Category: 2 Nephi

2 Nephi 2:5, 7, 26 — LeGrand Baker — knowing good from evil

I would like to try to address Devan Barker’s question about the nature of the eternal “law,” but before I do, I would like to make a brief comment about another of his questions.

Devan wrote:

I look around and I see very few people who seem to know good from evil or who seem to have had the law given them. In fact, I manage to like a lot of people that I might not otherwise like by assigning their acts to ignorance rather than malice. What am I missing?

Devan, you are missing what you have always missed: a narrow little mind which would make you judgmental and overly critical. Keep missing it. It’s that quality in you that is one of the reasons I love you so much.

Devan added this quote to his question:

5  And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men (2 Nephi 2:5).

So his question is, whether all (a word Lehi did not include) men are instructed sufficiently to know good from evil.

It is true that the conscience teaches one to do what is right, but it also seems true that one’s culture teaches the conscience what “right” is. So, it appears, the conscience teaches one to do good, but only within the parameters of what his culture defines as “good.” Sometimes cultures get it all wrong. The flood covered the earth because the people sought to do evil continually. Nephi taught his brothers that the reason the Israelites were permitted to supplant the Canaanites was because that entire culture had turned from doing good. Presumably that means, in both cases, that a child reared in those cultures could not have the opportunity to know good, so could not learn in this life to judge between good and evil. Their situation was apparently extreme, but not unique; other peoples have been destroyed for the same reason. And, I suspect, in every one instance there was a Jeremiah or an Abinadi.

Most ancient religions which were contemporary with Lehi had no theological sense of good and evil. Many Babylonian prayers have been found and translated from cuneiform tablets, but none speak of sorrow for sin, or of the idea of repentance. What the Babylonians prayed for, instead of forgiveness, was that Marduk would divert the consequence of their inappropriate actions so they won’t get punished. That is not the same as repentance.

We are in a world like theirs. In America, the most pervasive legacy of the 60’s revolution is that “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” During and after that revolution “right”

and “wrong” came to mean “politically correct” or “politically incorrect.” The intelligentsia of the revolution declared that all standards of excellence in political, Constitutional, and religious matters were archaic relics of Victorian morality. They were said to be the arbitrary and irrelevant remnants of a less enlightened age, and ought to be surgically removed from our culture. The effectiveness of their argument has left many people, especially the better educated, with a keen sense of “right and wrong” in terms of social, ecological, and ethical questions; but little sense of “good and evil” as the scriptures would define them.

Nonetheless, in our world there is enough left of the heritage of religious “goodness” that when missionaries talk to people, the Holy Ghost can teach them correct principles. Then, when they are baptized that same Spirit can teach them further, so they can truly know to cherish the good. Thus, knowing good from evil is available in spite of the setbacks of their cultural background.

In the meantime, we appreciate the goodness that is inherently theirs. We, and the church, and its missionary system survive because we live under the umbrella of the fundamental moral sense of the majority of people whose basic “goodness,” honor, and fair play protect us from persecution and give us the right to teach whomever will listen. I truly appreciate those good people and if I have written anything here which suggests otherwise, I did not intend it to be read that way.

2 Nephi 1:28-9 – LeGrand Baker – Birthright blessing

2 Nephi 1:28-9
28   And now my son, Laman, and also Lemuel and Sam, and also my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, behold, if ye will hearken unto the voice of Nephi ye shall not perish. And if ye will hearken unto him I leave unto you a blessing, yea, even my first blessing.
29   But if ye will not hearken unto him I take away my first blessing, yea, even my blessing, and it shall rest upon him.

Lehi’s statement to his sons sounds a bit strange. It almost seems that he is saying to Laman, “If you obey Nephi and let him be boss, you will receive the birthright, but if you don’t obey Nephi he gets to keep it for himself.” That sounds a bit like “Tails, Nephi wins; heads, Laban losses.” But that is not Lehi’s intent.

Lehi’s promise is a refraction of light from the many facets of the birthright blessings of priesthood and kingship.

In Old Testament times, birthright blessings were usually given to the first born son, however there were many exceptions to that rule, Jacob in place of Easu, Joseph in place of Reuben, David in place of his older brothers, Solomon in place of David’s other sons, perhaps Lehi in place of Laban, are only a few examples. But they are good examples, nonetheless.

All of the sons of a man’s wives had his father’s protection and received some inheritance. (The difference between a “wife” and a “concubine” was not the legal status of the union, but the legal status of the woman. The children of a wife could inherit; while the children of a concubine could not.) The portion of the birthright son was twice that of the other sons, “a double portion (See Deuteronomy 21:17, for example.) That principle of a double portion accounts for Joseph’s having two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, rather than one tribe, like all the other brothers. If one’s father was the king, as David or Solomon, then rather than a double portion, the birthright son would receive the entire kingdom.

Lehi seems to be telling Laman that if he wishes to inherit the kingdom there are principles which he must obey. Lehi apparently has possession of the Royal regalia of the house of Manasseh. If that is what the brass plates, sword, and clothing are, Lehi is king or lord of the house of Manasseh. If that is so, Lehi’s offering his oldest son the kingdom is a very real offer. And the fact that Laman knew there was a chance he could loose that royalty, probably accounts for both his desire to return home and his bitterness toward his father and brother.

So Lehi is saying, “If you wish to inherit my royal birthright, which is the kingship of the house of Manasseh, then you must obey the principles which Nephi can teach you. If you do not obey those principles, then the kingship will go to Nephi.”

But there is more to the birthright than that, especially when one is dealing with the birthright blessings associated with the covenant of Abraham, which is also what Lehi was talking about. That question is still about “kingship,” but kingship of quite a different kind. The best description I know of this kind of kingship is in the 121st section of the Doctrine and Covenants.

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever. (D&C 121:45-46)

The scepter, which is “an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth” sounds like something without substance, but only if one does not know the meanings of “righteousness” (Zadok) and of “Truth” (Knowledge which is consistent with eternal reality, as described in D&C 93). If one understands that, then the scepter is very substantial indeed.

Just a few verses before, and while he was still addressing his sons, Lehi mentioned an “armor of righteousness.” Whenever else in the scriptures such a figure of speech is used, it incorporates two united meanings into one. It suggests being clothed in the sacred clothing of priesthood and kingship, but it also suggests adhering to the principles of righteousness and to the covenants which the clothing imply. Otherwise the clothing is only clothing, and not an “armor” at all. For a discussion of the sacred clothing described in and explained by the scriptures, see: 2 Corinthians 6:3-7; Ephesians 6:11-18; D&C 27:12-18; Alma 46:11-28; Exodus 28:1-29:10, 38:31-39:32; Leviticus 8:6-13; Zechariah 3:1-10.

This birthright/kingship of the blessings of the covenant of Abraham has much the same symbolism in action and ordinance and clothing as an earthly kingship has. Indeed the scriptures strongly suggest that the later was copied from the former.

In the famous conversation between Elijah and Elisha, just before Elijah was taken to heaven, “ Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.(2 Kings 2:9) Elisha is asking to receive the birthright blessings of Elijah’s priesthood, which would include the sealing power. He received that when Elijah’s cloak (royal/priesthood garment) fell from the chariot of light in which Elijah was taken to heaven, and Elisha picked up the cloak and made it his own.

Isaiah uses the same kind of imagery when he introduces the idea that the dead will receive the sealing blessings of the priesthood. In the first three verses of chapter 61, Isaiah promises that the Saviour will visit the dead and “comfort” them. In the last two verses of that chapter, Isaiah recites a hymn sung by the dead who are about to be sealed, and thereby receive “the double.” The verse I will quote is between them, and within their subject context. Of the dead, Isaiah says,

7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. (Isaiah 61:7)

That verse can only be understood in the full context of its chapter, but in that context, it is much simpler than it sounds. Let me go through it with you, and show you.

7 For [meaning, in exchange for] your [He is addressing this promise to the dead. So “you” are the dead people, and “they” are the living who will do “your” temple work.] shame [repentance for not having accepted the gospel in your physical life] ye [plural] shall have double [birthright blessings of the covenant of Abraham]; and for confusion [consequences of not having those blessings during your physical life — the most obvious of those consequences is probably that families are not sealed together.] they [the gentiles–those who are living, and who do the temple work for the dead] shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double [That is, the living will also receive the double portion, the kingship/priesthood blessings of the covenant of Abraham]: everlasting joy shall be unto them. (Isaiah 61:7)

Thus Isaiah promises the “double” to both the living and the dead. The “double” he promises may be exactly what it says it is. For example, as one lives according to the covenants associated with the blessings of Abraham, one may receive a second baptism, this one by fire and the Holy Ghost. So, it seems to me, the “double” promised with the birthright blessings of Abraham probably includes other things which may also come in twos, such as, perhaps, both a symbolic and a literal walking behind the veil.

In these priesthood/birthright/kingship blessings there is no exclusivity, such as there is in the power which is invested in a ruling monarch. In the kingdoms of this world, only one person may rule at a time. But the Kingdom of God, both in this world and in the eternities, is a kingdom of kings and of queens. The promise in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” is not a promise of citizenship in that kingdom, it is a promise that the kingdom will be theirs, that they will possess it, that they will be its kings and its queens.

Thus, (to get back to our verses in 2 Nephi) Lehi promised the earthly kingship/birthright to Laman, if he would obey the principles taught his brother, Nephi, but said he (Lehi) would transfer that kingship/birthright to Nephi if Laman did not obey those principles. Given Nephi’s attitude toward his brothers, that would have been seen as a great blessing not just by Laman, but by Nephi as well.

Lehi also promised the birthright/kingship blessings of his priesthood to ALL of his children who would live according to the covenants. This priesthood kingship is as universal as righteousness can cause it to be. That birthright Lehi could promise to each of his children at once, with the understanding that if any one of his children received its kingship in fullness, it would not lesson the double portion available to each of his other children.
If Lehi’s statement is understood in that light, then what he says might be transposed into our contemporary language as, “Heads you may all win, tails, you may all win, also.”

2 Nephi 1:15 – LeGrand Baker – redemption and the sacred embrace

Sometimes one finds things too good to not share. This is one of those things. This is what I found last week while I was working on a commentary on Second Nephi. It is about the sacred embrace.

15 The Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love (2 Ne. 1:15 ).

Nibley ties the meaning of Lehi’s testimony to the power of the Saviour’s Atonement. He writes:

This is the imagery of the Atonement, the embrace: “The Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love” (“2 Ne. 1:152 Nephi 1:15). “O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies!” (“2 Ne. 4:33). “Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you” (“Alma 5:33).
This is the hpet, the ritual embrace that consummates the final escape from death in the Egyptian funerary texts and reliefs, where the son Horus is received into the arms of his father Osiris.” {1}

Earlier, Nibley had quoted Mayassis that “The ritual embrace is ‘the culminating rite of the initiation”; it is “an initiatory gesture weighted with meaning … the goal of all consecration.”{2}

Todd M. Compton explains further:

The relevance of this sort of adoptive ritual — defined by the specific act of embracing — to recognition drama should be clear. In recognition drama, the embrace is the immediate seal of recognition and love when the identity of the tested party has been proved. This is not exactly the same as adoption; it is more a re-adoption.
The embrace is the renewed outward token reflecting the renewed inward token of knowledge and love. {3}

In a footnote he adds:

In Egypt the embrace was closely tied to kingship succession: it was a paternal, father/son interchange, and also a means of transferring divine power.{4}

Sonship, coronation, consecration, and “transfer of divine power” are all tied so closely in meaning that it is difficult to make a hard distinction between them. Again it is Nibley who explains the ultimate meaning of the sacral embrace.

One of the most puzzling episodes in the Bible has always been the story of Jacob’s wrestling with the Lord. When one considers that the word conventionally translated by “wrestled” (yeaveq) can just as well mean “embrace,” and that it was in this ritual embrace that Jacob received a new name and the bestowal of priestly and kingly power at sunrise (Gen. 32:24ff), the parallel to the Egyptian coronation embrace becomes at once apparent.

One retained his identity after the ritual embrace, yet that embrace was nothing less than a “Wesensverschmelzung,” a fusing of identities, of mortal with immortal, of father with son, and as such marked “the highpoint of the whole mystery-drama” (Spiegel, An. Serv., 53:392). {5}

In another place, Nibley adds this significant bit of information, “This same gesture of the upraised arms, the Ka symbol, also represents the sacred embrace.”{6}
– – – – – — – – – – – – – – – — – –
ENDNOTES

{1} Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, edited by Don E. Norton [Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1989], 559-60.)

{2} Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1975], 241.

{3} Todd M. Compton, “The Handclasp and Embrace as Tokens of Recognition,” in John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks, eds., By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday, 27 March 1990, 2 vols. [Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990], 1: 611-631. Quote is on page 1: 627 – 628.

{4} Todd M. Compton, “The Handclasp and Embrace as Tokens of Recognition,” 1:630-31.

{5} Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, 243-244.

{6} Hugh Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, 240.

15 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love (2 Nephi 1:15).

This is one of the most important verses in the Book of Mormon and probably one of the most important in all the scriptures because it describes the single most important doctrine of the gospel: The Savior’s relationship with the righteous. That description, of course, begins with an understanding of the nature of Christ as Lord and Redeemer.

Lehi’s redemption is a continuum. It began in the past when “the Lord hath (past tense) redeemed my soul from hell,” and continues through the present, “I am (present tense) encircled about eternally (future) in the arms of his love.” The final phrase in our verse, “and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love,” may be a reference to a physical embrace, but it certainly signifies a present and eternal trust and love (hesed) which will mature to become the very nature of Lehi’s eternal being.

To be redeemed, as Lehi uses the word, means: “I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.” This is consistent with Job and many such testimonies in the Psalms, Isaiah, and the Book of Mormon, where to be redeemed means to be brought into the presence of the Savior. Job wrote:

23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God (Job 29:23-26).

The concept and the realization of redemption are together the crowning doctrine of the gospel. It compasses all of our eternal relationships with the Savior, his Father, and his children. Redemption is the epitome of trust, friendship, and love, and the perpetual light of all that is eternal life.

ABOUT REDEEM:

The word “redeem” has a number of different meanings in the scriptures and the book in which one looks has a great deal to do with what it means. For example, the word “Redeemer” is not found anywhere in the New Testament because the concept of a “redeemer” is a Hebrew concept and there is no Greek word which conveys that same meaning.

Even though the words translated as “redeem” from the Hebrew, and the words translated “redeem” from the Greek have different meanings, they both are valid in their own context, they just mean slightly different things. The word “redeem” in the Book of Mormon has a different meaning still, which is clearly expressed in the Book of Job, as just quoted.

From that reference in Job and from many such uses in the Book of Mormon, one can go back to the Bible, especially to the Psalms and Isaiah, and find many places where the word is used in that same way. But without the Book of Mormon as a key, one would not know that the most important scriptural meaning of the word “redeem” is that one may come into the presence of the Savior.

The oft-repeated invitation to “come unto Christ” is an invitation to accept the gift of his redemption. It should not be a surprise to note that of the 18 times the word “Redeemer” is used in the Old Testament, all but 6 are in Isaiah, whose words Nephi cherished because he, like Nephi, had seen and testified of the Savior. (see 2 Nephi 11:2-3)

In the following pages I have examined the different meanings of the word “redeem” and shown how they are used in the scriptures.

1. TO RANSOM or PURCHASE

In the New Testament the Greek words that are translated “redeem” mean to purchase, buy up, or to ransom (Strong # 1805, exagorazo, and 3084, lytroo). Two examples are:

14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem (lytroo) us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Titus 2:14).

And

4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem (exagorazo) them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Galatians 4:1-8).

The Greek word was not a religious term but it worked perfectly for the Christians who used it to mean the Savior purchases our sins and ransoms us from hell.

2. REDEEMER IN LAW OF MOSES

An Hebrew word that is translated as “redeem” also means to release, deliver, ransom. It has to do with the “oriental law of kinship” (Strong # 1350 (ga’al, gaw-al‘).

The word “redeemer” in the Old Testament is used to represent one who redeems by right or responsibility of being a kin—a brother or other relative. The Law of Moses makes relatives responsible to help each other. Examples are to buy back a relative’s lost property, marry his widow, avenger his wrongs: to deliver, purchase, ransom. The relative who performs these services is called the “redeemer.”

The book of Ruth is a good example showing that ga’al is translated as kinsman, redeem, and redeemer.” Here, the issue is which of Ruth’s kinsmen will care for her.

1 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman (ga’al) of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down (Ruth 4:1).
———-
6 And the kinsman (ga’al) said, I cannot redeem (ga’al) it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem (ga’al) thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem (ga’al) it (Ruth 4:6).

The word ga’al is used in a unique way in Job where the context suggest that it means to be brought into the presence of Jehovah.

23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
25 For I know that my redeemer (ga’al) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. (Job 19:23-27).

3. TO “COME UNTO CHRIST”

There are several excellent examples in the Book of Mormon where, as in Job, the meaning of redeem is to be brought into the presence of God. The keys to these passages are the conjunctions and verb tenses.

In the following example where the brother of Jared sees and converses with the Savior, the key words are in verses 3 and 4. The verb tenses are: “Because thou knowest [present tense] these things ye are [present tense] redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are [present tense] brought back into my presence; therefore I show [present tense] myself unto you.” “Therefore” is the conjunction that ties the whole together. With that conjunction the Savior defines “redeemed” as being brought into his presence (Ether 3:11-14).

The next example is Lehi speaking to his son Jacob. The keys are in verses 3 and 4 where “wherefore” is the conjunction. The verb tenses are “I know that thou art [present tense] redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast [past tense] beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast [past tense] beheld in thy youth his glory.” Verse 4 projects Jacob’s redemption into the “forever” (2 Nephi 2:1-4).

The third example is the verse with which we began this discussion. Here Lehi extends his past experience into the eternities: “the Lord hath [past tense] redeemed my soul from hell; I have [past tense] beheld his glory, and I am [present tense] encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.”(2 Nephi 1:15).

The next example is a short look into the lives of two prophet-heros, Helaman who is writing the letter and Captain Moroni who is its recipient: “may the Lord our God, who has [past tense] redeemed us and made us free, keep [“may…keep” present tense projected into the future] you continually in his presence” (Alma 58:41).

It is apparent from these examples that having been redeemed in the past, that redemption becomes a permanent part of the definition of who one is. That, according to Alma, was the primary purpose of the ancient Nephite temple drama, which appears to have been a kind of dress rehearsal for the final thing. Alma calls it “plan of redemption.”

Here, Alma is speaking to Zeezrom, However, the tenor of Alma’s words does not suggest he was trying to teach him, but rather that he was challenging Zeezrom with what he already knew to keep the covenants he had already made. Alma concludes his review of those covenants by quoting God as saying that the intent of men’s being taught the “plan of redemption” was so “these shall enter into my rest.”

28 And after God had appointed that these things should come unto man, behold, then he saw that it was expedient that man should know concerning the things whereof he had appointed unto them;
29 Therefore he sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold of his glory.
30 And they began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith [pistis = covenants] and repentance and their holy works [ordinances].
31 Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good—
32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God.
33 But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son;
34 Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest (Alma 12:28-34).

For the righteous, these scriptures issue an invitation to seek to “come unto Christ.” However, while the invitation is there, the admonition is to get on with the other things we should be doing and not focus too much attention on trying to force the Lord’s hand is this thing. Reaching that goal is a process, as the Lord explained.

67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.
68 Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will (D&C 88:67-68).

Moroni explained that ultimately everyone will be redeemed to be judged, but not everyone will remain there. He wrote,

13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.

14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still (Mormon 9:13-14).

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Discovering the religion of the ancient Israelites before the Babylonian captivity is not as simple as it appears on the surface, and, surprisingly, the Bible is not as good a source as one might think. Even though much of the Old Testament tells about the time before the exile, a good part of it was written or edited after the exile, so those parts reflect the religion of the period in which it was written rather than the religion of the period it tells about. From the actual pre-exilic period we have the five books of Moses (now heavily edited), and Isaiah, some minor prophets, the Psalms, and Job, but that is about all. Most scholars believe that the historical portions of the Bible (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, etc.) were either written or severely edited after the Babylonian captivity. Consequently, they tell the post-exilic official version of their pre-exilic history and religion, but they are not a contemporary record, and that “official version” reflects much of the apostasy which had already occurred. Niels Peter Lemche explains:

In the Old Testament a number of texts—to a large degree to be found in the book of Psalms, but also elsewhere—seemingly testify to religious beliefs which are obviously not in accordance with the official version of the religion as given by the historical literature…The most important evidence of this state of religious affairs may be Deut. xxxii 8-9, in the LXX version, according to which Yahweh seems not to be identified with El Elyon but is considered a son of this mighty creator of the world. Other important testimonies are Ps. lxxxii and Ps. lxxxix 6-9, in that both testify to the belief in a divine pantheon in Israel, although Yahweh is obviously considered to be the king of the assembly of the gods…It now looks as if the description of the Israelite religion in the formative period of the nation as a religion which contained a strictly monotheistic faith has to be surrendered in favor of another picture of the religious development…Still, we are sorely without knowledge as to the content of their religion, and no source available can prove that the religion of the early Israelites was ever a monotheistic one, whether Yahwistic or no…I would say: so much for the presumed original Israelite monotheism! {1}
This argument, that the historical books of the Old Testament were written after the Babylonian captivity and reflect the religion of the post-exilic rather than the pre-exilic Jews, has important implications for any study of the Book of Mormon. Lehi left Jerusalem a few years before the Babylonian captivity. Therefore, the religion of the Nephites should reflect the belief in a pantheon of Elohim, Jehovah, and the Council in Heaven, and that Jehovah is the Son of God as was taught in the religion of the pre-exilic Jews. But it must not reflect the idea that Jehovah is alone in the godhead, which was the idea adopted by the post-exilic Jews. If that test were used to determine whether the Book of Mormon is an accurate reflection of the pre-exilic Israelite religion, the Book of Mormon passes with flying colors.

The point is this: Lehi’s colony left Jerusalem before the Babylonian captivity and took with them the religion of their contemporary Jews. That leaves the Book of Mormon as our very best possible source for knowing the theology of the pre-exilic Israelite religion.

In the first volume of this series, co-author Stephen D. Ricks presents a powerful argument that the strongest evidence of the historicity of the Book of Mormon is its obvious roots in pre-exilic ancient Near Eastern religion and culture.

1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of teaching my brethren, our father, Lehi, also spake many things unto them, and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem.
2 And he spake unto them concerning their rebellions upon the waters, and the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea.
3 And he also spake unto them concerning the land of promise, which they had obtained—how merciful the Lord had been in warning us that we should flee out of the land of Jerusalem.
4 For, behold, said he, I have seen a vision, in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have perished.
5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.
6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.
8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.
9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever (2 Nephi 1:1-9).

Nephi chose to begin his second book, not with the account of their arriving at the promised land, but with Lehi’s prophecy about the sacredness of the land.

5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord (2 Nephi 1:5).

In the beginning when the Lord and his heavenly council created this earth they were in sacred time where they could understand our linear time from beginning to end. The geographical pattern of this world was not happenstance, but shows a careful design that would achieve maximum advantage for the people who were to live here. We can see that now as we look back over the millennia and watch civilizations develop.

Three ancient cultures dominated early western civilization. All three were protected by their geographical surroundings: Israel, Greece, and Rome.

The Dead Sea protected Israel like an eastern fortress. The two great cultural centers of the ancient near east, Mesopotamia and Egypt, were separated by an allmost impassible desert but connected by a trade rout that passed along the eastern sure of the Mediterranean. The Holy Land was in the mountains along that trade rout where Israel would be relatively secure for almost a thousand years from the time of Moses to Zedekiah. During that time they established themselves as a unique culture with a special religion. Then, still in relative isolation they continued to survive under the military umbrellas of Persia, Greece, and then Rome, when Christianity was born and took root.

Both Greece and Rome were built of a peninsula where they were protected on three sides by the sea. After their fall, the greatest ideas of the Jewish-Christian, Greek, and Roman cultures merged and grew in northern Europe but flowered in England. England is an island, close enough to the mainland to absorb its cultural advantage but encircled by a fortress ocean whose battlements were challenged but not breached. England became mistress of the sea and spread her own unique principles of common law, participatory government, and the King James Bible over much of the world.

All of this, plus freedom of speech, commerce, and religion came to America where they blossomed. America is also an island protected by large expanses of water. In that environment the gospel was restored then, under persecution the Saints left and came to a different kind of island. Utah where the Saints settled was not surrounded by water but was isolated by mountains on the east and desert on the west. There the Saints were given 50 years while they secured their own identifiable subculture before they were absorbed as a state in the United States.

Human history is the story of how we have interacted with each other on playing board that defines, limits or expands our options. The Lord uses geography, climate change, weather, and perfect timing to fulfill the covenants he made with those premortal people who would come to mortality at the right time, in the right place, in the right circumstances so they could fulfill their covenants also. The fulfillment of one of those covenants preserved the Nephites from overwhelming external influences for a thousand years, just as Lehi said it would.

8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance (2 Nephi 1:8).

Lehi’s vision of the sacred security of this promised land was fulfilled and is yet to be fulfilled. That is our blessing, our warning, and perhaps our curse.
————————————-

Nephi 1=1-9—The Chiastic Pattern of Lehi’s Teachings

Nephi begins 2 Nephi in mid-story if not sentence. That suggests that Nephi is not all that concerned with how his story flows. The books of Nephi, like the rest of the Book of Mormon, are not a history in the usual sense. They use the chronology of historical events as the wagon to carry its cargo of sermons and stories that illustrate their messages. First and Second Nephi are Nephi’s testimony just as the rest of the Book of Mormon is is Mormon’s testimony. The golden thread that ties both together is the ancient Israelite temple drama that flows like an encoded undercurrent throughout the whole of the entire book.
Nephi begins Second Nephi by quoting his father who was reminding his children of the overarching importance of the ancient Israelite New Year Festival temple drama:

10 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord—
having a knowledge of the creation of the earth,
and [of the creation of] all men,
knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord
from the creation of the world;
having power given them to do all things by faith;
having all the commandments from the beginning, and
having been brought by his infinite goodness
into this precious land of promise

This encoded pattern of thought is found from the beginning to the end of the Book of Mormon. It can be understood as a witness that assures us that Nephi, Lehi, and others are true prophets because they knew “the mysteries of God.” The pattern is recognizable as the basic chiasmus model of the cosmic myth. It has the same skeletal structure of the Israelite temple drama, the plan of salvation, the Savior’s (and everyone else’s) autobiography. In its simplest form the pattern looks like this:

A. The hero is required to leave home.
B. He is given a seemingly impossible task.
C. He receives the necessary tools to begin.
D. He confronts overwhelming odds.
c. He receives additional tools and information.
b. He fulfills the task.
a. The hero returns home, triumphant. {2}

When the pattern is found in the Book of Mormon it rarely includes all of its parts, but, as in verse 10, there are enough of those parts in the correct sequential order that it is recognizable. Nephi began his first book by using that pattern in the first few verses, then he used it as the outline for all of First Nephi: {3}

A. Nephi and his family must leave home.
B. They are given a seemingly impossible task.
C. They receive the brass plates and Ishmael’s family.
D. Rebellion and starvation in the wilderness.
c. The Liahona leads to a mountain top for sustenance.
b. They travel to Bountiful to complete their task.
a. They arrive at the promised land, their new home.

Now he uses that same theme to introduce us to Second Nephi. The theme and the pattern are here but the details are a covenant the Lord made with Lehi and his family so the particulars do not conform to story told in the Israelite temple drama.

A. The hero is required to leave home.
1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of teaching my brethren, our father, Lehi, also spake many things unto them, and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem.
2 And he spake unto them concerning their rebellions upon the waters, and the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea (2 Nephi 1:1-2).

Waters are often used as a symbol of chaos from which came cosmos or creation. In Egyptian mythology both birth and death are symbolized by a boat that crosses the water.

3 And he also spake unto them concerning the land of promise, which they had obtained how merciful the Lord had been in warning us that we should flee out of the land of Jerusalem.
4 For, behold, said he, I have seen a vision, in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have perished (2 Nephi 1:3-4).

In Nephi’s temple drama sequence such a statement may suggest the destruction to those who refused to come to the earth.

B. He is given a seemingly impossible task.
5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions…

C. He receives the necessary tools to begin.
we have obtained a land of promise a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord (2 Nephi 1:5).

In the covenant of Abraham it is also called a “promised land,” and refers not only to a geographical area, but also to the covenant (as expressed in the Beatitudes and D&C 88:17) that the meek shall inherit the celestial earth.

D. He confronts overwhelming odds.
6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land

c. He receives additional tools and information.
save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord (2 Nephi 1:6).

b. He fulfills the task.
7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring.

If I read this correctly, the land spoken of is Zion. Zion is the pure in heart (D&C 97:21). The pure in heart are those who see God (3 Nephi 12:8) —it is all the same idea and always in the same neat package.

a. The hero returns home, triumphant.
And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them, wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.

8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.
9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them (2 Nephi 1:7-9).

———-
FOOTNOTES
{1} Niels Peter Lemche, “The Development of the Israelite Religion in the Light of Recent Studies on the Early History of Israel,” in Congress Volume, Leuven, 1989 (Louvain, Belgium, E.J. Brill, for the International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament, 1991), 109, 112-113, 115.

H. H. Rowley, The Old Testament and Modern Study, A Generation of Discovery and Research (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1951), contains several essays on the history of academic discussions about the authorship and historicity of the books of the Old Testament. The three which are of most immediate interest to our studies are: N. H. Snaith, “The Historical Books,” p. 84-114; Aubrey R. Johnson, “The Psalms,” p. 162-209; and G. W. Anderson, “Hebrew Religion,” p. 283-310.)

{2} The pattern of the Israelite and Nephite temple dramas is the theme that runs throughout our book, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.

{3}LeGrand L. Baker and Stephen D. Ricks, First Nephi, An Ancient Near Eastern Setting for the Book of Mormon. See my chapters that deal with the first 7 verses of 1 Nephi chapter 1.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth.

23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust (2 Nephi 1:14, 23).

The phrase, “awake and arise” or some variation of it, appears several times in the scriptures. Isaiah uses it as a symbol of the resurrection. To awake is to become spiritual alert and to arise is to be physically alive.
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isaiah 26:19)

Paul uses it as a summons to those who will not hear the gospel.

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light (Ephesians 5:14).

Lehi uses it in somewhat the same way, to invite his children to be redeemed.

14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth…

23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust (2 Nephi 1:14, 23).

Moroni uses it as a part of the temple text at the conclusion of the Book of Mormon. This is also an invitation to come unto Christ and accept the blessings of the covenant of the Father.

31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled. (Moroni 10:31)

The Lord uses it in the D&C to invite people to get on with doing the things they have covenanted to do.

2 Let them awake, and arise, and come forth, and not tarry, for I, the Lord, command it. (D&C 117:2)

And finally, the Lord uses it to invite the people to come to the temple.

10 Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.

11 Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.

12 Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion.
13 And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountains of the Lord’s house.(D&C: 133:10-13)

Even though each of these appear to be different on the surface, they are, in fact, all the same. Each is a different facet of the invitation to BE—to be one who acts rather than one who is acted upon—to be alive—to come unto Christ and partake of the covenants and ordinances of eternal life in this world and in the continuation of lives in the world to come.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>