LeGrand L. Baker

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  • D&C 10 — LeGrand Baker — Joseph’s assignment in D&C 10

    D&C 10 — LeGrand Baker — Joseph’s assignment in D&C 10

    This was originally written as: “Mosiah 8:13-18 — LeGrand Baker — sub-text in the Book of Mormon.”  It contains an analysis of Joseph’s assignment in D&C 10.

    Mosiah 8:13-18
    13 Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God.

    There are three truly remarkable things about Joseph Smith’s power to translate – not just the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price, but also his ability to translate into the language of the prophets the revelations which he received from God. There are two explanations for the latter, either he spoke the words as he received them, so the words are not his at all. Or else the Lord gave him ideas which he then spoke in his own language. (The statement in D&C 1:24 is useful, but it does not really answer the question. It reads, “Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.”)

    I would like to discuss the problem of Joseph’s translating Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price into the double languages of English and the sub-text language of the Prophets, and to talk about his own revelations as expressions of that same double language.

    Like English, the Nephite language was written and therefore reasonably constant in its history – but like English, that history ranged over a period of 1000 years. A thousand years ago Englishmen were speaking and writing the language of Chaucer – which no one but trained scholarscannowunderstand. The language reached an epitome of beauty in the time of Elizabeth, Shakespear, and the Bible; then it declined through the language of Victoria, and still more to our present time. Anyone who can read well enough can pick up something written in those various times and recognize the time it was probably written by the way the English is used. The book of Mormon language probably went through much the same kind of evolution (the introduction of Jaredite names after King Mosiah’s time suggests the source of one such change. The distorted, unwritten Hebrew of the Mulekites would be another, just as the introduction of French and modern German was to English.) Their language was at least a mixture of Hebrew and Egyptian – so mixed that Mormon says anyone who knew either Hebrew or Egyptian would not be able to read the Nephite ‘reformed Egyptian.’ King Benjamin and Alma lived roughly half way through that evolutionary period. Third Nephi was 400 years from the time of Mormon. If Mormon actually quoted them, which he appears to have done, then Joseph had to know almost the full range of the language’s evolutionary history – not just the words of the language, but the subtle evolutionary changes in the meanings of its words, especially religious words, so they could all be translated into English in the same way. The Small Plates were written in Egyptian – so Joseph had to be able to translate that language into the same kind of English. The English into which he translated it was not his own back-country New England English – it was like the English of the Elizabethan Bible. That was extremely important. Not because the Book of Mormon had to sound like the Bible so it could sound like scripture, but because it had to employ the same words in its sub-text as the King James Bible used for its sub- text. And that is the truly amazing thing about the translation of the Book of Mormon – Joseph translated its surface text into English, but at the same time he translated its sub-text into the sacral code language used by Isaiah, the Psalms, and the writers of the New Testament, and other prophets. It is his translating the book into those double languages which makes the Book of Mormon so amazing.

    That double language is like an encoded signature – not of the individual prophet, but of his prophetic call. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Nephi begins his with a review of the temple ceremony, or of the plan of salvation, or of the mission of the Saviour, or of the sacral biography of every son and daughter of God. It doesn’t matter what one calls it, they are all the same thing.

    The surface text of the first 6 verses is a bit awkward – but look at the ideas he crammed into those few words – and at the sequence of those ideas:

    He begins at the Council: “I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father.”

    He then moves to the difficulties of this lonely, dreary world: “and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days….” He continues discussing this world and its tensions and contrasts between good and evil, asserting that he has “a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God.”

    He then describes the language he is going to use in writing: “…the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.” That is, the double language of his father, which consists of the sacral code language of the prophets, and the surface language of the world.

    He asserts that the writing is true, according to his hand gesture and his own personal knowledge.

    4 contains these ideas: kingship (Zedekiah), priesthood power (father Lehi), temple authority (lived in Jerusalem), and a statement of covenantal responsibility (teaching of the prophets).

    5 is a prayer “in behalf of his people.”

    6 He is before the veil. The “pillar of fire” is the ‘shechinah’ (see your Bible dictionary). “Rock” may have been a real rock, but it is also the code word for the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem. Then he “saw and heard much.”

    After that he has a sode experience where he “saw God sitting on his throne.” He is given a book to read in which he learns about his own personal responsibilities and about the mission of the Saviour.

    That “signature” tells us that Nephi is a true prophet. John uses his letters to the seven churches thesamewayintheBookofRevelation. Thesequenceofideasinthoseletterstestifythat Revelation was written by a prophet who understood the sacred language of the prophets. Moroni includes that “signature” in the last chapter of the Book of Mormon. The Saviour spoke

    it in the Beatitudes when he began his ministry in America, and on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. It is found in the last chapters of Job – actually the whole book of Job. It found completely, or in part, in all of the major sermons in the Book of Mormon. It is the way prophets have of identifying themselves. In 1 Ne. 1 it is simply embedded into the sequences of ideas, but in most instances it is encoded into the sub-text – and if Joseph had not correctly translated the sacral sub-text of the Book of Mormon it would not have been able to bring people nearer to God than can any other book.

    This week, Dil sent me some e-mails and I responded by sending a review of D&C 10 to both him and Derek. After I read the scriptures Beck had sent us for this week, I realized that what I had sent to them was central to what I wanted to say here. So what follows are those comments on section 10. I wrote:

    I want to read with you one of the most amazing scriptures I have ever read. I read it “for the first time” last Sunday in sacrament meeting while I was preparing my Sunday School class (that is a very good environment in which to read the scriptures, by the way). There were times when I just sat there and stared at the page. The amazing things are what it says, how it says it, and when that revelation was written.

    First the when – it was in 1828 – soon after Martin lost the 116 pages and some time before Oliver came to help Joseph translate – and two years before the church was organized. The knowledge Joseph would have had to already had, in order to fully understand this revelation is astounding.

    How he says it – exactly the way it is said in Isaiah, the Psalms, and the Book of Mormon. The surface text has an historical relevance which fits into the context of the story of the Lord telling Joseph he can translate again, then it ends with a nice bit of poetic rhetoric which is intended to encourage him. If one wants to read it that way, it works fine. But the sub-text is about Joseph’s responsibilities as those responsibilities were outlined in the Council, and that bit of poetic rhetoric at the end is a review of the concluding saving ordinances of the temple – and all that in 1828. Dil, I haven’t changed the subject, by the way. What the Lord told Joseph in this revelation is the answer to the question of battle between good and evil in this world.

    Section 10, Date: Summer 1828, Place: Harmony, Pennsylvania, To: Joseph Smith

    1 Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them.
    2 And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your mind became darkened.

    Here “mind” means the same thing it does in the Book of Mormon. The evidence for that is that “heart” is used here to represent both intellectual thought and emotion. So if “heart” is used the way it is in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon, that leaves no meaning for “mind” except the reasoning and emotional powers of one’s spirit. If Joseph’s “heart” were darkened, he would be in a serious depression. If his “mind” is darkened – he is deep, deep trouble!

    3 Nevertheless, it is now restored unto you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue on unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation as you have begun.

    “Now restored” – so the person the Lord is addressing is no longer in darkness, he is not only back in the good graces of God – but his “mind” can fully understand.

    4 Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end.
    5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.

    This is a reference to his assignment at the Council. The Lord does not explain how or why he is to conquer Satan. The idea just comes out of the blue – which means either that the Lord isn’t going to explain, or else that he knows Joseph understands what he is talking about. When that happened, we don’t know, but when the idea is dropped into the context of the beginning of Job, as it is a few verses later on, then it is apparent that Joseph was intended to understand this statement about conquering Satan in the context of Joseph’s assignment at the Council. When the statement is put in that context it becomes apparent that “conquer” means conquer.

    In addition to the Job reference, the other place we learn that Joseph’s assignment is to defeat Satan is in the 1 Ne 20-21 version of Isaiah 48-49. There we learn of the Prophet Joseph giving a speech.

    The part about the speech reads: 1 Ne. 20:13 [Jehovah speaking] Mine hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned [measured – OED says “with fingers and thumb extended.”] the heavens. [The heavens are people = members of the Council – same as the “stars” in Job.] [So I read that to say that God placed his RIGHT hand on them, measuring them to define them as sacred space {ye are temples}, and ordaining them to a “call”] I call unto them and they stand up together. [one stands to make a covenant – 2 Kings 23:1-3 ]

    1 Nephi 20:14 All ye [“ye” seems to be all of Israel, who he has talked about throughout the chapter, rather than just members of the Council], assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? [So someone is going to give a speech. This tells who he is:] The Lord [that’s Jehovah] hath loved him [the one who is giving the speech]; yea, and he [the speech maker ] will fulfill his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans. [ He is a man of great integrity – It is instructive that this was written by Isaiah at the time when Nineveh, not Babylon was the great enemy. So here “Babylon and the Chaldeans” are representative of the world, just as they are elsewhere in the scriptures.]

    15 Also, saith the Lord [Jehovah] ; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called him [the speaker] to declare [to give the speech] , I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. [another declaration of his integrity.]
    16 Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. [I can’t tell whether this is spoken by the Saviour, or the speechmaker, because it works either way.]
    17 And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel [So that identifies the “Lord” as the Saviour, and not as his Father] ; I have sent him [speechmaker], the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit [temple type code word], who leadeth thee by the way [another code word] thou shouldst go, hath done it (1 Nephi 20:15-17).

    In the next few verses there is more information about the speechmaker and those who will assist him until we get to the next chapter. I can’t tell for sure what that chapter is. Either it is a prophecy of what Joseph will do to defeat the kingdoms of “Babylon”, or else it is a synopsis of the promises in his speech which was referred to in the previous chapter. The reason I cant tell, is that it works either way. By the time we get to ch 21: 8 we are learning about the how of Joseph’s defeating the kingdom of Satan – he will restore the temple and thereby restore scattered Israel.

    7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nations abhorreth, to servant of rulers: Kings [sacral kings] shall see and arise, [“see” and make covenants] princes [ those anointed to become kings] also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful. [He has kept his part of the covenants]
    8 Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time [time when priesthood is here so ordinance s are acceptable] have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee my servant [In the LDS Bible, footnote “a” identifies this servant as the Prophet Joseph] for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth [ same language as describes the mission of Elijah] , to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
    9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. [All that is the same language Isaiah uses in ch 61 to describe temple work for the dead] They shall feed [code word] in the ways [code word] , and their pastures shall be in all high places. [temples]
    10 They shall not hunger nor thirst [fruit of the tree of life, waters of life – Rev. 20:6], neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. [more temple imagery]
    11 And I will make all my mountains [temples] a way [code word], and my highways [codeword] shall be exalted.

    The rest of the chapter deals with how the temple covenants will come into play in order to bring about the gathering of Israel.

    So that is Joseph’s assignment, and that is the way he will “defeat” Satan and overthrow his kingdom. Now lets return to D&C 10.

    D&C 10:6 Behold, they have sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom you have trusted has sought to destroy you.
    7 And for this cause I said that he is a wicked man, for he has sought to take away the things wherewith you have been entrusted; and he has also sought to destroy your gift.
    8 And because you have delivered the writings into his hands, behold, wicked men have taken them from you.
    9 Therefore, you have delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness.
    10 And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts [ ‘hearts’ here has the power to contrive, or think through a plot ] to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands.
    11 And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be written;
    12 And, on this wise, the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy this work;
    13 For he hath put into their hearts [same idea about ‘heart’] to do this, that by lying they may say they have caught you in the words which you have pretended to translate.
    14 Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing.
    15 For behold, he has put it into their hearts [their ‘hearts’ make plans ]to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God, in asking to translate it over again.
    16 And then, behold, they say and think in their hearts [Again, ‘hearts’ think – just as hearts do in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon] –We will see if God has given him power to translate; if so, he will also give him power again;
    17 And if God giveth him power again, or if he translates again, or, in other words, if he bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the same with us, and we have altered them;
    18 Therefore they will not agree, and we will say that he has lied in his words, and that he has no gift, and that he has no power;
    19 Therefore we will destroy him, and also the work; and we will do this that we may not be ashamed in the end, and that we may get glory of the world.
    20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that Satan has great hold upon their hearts [Until now’heart’ has been used to mean the intellect, soon he will use it to also mean the seat of emotion – Satan has “great hold” on both ] ; he stirreth them up to iniquity against that which is good;
    21 And their hearts are corrupt, and full of wickedness and abominations [that’s not just intellect! ]; and they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil; therefore they will not ask of me.
    22 Satan stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction.
    23 And thus he has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work of God; but I will require this at their hands, and it shall turn to their shame and condemnation in the day of judgment.
    24 Yea, he stirreth up their hearts to anger [here ‘heart’ is used as the seat of emotion- the heart is angry] against this work.
    25 Yea, he saith unto them: Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy; behold, this is no harm. And thus he flattereth them, and telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him.
    26 And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus he causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare.
    27 And thus he goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men.

    This is the quote from Job. Now lets read Job and I will show you why this quote is so important.

    Job 1:6 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD [we are at the Council] , and Satan came also among them.
    Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?

    That is: where have you been?] Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. [ Dan Belnap wrote a paper showing that the word translated “walking” is from a Hebrew verb which only kings and gods do. That is, it is a ceremonial “walking” It is the word used when God walked in the Garden, and when David “walked” on the roof when he saw Bathsheba bathing (which suggests it was a ceremonial time, and she may have been doing a queenly thing rather than just taking a bath). Here Satan claims to be “walking” as a king or god upon the earth – to and fro, up and down – he is measuring it out as his own sacred space, and declaring his sovereignty over it.] 8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? [ In other words: Satan, you cannot claim dominion over the earth, because Job is there. So after that, the person of Job becomes the focal point in the struggle between God and Satan. God pits Job’s integrity against Satan’s power. In the end, Job wins and Satan is defeated. Then in the last chapters are an endowment where Job is prepared to meet God; sees him; and is made sacral king.]

    Here, in D&C 10, the Lord makes reference to this passage casually enough that it is apparent that the Lord knows Joseph already understands what it all means – Joseph and Job are in the same situation – now Satan’s kingdom hangs in the balance of Joseph’s integrity – and Satan will loose.

    28 Verily, verily, I say unto you, wo be unto him that lieth to deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for such are not exempt from the justice of God.
    29 Now, behold, they have altered these words, because Satan saith unto them: He hath deceived you–and thus he flattereth them away to do iniquity, to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God.
    30 Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those words which have gone forth out of your hands;
    31 For, behold, they shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those words. For, behold, if you should bring forth the same words they will say that you have lied and that you have pretended to translate, but that you have contradicted yourself.
    32 And, behold, they will publish this, and Satan will harden the hearts of the people [That is defined in Alma 12: 11 as refusing to know the ‘mysteries’ – the SOD, secrets of the Council – temple things] to stir them up to anger against you, that they will not believe my words. [so it is defined the same way here.]
    33 Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation.
    34 But behold, here is wisdom, and because I show unto you wisdom, and give you commandments concerning these things, what you shall do, show it not unto the world until you have accomplished the work of translation.
    35 Marvel not that I said unto you: Here is wisdom, show it not unto the world–for I said, show it not unto the world, that you may be preserved.
    36 Behold, I do not say that you shall not show it unto the righteous;
    37 But as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter.
    38 And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is engraven upon the plates of Nephi;
    39 Yea, and you remember it was said in those writings that a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi.
    40 And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account–
    41 Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained;
    42 And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my words.
    43 I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.
    44 Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the account of Nephi.
    45 Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel; therefore, it is wisdom in me that you should translate this first part of the engravings of Nephi, and send forth in this work.
    46 And, behold, all the remainder of this work does contain all those parts of my gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples, desired in their prayers should come forth unto this people.
    47 And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers;
    48 Yea, and this was their faith–that my gospel, which I gave unto them that they might preach in their days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions.
    49 Now, this is not all–their faith in their prayers was that this gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other nations should possess this land;
    50 And thus they did leave a blessing upon this land in their prayers [these were prayers of power, not of pleading], that whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land might have eternal life;
    51 Yea, that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred, tongue, or people they may be.
    52 And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers [‘faith’ {token of the covenant} “IN” their prayers – these are not ordinary prayers ! ] will I bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people. Behold, I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up.
    53 And for this cause have I said: If this generation harden not their hearts [accept and understand the mysteries] , I will establish my church among them.
    54 Now I do not say this to destroy my church, but I say this to build up my church;
    55 Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
    56 But it is they who do not fear me, neither keep my commandments but build up churches unto themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and build up the kingdom of the devil–yea, verily, verily, I sayunto you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and shake to the center.
    57 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. [Not just an identification of who Jesus is, but a reminder to Joseph that he will not have to go anywhere his Saviour has not already been]
    58 I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. [Quote from John. There “comprehend” does not mean “understand,” it means to encircle – darkness cannot encircle and crush the light – another encouragement to the Prophet ]
    59 I am he who said–Other sheep have I which are not of this fold–unto my disciples [a Book of Mormon reference (otherwise he would have used ‘apostles’), but Joseph had not yet translated Third Nephi] , and many there were that understood me not.
    60 And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that they were a branch of the house of Jacob;
    61 And I will bring to light their marvelous works, which they did in my name;
    62 Yea, and I will also bring to light my gospel which was ministered [‘minister’ does not mean teach, it means to teach and to act – so if the gospel was ‘ministered’ there were ordinances as well as information.] unto them, and, behold, they shall not deny that which you have received, but they shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me.
    63 And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea,

    Satan doth stir up the hearts [‘hearts’ again == this time both academic and emotional] of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them.

    64 Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery;

    So now we are going to learn about the ‘mystery’ which he will teach. This is the conclusion of the revelation. So, since the revelation has been about Joseph’s responsibilities and challenges, one would expect that the conclusion would be some sort of promise that he would have the strength to succeed. There are a thousand ways that might have been said. But there is only one absolutely correct way, and that way would not have been guessed by the greatest biblical scholars in the world in Joseph’s day. Yet that perfect conclusion is the one we have here: It is a reference to the coronation ceremony at the conclusion of the ancient Israelite New Year festival, where the newly anointed king sits on the throne of God in the Holy of Holies, and (symbolically at least) does so in the presence of and with the approval of God. – The revelation does not conclude with only a promise that Joseph will succeed in overthrowing Satan’s kingdom, but with the promise that Joseph, and those who assist him will be made kings.

    65 For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;

    Above the throne in the Holy of Holies stretched the wings of two great cherubim. Their wings reached up 16 feet high. Often, in the Psalms, God is referred to as the One who sits beneath the wings. In both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, Christ says he would have gathered the people beneath his wings, as a hen gathers her chickens. That can be a nice barnyard metaphor, or it can be a reference to his invitation to them to accept the ordinances of sacral kingship. I think it is the latter there, just as I think it is here in D&C 10.

    66 Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely. [In the last chapters of Revelation, as in Ezekiel, the waters of life flow from beneath that sacred throne in the Holy of Holies. Only those who have eternal life may freely drink.]
    67 Behold, this is my doctrine–whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, [Come to where Christ is – in this world to the temple and the veil – in reality it is to come to where he really is. ] the same is my church.
    68 Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.
    69 And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock [THEE ROCK to which he so frequently refers elsewhere in the scripturesistherockinJerusalemuponwhichtheHolyofHolieswasbuilt. Thereisonlyone way to be ‘established’ on that rock, and that is to sit on the throne which is on the rock.] , and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. [Hell must release him – its gates cannot keep him in]
    70 And now, remember the words of him who is the life and light of the world, your Redeemer

    [the One who brings you into the presence of God], your Lord and your God. Amen.

    Dil and Derek, the two things which struck me about this section are (1) the confirmation that the Lord would keep his covenants with Joseph and thereby Joseph could keep his covenants to defeat Satan and his kingdom. (2) The language the Lord uses to affirm that is the sacral sub-textual language of Isaiah, the Psalms, and the Book of Mormon. That second is especially important for two reasons. A) It shows that the “pseudo-biblical” language of the D&C is not Joseph’s invention to make his revelations sound like scripture, but it is real biblical language designed to be read in the same way the other scriptures are read. B) It testifies to everyone who can read the Isaiah sub-text language, that the author who wrote this revelation also knows the sacred language of Isaiah – that is, the language itself testifies to one who can read it that the one who wrote it is a true prophet. And in the precision of the sacral sub-text language is the testimony that the author knows the ‘mysteries’ and speaks with their authority. Thus, as early as 1828, the language of his revelations testifies of the reality and divinity of the Prophet Joseph’s sacred call.

    So, Dil, this is the only response I can give to your two emails: There is a struggle between good and evil in this world and two generals in that struggle are Satan, whose kingdom is fighting for life. Because of Joseph Smith who is still the head of this dispensation, the outcome is assured.

    My love to each of you LeGrand

  • 3 Nephi 12:2-10 — LeGrand Baker — Beatitudes and King Benjamin

    3 Nephi 12:2-10 — LeGrand Baker — Beatitudes and King Benjamin

    This was written as a discussion of Mosiah 3:19

    19    For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

    It is my habit, whenever I see a reference in the Book of Mormon to Adam or the fall, to ask myself, “Is this about the fall, or is this about the story in the temple drama of the Feast of Tabernacles which depicts Adam and Eve and the fall?” Often, as in this case, the answer is the latter rather than the former. Thus the answer to the question gives the key to understanding the scripture. Another good example is Alma 12:28-35. There Alma recalls the drama to his listeners by beginning in the Council then moving to the story of Adam and Eve. He tells how angels taught men to pray and God himself said he would teach people to “enter into my rest.” Whereas Alma went through most of the essentials of the drama in just eight verses, King Benjamin did an even more thorough job in only one verse. An interesting difference is that Alma concludes with “whosoever will harden his heart [which he has just defined (v. 9-11) as refusing to know the mysteries of Godliness] and will do iniquity, behold I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into my rest.” King Benjamin, on the other hand, begins with that idea: “the natural man is an enemy to God…”

    The remarkable thoroughness of King Benjamin’s short verse is so concise that it almost reads as though it were written in code. But it probably was not intended to be that, as we may assume his audience understood everything he was saying. For us the easiest way to expand his words so we may understand them, is to compare them with a similar, but more explicit, statement of the Saviour. I believe the Beatitudes contain everything there is to know about the entire plan of salvation. It does not contain it in a great deal of detail, but in macrocosm, everything there is to say is said there. King Benjamin follows precisely those same ideas in precisely the same sequence. So, to understand what King Benjamin has to say, the simplest way seems to be to look at what the Saviour said in the Beatitudes.

    I have discussed the Beatitudes before. Some of you, like my dear friend Dan Belnap, will wonder why I am doing it again here. The answer is that it is necessary until we have a convenient way to refer back to comments one has already made in this Project. Beck is working on that. In the meantime, continuity sometimes requires repetition.

    In the remainder of this comment I will:
    Part 1- review how the Beatitudes relate to the temple drama of the ancient Israelite Feast of Tabernacles.
    Part 2- relate those ideas in that sequence to this verse in King Benjamin’s address
    Part 3- make some comments about the unique information one learns from King Benjamin about the meaning of the Beatitudes.

    For a more complete discussion of the Beatitudes see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.

    PART 1 – HOW THE BEATITUDES RELATE TO THE TEMPLE DRAMA OF THE ANCIENT ISRAELITE NEW YEAR’S FESTIVAL.

    This discussion of the Beatitudes is very brief. For a fuller explanation see the chapters that deal with the Beatitudes in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.

    FOLLOW THE BRETHREN

    1    Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am (3 Nephi 12:1).

    FIRST PRINCIPLES AND ORDINANCES

    2    And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins.

    ENDOWMENT FOR THE LIVING

    3    Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

    VICARIOUS WORK FOR THE DEAD

    4     “And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted (3 Nephi 12: 3).

    Here the Saviour is paraphrasing Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61 is a prophecy of the Lord’s visit to the world of the spirits of the dead during the period between his own death and his resurrection. President Joseph F. Smith saw in vision the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy. In recording his own vision (which is D&C 138) President Smith used much of Isaiah’s language, and paraphrased the entire first verse when he wrote that Isaiah had “declared by prophecy that the Redeemer was anointed to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound.” (D&C 138:42) In describing how the dead will be “comforted,” Isaiah wrote that “to comfort all that mourn; [means] “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion [to make them a part of Zion], to give unto them beauty [Hebrew: the beauty of a hat or crown] for ashes [there must be a ceremonial washing to remove the ashes], the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called [new king-name] trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. [implication of the meaning of the new name: a combination of tree of life and eternal increase] (Isaiah 61:2-3)

    KEEPING THE ETERNAL COVENANTS ONE MADE AT THE COUNCIL IN HEAVEN

    5    And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (3 Nephi 12:5).

    Here the Saviour is referring to two Psalms. Psalm 37:7-11 says the meek “shall inherit the earth,” and 25:9-14. In the latter, the meek are defined within the terms of eternal covenant. Verse 11 reads “The secret [Hebrew: sode means the decisions of the Heavenly Council (see footnote 1) ] of the Lord is with them [the meek ] that fear [ respect, honor ] him; and he [the Lord] will show them [the meek ] his covenant [the covenant they made in the Council.].

    I believe to show means to show as in Isaiah 6, or to show as in to instruct by the Spirit so one will know how one is to fulfil the assignments made and accepted at the Council – and also remind him of the covenant provisions which would guarantee that one would be able to fulfil those assignments. Thus, in the Psalms which the Saviour quotes and paraphrases, the “meek” are those who keep their eternal covenants.

    One gets a broader picture of what all of the Beatitudes are about, when one examines the Greek word which is translated “blessed”in the New Testament Sermon on the Mount. In their Anchor Bible translation of Matthew 5, Albright and Mann have chosen to substitute it with the word “fortunate.” They explain that “blessed” has been given an ecclesiastical kind of connotation which the original Greek did not have. So they avoided that by using the word “fortunate.” Then in a footnote they explain that “fortunate” is not really correct, but the actual Greek word could not possibly be translated into what it really says, because that would make no sense to them — it will make perfect sense to you, however! They write that the classical Greek meaning of the word which Matthew uses, and which they translate “fortunate,” actually means “in the state of the gods.” (Anchor Bible, Matthew, p. 45, fn 3.)

    Thus, what we hear the Saviour saying in this Beatitude is this: “In the state of the gods are those who keep their eternal covenants, for it is they and their children who shall inherit the celestial earth.”

    PARTAKING OF THE FRUIT OF THE TREE OF LIFE

    6    And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost (3 Nephi 12:6).

    Hunger and thirst brings to mind the promises in Nephi’s vision of the tree of life and the waters of life. “Righteousness” is zadek – which we have defined elsewhere as meaning “temple things.”  To be “filled with the Holy Ghost” is different from being “visited” in verse 2.

    LEARNING TO BE A RIGHTEOUS KING

    7    And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (3 Nephi 12:7).

    Kingship imputes two major functions and responsibilities: 1) to be commander-in-chief, and 2) to be judge. The need to be military leader is temporary, and passes when the enemy is defeated. But the function of judge is eternal. To judge sometimes implies to condemn, but more importantly, it means to justify, but not only to justify, but also to sustain the just by the strength and integrity of one’s power to judge. Thus, to be a righteous judge is the epitome of the powers of kingship. If one is to continue on this path which the Saviour is outlining in the Beatitudes and eventually become a sacral king or queen, then one’s learning to be a merciful king is the next – and the next necessary – step along that way.

    BEING ABLE TO STAND AT THE VEIL

    8    And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God (3 Nephi 12:8).

    THE CORONATION – BECOMING A CHILD OF GOD – THE CRITERION IS LOVE

    9     And blessed [in the state of the gods] are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God (3 Nephi 12:9).

    We learn the definition of “peacemaker” in Moroni 7, where Mormon speaks to “the peaceable followers of Christ,” whom he can identify “because of your peaceable walk with the children of men.” Of these people, we are told that they “have obtained [past tense] a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.” That seems to me to say that these people have already passed the step which is “blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” and Mormon is now teaching these people how to go the next step and become “children of God.”

    Mormon explains to them that after they have come this far, in order to inherit all that the Father has, one must have faith (“pistis” – the token of the covenant), hope (to live as though the blessings of the covenant were already fulfilled), and charity (love – love is the first and the last criterion of being like the Father, and therefore is the final necessary prerequisite to inheriting all that the Father has. – v. 48 )

    While charity may be more understandable if it is experienced than if it is defined, the concept of being a “child” of God is very definable. It is a highly legalistic concept which deals with the right to inherit – “And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true. They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things-They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;” (D&C 76:53-56)

    The Beatitude, “And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God,” is about that, for these “peacemakers” are given a new name — a royal king-name, which is “the children of God.”

    If the Saviour is referring to one of the Psalms of the temple rites, it is Psalm 2. The Second Psalm was one of the first to be identified as a Royal Psalm. “The usual interpretation of the psalm…suggests that it is an oracle on the day of the king’s ascension to his throne.” (Aage Bentzen, King and Messiah (London, Lutterworth Press, 1955), 16.) The lines most often quoted from that psalm are, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”

    That is very important, for if the king were not a “son,” his sitting to the throne would be an act of usurpation. Only if he is a legitimately adopted son of God may the king legitimately sit upon his Father’s throne in the temple’s Holy of Holies. Sigmund Mowinckel says that the anointing of the king at the time of his coronation was a dual ordinance. The anointing was an ordinance of adoption and an ordinance of coronation. He writes, that “the act adoption is identical with the anointing and installation.” The context of his statement is as follows:

    “It is clear that the king is regarded as Yahweh’s son by adoption. When, in Ps. ii, 7, Yahweh says to the king on the day of his anointing and installation, ‘You are My son; I have begotten you today’, He is using the ordinary formula of adoption, indicating that the sonship rests on Yahweh’s adoption of the king. The act of adoption is identical with the anointing and installation.” (Sigmund Mowinckel, He that Cometh (New York: Abingdon Press, 1954), 78. )

    Thus in the words, “And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God,” we have an implicit anointing which represents both an adoption with the covenant name “child of God,” and a final coronation. This dual

    ordnance is the full culmination of all that precedes it. In verse 3 one was acknowledged as one who would become king, but here in verse 9 one is anointed king in fact. That kingship is acknowledged in the interesting context of the “persecution” which is in the next three verses.

    PERSECUTION – THE CONSEQUENCE OF SACRAL KINGSHIP

    10    And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    11    And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake;
    12    For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you (3 Nephi 12:10-12).

    A RESPONSIBILITY OF A SACRAL KING OR QUEEN IS MISSIONARY WORK

    13    Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men (3 Nephi 12:13).

    In my article “What does it mean to be the ‘salt of the earth’?” (Ensign, April 1999, p. 53-34) I showed that to be the “salt of the earth” means to be the catalyst of the Lord’s sacrifice. That is, it is our responsibility to do missionary work to the people of the earth.

    THE SECOND RESPONSIBILITY OF A SACRAL KING OR QUEEN – PERFECT THE SAINTS.

    14    Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
    15    Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;
    16    Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (3 Nephi 12:14-16).

    Being a light has to do with one’s relationship with “this people” rather than with “the earth,” so it is the responsibility one has to help “perfect the Saints.”

    PART 2 – HOW KING BENJAMIN’S ADDRESS RELATES TO THE BEATITUDES

    Now, lets return to King Benjamin and look at what he said. “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.”

    In both the Beatitudes and King Benjamin’s address, the pinnacle of the whole concept is to become a legal heir — a child of God — a sacral king or queen.

    It is consistent with the scriptures that King Benjamin’s definition of what it means to be a “child” is relevant in every stage of one’s spiritual development: the 8-year-old who is about to be baptized; the maturing teenager who is struggling to know himself; the new convert to the church (whether that “convert” is already a baptized member of the church, but is now comprehending its significance and power, or whether one is a mature person born outside the church, who is learning about the gospel for the first time, the same idea applies here); finally, the person who is trying to live temple covenants. For each of these, King Benjamin’s description of what it means to be a child is meaningful and relevant.

    The Saviour used the word “child” in those same multiple ways.

    37    And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child [King Benjamin’s definition works here.], and be baptized in my name baptism by water], or ye can in nowise receive these things. [The “these things” are the testimonies of the Holy Ghost which he has just been talking about.]
    38    And again I say unto you, ye must repent [this repentance is what follows baptism by water], and be baptized in my name [He has, and will again, talk about another baptism, this one by fire and the Holy Ghost], and become as a little child [King Benjamin’s definition still works, only now we are talking about kingship, inheritance, and receiving the king-name “child of God.”], or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God [It all comes back to the same thing: One can not be a legitimate “king or queen” unless one is a legitimate “child”.]. (3 Nephi 11:37-38)

    In the last instance, it appears that King Benjamin’s “becometh a child…even as a child doth submit to his father” maps directly to the Saviour’s Beatitude, “And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

    It is relatively easy to map the rest of King Benjamin’s sequence of concepts to the sequence of concepts in the Saviour’s Beatitudes

    “Yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit” = 3 Ne. 12:1-2 – follow the brethren and believe, repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost.

    “Putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” = the temple ordinances and covenants represented in 3 Ne. 12: 3-4.

    In Isaiah 61 (as everywhere else, for that matter) one of the fundamental parts of the kingship coronation rites is to be clothed in priesthood/kingly garments. For example, before Job approached the veil where he saw God (Job 42:5), the Lord instructed him, “Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.” (Job 40:10). In Isaiah 61 we have two references to the royal garment. One is in the coronation scene: “the garment of praise…” ; and the other is in the wedding hymn at the end of the chapter: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of  salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.” (Isaiah 61:10)

    The pre-condition of being royally clothed is always the same (as in Isaiah 61 again): to be prepared by a ceremonial washing and anointing. That requires one’s taking off his “street clothes” and becoming naked so that one can later be clothed in “robes of righteousness.”

    In this Mosiah 3 context, I presume that to “put off the natural man” means to strip onself naked of the things of this world, so that God may clothe one with his own glory, just as one had to be similarly prepared to receive

    the kingly-priestly garments of the ancient temple coronation rites. If that is correct, then “putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” has the same fundamental meaning as v. 3 and 4 in the Beatitudes.

    — “submissive, meek” = Blessed are the meek – keeping the covenants one
    make at the Council. Two of the best examples I can find of that are Abinadi standing before King Noah, and Joseph Smith leaving Nauvoo for Carthage jail. Neither Abinadi nor Joseph bowed to or shrank from the earthly powers which were about to destroy them, but both submitted themselves to the Lord by keeping their eternal covenants in order to fulfil their earthly missions.

    “Humble” = Blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness.

    “Patient” = Blessed are the merciful

    “Full of love” = pure in heart – peacemakers – to see God and become children of God

    “Willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him” = Blessed are all they who are persecuted…

    “Even as a child doth submit to his father” = For they shall be called the children of God.

    PART 3 — THE UNIQUE INFORMATION ABOUT THE BEATITUDES ONE LEARNS FROM KING BENJAMIN’S SYNOPSIS.

    If, as it appears, King Benjamin’s statement is a synopsis of the Saviour’s Beatitudes, which are, in turn, a synopsis of everything that is fundamental in the plan of salvation and the temple drama of the ancient Israelite New Year festival, then, from that fact, we learn several important things:

    1) Since King Benjamin’s address was given about 124 years before the Saviour’s, Benjamin cannot be said to have copied something he read the Saviour had said. Instead King Benjamin was giving his own summary of long established principles and ordinances which his congregation understood very well. Similarly, the Saviour’s Beatitudes were not new ideas, but a magnificent expression of gospel principles which had been understood ever since the origin of the ancient Israelite temple rites. That origin, according to Abraham, Alma, Paul, and others, dates at least as  far back as the Heavenly Council.

    2) To me, one of the most interesting new insights I gained from writing this was in the mapping of “humble” to ” blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness.” One watches that hungering and thirsting in the story of Nephi’s desire to experience the tree of life and the waters of life, and in Alma 32 where Alma talks about wishing to taste the light of the fruit of the tree of life. But reducing all of that to the simple concept of “humble” is both instructive and meaningful to me.

    3) It helps me to understand the phrase, “For the natural man is an enemy to God…” One of the central themes of the drama of the ancient New Year festival was the defeat of chaos by the powers of creation. It appears first in the war in heaven, where the chaotic forces of evil are driven from the heavens; again in the story of the creation of the world when the sacred hill where the Garden was planted rises from the chaotic waters; again when the forces of evil on this earth are defeated by the power of Jehovah; and finally when Jehovah himself descends into the underworld to defeat both death and hell, and restore the king back to Zion where he crowned king and priest forever.

    In each of these instances the “enemy” is one who is, or who supports and sustains the disorganizing energies of chaos, while the object of God is to create order and harmony — the cosmos which is Zion. Thus, “the natural man” who will not “put off the natural man”- and become a saint through the ordinances and covenants which give him access to the full royal blessings of the atonement, must stay outside of Zion. And therefore remains by his own volition, and by definition, an “enemy to God.” His being an enemy is not a status assigned to him by God, but by himself. And he will cease to be an enemy when he accepts the invitation becomes a “child.”

    ———————————-

    Footnote 1:
    Brown shows how the Hebrew word sode and the greek word mysterion (mystery) often mean the same thing. He wrote:

    One cannot begin this investigation simply by studying mysterion in the LXX and the corresponding Hebrew words it translates. Actually, mysterion appears only in the LXX translation of the post-exilic books….Rather, we must trace the idea of “mystery” in its historical development and through a variety of terms. We may begin with the Hebrew word “sod” a word which is never translated in the LXX by mysterion….the word has a wide semantic area: confidential talk, a circle of people in council, secrets….When we approach the early biblical uses of “sod” with the idea of “council” or “assembly” in mind, we find that this meaning particularly fits the passages dealing with the heavenly “sod” occur in biblical references to the heavenly council of God and his angels…. Amos (3:7) announces almost as a proverb that God will surely not do anything `until he has revealed his “sod” to his servants the prophets.’…In the Hebrew represented by Proverbs, Sirach, and Qumran, “sod” is used simply for secrets or mysteries.(Brown, Raymond E., The Semitic Background of the Term “Mystery” in the New Testament, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, 1968, p. 2-6).

  • Helaman 13:9-10 — LeGrand Baker — Prophecy as testimony

    Helaman 13:9-10 — LeGrand Baker — Prophecy as testimony

    Helaman 13:9-10
    9 And four hundred years shall not pass away before I will cause that they shall be smitten; yea, I will visit them with the sword and with famine and with pestilence.
    10 Yea, I will visit them in my fierce anger, and there shall be those of the fourth generation who shall live, of your enemies, to behold your utter destruction; and this shall surely come except ye repent, saith the Lord; and those of the fourth generation shall visit your destruction.

    The timing of this prophecy was given asks interesting questions: It seems to say that if the people who are hearing Samuel do not repent then their great-great-great grandchildren will be destroyed. That really doesn’t seem to be very pressing or even all that relevant to the people he is talking to. Besides that, the modern reader who is reading the Book of Mormon for the umpteenth time knows that these people who refuse to repent will meet their own end when the earth expresses its anger just before the coming of the Savior and that there will be a millennial-like peace after that. Thus one has to ask, why is this prophecy relevant to the people who are hearing it? The answer is: so the righteous among the hearers will be able to warn those great-great-great grandchildren that the turmoil they are encountering in their lives was known by the Lord— and by his prophets— well before they had to face its dangers. That knowledge, that God is fully aware of their problems, encouraged and gave strength to the faithful of Mormon’s generation.

    While Mormon did not mention the prophecy as a source of encouragement, he did call attention to its fulfillment in his own lifetime, perhaps suggesting that the faithful need not be surprised at the depravity that reigned free in the land (Mormon 1:19).

    It appears that the Lord uses prophecies about the future for three separate purposes. One is to help prepare the faithful Saints so they will not be thrown off balance by events that are soon to come. An example is Samuel’s prophecy of the birth of the Savior which emboldened the faithful to stay true to their beliefs.

    Another example of a distant, but very explicit prophecy is in Revelation 11:2-13. There, two prophets will be killed in Jerusalem before the Savior comes to protect the Jews. The prophecy partly answers our curiosity about what will happen in the future, but will, no doubt, be a great comfort to those who have to live through the war and turmoil that is described there.

    A second reason is to give the Saints a sense of the ultimate triumph of the forces of righteousness over the forces of evil. By giving the faithful a glimpse of the chronology of future events, they can understand that whatever happens in their own times or even in their own lives, neither the difficulty nor the tragedy will have a permanent, eternal effect on their security and happiness.

    The third reason is the most important of all. As the angel explained to John the Beloved, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10.).” Mormon said it even more clearly:

    8 And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church … according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called. And thus it is written. Amen (Alma 6:8).

    As we see the prophecies fulfilled, or as the Spirit testifies to us that they have been or will yet be fulfilled, the Spirit also assures us that God is very much in charge, and however impossible it may seem to us just now, God will do everything to his ultimate glory and to our ultimate salvation.

  • Psalm 25 — LeGrand Baker– Poor and Meek

    Psalm 25 — LeGrand Baker– Poor and Meek

    This was written as a comment about 2 Nephi 30:7-18, but it is equally relevant to Psalms 37 and 25.

    2 Nephi 30:7-18
    7   And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.
    8   And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.
    9   And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
    10   For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.
    11   And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
    12   And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them.
    13   And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
    14   And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall
    put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.
    15   They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
    16   Wherefore, the things of all nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made known unto the children of men.
    17   There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed.
    18   Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that day be revealed; and Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more, for a long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I make an end of my sayings.

    In these few short verses Nephi carries us from the time of the gathering of the Jews to the beginning of the millennium. He goes so quickly that it almost causes one to try to catch him and ask, “You have just skipped through the events of my lifetime, but where am I in your story.”

    I suppose, if we could do that, he would respond, “I have told you already, that’s why we have read so much of Isaiah together.” At least, I think that’s what he might say, because as I read the parts of these verses which speak specifically of the members of Christ’s church, my mind moves back to Nephi’s emphasis on Isaiah, then, almost with transition, forward to the Beatitudes (for it’s all the same story). Now, as I sit here, my mind replaying some of the things Nephi has taught, I just go “WOW,” and wonder what to write to make that “WOW” intelligible to my friends.

    It seems to me that in these passages Nephi does not write about our times as much as he writes about us – individually. The verse I have in mind is the one which he quoted from Isaiah before (Isaiah 11:4 quoted in 2 Nephi 21:4), and which he now pulls from its original context to paraphrase again here. In Isaiah’s code words (as I read the words) Nephi sums up our lives and our missions. He paraphrases Isaiah, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.”(2 Ne. 30: 9a )

    I think what I would like to write today, is a review of the meaning of the code words, especially “poor,” “meek,” and “judge.” In looking at the meaning of “meek” we will have to look at other code words, like “way,” “path,” “secrets (sode),” and a few others. For some of you who have been a part of our Book of Mormon Project for about as long as I have, what I am going to write may contain nothing new. Some of you will recognize parts of this as being lifted almost verbatim from other things I have written. To you, I apologize for the redundancy, and suggest you may want to stop reading now. But for others of you, some of these ideas may be new, and may even have some value. I believe it is important in order to understand our verses, to observe that the two major code words which are used here are the same ones which are used in D&C 88:17. “And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.” The earth, as I understand that passage in its full context, was created, and will be celestialized, for the express purpose of being inhabited by the “poor” and the “meek.” Those are the same words which describe the people in our Book of Mormon verse. So our quest to understand either verse needs to begin with our discussing the answers to the questions: “Who are the ‘poor?’ and Who are the ‘meek’?”

    First, Who are the poor?

    The place to begin to look is in the Beatitudes (I will quote the ones in 3 Nephi 12 rather than in Matthew 5.), where verse three reads, “Yea, blesed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

    Non-LDS scholars don’t know (and most are honest enough that they say they really don’t know) what “poor” means in the Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (3 Nephi version rather than the one in Matthew) However these scholars do insist that “poor” has nothing to do with poverty, or a lack of spirituality. The Anchor Bible translation uses ‘pious’ or God-fearing as a substitute for poor. That substitution makes sense in the first part of the verse, but it does not account for why the Saviour used “poor” as the requisite condition of those who will ultimately own the Kingdom of Heaven (It says, “theirs is the kingdom” – It does not say, “they shall be citizens of the kingdom”) People to whom kingdoms belong are called “kings” and “queens,” or, if it is an ecclesiastical kingdom, “priests,” and “priestesses.”

    Some scholars have noted that the first three Beatitudes seem to be something of a paraphrase of Isaiah 61:1-3, which speaks of a coronation ceremony, of comforting those who mourn, and of the “meek.” In fact, Isaiah 1:3 is a review of the ancient royal and priestly coronation ceremonies. It mentions a washing (symbolized by exchanging ashes for a crown), anointing, clothing, and giving of a new name (“called”). (See: Margaret Dee Bratcher, “Salvation Achieved, Isaiah 61:1-7, 65: 17-66:2,” in Review and Expositor, Spring, 1991, Vol. 88, No. 2, p. 177-187; Paul D. Hanson, Isaiah 40 – 66, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, John Knox Press, 1995), p. 223-226; George A. Knight, The New Israel, A Commentary on the Book of Isaiah 56–66 (Grand Rapids, Mich., Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1985) p. 50-57; Claus Westermann, Isaiah 40 – 66 (Philadelphia, Westminster Press, 1969), p. 364-367.)

    That coronation setting reenforces the idea that the “poor” to whom the kingdom of heaven belong, are its kings and queens rather than just its citizens, but it still doesn’t answer the question of why this adoptive royalty should be described by the word “poor.”

    I believe the Book of Mormon gives us the answer to that question by telling us the sequence of the Saviour’s teachings. Third Nephi reports that one of the first things he did was to instruct the people about a fundamental change in the law of sacrifice. He told them the only appropriate sacrifice would be their own broken hearts and contrite spirits. That was not a new teaching, it was also found in the Psalms. The thing which was new in the instruction was that the outward sacrifices were to be discontinued, where major importance would be placed on the inward sacrifices instead. Soon after giving these instructions he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit….”

    (Other scriptures which suggest the same conclusion are: Psalms 34:18, Psalms 51:17, Isaiah 29:19, Isaiah 57:15, Isaiah 66:2, 2 Nephi 9:30, 2 Nephi 2:7, 2 Nephi 4:32, 2 Nephi 27:30, 2 Nephi 28:13, Helaman 8:15, 3 Nephi 9:20, 3 Nephi 12:19, Ether 4:15, Moroni 6:2, D&C 20:37, D&C 52:15, D&C 56:17-18, D&C 59:8, D&C 109:72 )

    It seems to me that one who has sacrificed a broken heart and contrite spirit can legitimately be called “poor” in the only sense which is perfectly consistent with the meaning of the first Beatitude. For that reason, I often read that Beatitude this way: Blessed are those who have sacrificed a broken heart and a contrite spirit, who come unto Christ, for they are the kings and queens, priests and priestesses in the Kingdom of God. At least, I think that is what it means.

    If I am correct, it squares well with the statement, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor,” because ‘righteousness’ denotes the propriety of temple ordinances and covenants. Let me explain.

    The word “righteousness” is the English rendition of Zadok if it is a proper name, or zedek if it is an adjective as it is in words like Melchizedek (“king of righteousness” or “my king is righteous”). The man Zadok was the High Priest who anointed Solomon to be king, and who later presided at Solomon’s Temple. After his death, according to tradition, all the legitimate High Priests who presided at the Temple (until sometime after the Babylonian captivity when the office of High Priest became a political appointment) were descendants of Zadok. Thus, to do something “in zedek-ness” or “with zedek-ness” means to do it correctly, in the manner of the High Priest. That is, to do it with the right authority, dressed the right way, in the correct manner, in the right place, and at the right time. Thus the words, ‘righteous’ and ‘righteousness’ have to do with the correctness of the rites of the ancient Israelite temples.

    “Judge” is also an important word which has both kingship and temple connotations. To judge can mean to condemn, but it can also mean to justify. It can mean to choose or select (as judging the best cake in a baking contest at a county fair) It can also mean to establish a standard of excellence by which one may conduct oneself, and to help one adhere to that standard.

    It seems to me that what Nephi’s “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor,” is saying this: the criteria with which the Lord will judge (justify, select, give directions to) those who have sacrificed a broken hart and contrite spirit, will be ‘Zadok-ness’ — that criteria which is established by the covenants and ordinances of the temple.

    Now let’s look at the next phrase, “and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.” This statement seems to be similar in meaning the other one. Again we must go back to where we began before, with the understanding that the earth was prepared so the ‘poor’ and the ‘meek’ may inherit it. And, once again one must go to the Beatitudes to discover the meaning of the word “meek.”

    The Beatitude in question is “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” It says the same thing as D&C 88 and is lifted almost verbatim from the Psalms. In the scriptures, when those scriptures speak in a temple setting, the word “meek” seems always to mean the same thing – and that meaning is not “humble,” and it is not “timid.” Some people choose to interpret this Beatitude is if it said, “Only non-self- assertive people will inherit the earth,” with the implied, sometimes stated quip, “and they will have to inherit it, because that’s the only way they can get it.” Those folks miss the point. The scriptures suggest that the word “meek” is the very opposite of a lack of assertiveness, and that the meek do not inherit the earth by default, but it is theirs as a legal heritage – it belongs to them by right. (Again I refer you to D&C 88 where the words “poor” and “meek” are words which describe the people in this world who will ultimately become celestial persons.) – and for whom the celestial earth will be created.

    That use of “meek” is consistent with the way the word is used elsewhere in the scriptures. An example is in the coronation passages of Isaiah 61 we have already referred to. Isaiah wrote that the Lord was anointed “to preach good tidings to the meek.” Joseph F. Smith quotes that passage and also says that among those to whom the Lord preached were “the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God.” (D&C 138: 42, 55) So, for those people at least, the quality of “noble and greatness” and the quality of “meekness” are apparently represented as being the same quality. This is also shown in the Bible where we learn, “the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3) Those who are “meek” are meek before the Lord. For example, in my view, Abinadi, standing defiantly before king Noah while delivering the Lord’s message to him and his fellows, is a splendid example of true meekness. Abinadi’s “meekness” is descriptive of his attitude toward God, but not of his attitude toward men.

    One is meek before the Lord, when he keeps the covenants he has made with the Lord, that is, when one obeys the instructions he receives from the Holy Ghost about what to do in order to keep those covenants. This idea is clearly taught in the scriptures.

    The Beatitude “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth,” seems to be a composite of two Psalms, which, together, speak with amazing power. The Psalm from which the Saviour is actually quoting in the Beatitude is 37:11. It context in reads:

    7   Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his [his own, rather than the Lord’s ] way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass .
    8   Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
    9   For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
    10   For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
    11   But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psalm 37:7-11) .

    To “wait” means to be to wait, liking siting at a bus stop and waiting for the bus to come. The implications of that are clarified in Psalm 25. I’ll show you when we get there. For the present let’s just observe that it is apparent from that scripture that to “wait on the Lord” means to be alert to keep the covenants which one made with him at the Council in Heaven and patiently wait for him to fulfill his part.

    Here in our present Psalm (37:11) the important relationship of the Psalms with the Beatitudes is shown in more than in the fact that the Lord quoted the Psalm almost verbatim. Verse 11 reads, “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

    In the Beatitudes, the Saviour not only quotes the first part of that verse, but he quotes it in its own sequential context. Notice the sequence in the Beatitudes:

    5   And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ….
    8   And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God
    9   And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

    The key to the meaning of “peacemakers,” is Mormon’s introductory statements on the first page of Moroni 7.

    In that sequence, verse 8 brings one into the presence of God, and verse 9 sits one on the royal throne of God as his legitimate heir. Please let me explain. The coronation setting of the Beatitudes was established in the first three verses, as we have already mentioned. In verse 9 the subject is given a new name or king name, which is “child of God” (“…for they shall be called ‘the children of God’.”). A “child” is a legitimate heir. If such a new-name, or king-name, is found, as this one is, in a coronation context, one can guess that the name “child” probably suggests that the person is being recognized as a legitimate heir to the throne. It appears that in the Beatitudes the king-name “child of God” occurs just as it does in the final anointing rites in the kingship sequence of the ancient New Year’s festival, as suggested in Psalm 2:7. Some scholars believe that in the ancient Israelite New Year’s festival, the final anointing of the king was apparently a dual ordinance, both of adoption and coronation. It had to be, they assert, because anyone who was anointed king, and who sat upon the throne, but who was not a legitimate child, would be a usurper. It is a question of legitimacy. Before one can sit upon the throne, one must be adopted as a legitimate heir. In the ancient coronation ceremony, the king-apparent had first to be acknowledged as a child of God, before he could set upon the throne of God. Thus the anointing ordinance answered both needs. The other Psalm which the Saviour’s Beatitude about meekness refers to is 25:9-14. Even though the direct quote is not there, in many ways this psalm is even more explicit than the other. Let me quote it all to you, then look at it more closely.

    9   The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
    10   All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
    11   For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
    12   What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
    13   His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
    14   The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant (Psalm 25:9-14).

    Lets begin by looking closely at the concluding verse, 14, then go back and examine the other verses in light of that conclusion. It reads, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.”

    The word “secret” is the same Hebrew word as in Amos 3:7, which reads “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” The word translated ‘secret’ is the Hebrew word SOD (“sode” in Strong). It means the secrets or the decisions of a council. In these and similar contexts, it refers to the decisions of the Council in Heaven. [Raymond E. Brown, The Semitic Background of the Term “Mystery” in the New Testament (Philadelphia, Fortress Press,  1968),  2-6.]

    What Amos says, then, is that the Lord will not do anything until after he recalls to the prophet the covenants and decisions made in Council. What our Psalm says is that the Lord will teach the decisions of the Council to those who fear (respect) him, and “will shew them his covenant.” I understand that to mean that God, by the power of the Spirit, will teach each individual the covenant he made in the pre-mortal existence, relative to that person’s expectations of the mission he would do while on the earth. The psalm introduces that idea by associating the word “meek” with those who remember and keep that covenant. The remembering comes as a gift from God; the keeping is a matter of one’s faith and integrity.

    Now lets re-read the portion of Psalm 25 which is quoted above. I’ll put the words of the Psalm in caps and my comments in lower case letters.

    The following verses are from Psalm 25:

    9    “THE MEEK [those who keep their eternal covenants ] WILL HE [the Lord ] GUIDE IN JUDGEMENT,” [To judge righteously, that is to be a righteous judge, is the first and most important function of a king. It is represented in verse 7 of the Beatitudes, immediately before one sees God, as “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” If the meek are to be the kings and priests of a celestial world, they must learn how to judge righteously. To not learn to judge righteously, is to disqualify oneself. Those who keep their covenants can learn that requisite lesson, because the Lord will be their “guide in judgment.” ]

    9-b    “AND THE MEEK WILL HE TEACH IN HIS WAY.” [In a temple context, “way” is a code word which usually means the sequence of the ordinances and covenants. (The Beatitudes, especially as they are reported in the Book of Mormon, may thus be seen as a quick map of the “way.”) ]

    10    “ALL THE PATHS [same code meaning as “way” ] OF THE LORD ARE MERCY [Another reference to the primary responsibility of kingship ] AND TRUTH [ Truth is knowledge of reality – things as they were, are, and will be (D&C 93). So, the “path” of kingship includes learning judgement which is based on an understanding of reality.]

    10-b    UNTO SUCH AS KEEP HIS COVENANTS [ The covenants, in this context, would be the ones which one made at the Council and which one re-makes in this world. ] AND HIS TESTIMONIES. [Scholars aren’t sure what “testimonies” mean in this and similar contexts. Some believe it was something which was worn on the body, and that the wearing of it was a testimony of the covenants which one had made.]

    11    “FOR THY NAME’S SAKE, O LORD” [God has many names, just as covenant people have. New Names are always associated with covenants (For example, one takes upon oneself the name of Christ when one is baptized and takes the sacrament.) Therefore, in a temple context, one can almost always replace the word “name” with the word “covenant” in a scripture without changing the meaning of the scripture. In this instance that is true. The name is question is “LORD,” i.e. “Jehovah,” which the scriptures and our own Bible’s dictionary suggest is the Saviour’s king-name or covenant-name. In which case “Jehovah” is probably the new name given him when he was anointed King of Israel at the Council. (Our Bible Dictionary reads, “Jehovah. The covenant or proper name of the God of Israel.” p. 710). The phrase, “for thy name’s sake” would mean, “for the sake of the mutual covenant which we made at the Council, and which is represented by your king-name, Jehovah.”]

    11-b    “PARDON MINE INIQUITY; FOR IT IS GREAT.” [This is an obvious reference to the powers of the atonement. At the New Year’s festival, before one could be anointed king, the king- designate had to be ceremonially cleansed (washed and pardoned) before he could continue in the sequence of ordinances and covenants. In our case, the Saviour’s atonement must be applied for the same reason.]

    The next three verses of our Psalm are a reiteration of the blessings of those who receive the ordinances and covenants already referred to. These verses begin with the question,

    12    “WHAT MAN IS HE THAT FEARETH [love, respects, as being in “awe” of, gives honor to] THE LORD?” Then it answers its own question:

    12-b    “HIM [the man] SHALL HE [God] TEACH IN THE WAY [ I presume “in the way” means in the way. In other words, as one moves through the sequence called the “way,” God will teach him, not only the sequence, but also the meaning and significance of the steps.]

    12-c    HE SHALL CHOOSE.” [As I read it, these words mean God will teach the man “in” the “way” so the man may know which options he should choose in order for him to have both the means and the opportunity to keep the covenants he made in Council.]

    13   “HIS SOUL SHALL DWELL AT EASE; AND HIS SEED SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.” [This is an enlargement of the promise we read in Psalm 37. Here the blessing that one’s soul will “dwell at ease” is tied to a further declaration that “his children shall inherit the earth.” Thus, the Beatitude, “Blessed are the meek,” carries with it all the promises of exaltation in the eternal bonds of family.

    14    “THE SECRET [ sode — decisions of the Council ]OF THE LORD IS WITH THEM [the meek ]THAT FEAR [ respect, honor ] HIM; AND HE [the Lord] WILL SHOW THEM [the meek ]HIS COVENANT.” [which, I presume, means: The Lord will show him the covenant assignments made at the Council – and also remind him of the covenant provisions made at the Council which would guarantee that one would be able to fulfil those assignments]

    As a review, let me get out of the way so you can read the scriptures as they are written, without all the stuff I put in between. They simply say,

    7   Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
    8   Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
    9   For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
    10   For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
    11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psalm 37:7-11) .

    9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
    10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
    11 For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
    12 What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
    13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
    14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant ( Psalm 25:9-14).

    Jesus summed all that up by saying simply, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth..”

    If one adds to that, Albright and Mann’s statement that the classic Greek word translated “blessed” literally means “in the state of the gods,.” (Anchor Bible, Matthew, p. 45, fn 3.), what we hear the Saviour saying is this:

    “In the state of the gods are those who keep their eternal covenants, for it is they and their children who shall inherit the celestial earth.”

    Now let us return to our original Book of Mormon scripture where this discussion began, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.”

    The direct object of ‘judge’ is ‘the poor’, but the direct object of ‘reprove’ is not given. Presumably it is also the poor. In which case the words might be read, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove [the poor] with equity for [the sake of] the meek of the earth.”

    I think what that says is that the Lord will judge the poor by the covenants they have made and that he will direct the affairs of the meek so they may fulfill those covenants, in order that the Lords purposes on this earth may be fulfilled. That, you will recall, is what Ephesians chapter one is all about.

  • 3 Nephi 12 3, 5 — LeGrand Baker– Poor and Meek

    3 Nephi 12 3, 5 — LeGrand Baker– Poor and Meek

    This was written as a comment about 2 Nephi 30:7-18, but it is equally relevant to those two verses in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor is spirit,” and “Blessed are the meek.”

    2 Nephi 30:7-18
    7   And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.
    8   And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.
    9   And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
    10   For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire.
    11   And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
    12   And then shall the wolf dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them.
    13   And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
    14   And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall
    put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.
    15   They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
    16   Wherefore, the things of all nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made known unto the children of men.
    17   There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed.
    18   Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that day be revealed; and Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more, for a long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I make an end of my sayings.

    In these few short verses Nephi carries us from the time of the gathering of the Jews to the beginning of the millennium. He goes so quickly that it almost causes one to try to catch him and ask, “You have just skipped through the events of my lifetime, but where am I in your story.”

    I suppose, if we could do that, he would respond, “I have told you already, that’s why we have read so much of Isaiah together.” At least, I think that’s what he might say, because as I read the parts of these verses which speak specifically of the members of Christ’s church, my mind moves back to Nephi’s emphasis on Isaiah, then, almost with transition, forward to the Beatitudes (for it’s all the same story). Now, as I sit here, my mind replaying some of the things Nephi has taught, I just go “WOW,” and wonder what to write to make that “WOW” intelligible to my friends.

    It seems to me that in these passages Nephi does not write about our times as much as he writes about us – individually. The verse I have in mind is the one which he quoted from Isaiah before (Isaiah 11:4 quoted in 2 Nephi 21:4), and which he now pulls from its original context to paraphrase again here. In Isaiah’s code words (as I read the words) Nephi sums up our lives and our missions. He paraphrases Isaiah, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.”(2 Ne. 30: 9a )

    I think what I would like to write today, is a review of the meaning of the code words, especially “poor,” “meek,” and “judge.” In looking at the meaning of “meek” we will have to look at other code words, like “way,” “path,” “secrets (sode),” and a few others. For some of you who have been a part of our Book of Mormon Project for about as long as I have, what I am going to write may contain nothing new. Some of you will recognize parts of this as being lifted almost verbatim from other things I have written. To you, I apologize for the redundancy, and suggest you may want to stop reading now. But for others of you, some of these ideas may be new, and may even have some value. I believe it is important in order to understand our verses, to observe that the two major code words which are used here are the same ones which are used in D&C 88:17. “And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it.” The earth, as I understand that passage in its full context, was created, and will be celestialized, for the express purpose of being inhabited by the “poor” and the “meek.” Those are the same words which describe the people in our Book of Mormon verse. So our quest to understand either verse needs to begin with our discussing the answers to the questions: “Who are the ‘poor?’ and Who are the ‘meek’?”

    First, Who are the poor?

    The place to begin to look is in the Beatitudes (I will quote the ones in 3 Nephi 12 rather than in Matthew 5.), where verse three reads, “Yea, blesed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

    Non-LDS scholars don’t know (and most are honest enough that they say they really don’t know) what “poor” means in the Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (3 Nephi version rather than the one in Matthew) However these scholars do insist that “poor” has nothing to do with poverty, or a lack of spirituality. The Anchor Bible translation uses ‘pious’ or God-fearing as a substitute for poor. That substitution makes sense in the first part of the verse, but it does not account for why the Saviour used “poor” as the requisite condition of those who will ultimately own the Kingdom of Heaven (It says, “theirs is the kingdom” – It does not say, “they shall be citizens of the kingdom”) People to whom kingdoms belong are called “kings” and “queens,” or, if it is an ecclesiastical kingdom, “priests,” and “priestesses.”

    Some scholars have noted that the first three Beatitudes seem to be something of a paraphrase of Isaiah 61:1-3, which speaks of a coronation ceremony, of comforting those who mourn, and of the “meek.” In fact, Isaiah 1:3 is a review of the ancient royal and priestly coronation ceremonies. It mentions a washing (symbolized by exchanging ashes for a crown), anointing, clothing, and giving of a new name (“called”). (See: Margaret Dee Bratcher, “Salvation Achieved, Isaiah 61:1-7, 65: 17-66:2,” in Review and Expositor, Spring, 1991, Vol. 88, No. 2, p. 177-187; Paul D. Hanson, Isaiah 40 – 66, Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, John Knox Press, 1995), p. 223-226; George A. Knight, The New Israel, A Commentary on the Book of Isaiah 56–66 (Grand Rapids, Mich., Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1985) p. 50-57; Claus Westermann, Isaiah 40 – 66 (Philadelphia, Westminster Press, 1969), p. 364-367.)

    That coronation setting reenforces the idea that the “poor” to whom the kingdom of heaven belong, are its kings and queens rather than just its citizens, but it still doesn’t answer the question of why this adoptive royalty should be described by the word “poor.”

    I believe the Book of Mormon gives us the answer to that question by telling us the sequence of the Saviour’s teachings. Third Nephi reports that one of the first things he did was to instruct the people about a fundamental change in the law of sacrifice. He told them the only appropriate sacrifice would be their own broken hearts and contrite spirits. That was not a new teaching, it was also found in the Psalms. The thing which was new in the instruction was that the outward sacrifices were to be discontinued, where major importance would be placed on the inward sacrifices instead. Soon after giving these instructions he said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit….”

    (Other scriptures which suggest the same conclusion are: Psalms 34:18, Psalms 51:17, Isaiah 29:19, Isaiah 57:15, Isaiah 66:2, 2 Nephi 9:30, 2 Nephi 2:7, 2 Nephi 4:32, 2 Nephi 27:30, 2 Nephi 28:13, Helaman 8:15, 3 Nephi 9:20, 3 Nephi 12:19, Ether 4:15, Moroni 6:2, D&C 20:37, D&C 52:15, D&C 56:17-18, D&C 59:8, D&C 109:72 )

    It seems to me that one who has sacrificed a broken heart and contrite spirit can legitimately be called “poor” in the only sense which is perfectly consistent with the meaning of the first Beatitude. For that reason, I often read that Beatitude this way: Blessed are those who have sacrificed a broken heart and a contrite spirit, who come unto Christ, for they are the kings and queens, priests and priestesses in the Kingdom of God. At least, I think that is what it means.

    If I am correct, it squares well with the statement, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor,” because ‘righteousness’ denotes the propriety of temple ordinances and covenants. Let me explain.

    The word “righteousness” is the English rendition of Zadok if it is a proper name, or zedek if it is an adjective as it is in words like Melchizedek (“king of righteousness” or “my king is righteous”). The man Zadok was the High Priest who anointed Solomon to be king, and who later presided at Solomon’s Temple. After his death, according to tradition, all the legitimate High Priests who presided at the Temple (until sometime after the Babylonian captivity when the office of High Priest became a political appointment) were descendants of Zadok. Thus, to do something “in zedek-ness” or “with zedek-ness” means to do it correctly, in the manner of the High Priest. That is, to do it with the right authority, dressed the right way, in the correct manner, in the right place, and at the right time. Thus the words, ‘righteous’ and ‘righteousness’ have to do with the correctness of the rites of the ancient Israelite temples.

    “Judge” is also an important word which has both kingship and temple connotations. To judge can mean to condemn, but it can also mean to justify. It can mean to choose or select (as judging the best cake in a baking contest at a county fair) It can also mean to establish a standard of excellence by which one may conduct oneself, and to help one adhere to that standard.

    It seems to me that what Nephi’s “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor,” is saying this: the criteria with which the Lord will judge (justify, select, give directions to) those who have sacrificed a broken hart and contrite spirit, will be ‘Zadok-ness’ — that criteria which is established by the covenants and ordinances of the temple.

    Now let’s look at the next phrase, “and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.” This statement seems to be similar in meaning the other one. Again we must go back to where we began before, with the understanding that the earth was prepared so the ‘poor’ and the ‘meek’ may inherit it. And, once again one must go to the Beatitudes to discover the meaning of the word “meek.”

    The Beatitude in question is “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” It says the same thing as D&C 88 and is lifted almost verbatim from the Psalms. In the scriptures, when those scriptures speak in a temple setting, the word “meek” seems always to mean the same thing – and that meaning is not “humble,” and it is not “timid.” Some people choose to interpret this Beatitude is if it said, “Only non-self- assertive people will inherit the earth,” with the implied, sometimes stated quip, “and they will have to inherit it, because that’s the only way they can get it.” Those folks miss the point. The scriptures suggest that the word “meek” is the very opposite of a lack of assertiveness, and that the meek do not inherit the earth by default, but it is theirs as a legal heritage – it belongs to them by right. (Again I refer you to D&C 88 where the words “poor” and “meek” are words which describe the people in this world who will ultimately become celestial persons.) – and for whom the celestial earth will be created.

    That use of “meek” is consistent with the way the word is used elsewhere in the scriptures. An example is in the coronation passages of Isaiah 61 we have already referred to. Isaiah wrote that the Lord was anointed “to preach good tidings to the meek.” Joseph F. Smith quotes that passage and also says that among those to whom the Lord preached were “the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God.” (D&C 138: 42, 55) So, for those people at least, the quality of “noble and greatness” and the quality of “meekness” are apparently represented as being the same quality. This is also shown in the Bible where we learn, “the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3) Those who are “meek” are meek before the Lord. For example, in my view, Abinadi, standing defiantly before king Noah while delivering the Lord’s message to him and his fellows, is a splendid example of true meekness. Abinadi’s “meekness” is descriptive of his attitude toward God, but not of his attitude toward men.

    One is meek before the Lord, when he keeps the covenants he has made with the Lord, that is, when one obeys the instructions he receives from the Holy Ghost about what to do in order to keep those covenants. This idea is clearly taught in the scriptures.

    The Beatitude “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth,” seems to be a composite of two Psalms, which, together, speak with amazing power. The Psalm from which the Saviour is actually quoting in the Beatitude is 37:11. It context in reads:

    7   Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his [his own, rather than the Lord’s ] way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass .
    8   Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
    9   For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
    10   For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
    11   But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psalm 37:7-11) .

    To “wait” means to be to wait, liking siting at a bus stop and waiting for the bus to come. The implications of that are clarified in Psalm 25. I’ll show you when we get there. For the present let’s just observe that it is apparent from that scripture that to “wait on the Lord” means to be alert to keep the covenants which one made with him at the Council in Heaven and patiently wait for him to fulfill his part.

    Here in our present Psalm (37:11) the important relationship of the Psalms with the Beatitudes is shown in more than in the fact that the Lord quoted the Psalm almost verbatim. Verse 11 reads, “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

    In the Beatitudes, the Saviour not only quotes the first part of that verse, but he quotes it in its own sequential context. Notice the sequence in the Beatitudes:

    5   And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ….
    8   And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God
    9   And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

    The key to the meaning of “peacemakers,” is Mormon’s introductory statements on the first page of Moroni 7.

    In that sequence, verse 8 brings one into the presence of God, and verse 9 sits one on the royal throne of God as his legitimate heir. Please let me explain. The coronation setting of the Beatitudes was established in the first three verses, as we have already mentioned. In verse 9 the subject is given a new name or king name, which is “child of God” (“…for they shall be called ‘the children of God’.”). A “child” is a legitimate heir. If such a new-name, or king-name, is found, as this one is, in a coronation context, one can guess that the name “child” probably suggests that the person is being recognized as a legitimate heir to the throne. It appears that in the Beatitudes the king-name “child of God” occurs just as it does in the final anointing rites in the kingship sequence of the ancient New Year’s festival, as suggested in Psalm 2:7. Some scholars believe that in the ancient Israelite New Year’s festival, the final anointing of the king was apparently a dual ordinance, both of adoption and coronation. It had to be, they assert, because anyone who was anointed king, and who sat upon the throne, but who was not a legitimate child, would be a usurper. It is a question of legitimacy. Before one can sit upon the throne, one must be adopted as a legitimate heir. In the ancient coronation ceremony, the king-apparent had first to be acknowledged as a child of God, before he could set upon the throne of God. Thus the anointing ordinance answered both needs. The other Psalm which the Saviour’s Beatitude about meekness refers to is 25:9-14. Even though the direct quote is not there, in many ways this psalm is even more explicit than the other. Let me quote it all to you, then look at it more closely.

    9   The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
    10   All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
    11   For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
    12   What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
    13   His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
    14   The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant (Psalm 25:9-14).

    Lets begin by looking closely at the concluding verse, 14, then go back and examine the other verses in light of that conclusion. It reads, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.”

    The word “secret” is the same Hebrew word as in Amos 3:7, which reads “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” The word translated ‘secret’ is the Hebrew word SOD (“sode” in Strong). It means the secrets or the decisions of a council. In these and similar contexts, it refers to the decisions of the Council in Heaven. [Raymond E. Brown, The Semitic Background of the Term “Mystery” in the New Testament (Philadelphia, Fortress Press,  1968),  2-6.]

    What Amos says, then, is that the Lord will not do anything until after he recalls to the prophet the covenants and decisions made in Council. What our Psalm says is that the Lord will teach the decisions of the Council to those who fear (respect) him, and “will shew them his covenant.” I understand that to mean that God, by the power of the Spirit, will teach each individual the covenant he made in the pre-mortal existence, relative to that person’s expectations of the mission he would do while on the earth. The psalm introduces that idea by associating the word “meek” with those who remember and keep that covenant. The remembering comes as a gift from God; the keeping is a matter of one’s faith and integrity.

    Now lets re-read the portion of Psalm 25 which is quoted above. I’ll put the words of the Psalm in caps and my comments in lower case letters.

    The following verses are from Psalm 25:

    9    “THE MEEK [those who keep their eternal covenants ] WILL HE [the Lord ] GUIDE IN JUDGEMENT,” [To judge righteously, that is to be a righteous judge, is the first and most important function of a king. It is represented in verse 7 of the Beatitudes, immediately before one sees God, as “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” If the meek are to be the kings and priests of a celestial world, they must learn how to judge righteously. To not learn to judge righteously, is to disqualify oneself. Those who keep their covenants can learn that requisite lesson, because the Lord will be their “guide in judgment.” ]

    9-b    “AND THE MEEK WILL HE TEACH IN HIS WAY.” [In a temple context, “way” is a code word which usually means the sequence of the ordinances and covenants. (The Beatitudes, especially as they are reported in the Book of Mormon, may thus be seen as a quick map of the “way.”) ]

    10    “ALL THE PATHS [same code meaning as “way” ] OF THE LORD ARE MERCY [Another reference to the primary responsibility of kingship ] AND TRUTH [ Truth is knowledge of reality – things as they were, are, and will be (D&C 93). So, the “path” of kingship includes learning judgement which is based on an understanding of reality.]

    10-b    UNTO SUCH AS KEEP HIS COVENANTS [ The covenants, in this context, would be the ones which one made at the Council and which one re-makes in this world. ] AND HIS TESTIMONIES. [Scholars aren’t sure what “testimonies” mean in this and similar contexts. Some believe it was something which was worn on the body, and that the wearing of it was a testimony of the covenants which one had made.]

    11    “FOR THY NAME’S SAKE, O LORD” [God has many names, just as covenant people have. New Names are always associated with covenants (For example, one takes upon oneself the name of Christ when one is baptized and takes the sacrament.) Therefore, in a temple context, one can almost always replace the word “name” with the word “covenant” in a scripture without changing the meaning of the scripture. In this instance that is true. The name is question is “LORD,” i.e. “Jehovah,” which the scriptures and our own Bible’s dictionary suggest is the Saviour’s king-name or covenant-name. In which case “Jehovah” is probably the new name given him when he was anointed King of Israel at the Council. (Our Bible Dictionary reads, “Jehovah. The covenant or proper name of the God of Israel.” p. 710). The phrase, “for thy name’s sake” would mean, “for the sake of the mutual covenant which we made at the Council, and which is represented by your king-name, Jehovah.”]

    11-b    “PARDON MINE INIQUITY; FOR IT IS GREAT.” [This is an obvious reference to the powers of the atonement. At the New Year’s festival, before one could be anointed king, the king- designate had to be ceremonially cleansed (washed and pardoned) before he could continue in the sequence of ordinances and covenants. In our case, the Saviour’s atonement must be applied for the same reason.]

    The next three verses of our Psalm are a reiteration of the blessings of those who receive the ordinances and covenants already referred to. These verses begin with the question,

    12    “WHAT MAN IS HE THAT FEARETH [love, respects, as being in “awe” of, gives honor to] THE LORD?” Then it answers its own question:

    12-b    “HIM [the man] SHALL HE [God] TEACH IN THE WAY [ I presume “in the way” means in the way. In other words, as one moves through the sequence called the “way,” God will teach him, not only the sequence, but also the meaning and significance of the steps.]

    12-c    HE SHALL CHOOSE.” [As I read it, these words mean God will teach the man “in” the “way” so the man may know which options he should choose in order for him to have both the means and the opportunity to keep the covenants he made in Council.]

    13   “HIS SOUL SHALL DWELL AT EASE; AND HIS SEED SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.” [This is an enlargement of the promise we read in Psalm 37. Here the blessing that one’s soul will “dwell at ease” is tied to a further declaration that “his children shall inherit the earth.” Thus, the Beatitude, “Blessed are the meek,” carries with it all the promises of exaltation in the eternal bonds of family.

    14    “THE SECRET [ sode — decisions of the Council ]OF THE LORD IS WITH THEM [the meek ]THAT FEAR [ respect, honor ] HIM; AND HE [the Lord] WILL SHOW THEM [the meek ]HIS COVENANT.” [which, I presume, means: The Lord will show him the covenant assignments made at the Council – and also remind him of the covenant provisions made at the Council which would guarantee that one would be able to fulfil those assignments]

    As a review, let me get out of the way so you can read the scriptures as they are written, without all the stuff I put in between. They simply say,

    7   Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
    8   Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
    9   For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
    10   For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
    11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace (Psalm 37:7-11) .

    9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
    10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
    11 For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.
    12 What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
    13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
    14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant ( Psalm 25:9-14).

    Jesus summed all that up by saying simply, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth..”

    If one adds to that, Albright and Mann’s statement that the classic Greek word translated “blessed” literally means “in the state of the gods,.” (Anchor Bible, Matthew, p. 45, fn 3.), what we hear the Saviour saying is this:

    “In the state of the gods are those who keep their eternal covenants, for it is they and their children who shall inherit the celestial earth.”

    Now let us return to our original Book of Mormon scripture where this discussion began, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.”

    The direct object of ‘judge’ is ‘the poor’, but the direct object of ‘reprove’ is not given. Presumably it is also the poor. In which case the words might be read, “And with righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove [the poor] with equity for [the sake of] the meek of the earth.”

    I think what that says is that the Lord will judge the poor by the covenants they have made and that he will direct the affairs of the meek so they may fulfill those covenants, in order that the Lords purposes on this earth may be fulfilled. That, you will recall, is what Ephesians chapter one is all about.

  • D&C 88:1-32 – LeGrand Baker – “that they might have joy”

    D&C 88:1-32 – LeGrand Baker – “that they might have joy”

    Lehi teaches us:

    25  Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25).

    Probably more than any other passage in the Book of Mormon, this verse has become a cliché among Mormon people. I once heard someone say that the sentence was a bit awkward, and wondered why Lehi hadn’t just said “Adam fell so men could live happily.” His point was well taken: If one is going to trivialize ideas which are most profound and most sacred, one may as well do it in a way that makes perfect sense, even if the sense is only minimally associated with the intent of the original text.

    “To Be” and other forms of the present tense “be” verb (especially “am” and “is”) are the strongest words in the English language. Examples are the way God speaks of himself: “I Am,” and the way we speak of him: “He is.” It is in that context that one must understand Lehi’s “that man might BE.”

    “To be” is different from “to live.” “To live” is only to be alive and that only suggests one aspect of Being. Shakespeare, in Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy, struggles with the question of the difference between living and “being.”

    To be, or not to be – that is the question.
    Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
    The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
    Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
    And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep–
    No more, and by a sleep to say we end
    The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
    That flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation
    Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,
    To sleep – perchance to dream. Aye, there’s the rub,
    For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
    When we have shuffled off this mortal coil
    Must give us pause. There’s the respect
    That makes calamity of so long life.
    For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
    The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely
    The pangs of de’spised love, the law’s delay,
    The insolence of office and the spurns
    That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
    When he himself might his quietus make
    With a bare bodkin? Who would farde1s bear,
    To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
    But that the dread of something after death,
    The undiscovered country from whose bourn
    No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
    And makes us rather bear those ills we have
    Than fly to others that we know not of?
    Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
    And thus the native hue of resolution
    Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought
    And enterprises of great pitch and moment
    With this regard their currents turn awry
    And lose the name of action (Hamlet, Act 3, scene 1).

    Lehi answers Hamlet’s “unanswerable” question. Hamlet has projected his question into the darkened realms of future uncertainly, where “to be” lurks like a fearsome dream; but Lehi’s answer is projected into realms of light, where to be is to know boundless joy. Hamlet’s question is the focal point of Shakespear’s most brilliant play. Lehi’s answer is a summing up of all the aged prophet knew. To understand what Lehi meant, would require understanding what he knew. That is beyond the scope, not only of my knowledge, but even of my imagination. Yet there are scriptures which can help.

    So far as I know, one of the best commentaries on the relationship of life and being is in the first few pages of section 88. I would like to do a somewhat superficial review of only the first 32 verses, and thereby try to discover the beginnings of the answer to two related questions, “What is life that one might be?” and, “If to be is to have joy, how, in this life, can one establish his being, and taste its joy?”

    1  Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you who have assembled yourselves together to receive his will concerning you:
    2  Behold, this is pleasing unto your Lord, and the angels rejoice over you; the alms of your prayers have come up into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded [present tense] in the book of the names of the sanctified, even them of the celestial world (D&C 88:1-2).

    I have often wondered why it did not say “the words of your prayers” or simply “your prayers.” What does “alms” have to do with it? OED helps a little. Its first definition of alms is “Christian relief of the poor.” That might be relevant to our question, but the second definition might help more: “A meritorious action.” Perhaps it may have had to do with the way they prayed.

    3  Wherefore, I now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise; which other Comforter is the same that I promised unto my disciples, as is recorded in the testimony of John.
    This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom;

    I have also wondered about the word “Comforter,” as it is used here. “Comfort” is a code word in Isaiah 61:2-3. There, “to comfort all that mourn” means the same as performing the ancient kingship coronation rites:

    1.  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion [That is, to make them a part of Zion], ‘
    2.  to give unto them beauty for ashes [Isaiah commentators say that represents a ceremonial washing–one washes to remove the ashes.]
    3.  the oil of joy for mourning [an anointing],
    4.  the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
    5.  that they might be called [new name] trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. [That new name represents the tree of life and the principle of eternal increase.]

    If that is what to comfort means; and the Holy Ghost is the “Comforter;” and the Saviour is the “Second Comforter;” then I leave it to you to discover the implications as the word is used here.

    5  Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son–
    6  He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;

    These verses, even though they are couched in different words, place the ideas of this revelation in the same context as Lehi placed his words. That is, the meaning of “to be” and “joy” must be understood within the contextual meaning of the atonement of Christ. And the atonement of Christ must be understood in terms which reach from “the beginning,” to Gethsemane, to “the end.”

    7  Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.
    8  As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made;
    9  As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made;
    10  And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand.
    11  And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
    12  Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space–
    13  The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things (D&C 88: 7-13).

    John expressed the same idea when he wrote that in the beginning, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of man. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (1:3-4)” Paul brings the idea back to Lehi’s statement by saying, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being;… (Acts 17:28)” And the Saviour pulls it back again, to the beginning, where it was with John. “…give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being. (D&C 45:1)” But in our section 88, the Saviour says the light was not only the life of man

    in the beginning, but also in the resurrection. The revelation continues:

    14  Now, verily I say unto you, that through the redemption which is made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead.
    15  And the spirit and the body are the soul of man.
    16  And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul
    17  And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it(D&C 88: 7-13).

    As far a I can tell, in the Beatitudes the “poor” are those who have sacrificed a broken heart and contrite spirit, and the “meek” are those who keep the covenants they made at the Council in Heaven. It is they, our revelation says, for whom the earth was created, and, the Beatitudes adds, who will inherit the earth. Thus, the nature of the fullness of “life,” even in one’s distant future, is a “this earth” reality. Implicitly, that suggests that the joys also are a “this earth” reality.

    18  Therefore, it [the earth] must needs be sanctified [future tense] from all unrighteousness [from everything which is not Zadok, temple oriented.], that it [the earth] may be prepared [future tense] for the celestial glory;
    19  For after it [the earth] hath [future tense] filled the measure of its [the earth’s] creation, it shall be crowned [future tense] with glory, even with the presence of God the Father (D&C 88: 18-19-13);

    I suspect that may also be said of us. If one is to be sanctified from all unrighteousness, one must fill the measure of one’s creation, and be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;

    20  That bodies [ the physical bodies of individual people] who are [present tense] of the celestial kingdom may [future tense] possess it [the earth] forever and ever; for, for this intent was [past tense] it [the earth] made and created, and for this intent are they [the individual children of God] sanctified [“Are sanctified” is in present tense. Throughout this part of the scripture the Lord moves back and forth from the present to the future, acknowledging the binding power between that which is present and that which is to come.].
    21  And they who are [present tense] not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit [future tense] another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.
    22  For he who is not able to abide [present tense] the law of a celestial kingdom cannot [present tense] abide a celestial glory.
    23  And he who cannot abide [present tense] the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot [present tense] abide a terrestrial glory.
    24  And he who cannot abide [present tense] the law of a telestial kingdom cannot [present tense] abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet [present tense] for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.
    25  And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth [present tense] the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth [present tense] the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not [present tense] the law—
    26  Wherefore, it shall be sanctified [future tense]; yea, notwithstanding it shall die [future tense], it shall be quickened [future tense] again, and shall abide [future tense] the power by which it is [present tense] quickened, and the righteous shall inherit [future tense] it.
    27  For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise [future tense] again, a spiritual body.
    28  They who are [present tense] of a celestial spirit shall receive [future tense] the same body which was [past tense] a natural body; even ye shall receive [future tense] your bodies, and your glory shall be [future tense] that glory by which your bodies are [present tense] quickened.
    29  Ye who are quickened [present tense] by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive [future tense] of the same, even a fulness.

    If you have questioned whether the present tense verbs have really been in the present, or whether they have referred to the future as though it were the present, this verse should answer that question. Notice the word “then.” It clarifies the problem by clearly distinguishing the present “are quickened” from the future “shall then receive.”].

    30  And they who are quickened [present tense] by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive [future tense] of the same, even a fulness.
    31  And also they who are quickened [present tense] by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive [future tense] of the same, even a fulness.
    32  And they who remain shall also be quickened [future tense]; nevertheless, they shall return [future tense] again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received (D&C 88: 7-13).

    What all that says to me is that the glory by which one’s person is now partially quickened, will be the same glory with which one is fully quickened in the resurrection. I don’t think that is just talking about an accumulation of the good things one does. I think it is describing what one IS — the nature of his BEing. It has to do with what one IS within the context of the atonement. It has to do with the peace and charity one translates to joy, and with the peace and joy one helps others to achieve. It has to do with BEing a peacemaker within the context of this fallen world, without losing sight of the present reality of the future celestial earth. Thus, Adam fell that each individual might BE. And each IS that he might have JOY.

  • Psalm 82, LeGrand Baker, the law of consecration

    Psalm 82, LeGrand Baker, the law of consecration

    The law of consecration is taught in the Book of Mormon

    This was originally written as a commentary on Alma 34:28-29

    28      And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.
    29      Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men  (Alma 34:28-29).

    In these two verses we have the short version of the ultimate prerequisites necessary for one to become a celestial person. The law of consecration is described in verse 28, and charity in verse 29. In the Doctrine and Covenants, the most important commandment is that we live the law of consecration. In the Book of Mormon, the most important commandment is that we be charity. They are two sides of the same coin. The law of consecration is what we do when charity is what we are.

    The law of consecration was first introduced into the Church in Missouri as a way to help the poor saints. The problems were two. First, the law was structured as a system much like the united order. However, whereas in the united order, property was held in common, in the Missouri law of consecration small farms held as private property, but the farm came from a large piece of property that was first owned in trust by the church leaders. Individual jealousies and frustrations got in the way of its success. The second problem was expressed by the covetousness. The law of consecration was introduced into a non-consecrated people, rather than the other way around.

    The law of consecration is still a covenant based commandment, but now Zion is a subset of the Church, or perhaps the Church is a subset of Zion. Zion is the society of those who ARE charity, and who LIVE the law of consecration. The difference between ourselves and the Saints in Missouri is that now we are expected to live the law of consecration as individuals and families rather than as an organized community. The law of consecration is, as Amulek said, “[to] impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need.”

    My favorite example is this: A single mother needs a car— a member of the ward who has the means buys her one (nothing too fancy, because that would be more than she needs) and he may, or may not, give it to her through the bishop, that is, he may or may not let her know who bought it for her. The mother has a son who mows the lawn of an old widow who lives near by. The old lady frequently sits in the park where she watches the children play. When one is hurt, picked on, or sad, she makes a point of bring him to her park bench, giving him a cookie and a hug until he feels better. The point is this: there is no difference. The car, the lawn mowing, and the hug are all perfect examples of one’s living the law of consecration. One gives according to one’s ability, and according to the needs of the recipient. It is just as Amulek said:

    . . . for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith.

    In the ancient Israelite temple drama, the members of the Council in Heaven— while they still in the presence of their Father in Heaven— make a covenant that they will live the law of consecration when they come to this world to this world. (The following is a review of Psalm 82 taken from Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, p. 233-42. I have left the footnotes out of the quote.)

    Psalm 82: Instruction and Covenant

    A narrator introduces the scene

    1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty;
    he judgeth among the gods.

    These words are clearly spoken by a narrator, or a chorus as in a Greek play, explaining what is happening on the stage.

    Here, and in the next verses, to “judge” means the same thing in Hebrew as it does in English. When pronouncing judgment, a judge may condemn or exonerate; or a judge is also one who selects, chooses, or assigns. In an ancient court of law, a judge would sit as an evidence of his superior status. In this psalm he was standing, as one did when making a covenant. Thus, a more explicit translation might be: “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he chooses among the gods.” During ceremonies like the one depicted in Psalm 82, the congregation also stood to make covenants, and in doing so they spoke in unison, as with one voice.

    The gods among whom Elohim was choosing were the members of the Council in Heaven. That situation immediately calls one’s attention to Abraham 3:22-23, where “God saw these souls [the noble and great ones] that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers.” There he was standing and judging or choosing. These appear to be two versions of the same story:

    ELOHIM SPEAKS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.

    2. How long will ye judge unjustly,
    and accept the persons of the wicked?

    The Hebrew reads simply “the wicked.” The Tanakh, which is the official Jewish translation of the Old Testament, renders this verse as “How long will you judge perversely, showing favor to the wicked?” That is the pivotal question upon which everyone’s salvation ultimately turns. It is about prejudice, bigotry, and intolerance. As soon as we arrive in this world, no matter what human culture we arrive in, that culture teaches us that some people are better than others, so favor should be shown to those with political prestige, money, education, expensive toys, “correct” cultural preferences, and “appropriate” lifestyle. It does not matter whether they are better because they have ten cows rather than just two, or whether they have a huge house rather than a simple one. The principle is the same—and that idea that some people are better than others—says God in these instructions to his children, is the misconception they must first correct in themselves, and then reject altogether. One does not judge people by their appearances or by their prestige. In the festival temple drama, that message was relevant far beyond its presentation on the stage. Its purpose was to remind the people in the audience about the covenants they had made before they came to this world, and to give them the opportunity to re-make those same covenants in this world, and to receive instructions about how those covenants should be fulfilled. There could have been no question about the implications of that command. The Law was explicit:

    5    And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deuteronomy 6:5).

    18    Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord (Leviticus 19:18).

    At the Council, the Father’s first instructions to his children was that when they come to this earth, they must obey what James called the “royal law:”

    8      If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
    9      But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors (James 2:8-9).

    THE FATHER GIVES INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT WHAT ONE MUST DO WHILE IN THIS TEMPORAL WORLD:

    3. Defend the poor and fatherless:
    do justice to the afflicted and needy.

    “Defend” and “do justice” suggest the power, authority, and responsibilities of kingship to defend those who have no political or military power, or who are impoverished:

    4. Deliver the poor and needy:
    rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

    “Deliver” from “the wicked” seems to represent the power, authority, and responsibilities of priesthood. The denotation of the word translated “poor” is weak or feeble, but the connotation seems to have spiritual rather than physical overtones. The wicked are those who are morally wrong, who neither know nor wish to know the truth. Thus, these instructions pertain to the way every man in the congregation must execute the duties of priesthood and sacral kingship.

    In relation to one’s kingship duties, the poor and the needy are impoverished as to things of this world. With regard to priesthood duties, they are, as in the Beatitudes those who make he sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit, as also in Psalm 86.

    1 Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me:
    for I am poor and needy.
    2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy:
    O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
    3 Be merciful unto me,
    O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
    4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee,
    O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
    5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive;
    and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
    (Psalm 86:1-5)

    In that psalm, being poor and needy has nothing to do with worldly impoverishment; rather, it has to do with being holy and completely dependent upon the Lord. That same interpretation is probably equally valid in Psalm 82, in regard to these instructions received by the members of the Council about how they were to perform their earthly priesthood duties. In noting that, one also identifies an almost invisible line dividing the responsibilities of those to whom God was speaking. They were reasonable to protect, defend, and support the physically impoverished as well as the spiritually pure:

    5. They know not, neither will they understand;
    they walk on in darkness:
    all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

    “They” of verse 5 appear to be those who are called “wicked,” yet, their wickedness seems to be a consequence of a widespread chaos, rather than of their individual rebelliousness. If that is correct, then “they,” as well as the poor and needy, are those whom the members of the Council were sent to the earth to serve. These verses describe a situation in which chaos reigns supreme—lack of knowledge, walking in darkness, the earth out of course. It is the same imagery we find in the “valley of the shadow of death” in Psalm 23, and in the dark and dreary waste at the beginning of Lehi’s tree of life vision. It represents the condition of mortality where all persons must experience disorder, and choose from among its myriads of possibilities. The instructions were imperatives in which the members of the Council were commanded to work to overcome the darkness. The assignment that the Father gave to the members of the Council was that they go to the earth and help others walk in the light of truth—to help them transcend and overcome the chaos. However, the Father warned, it would not be all that easy. “They”—the people who most need the help—will not understand, and many, perhaps most, will reject the message. The Father further warns:

    6 I have said, Ye are gods;
    and all of you are children of the Most High.
    7 But ye shall die like men,
    and fall like one of the princes.

    With those words, God outlined the consequences of mortality for the members of the Council. An equally valid meaning of the word translated “but” is “surely,” which would simply be the assurance that death was a natural part of the assignment they were undertaking. In that case the verse would read, “and all of you are children of the Most High, surely you will die like men, and fall [as a hero in battle] like one of the princes.”

    The warning was that when the members of the Council come to the earth they would no longer be identifiable as “the gods.” They would simply be ordinary humans like everybody else. They would feel sorrow and pain, until death would eventually consume their earthly bodies. Some would use up their lives in God’s service, while others would fall like princes in battle, sealing their testimonies with their own blood—like Abinadi and Joseph Smith, or like the “ordinary” men and women who would be killed during the Roman persecutions, or at the hands of a Missouri mob, or who would expire while trudging in the mountainous snow pulling a handcart toward Zion.

    HAVING GIVEN THOSE INSTRUCTIONS, THE FATHER INVITES THE CONGREGATION TO RISE AND MAKE A COVENANT THAT THEY WILL OBEY HIS WORDS:

    8 Arise, O God [or, “O gods”], judge the earth:
    for thou shalt inherit all the Nations. (Psalm 82:1-8).

    Verse 8 is commonly understood to be an adoration of Elohim offered by the members of the Council who invite him to rise. The problem with that interpretation is that in verse one, God was already standing, and it doesn’t make a great deal of sense to have the members of the Council ask God to stand up. The word ‘God’ is translated from the Hebrew word “Elohim.” Elohim is the plural for “gods”—“the gods” in the ordinary sense. It is also the name of the Father of the gods. This is clearly shown in verse one that is translated, “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.” Both the first and the last words in that verse are “elohim.” So we have, “Elohim standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the elohim.” Similarly, verse 8 begins, “Arise, O elohim.” The translators of the King James Version chose to have it read, “Arise, O God.” However, an equally valid translation would be “Arise, O gods,” making that last verse read as the conclusion of the Father’s instructions, and his invitation to them to stand and make a covenant. While this translation seems more internally consistent to the psalm, there is a grammatical problem. The verb is singular so elohim must also be singular. Therefore, if the verse is the conclusion of God’s instructions to the Council, it must be understood that he was addressing each of them individually, and inviting each one to stand and covenant with him. With that covenant comes God’s guarantee of their success: “for thou shalt inherit all the nations”—a promise of eternal life and of their ultimate restoration to their former status.

    During the performance of this psalm, the members of the Israelite audience probably understand themselves to represent the members of the Council in Heaven. If that were so, then it was they who stood to the covenant. Their watching the play was an opportunity for them to review the covenants they had made in the premortal world, and their participation in the drama became a new covenant-making reality. As they spoke the words in unison, each individual covenanted to fulfill his own assignment in order that the Father’s purposes might be accomplished. If those assumptions are correct, then, as in the story of King Benjamin, even though the words were spoken in unison, making of the covenant was the personal act of each individual in the congregation.

    Because the congregation’s participation in the drama was, for each of them, a present and personal act, the words of the psalm and the enactment of the story were, as Mowinckel and Nibley suggested, not just a remembering of the myth and a re-enactment of the ritual, but a new actualization of the event and a new covenant. For each member of the congregation who participated in the drama, their making the covenant anew was a reaffirmation of an everlasting covenant, but it was also a new covenant, affirming one’s present relationship with God.

  • Alma 56-58, Pistis in Helaman’s epistle to Moroni, LeGrand Baker, August 1996

    Alma 56-58, Pistis in Helaman’s epistle to Moroni, LeGrand Baker,

    The key to understanding Helaman’s epistle to Moroni (Alma 56-58) is the translator’s very precise use of the words “trust” and “faith.” In the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith used the word and concept of “trust” in the same way it is used in the Old Testament (having to do with one’s appreciation of God’s integrity in keeping his covenants; knowing that he is a God of truth who cannot lie); and he used the word “faith” in the same way that it is used in the New Testament (having to do with the personal relationship between God and the one with whom he has made covenants).

    Today, most definitions of “faith” incorporate neither of those concepts. To many Christians, “faith” means something like: an academic or emotional belief that God needs to be pleased, so if one is especially obedient just now, or if one says prayers and wishes really hard, God can be bribed or persuaded to do what one wants Him to do. This is not a concept which can be found in either the Hebrew or the Greek portions of the Bible, but one which has evolved through medieval and Reformation Christianity.

            Faith is a peculiarly Christian concept. While other religious traditions have aspects of what the churches have come to name “faith,” none has the specific quality of intellectual assent that distinguishes faith from fidelity. The problem of faith and the central discussion of it arises in the context of the medieval attempts to codify and integrate the Christian experience into the emerging philosophical language of the scholastics. (David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Doubleday, New York, 1992, vol. 2 p. 744-745)

    The word, “Faith,” is hardly found in the Old Testament. The word which is otherwise always translated “trust” is translated “faith” in two instances, but otherwise “faith” does not appear in the Old Testament. “Trust” is the word which denotes one’s relationship with God. It is translated from a Hebrew word which has many of the same connotations as the New Testament “faith,” and has nothing whatever to do with the idea of persistently wishing hard.

            The Hebrew Bible [Old Testament], in fact, does not really have a word for faith….The Hebrew Bible uses the root (mn to express what we are calling “faith.” … In the Qal form it never means “belief,” but expresses the basic sense of the root “to sustain, support, carry.” … The general sense of the word in the Hip(il form is “to be firmly set in/on something.” (David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Doubleday, New York, 1992, vol. 2 p. 744-745)

            [In the Old Testament] The meaning of faith [“trust”] must be seen in relation to the covenant…. The covenant implied a mutuality of obligation (Deut. 26:16-19). Yahweh can be relied on to keep his part of the contract, to “keep the covenant and the steadfast love” (Deut. 7-9); this is his “faith” or faithfulness. Faith on the side of his earthly partner is to be shown by keeping the “commandment and the statutes and the ordinances” (6:17;7:11)….In addition to this obligation to keep the commandments, the following words of Deuteronomy may be noted: man is to heed (lit. “hear”) the statutes (4:1; 7:12); to cleave or hold fast to Yahweh (4:4; 10:20); to seek and turn to him (4:29-30); to turn, in the sense of “repent,” after apostasy (30:2-10); to obey his voice (4:30); to love him “with all your heart,” etc. (6:5); to fear [respect] him (6:2, 13; 10:20); to remember him (7:18-19; 8:2-3, 18-20; 9:7). (The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Abingdon Press, New York, 1962, vol. 2 p. 225-226)

            Both forms of that Hebrew root (mn are translated “trust,” so the meaning of the Old Testament’s “trust” is the stability of knowing that the covenants are mutually binding–that the Lord will keep his part of the covenant if people will keep their part.
    In the New Testament, the word which is translated “faith” is pistis. Before the Christians adopted it, the word pistis was not associated with religion. (Christians chose not to use words whose meanings were already defined in terms of the old religions), but instead pistis was a diplomatic term. It meant the binding nature of a covenant or treaty:
    1. That which causes trust and faith — faithfulness, reliability
    2. Solemn promise, oath
    3. Proof, pledge (William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich translation of Walter Bauer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, University of Chicago Press, 1979, p. 662)

    This usage of “faith” still exists in the colloquial “kept in good faith” expression applied to rural handshake contracts. Similarly, the phrase “faithful friend” means one who will do and say what he promised he would do or say. In the first instance, the pistis is the handshake, in the second, it is the thing which the friend does or says. So we still use “faith” in its original sense, even though we often change its meaning when we apply it to the scriptures. The New Testament writers used the word pistis (“faith”) to represent the covenants between God and individual persons. In the fulfillment of this covenant, the human’s pistis (faith) is doing the ordinances, taking upon oneself the name of Christ, forgiving, repenting, obeying, sacrificing a broken heart and contrite spirit, loving God’s children (consecration is functional charity), and doing whatever God instructs one to do. On God’s part, the pistis is the symbolism of ordinances and the fullness of the blessings of the atonement.

    For many Latter-day Saints, “faith” begins as one presents God with one’s evening shopping lists, and then wishes harder for some things than he wishes for others. But with time and experience, that faith matures into something quite different. The following autobiographical statement by Stella Oaks is about her experience soon after her husband died, leaving her with three young children to rear. Her phrase, “I relaxed in my faith,” is an important key to understanding the maturation process which moves “faith” in God from a state of wishing hard, to an embrace and walk with a true and faithful Friend.

            One June night I knelt alone in prayer, utterly spent, wondering at that midnight hour how humble one had to be to receive an answer to one’s pleading. It was just at that moment that I felt an envelopment of the spirit of peace, a profound assurance that God is over all and that it was his will that was in command and not mine. I could finally say, “Thy will be done,” and feel the peace instead of guilt. I relaxed in my faith and discovered that I had a new trust in the Lord. … I was given to know that the Lord loved me and that I would be made equal to my mission. I felt an encircling love that has sustained me ever since that great moment of change in my life. I have had continual hardships and challenges but always the sure knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, our Redeemer, and that he sustains us through the opposition that must arise in all things. (Stella H. Oaks, “Thy Will Be Done,” in Leon R. Hartshorn, Remarkable Stories from the Lives of Latter-day Saint Women, Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 1975, vol. 2. p 183-5 quoted in Stella, by Her Children and Grandchildren, p. 156)

    The marvelous thing about the scriptures is that “trust” and “faith” have a relevant and personal meaning, no matter where one is along the way. However, some passages can best be understood in light of the covenant relationship which is the original meaning of pistis.

  • Alma 43 – LeGrand Baker – Covenant Names

    Alma 43 – LeGrand Baker – Covenant Names

    I did not send an email last week because I didn’t have one to send. We have come to the war chapters in Alma and I was not at all sure how I could deal with them. I finally concluded that I couldn’t. The author of these chapters understood war tactics far better than I do, so there is no point in my commenting on what he explained to us. So I have decided to just skip them.

    However, there is one part that cannot be passed over lightly.

    The thousand year history that is the Book of Mormon is replete with wars, but only this one is described in much detail. There seems to be three reasons for Mormon’s choosing this one.

    First, in the overall temple pattern of the Book of Mormon these war chapters map perfectly to the lonely, dreary part of the ancient temple drama.

    Second, this war is clearly defined as a “holy war.” The key to understanding that is the series of covenants and new names in the accounts of the “title of liberty” and of the “sons of Helaman.”

    Third, the story, as Mormon tells it, is a perfect example of the value of making and keeping covenants—-which is the only way we can navigate through the obstacles of this lonely world

    In the scriptures and in the ordinances, whenever there is a new covenant there is also a new name. The new name is a way of identifying both the covenant and the covenant maker. For example, when we are baptized or take the sacrament we also take upon ourselves the name of the Savior, as did the Nephite Christians in this narrative.

    A name is an identity. We use name-titles all the time to identify who people are: father, mother, bishop, elder, mayor. president. Each of these is a name-title that identifies us beyond the name one received at birth. That is also true with covenant new names it is with covenant new names.

    The overriding message of these war chapters is that those who were true to their covenants and honored the names (that is, true to their covenant identity) are empowered to fulfill their covenants.

    The story begins back when the Lamanites who were converted to the gospel “called their names Anti-Nephi-Lehies; and they were called by this name and were no more called Lamanites” (Alma 23:17). They covenanted that they would never again take up arms against their brethren and escaped to the Nephite territory where they were given refuge.

    There are many wars in Book of Mormon history as the people struggle to overcome the aloneness of this dark and dreary world. But Mormon chooses to give the most detail about one, which he identifies as a sacred war between good and evil. He introduces it with a whole series of covenants and covenant names (There are always new names associated with new covenants).

    Captain Moroni “rent his coat” (after that it is called “garment” so it is the outer of t he two—there are always two). He wrote a chiastic poem on it and he gives it the title of “Liberty,” and he made a covenant. “He bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land (Alma46:12-13)

    At this point Mormon interrupts his narrative to insert the information that those who believe in Christ “took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ,” and are called Christians (Alma 46:14-18).

    Captain Moroni then identified the land in terms of its geographical boundaries (measuring it and defining it as sacred space) and gave it the same name as the poem—“the land of liberty.” “And he said: Surely God shall not suffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own transgressions (Alma 46:17-18).”

    The people come and join in the covenant that they will keep the Lord’s commandments and he will preserve them in their Liberty (Alma 46:19-22).

    Shortly thereafter we are told that the sons of Helaman “entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites,” and “they called themselves Nephites” (Alma 53:16-17).

    The boys’ strength was a result of the teachings and examples of their parents who had been the original Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them (Alma 56:47).” And their fathers, who could not participate in the war because of the covenant they had made, brought “many provisions” into the warzone for their sons (Alma 56:27).

    The object of the story is to teach that because the fathers, the mothers, and their sons kept their covenants, all the boys were protected—-some were badly hurt, but they all survived.

    “The Lord had supported them, yea, and kept them from falling by the sword, insomuch that even one soul has not been slain (Alma 58:39).

    As I observed earlier, the lonely dreary world of the Book of Mormon’s ancient Israelite temple drama maps to these war chapters. That being so, these war stories are a metaphor of the way we should live our lives in this world. The message is singular: If we are true to the Savior and to the covenants we have made, then there will be empowered to keep our covenants—-there is no promise that we will not be hurt, but there is an absolute certainty that we will be triumphant in the end.

  • Alma 42:6, LeGrand Baker, “appointed unto man to die”

    Alma 42:6, LeGrand Baker, “appointed unto man to die”

    6 But behold, it was appointed unto man to die

    Death always gets a bad press in human culture. The reasons are quite obvious. What is left over after the spirit is gone may be down right gruesome, or if it isn’t, it soon begins to stink and having it around becomes macabre. So we get it stowed away as soon as it is practicable. But that’s just the point: all we get to see is the left overs.

    Like to country preacher said: “We shouldn’t be mournin’ fer good ole Sadie. Its only the shell that’s here in the casket. The nut still lives on.”

    We are appointed to die, and however we may think of it, the fact remains: the assurance that we can die is one of the greatest blessings of the Atonement.

    A much beloved and frequently repeated scripture is this one about Adam and Eve. It reads,

    15 And I, the Lord God, took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it.
    16 And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,
    17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Moses 3:15-17)

    Every word in that scripture is important.

    And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying…But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it.

    God had to forbid it. The laws of justice and mercy insist that he do so. God could not have commanded them to eat that fruit, or even tell them that it would be OK, because if he had, then he would have been responsible for their expulsion from the Garden and into this world. If he had been responsible for putting us here, he also would have been equally responsible for getting us back. Had that happened, it would have left us without responsibility, without agency, purpose, or the freedom to be our Selves. We would have come, not to act, but to be acted upon. So his instructions were:

    “nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee.”

    What was true of Adam and Eve was equally true of ourselves. We did not leave the premortal spirit world because we were forced to come to this earth, but we left because we understood our Heavenly Father’s plan and trusted in the Saviour’s atonement. We came here because we chose to come. And now, having made that decision, we are free to make the decisions about what we will do while we are here. And that is what this experience is all about.

    In those same verses, we read the words of the very first covenant that our Father in Heaven made with his earthly children.

    “for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

    Because, from our this-world perspective, death is sometimes a fearful thing, those words are usually read as a curse rather than as a blessing. But they are not a curse, they are the words of the covenant that evoke one of our greatest blessings.

    It is the promise that if God’s children chose to come to this earth, he guarantees that there will be a way to get out again. Being here forever—-living in this world’s tensions between good and evil forever—-would be a perpetual hell. We needed the experience of knowing and choosing, but there also had to be a promise that we wouldn’t have to be here forever. So Adam and Eve left the Garden with the knowledge that they could also leave this world, and that when that time came, the Atonement would make it possible that they take no baggage with them, except the products of their own choices.

    The covenant to each of us is: “If you choose to go down into that dark and dreary world, then, after you have learned what you are supposed to learn, you may return home again. We are not compelled to stay there in this world because the Lord has provided a way for us to return to him. The fulfillment of that covenant is in the words: “thou shalt surely die.”