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)

Qodesh (holy) in Alma 13

I consider Alma 13 a temple sermon of sorts. It is not mentioned directly, but when trying to read it through an ancient Israelite lens, there are temple themes everywhere. As mentioned in my previous post, there is a Hebrew root, q-d-s, that is basis for a cluster of words like holy, sanctify, consecrate and set apart. In the Old Testament, these are almost always related to the temple. I also mentioned that the priesthood and priests were primarily linked to temple service. These two concepts (holy and priesthood) are all over Alma 13. Let's start with the first verse:

And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and 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.

The Son is sometimes called "the Holy One (of Israel)", for instance in one passage in Alma 5 that I quoted in my previous post. The "order of his Son" is called "the holy order" because He is the Holy One. He is the one that entered into the holy of holies in the temple as the letter to the Hebrews discusses. He is therefore the one that the high priests represented when they entered into the holy of holies once a year on the day of atonement, thus becoming "after his holy order".

I also like this triplet in verse 8

Now they were ordained after this manner— 

   being called with a holy calling,  

      and ordained with a holy ordinance, 

         and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, 

   which calling, 

      and ordinance,  

         and high priesthood, 

is without beginning or end

The calling, ordinance and high priesthood are all holy. Their eternal nature is also described repeatedly in verses 7-9. Alma talks about the men of the past who have received this calling, ordinance and high priesthood. Echoing his words in Alma 5 that I shared in the last post, Alma describes those men as "sanctified by the Holy Ghost" in verse 12.

He specifically mentions Melchizedek as one of them. Even though he is a figure barely mentioned in the Old Testament, extra-biblical sources (and the aforementioned letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament) indicate that he was a prominent figure in early temple theology. Even though the temple is not mentioned explicitly in Alma 13, it is probably a context that the listeners were familiar with that went without saying. Anciently, the high priest offered service in the temple and was the only one who could enter into the holy of holies. Alma 13 makes several connections between the priesthood/holy order of God and the atonement. For instance in verse 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.

The temple rituals performed by those after the holy order of God foreshadowed the atoning sacrifice of Christ. When the Holy One of Israel was hanging on a cross, the veil of the temple was rent, symbolically preparing the way for all of us to be sanctified and "enter into his rest" represented by the holy of holies. Later in the chapter, Alma couples "holy" with yet another word, saying that the coming of Christ will be made known by "holy men" (see verse 26). I wonder if this might have been a metonym for men who are called after the holy order of God? In the Words of Mormon 1:17, for example, we read

For behold, king Benjamin was a holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with power and with authority;

In 2 Kings 4:9, the prophet, Elisha, is called a holy man. In Alma 3:6, Nephi, Sam, Jacob and Joseph are referred to as holy men. We don't know much about Sam, but we read that Jacob and Joseph were consecrated by Nephi to be priests and teachers of the people. In Alma 10:7,9, Amulek says that Alma, the high priest, is a holy man.

So to summarize (I am also including my last post in this summary):

• Holiness is a divine characteristic and one we should strive for to reach our end goal of apotheosis
• It is only possible by first separating from the unclean, becoming sanctified through the Holy Ghost and walk the way of holiness symbolized by the temple
• The priesthood, the holy order of God, has been delegated by "the Holy One" to man to enable walking this path
• Holy men like Melchizedek and others have been called and ordained after this order since ancient times, to show this path to man both by preaching and performing temple rituals pointing to Christ's atoning sacrifice
• When Christ's atoning sacrifice was completed, the way to holiness that had previously been ritualized became a reality for everyone

Gold and the Two Ways -- part 4b

In this post, we take a detour from our main point, which is that gold and riches are often used in the scriptures to underscore the doctrine of the Two Ways. We'll divert briefly and talk about the related concept of "slippery treasure." I will connect the two concepts by way of a very ancient apocryphal teaching that directly connects to the Book of Mormon and our modern temple worship.

Hidden riches become lost

In his sermon to the wicked Nephites, Samuel the Lamanite makes a very specific prophecy, which makes repeated reference to a curse that will come upon them because of covenant rebellion:

20 And the day shall come that they shall hide up their treasures, because they have set their hearts upon riches; and because they have set their hearts upon their riches, and will hide up their treasures when they shall flee before their enemies; because they will not hide them up unto me, cursed be they and also their treasures; and in that day shall they be smitten, saith the Lord.
21 Behold ye, the people of this great city, and hearken unto my words; yea, hearken unto the words which the Lord saith; for behold, he saith that ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you.
22 Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank the Lord your God for them; yea, your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and murders, and all manner of iniquities.
23 For this cause hath the Lord God caused that a curse should come upon the land, and also upon your riches, and this because of your iniquities.
24 Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even as they did of old time. (Helaman 13)

The end of verse 24 grabs my attention. Which people "of old time" is Samuel referencing? 

I've spent some time thinking about this curse. Slippery treasure? It's strange. So strange that I assume it is extremely old. This curse seems to serve as one final stark reminder that the covenant has been broken and the covenant people are almost completely ripe for destruction. It screams to the wicked: "Your false gods will not save you!"

The curse applies to more than just gold and silver.  Samuel goes on to mention how the curse applies to "tools" and "swords" (see Helaman 13:34). 

This aspect of the curse directly connects to the concept to a fascinating doctrine from the Book of Enoch, the "sins of the fallen angels." Though apocryphal, it is worth studying in some depth (if you ask me). You might be thinking that this has no place in a faithful discussion of the Book of Mormon, but you would be wrong. :)  Samuel makes direct reference to "demons" and "the angels of him who hath sought to destroy our souls" (see Helaman 13:37). The fact that he connects these demonic angels to the curse of slippery treasure, including tools and swords, is very interesting, because it aligns with the precise context of the Enoch tradition.

The Sins of the Fallen Angels

Before we get to that, let's step back and take a closer look that the precise nature of the curse -- why it is given and to whom/what it applies. The "slippery treasure curse" offers us a deeply symbolic warning, a stark reminder that false gods cannot save us. This is 

There is one point in Samuel's words that really stands out to me:

21 ... ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you. (Helaman 13) 

The curse applies both to the covenant people and their riches.  It has two specific causes:

1) The people have set their hearts upon their riches, and

2) The people have not hearkened unto God's word.

Compare this to Jacob's warning about riches in 2 Nephi 9:

30 But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their treasure is their god. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.

God's covenant people, who definitely ought to know better, have replaced the true and living God with their riches -- a false god of their own making. As a result, both the people and their treasure are cursed. This connects quite clearly with "the sins of the fallen angels." In a 2004 essay titled "Wisdom and the Stewardship of Knowledge," Margaret Barker describes this particularly insidious type of sin, which according to the Book of Enoch were originally taught to man by a group of angels who "bound themselves in a counter-covenant and came to earth ... in this state of rebellion against the Most High God":

The mysterious Wisdom had something to do with spiritual vision, with the human mind, and with knowledge. The harmony of the world was closely connected to her way of perceiving the world, since she joined all things together. What Wisdom gave was not just knowledge and information; it was an attitude to knowledge and information such that the world was in harmony. Conversely, the fragmentation of the world was also due to human perception, to knowledge and how it was used, and the fundamental breach, as we shall see, was the separation of knowledge from the Source of knowledge. Today this is called secular knowledge, but the Enoch tradition recognised it as demonic, the teaching of fallen angels. So should we speak of destructive fragmentation or of post- modern freedom? Of one truth or many? It was and is a matter of perception, and a matter of choice. It is the question of the stewardship of knowledge. (pp. 2-3)

In the case of riches, separating knowledge from the "Source of knowledge" involves convincing us to choose riches over God. Rather than using our material goods to bless and lift our brothers and sisters and build up God's kingdom on the earth, thereby bringing about His purposes (as we have covenanted to do), we see the riches themselves as the path to happiness and set our hearts upon them. It's a subtle perversion with potentially devastating consequences. In the end, the riches we have worshipped transform into chains and we are dragged down to the gulf of misery. Truly demonic!

According to the Book of Enoch tradition, the sins of the fallen angels included a set of very specific secular knowledge (see Barker, p. 12). Metal working is perhaps foremost among these sins, including refining precious metals, constructing weapons, and of course creating tools needed for both. (Picture Satan rebelling against God and promising to use the treasure of the earth to thwart God's plans by making war, tyrants, false priests, and general chaos.)

So this makes Samuel's prophecy all the more intriguing, doesn't it?  Shortly after referencing "they of old time" who rejected the prophets, he declares that the riches, swords, and tools of the covenant-breaking Nephites will disappear and they will be "surrounded by demons." 

34 Behold, we lay a tool here and on the morrow it is gone; and behold, our swords are taken from us in the day we have sought them for battle.
35 Yea, we have hid up our treasures and they have slipped away from us, because of the curse of the land.
36 O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord came unto us; for behold the land is cursed, and all things are become slippery, and we cannot hold them.
37 Behold, we are surrounded by demons, yea, we are encircled about by the angels of him who hath sought to destroy our souls. Behold, our iniquities are great. O Lord, canst thou not turn away thine anger from us? And this shall be your language in those days. (Helaman 13)

I'll come back to this concept in one final post in this series that will attempt to summarize what has come out of this study. In the day of judgment, fire will be used to test what we have built up unto God on the foundation that is Jesus Christ. Will our offering pass that test of fire?

Another note about treasure from the ground

There is one additional point to make about this concept of hidden treasure from the ground, this time in a positive context. Moroni, who as the last surviving Nephite certainly understood the devastating consequences of covenant rebellion, hid up the record he and his father had carefully created. He most certainly hid it up unto the Lord, and later instructed the boy Joseph Smith to uncover this hidden treasure and flood the earth with its message.

Recall the specific instructions given my Moroni to Joseph:

I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them. (Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith)

This Nephite record was made on plates of precious metal as an offering to God. Jacob knew that "whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates must perish and vanish away" (Jacob 4:2). King Benjamin taught that these words would "stand as a bright witness ... at the judgment day (see Mosiah 3:24). Alma-2 taught that these words "should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon" (Alma 37:4).

Having received the record, we each have an opportunity to learn the lesson that eluded the Nephites and led to their destruction. We can escape the clutches of the demons and fallen angels spoken of by Samuel and learn to esteem the wisdom of God above the treasures of the earth.

Qodesh (קֹדֶשׁ): Holy

I have studied the Hebrew root, קֹדֶשׁ - qodesh, which is related to that which is holy. There are several words based on this root:

Qodesh: Apartness, sacredness (noun)

Qadash: To be set apart, consecrated (verb)

Qadosh: Sacred, holy (adjective)

In the Bible, words for "holiness" appear more often than words for "love". This is definitely not the case in typical modern English texts. The idea of holiness and something sacred is almost lost in modern western culture. There is much to say about this, but my takeaway after having studied the concept in an ancient Israelite context is this: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. They were not the same. Heaven is associated with holiness, whereas the (fallen) earth is where the common and profane is found. They stand in contrast to each other. In the exchange between Ammon and King Lamoni, we read

28 ...And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?

29 And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth; but I do not know the heavens.

30 And Ammon said unto him: The heavens is a place where God dwells and all his holy angels. (Mosiah 18)

The common man does not know the heavens. But God wants us to become holy. Since the normal state of earthly things is common, it requires a special act to bring a thing or person into a state of holiness. Sanctification is the preparation for heaven. This is what the temple is for, both ancient and modern. The vast majority of uses of the words for "holiness" in the Old Testament is related to the temple. It is all over the tabernacle descriptions in the Pentateuch, Solomon's temple in Kings and Chronicles and Ezekiel 40-48, where we find Ezekiel's temple vision. Both the holy place and the holy of holies were found in the temple, the latter being a replica of heaven. Here was the throne of God and the cherubim (angels) like Ammon described, like Lehi saw in his vision in the first chapter of the Book of Mormon, etc. A temple on earth offered man the opportunity to enter into the sacred and become holy, a prerequisite for communing with God. It is almost like we can consider the temple, and Christ's sacrifice symbolized there, as the portal to the otherwise unreachable heaven. It is the way to holiness, the connection point between heaven and earth.

In a previous post, I shared Leviticus 10:10.

And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean

The strong emphasis on separation from the unclean in the Old Testament, especially in temple settings, is another indicator of becoming holy as an essential prerequisite for being in God's presence. Here is another example.

And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. (2 Chronicles 29:5)

Under wicked kings in Judah, the temple had become corrupt and needed to be sanctified as did the Levites who performed the temple service.

This context is not that different from our understanding of the concept of holiness and sanctification in the church today. Still, it does influence my reading of Book of Mormon passages containing these words and sheds new light on them. I obviously don't know but I imagine that the Nephites, who came from an ancient Israelite culture, had a word that similarly encompassed holiness, sanctification, consecration and setting apart or separating from the unclean and related that primarily to the temple.

Let's read Alma 5:53-54 through this lens

53 And now my beloved brethren, I say unto you, can ye withstand these sayings; yea, can ye lay aside these things, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches?

54 Yea, will ye persist in supposing that ye are better one than another; yea, will ye persist in the persecution of your brethren, who humble themselves and do walk after the holy order of God, wherewith they have been brought into this church, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and they do bring forth works which are meet for repentance

The words in bold are all related to the Hebrew 'qds' root, or at least would probably be if this were an English translation of a Hebrew text. "Holy One" is a name for God used in the Old Testament, often combined with Israel to become "Holy One of Israel". Nephi makes it clear that this is Christ. The Holy One invites us to separate from the unclean and become sanctified (qadash) like He is. This happens by the Holy Spirit ("ruach ha-qodesh" in Hebrew) according to Alma. Instead of trampling the Holy One under their feet, Alma invites them to become holy instead, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

"The holy order of God" is a term that is quite unique in the Book of Mormon. It is explained in the D&C but is completely absent from the Bible. Interestingly, it makes a lot of sense in an Old Testament context even though the term is not found there. The holy order of God describes what we today call the priesthood. In Old Testament times this was inseparably linked to the temple. The primary responsibility of a priest was temple service. To "walk after the holy order of God", as Alma puts it, may describe participation in ancient temple rites where the way to holiness (i.e. God's presence) is found. According to Alma, it was also the means by which they were brought into the church in the first place.

The pattern is clear. God is holy and dwells in heaven. We can only get there by separating from the unclean of this earth. By the way of holiness in the temple, the holy order of God and the Holy Spirit, we can become sanctified.

I will spend my next post commenting on Alma 13 within this context.

Gold and the Two Ways -- part 4a

Gold and the Two Ways in the Book of Mormon

Parts 1, 2, and 3 are found here: Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. We're looking at references to gold and riches and the like in the scriptures in the context of the doctrine of the two ways. In this post, we'll look at some of the references found in the Book of Mormon. This is a big topic, so I will break this into two parts. In this first part, we'll review scriptures from the Book of Mormon just as we've done for the Bible in the first three sections of this series. In the next part we'll take a slight detour and discuss the specific Book of Mormon theme related to treasures becoming slippery during ties of covenant rebellion.

Gold and treasure in the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon gives us numerous references to gold (59), treasure (15), and riches (43).  I'm sure there are additional terms with a meaning close enough to add to that tally. Since this is not meant to be a comprehensive review of all references, but just a cursory overview of some of the references which also make reference to the doctrine of the Two Ways, I'll focus on those references which best fit the theme.

For the following list, I'll forego quoting the verses to leave room for more total references in this post:

• 2 Nephi 9:42 -- God despises the prideful and rich unless "they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility."
• Jacob 2:13, 18-19 -- Obtaining riches has led to pride, stiff necks, and high heads. Seek for the kingdom of God before seeking riches. Then seek riches for the intent to do good.
• Mosiah 2:12 -- "I ... have not sought gold nor silver nor and manner of riches of you."
• Mosiah 4:19 -- "Are we not all beggars?" We all depend on God for all the substance we have, including gold, silver, and riches.
• Alma 1:16, 29-30 -- Priestcrafts are associated with a love of the vain things of the world, riches, honor. Meanwhile the righteous cared for the poor and "did not set their hearts upon riches" but were "liberal to all." The "steadiness of the church" brought about exceeding riches.
• Alma 4:6, 8 -- The people wax proud because of their riches, gold, and silver. The church began to be lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and to "set their hearts upon riches" and "they began to be scornful, one towards another."
• Alma 7:6 -- (Alma to the righteous people of Gideon) "I trust that ye are not lifted up in the pride of your hearts; yea, I trust that ye have not set your hearts upon riches and the vain things of the world."
• Alma 15:16 -- Amulek forsook all his riches for the word of God and was rejected by his friends and kindred.
• Alma 39:14 -- "Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world."
• Alma 45:24 -- Pride because of "exceedingly great riches" leads the people to not give heed to the word or walk uprightly before God.
• Helaman 4:12 -- Pride of the heart and riches lead to "oppression to the poor"
• Helaman 5:7-8 -- Do that which is good, not to boast, but to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven (the "precious gift of eternal").
• Helaman 6:17 -- Prosperity leads to setting their hearts upon riches, leading the people to commit secret murders to get gain, rob, and plunder. (Cain is directly mentioned in verse 27.)
• Helaman 7:21, 26: Wo comes to the wicked unless they repent. They seek to "get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and [to] get gold and silver." Pride enters the heart and "has lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches!"
• 3 Nephi 6: 10, 12, 15 -- Riches lead to pride and classes, differing chances for learning. Satan had great power, tempting the people "to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world."
• 3 Nephi 13:19-21 -- Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
• 4 Nephi 1:43 -- Riches lead to pride and vanity.

A few thoughts about these verses:

There is a direct connection between riches and having a heart set upon the things of the world. Compare this to the command given to Joseph Smith by Moroni to obtain the plates (which were hidden in the ground) only to further God's work on earth, not for worldly gain. We'll talk about that in the next part in more depth.

Notice the contrasting symbolism between Jacob 2:13 and Alma 45:24 -- riches lead to "stiff necks" and high heads" and also causes the people to refuse to "walk uprightly before God."

Notice also how Amulek is described in Alma 15:16.  It's a perfect analog to the description Jacob gives in 2 Nephi 9:42.

It strikes me how clearly Jesus' words in 3 Nephi 13 fulfill the prophecy of slippery treasure from Helaman 13. This is a foreshadowing of the Nephites brought upon themselves by their covenant rebellion. Their record, also hidden in the ground, has come forth to us in order to gather God's people throughout the earth in the latter days.  Will we be wiser than they and lay up treasure in heaven rather than setting our hearts upon riches?

Cite your minds forward

I noticed wording in Alma 13:1 that caught my attention

And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and 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.

Alma is clearly talking about times past. "These commandments" refers to the time after Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden and God started revealing his plan through angels as discussed in Alma 12. Then why does he want to cite their minds forward? Would not "cite your minds back to the time..." be a better choice of words here?

There may be a simple answer to this of course, not even worth spending a blog post on. Perhaps an error by Mormon or Joseph Smith's scribe? Anomalies can and will naturally be found in a long text like the Book of Mormon. But the reason I am spending a (speculative) post on this, is the possibility of ancient traditions that I see in this weird phrasing.

I posted previously on the somewhat complex topic of time and cardinal directions in ancient Israelite culture. The Hebrew word, qedem, has diverse meanings such as "front", "east" and "formerly". As explained in that post, Israelites would by default orient themselves towards the east. What they faced was the seen world, the past. The unseen and unknown future was behind them, at least figuratively. This explains the diversity of meanings. Qedem can both be a noun and an adverb. Based on this, citing the minds of the people forward to the past makes sense. But it requires a particular ancient Israelite context. Perhaps Alma used a Nephite word similar to qedem and the English translation of it is quite literal. This is very speculative of course, but for me an interesting possibility for a phrase that otherwise makes little sense.

Here is an example from the Book of Job to support my theory:

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him (Job 23:8)

Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me (Job 29:2)

This is the KJV translation. Both of the bolded words are translated from the Hebrew, qedem. Entirely different words in English translated based on context.

Gold and the Two Ways -- part 3

This is part 3 in a series.  Part 1. Part 2.

In this section we'll look at references to gold and treasure in the New Testament. I'll end with the teachings of Jesus from the Gospels, so let's begin with the other books.  This is not comprehensive, it is only meant to be a sample of the type of messages about treasure which relate to the doctrine of the Two Ways. To summarize a theme I see repeated throughout scriptures: the way of life values God's hidden wisdom over any earthly treasure, whereas the way of death causes one to be willing to enter into secret combinations in order to gain earthly treasures.

James 5

1 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (James 5, NRSV)

This passage contains a really important details which I'll develop in more detail as we look at Book of Mormon passages about gold and riches. Notice how James describes the consequence of laying up earthly treasures at the expense of the poor: not only will your treasure rust, it will also stand as evidence against you (that you did not freely give it to the cause of Zion) and it will "eat your flesh like fire." This intense visual metaphor is really important in understanding Book of Mormon references to hell and damnation. 

Acts 3

3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. (Acts 3)

Acts 17

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. (Acts 17)

Acts 20

32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
33 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.

34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. (Acts 20)

2 Timothy 2

20 In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary. 21 All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, ready for every good work. (2 Timothy 2, NRSV)

I have one additional reference to gold from the epistles of Paul which I'll save for the end of this post, because it builds on some ideas I'll develop in more detail in future parts of this series.

The Gospels

Jesus teaches about the potential perils of riches many times and in a variety of contexts:

In Matthew 2, the wise men give the Christ child a gift including gold.

Matthew 10: 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

 

Matthew 23: 16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? (NRSV)

 

Mark 10: 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. 23 ¶ And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! (See also Matthew 19:21-23.)

Luke 6: 45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. (See also Matthew 12:35.)

Matthew 6: 19 ¶ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Luke 12: 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

Conclusion and final example

It really strikes me how often Jesus' words about treasure directly connect to the doctrine of the two ways. It is clear that James 5:4 (quoted above) is a direct reference to Genesis 4:10, in which Abel's blood cries from the ground to the Lord as a testament of Cain's evil.

This connection to such an ancient, foundational Old Testament passage has me pondering about riches and treasure.  I'm starting to see these ideas in new and interesting ways. For example, in the next part we'll look at the curse described in the Book of Mormon where treasure becomes slippery.

But I think it goes even deeper than that. Part of the test of mortality involves a choice between valuing gold above God and our fellow man, thereby becoming as dross. Alternatively, we can humble ourselves and seek the things of a better world, thereby becoming as dross (cast out by the wealthy of the world), which process refines us as gold in God's eyes.  This connects pretty directly to a variety of scriptural symbols: the gulf in Lehi's dream, the lake of fire and brimstone, and the smoke that "ascendeth up forever and ever." We also see some similar teachings in the apocryphal Books of Enoch.  

Let's conclude this post with one last passage from the New Testament:

1 Corinthians 3: 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. 14 If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (NRSV)

The day of judgment brings fire to test what kind of temple each of us has built on the foundation which has been laid. Will it be burned up or will it stand?

I'll develop this idea in the final two parts of this series.