ancient Egyptian writing system in use 600 BC) could also combine more than one consonant into one character. Therefore, it represented a more compact writing system. In addition, "reformed" may indicate other means to further contract the writing system. Considering Jacob 4:1 and other verses expressing the same sentiment, it is no wonder that this would be an objective for the Nephites.

...and I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates...

Another reason for using a form of Egyptian script might be the fact that the record they obtained from Laban and brought along to "preserve...the language" (1 Nephi 3:19) was also written in Egyptian. This is stated in Mosiah 1:4

For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.

Another reason why it is clear to me that primarily the characters were based on Egyptian and the language was based on Hebrew, is the numerous Hebrew meanings and wordplays we find in the Book of Mormon. When names are transliterated, their Hebrew origin usually shines through, even though they may be of Egyptian origin in some cases since the Israelites in 600 BC were also influenced by other cultures and languages. When you translate Hebrew-like words written in Egyptian script into English, the script totally changes and the Egyptian part is lost. 

Based on all that, we (the main bloggers, Lord Wilmore and me) think it can be meaningful to understand the underlying Hebrew origin of certain words or phrases in the Book of Mormon. It is a rich language full of connections and symbolism that can enhance our understanding of various principles. Since we only have the translated English word, this will inevitably be somewhat speculative. In addition, we know that

the Hebrew hath been altered by us also (Mormon 9:33)

How much, we don't know. Personally, I think that the Nephite spoken language must have developed quite a bit over time. 1000 years is a long time. See for instance how much English has changed over 1000 years. However, I cannot imagine the written language on the plates having changed too much. Mormon compiled the writings from the time of Nephi all the way down to his own time. Abbreviating from many different sources with completely different languages would be a really difficult task. Rather, the Nephite scribes were taught in the language of their fathers (see e.g. Mosiah 1:2).

Based on all the Hebraism we find in the Book of Mormon, including many elements from the Hebrew language identified and written about on this blog, I think the "learning of the Jews" (1 Nephi 1:2) has been preserved among the Nephite scribes. I don't know much Hebrew myself, but my impression is that those who do, and who know the Book of Mormon, tend to see Jewish/Hebrew fingerprints all over the book.

I think Reformed Egyptian is evidence of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Otherwise we would need to expect a young farmer with little education to understand the concept of different languages and writing systems, specifically know the characteristics of the Hebrew and Egyptian writing systems, ensure internal consistency between e.g. 1 Nephi 1, Mosiah 1 and Mormon 9, learn and use  transliterations of numerous Hebrew and some Egyptian names in the Book of Mormon, etc. That just does not seem plausible at all. In fact, when modern critics mock Reformed Egyptian and claim it is an invention by Joseph Smith, they reveal their lack of understanding of something that the young farmer in the early 1800s apparently understood better than them.

The order of the Son of God

Many biblical scholars claim that the priesthood with its formal duties started with Aaron and his sons. The term, priest, is used in passing on a few occasions before that time, but there is little information from reading the Bible alone. What was the nature of the authority and duties of a priesthood holder before Moses? I have tried to find out what those of other faiths believe and there is little to be found on this topic. Many would say that they are "priests" only in the sense that they are first-born with some privileges, but have not formally been conferred the priesthood because it didn't exist until Aaron and his sons. Of course, modern revelation, including the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants, tell us otherwise and provide much valuable information.

I also think that the Book of Mormon can teach us a great deal. I base that on the fact that Lehi, a prophet from the tribe of Manasseh, made an altar and sacrificed and that his son, Nephi, built a temple. The Aaronic priesthood was strictly following a line of priesthood holders from the tribe of Levi. That is why I believe that Lehi and Nephi and their decendants in the Book of Mormon had a more ancient priesthood authority after the order of the Son of God or Mechizedek ("the king of righteousness"). Lord Wilmore makes the same case here with additional arguments.

In the Book of Mormon, the term "priesthood" exists but is not that common. It is more commonly referred to as the "(holy) order of (the Son of) God". I have noticed something that the Book of Mormon teaches us about the priesthood in ancient times. Notice the similarities between these three verses.

Helaman 8:18

Yea, and behold I say unto you, that Abraham not only knew of these things, but there were many before the days of Abraham who were called by the order of God; yea, even after the order of his Son; and this that it should be shown unto the people, a great many thousand years before his coming, that even redemption should come unto them.

Alma 13:2

And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.

Alma 13:16

Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord.

The common denominator is clear: One of the main functions of the priesthood ordination, ordinances and the priesthood itself was to help people look forward to Christ for redemption. How exactly was that done? What was it about the priesthood itself that pointed people to Christ? I have more questions than answers here, but I might have some speculative ideas.

First of all, according to Alma 13:2, the ordination itself was pointing people towards the redemption through Christ. I am not sure how, but my guess is that the ancient priest-king tradition and the anointing with oil and laying on of hands, symbolizes the coming of the Messiah (the anointed one).

When it comes to the priesthood duties and how they might point people to Christ, I think that happened in both a direct and in an indirect manner. 

The priesthood directly pointing to Christ

When reading about the "order of God" in the Book of Mormon, it is clear that one of the main priesthood duties was simply to teach and testify of Christ. Alma 5:44 is one example.

For I am called to speak after this manner, according to the holy order of God, which is in Christ Jesus; yea, I am commanded to stand and testify unto this people the things which have been spoken by our fathers concerning the things which are to come.

Another one in Alma 13:1

I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.

"These things" refer to the plan of redemption that Alma had just spoken about in Alma 12.

The priesthood indirectly pointing to Christ

In addition to teaching and prophesying of Christ, an important priesthood duty was to officiate in temple rites and other ordinances. There are few detailed descriptions about this, perhaps because of their sacred nature, but we get some hints.

And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received. (Alma 7:22)

The holy order (priesthood) was used to "receive" people who could then "walk" after that order. My interpretation is that this is describing temple covenants. Speaking about temple characteristics in the Book of Mormon, LeGrand Baker writes:

In Isaiah and the Psalms, and elsewhere in the scriptures, our movement through the events of this drama is symbolized as climbing a mountain. There, the code words “path,” “way,” and “highway,” “walk,” and “run,” all represent the ordinances and covenants we must do and keep in order to make that ascent

The ancient temple rites were pointing towards Christ through a lot of symbolism. The high priest himself served as a type of Christ. Thus, the priesthood and its ordinances were presented in a way "that [the people] might look forward to [Christ] for a remission of their sins".

The Melchizedek Priesthood today

Today, when we are ordained to and exercise the Melchizedek Priesthood, we think about ordinances and blessings, but perhaps not how it might point us to Christ and the atonement. But I wonder if we should learn from the Book of Mormon, rather than just saying that it doesn't apply since the priesthood organisation and temple ordinances are different today.

As the Book of Mormon describes, one of the main duties of the priesthood is still to teach and testify of Christ. In that sense, there is not much difference between the "order of the Son of God" as described in the Book of Mormon and the responsibility of the Melchizedek Priesthood today.

What about the ordinances? Some of them are very different today. We don't kill animals and sprinkle their blood, for instance. Still, perhaps we need to learn from the Book of Mormon and see how ordinances today help us look to Christ and his atonement? For instance...

• All ordinances are done in the name of Jesus Christ.
• Baptism symbolizes Christ's burial and resurrection, the sacrament is the token of his flesh and blood, etc.
• In the temple, there is much symbolism pointing us to Christ. For instance, the word for atonement in Hebrew is based on the triliteral root, 'kpr', which means "to cover" and has to do with clothing. 
• I also love Lord Wilmore's idea of miracles pointing us to the greatest miracle of salvation. Adinistering to the sick, for instance, should point our minds to the greatest Healer and the spiritual healing that He offers.

With all this in mind, perhaps the priesthood being exercised in a way that points us to Christ is just as applicable today as in Book of Mormon times. We just need to recognize the symbols and let them point us to Him.

Echoes of Abraham and the creation account in 1 Nephi 17

I've been studying 1 Nephi 17-18 over the past several weeks.  I noticed several curious similarities between the account of finding Bountiful and building the ship and the story of Abraham's test in Genesis 22 (OT quotations below are from the NIV) and the creation account from Genesis 1.

"Provide means"

In verse 3, Nephi says:

...if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.

We can compare this with Abraham's reply to Isaac's question about the lamb for the sacrifice:

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” 

Later, Abraham "called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." (See Genesis 22:14.)

The Hebrew root here is "raah" which has many definitions, including to provide, to show, to behold, to see, to appear, to look, etc. It is worth noting that this same root shows up many times in the creation account, for  example when it says "And God saw the light, that it was good" in verse 4 or "let the dry land appear" in Genesis 1:9.

"Get thee into the mountain"

Of course, Nephi also travels to a mountain in 1 Nephi 17:7 --

7 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying: Arise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord.

On the mount, Nephi is "provided" direction where to find ore and shown how to build the ship (see also 1 Nephi 18:1-3). This connects nicely with the Hebrew root "raah" above.

"Seashore" and "Bountiful/Much fruit"

Notice the repetition in naming and describing Bountiful tucked away in Nephi's account:

5 And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters.

6 And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit.

The setting here is the border between land and sea, which bring the creation account to the mind. We also have some elements which ring familiar in the context of what God promised Abraham after providing the ram in the thicket, from verse 17:

I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.

 

I'll admit this one feels like a stretch to me, but it stood out so I decided to include it here.

"My brethren beheld that it was good"

This final detail is unmistakable if you ask me.  The phrase in 1 Nephi 18:4 mirrors Genesis 1:4, complete with the use of a word which derives from "raah" discussed above:

God saw the light, that it was good

my brethren beheld that it was good

Summary

Nephi was a literary genius.  The Book of Mormon was very carefully written by someone with intimate familiarity with the Hebrew Bible. 

Understanding these points helps us have "eyes to see" as we study and also helps us understand why Nephi's perspective during his afflictions was so stalwart and so faithful. He understood Abraham's stor in the context of the plan of salvation. He understood his own adversity in the context of the great plan of salvation. He knew that his suffering was helping to fulfill promises given to Abraham by God, and that the purpose of the creation was to bring about the miracle of eternal life among God's children through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

A note about "signs"

I posted this a few weeks ago, contrasting how Sherem sought a sign in order to believe, and the result served as a sign for the people, bringing them to repentance, but the sign did not benefit Sherem.

Notice the words of Jacob's prayer, found in verse 14:

if God shall smite thee, let that be a sign unto thee that he has power, both in heaven and in earth; and also, that Christ shall come. (Jacob 7)

 

In this series of posts, Stisa points out that the purpose of the creation is to reunite heaven and earth and prepare the children of men to meet God.

In verse 15, we see what I believe is a subtle mention of "heaven and earth":

15 And it came to pass that when I, Jacob, had spoken these words, the power of the Lord came upon him, insomuch that he fell to the earth.

This miraculous manifestation had an effect on the people who witnessed it: 

21 And when the multitude had witnessed that he spake these things as he was about to give up the ghost, they were astonished exceedingly; insomuch that the power of God came down upon them, and they were overcome that they fell to the earth.

Note that the power of God "came down" upon them, indicating its heavenly origin.

Here is a detail I overlooked in my initial post. According to verse 17, when Sherem asked for the people to gather, he:

• "spake plainly unto them and 
• denied the things which he had taught them, and 
• confessed 
• the Christ, and 
• the power of the Holy Ghost, and 
• the ministering of angels."

I can't help but notice that Sherem ends up "confessing" three essential parts of the gospel, outlined in my "Office of the Ministry of Angels" series found here. That is really interesting.

More references to the creation account -- The parting of the Red Sea

I have come to realize that the creation account was very important to ancient Israelites, including the Nephites. It only covers the first two chapters of Genesis, but it is often referred to, directly or indirectly, both in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. A few examples from the Book of Mormon are given here, here and here. As far as I understand, the reason for the frequent references to the creation is that it represented the ultimate demonstration of God's power. He spoke and the world was created. Can there be any greater power? This means that he can control all the elements, because they are all His creation. This is often used as argument that nothing is impossible to God, as we will see soon.

I was thinking about the parting of the Red Sea and how it resembles the division of water on the second and third days of the creation account. In Genesis 1:6-9, we read:

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

In Exodus 14:21, we read about the parting of the Red Sea.

21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

In both cases the waters are divided and there is a separation of water and dry land. I don't think that's a coincidence. The God of Israel showed his power when he repeated some of the work of creation in front of the eyes of the Israelites. 

In recent posts, I have written about the word and its power to bring the invisible into the visible. We don't read about the word taking an active role in our version of Exodus like it does in the creation. But it seems like this is an element that has been part of Israelite tradition, nonetheless, (see this blog post). Also, in Moses 1:25, we read

Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God.

At the parting of the Red Sea, God is lending his power and word to Moses, so he can speak and use his staff to divide the waters.

With this background, it is interesting to note that the parting of the Red Sea is referenced three times in the Book of Mormon. Each time it is used to argue that God has the power to accomplish whatever is necessary.

Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. (1 Nephi 4:2)

We see the creation elements repeated: The power, the word/speaking, the division between water and dry land. Why does Nephi mention this? To argue that the Lord has power to deliver them from Laban and help them obtain the brass plates. In 1 Nephi 17, we see the same elements.

26 Now ye know that Moses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his word the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground.
27 But ye know that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh.
28 And ye also know that they were fed with manna in the wilderness.
29 Yea, and ye also know that Moses, by his word according to the power of God which was in him, smote the rock, and there came forth water, that the children of Israel might quench their thirst. (1 Nephi 17)

Here, another miracle involving water in the Exodus is added too. Again, this is used as to argue that God has power to do anything, in this case instructing Nephi to build a ship. Still in chapter 17:

51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?

Many centuries later, there was another Nephi who spoke to the wicked inhabitants of Zarahemla.

11 Therefore he was constrained to speak more unto them saying: Behold, my brethren, have ye not read that God gave power unto one man, even Moses, to smite upon the waters of the Red Sea, and they parted hither and thither, insomuch that the Israelites, who were our fathers, came through upon dry ground, and the waters closed upon the armies of the Egyptians and swallowed them up?
12 And now behold, if God gave unto this man such power, then why should ye dispute among yourselves, and say that he hath given unto me no power whereby I may know concerning the judgments that shall come upon you except ye repent?
13 But, behold, ye not only deny my words, but ye also deny all the words which have been spoken by our fathers, and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah. (Helaman 8)

The same elements are repeated again and used to argue that God can give Nephi power to know of the judgments that shall come upon them. 

There seems to be a tradition among both ancient Israelites and Nephites, that God's power is demonstrated in the creation and is connected to "the word". When the Red Sea was parted, it was a redemonstration of those powers, but it also conveys another important message: God can grant his power to man. Whatever he sees fit for us to accomplish or command us to do, we can do it, because he can lend us power like He did to Moses. This power is intimately connected to His word. 

"Word", "thing" and Christ -- Part 3: A reversal

What fascinates me about the plan of salvation, is that it is so simple that we can teach it to small kids in a way that they can understand. But there is also so much depth to the doctrine that we can spend a lifetime learning about it and feel we are still only scratching the surface. The simple version is that we lived with our Heavenly Parents as spirits. God created an earth for us that we were sent to. Here we prepare to return to our Heavenly Parents and live with them again in celestial glory.

We can split this in two parts. The first part is the transition from immortality to mortality, the invisible to the visible. This is the pattern of creation as discussed in part 1 of this series. It also characterizes the coming of Christ to earth. Similarly, we all transition from the timelessness in the premortal existence as spirits to the mortal and fallen world with a body. But this is obviously just the first part of the plan. The second part is the same pattern in reverse. Christ conquered death and returned to immortality in a glorious resurrection. We can follow that path. This is the transition from the mortal and visible to the invisible and eternal. Part 1 of this series dealt with the first part of the plan of salvation. We looked at how the double meaning of the hebrew 'dbr' root, "word" and "thing", is manifest in the creation account. In part 2, we saw this pattern in Alma 32 and the journey towards the tree of life. It is actually a journey of the creation in reverse, completing the full cycle of the Plan of Salvation. There is beautiful symmetry in the plan that I hope to be able to demonstrate in this post.  

Lord Wilmore (the other blogger and my study companion on the other side of the Atlantic) discovered and shared another meaning of the Hebrew 'dbr' root with me. In the ancient temple, there was an inner sanctuary or "holy of holies". In Hebrew, this was called, 'debir', probably derived from the Hebrew word for speaking that we have discussed. The Holy of Holies in the temple was a place of speaking, where "the word" is found. This may seem like a strange name but it does make a lot of sense in this context and I will try to explain why I find this to be quite profound.

The creation has always been an important part of temple worship. The ancient temple was formed after the pattern of the creation account. According to scholar Margaret Barker:

The Temple was a model of the creation, and the liturgy of the temple preserved the creation. Genesis 1 was not an account of the historical process of creation, but a record of the great vision granted to Moses and others of how the world is made. In the six days when Moses was on Sinai, before the LORD called to him (Exod. 24.16), he saw the six days of creation, and was then told to replicate these when he built the tabernacle. A few ancient sources say that Moses saw the heavenly temple; but most assume that he saw the process of creation, and that the tabernacle represented this. Ancient material such as this is sometimes difficult to read, but the last section of Exodus 40, describing how Moses assembled the tabernacle, corresponds well to the days described in Genesis 1. (Source)

How did the tabernacle, or Solomon's temple that had a similar construct, model the creation? Barker gives some detail in her book, Temple Theology. The below table is copied directly from the book.

Day	Temple/tabernacle feature	Meaning
1	Holy of holies	The throne of God, the hidden heart of creation, the source of life
2	The veil	The web of matter that conceals the throne of God from human perception
3	The table for the bread	The vegetation of the earth, wine and incense
4	The seven branched lamp	The sun, the moon and five known planets
5	The altar of burnt offering	The symbolism is no longer clear because the text of Exodus 40 differs in the Greek and the Hebrew. It is probable that the altar represented non-human creatures
6	The high priest	The human as the high priest of creation

In addition, there are lots of other elements in the story about building the tabernacle that echoes the creation. The following is obtained from this source.

• The tabernacle instructions (Exodus 25-31) are given in six segments, each beginning with “Yahweh said to Moses” (25:1; 30:11, 17, 22, 34; 31:1). “Speaking” these six “creative” words to Moses parallels the six creative words of Genesis 1 (vv. 3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 22).
• The seventh creative word in Exodus 31:12 introduces the Sabbath command. As in Genesis 1, we see a seven-fold creative act culminating in rest.
• In Exodus 39:32 we read that the work was “completed.” This is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 2:2 to refer to the completion of God’s creative work.
• In Exodus 39:43 we read that Moses “inspected the work and saw” that they had completed the work according to plan. Likewise in Genesis 1 God inspects his creative work and “sees” (same Hebrew word) that it was good.
• Just as Moses “blessed” the people after completing the work (Exodus 39:43), God “blessed” (same Hebrew word) his creation in Genesis 1:22, 28; 2:3.
• In Exodus 40:33 we read that Moses “finished the work,” which parallels how God “finished his work” (same Hebrew vocabulary) on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2).

Later, when the tabernacle was replaced by the Temple of Solomon, the same structure was used. The most important ritual in the tabernacle and temple was on the Day of Atonement. The high priest would walk through the temple all the way into the Holy of Holies. Since the temple is the creation in reverse, the high priest on this journey would symbolically peel back layers of the material creation until he passed through the veil and entered the divine presence in the eternal and invisible realm. When the high priest had entered into the Holy of Holies, he would speak and utter the name of God, Yahweh, the name that was so sacred that it could not be uttered any other place or time. The Holy of Holies was therefore 'debir' in Hebrew, a place of speaking, and a model of the beginning of creation when God spoke and the world came into existence. "In the beginning was the Word". This word was in fact Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. When "the Word" became flesh, it followed the pattern of creation. But when his flesh was sacrificed and Christ went all the way through the veil into the Holy of Holies in his role as high priest, as the Epistle to the Hebrews describes, he went back to "dabar" (the word). 

In a blog post a while ago, I described how the atonement literally and symbolically reverses the fall. The following is from this post:

Acts 5:30:

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree

1st Corinthians 15:22:

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive

The atonement is the reversal of the fall! The fall came about when Adam took the fruit from the tree. The atonement came about when the firstfruit of God was hanged on the tree. The fall was figuratively a fall to the ground, to the carnal and the captivity of the devil. The atonement enabled mankind to rise, to "cultivate the ground", i.e. to become master of the carnal instead of subject to it. It enables us to eat fruit instead of dust.

The story of the fall immediately follows the creation account. Seeing how the temple or covenant path is a creation in reverse adds to this symmetry. We have a chiastic structure looking something like this:

A. Creation: Word becoming matter

          B. Fall: Introducing physical and spiritual death

          B’. Atonement: Conquering physical and spiritual death

A’. Temple/covenant path: Passing through the material creation back to “the word”

I find much beauty in symbolism and symmetry, and am overwhelmed by the beauty and depth of God's great plan for us. Thanks to Lord Wilmore for pointing me to the interesting relation between the Hebrew 'dbr' root and the temple.