In attempting to continue my chapter-by-chapter commentary of the Book of Mormon, I will continue with 2 Nephi 5 as the next chapter. The main themes of 2 Nephi 1-4 were covered in a previous commentary post.1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord my God, because of the aanger of my brethren.2 But behold, their aanger did increase against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life.3 Yea, they did murmur against me, saying: Our younger brother thinks to arule over us; and we have had much trial because of him; wherefore, now let us slay him, that we may not be afflicted more because of his words. For behold, we will not have him to be our ruler; for it belongs unto us, who are the elder brethren, to brule over this people.4 Now I do not write upon these plates all the words which they murmured against me. But it sufficeth me to say, that they did seek to take away my life.6 Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also aZoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me. And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the bwarnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words.
14 And I, Nephi, did take the asword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many bswords, lest by any means the people who were now called Lamanites should come upon us and destroy us; for I knew their chatred towards me and my children and those who were called my people.The most important building project on Nephi's agenda was a temple where his people could worship according to the Law of Moses and, therefore, hopefully avert the prophesied disasters.
16 And I, Nephi, did abuild a btemple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of cSolomon save it were not built of so many dprecious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s etemple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of fSolomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.A temple, of course, needs priests and instructors. Nephi ordained and set apart his brothers, Jacob and Joseph, for these callings.
26 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did aconsecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be bpriests and cteachers over the land of my people.27 And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of ahappiness.
Ever since I found out (late) that Glenn Beck converted to the LDS faith, I've become more and more of a fan of his each year.
Joseph Smith's original journals are now available at Deseret Book!They survived amid mobbings, beatings, burnings, a horse-drawn wagon journey across the Great Plains and even the ravages of mice roaming inside their wooden crate.Volume 1 is available now.Now the contents of journals kept by LDS Church founder Joseph Smith have been made available to the public
for the first time, word for word, as he wrote and dictated them to various clerks and scribes.
The inaugural volume of the long-anticipated Joseph Smith Papers series is now in LDS bookstores, offering scholars and ordinary Latter-day Saints alike a look at the "unvarnished words" of a man who said he was called of God to restore Christ's original church to the earth.
[20] I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another --
[21] I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another -- I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.
[22] And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.
[23] And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.
[24] And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?
[25] And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.
Disclaimer: This is a spoof I wrote in March 1996 and sent to Tom Key, after he had sent me a copy of the 14th edition of his A Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon. Because my BA is in anthropology, I used the term "anthropologist" in the title instead of "biologist." Neither term is relevant to either Key's work (most of which does not deal with biological issues) or mine. Tom and I get on quite well and he enjoyed the laugh. He wrote brief responses to each item on the following list, and guess what. Many of those responses were very much like the kinds of responses "Mormons" give to criticisms of the Book of Mormon. For some reason, it never occurred to him that responses he considered valid for the Bible could also be valid for the Book of Mormon(e.g., miraculous events). As you read through the spoof, you will consider many, if not all, of the criticisms to be ridiculous, because of your faith in the Bible. Those are the same feelings we have when reading the kinds of criticisms found in Tom Key's booklet. Neither list of criticisms is to be taken seriously.
The following is Mr. Tvedtnes' spoof.
An Anthropologist Looks at the Bible
by B. Ware Kee
For centuries, people have gullibly believed that the Bible was divine in origin. Some have even believed it to be inerrant. But does the Bible stand up under the scrutiny of modern science?
The Bible speaks of mythological creatures that never existed, such as the satyr (Isaiah 13:21; 34:14), the cockatrice (Isaiah 11:8; 14:29; 59:5; Jeremiah 8:17), and the dragon (Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 30:29; Psalms 44:19; 74:13; 91:13; 148:7; Isaiah 13:22; 27:1; 34:13; 35:7; 43:20; 51:9; Jeremiah 9:11; 10:22; 14:6; 49:33; 51:34, 37; Ezekiel 29:3; Micah 1:8; Malachi 1:3). In ancient mythology, the satyr is a creature that is half man (the upper half) and half goat, with horns on the head. The laws of genetics make this combination of two species impossible. The cockatrice was believed in medieval Europe to be a serpent hatched from a cock's egg. It impossible for the egg of one species to produce an animal of a different species. Besides, cocks don't lay eggs; hens do. Dragons, of course, have never existed except in the imagination of primitive peoples. Not a single dragon skeleton has ever been excavated by archaeologists.
The Bible speaks of a bowel disorder that causes the bowels to fall out (2 Chronicles 21:15, 19). There is no known disease that could cause the bowels to simply fall out of the body.
According to the Bible, king Hezekiah was healed of a boil by placing a lump of figs on it (2 Kings 20:7). There are no curative powers in figs such as that described here.
According to 1 Corinthians 11:27-30, illness is caused by partaking unworthily of the sacrament of the Lord's supper. But we know that illness results from infection of microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses.
The Bible says that people can be healed by laying hands on them (Matthew 8:14; Mark 16:18; Luke 4:40; Acts 28:8) or simply by speaking a word (Matthew 8:6-13; 9:2-7; Luke 5:24-25). Sometimes, people were healed merely by touching Jesus' garment (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 6:55-56). Acts 19:12 indicates that sick people are possessed by evil spirits and that they can be healed by being touched with handkerchiefs or aprons touched by someone who has healing powers. Even more fantastic is the story in Acts 5:15, where we read that people were healed when the shadow of Peter fell on them. It is naive to believe that one could cure illness by magical gestures such as these. Many illnesses must be treated with strong antibiotics, which were not available two thousand years ago.
The Bible claims that a man could be cured "of whatsoever disease he had" by going into a pool of water "at a certain season" (John 5:4). While water can prevent disease by washing away germs found on the skin, it is foolish to believe that any and all diseases can be healed simply by taking a bath.
The Bible indicates that the sins of parents can cause blindness in their children (John 9:2). While the causes of blindness can be either pathological or psychological, it is illogical to assume that the sins of parents could bring the curse of blindness on their offspring. In another Bible story, a child died because of its parents' sin (2 Samuel 12:14-18). Such superstitious beliefs have no basis in scientific fact.
The Bible speaks of a boy whose "sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him" (1 Kings 17:17). If he could no longer breathe, the boy was not simply sick, but dead!
A number of Bible passages speak of the "shadow of death" (Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 16:16; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; 38:17; Psalms 23:4; 44:19; 107:10, 14; 139:23; Isaiah 9:2; Jeremiah 2:6; 13:16; Amos 5:8; Matthew 4:16; Luke 1:79). This, of course, is sheer fantasy. Since death is not a substantive thing, it cannot possibly cast a shadow.
The Bible says that the heart is the center of thought (Genesis 6:5; Deuteronomy 15:9; Judges 5:15; 1 Samuel 1:13; 2 Samuel 13:33; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 19:18; Job 17:11; Esther 6:6; Psalms 33:11; Proverbs 23:7; Isaiah 10:7; Jeremiah 23:20; Daniel 2:30; Matthew 9:4; 15:19; Mark 7:21; Luke 2:35; 5:22; 9:47; 24:38; Acts 8:22; Hebrews 4:12), while, in fact, we know that thoughts result from the functions of the brain. The Biblealso sees the bowels as the seat of emotion (Genesis 43:30; 1 Kings 3:26; Song of Solomon 5:4; Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 31:20; Lamentations 1:20; 2:11; Philippians 1:8; 2:1; Colossians 3:12; Philemon 1:20; 1 John 3:17). The bowels are, in fact, for digestion and elimination of waste. In Psalms 16:7, we read that the reins (kidneys) instruct a man at night, which is obviously too fantastic for comment.
The Bible indicates that the semen that produces children comes from the bowels of men (Genesis 15:4; 2 Samuel 7:12; 16:11; 2 Chronicles 32:21; Isaiah 48:19). This is not true; semen originates in the testes. But the Bible goes even farther by stating that the fetus is carried in the bowels of the woman (Genesis 25:23; Psalms 71:6; Isaiah 49:1) when, in fact, it is in the uterus.
The Bible says that if a man's wife cheats on him, the priest should mingle dust from the floor of the tabernacle with holy water and make her drink it, causing her belly to swell and her thigh to rot (Numbers 5:12-27). The only "rot" is the story itself, which cannot possibly be true. While the woman might become ill because of microorganisms in the dust from the floor, there is no known disease that would make both her belly swell and her thigh rot.
The Bible has a very unrealistic view of death. In one case, a dead man is brought back to life simply by coming into contact with the bones of the dead prophet Elijah (2 Kings 13:21). In another case, Lazarus rises from the dead after four days, when decomposition had already set in (John 11:39-44). While recovery from the state of death is known to happen on rare occasions, it is impossible for a decomposing corpse to be revived. Moreover, if the dead person is not revived within a short period of time, the lack of blood circulation deprives the brain of oxygen, resulting in severe brain damage.
In one Bible story, fire consumes not only the sacrifice and the wood, but also the stones, the dust, and the water surrounding the altar (1 Kings 18:38). This is totally contrary to the laws of physics. Stones, dust, and especially water cannot be burned by fire.
The concept of seasoning one's speech with salt, found in Colossians 4:6, makes absolutely no sense.
Salt does not lose its savour (Matthew 5:13; Luke 14:34) or its saltiness (Mark 9:50).
The Bible speaks of "rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19-20). By its very definition, a desert is a place that has no waters.
The Bible says that a flood of water covered the entire earth, including the mountains, drowning every living creature except those on Noah's ark (Genesis 6:17; 7:19-22). But there is no evidence of such a universal flood and, in any event, there is not enough water on the earth to cause a flood that would cover all the mountains.
The Bible claims that the walls of Jericho were made to fall down flat after the Israelites had walked around them for a week and then shouted and blew ram's horns (Joshua 6:1-20). The resonance of sound may cause a champagne glass to shatter, but it is physically impossible for mere shouting and blowing of trumpets to make a thick defensive wall fall down.
Genesis 41:3-4 speaks of kine (cattle) eating other cattle. Since cattle are herbivores, this is, naturally, an impossible situation. But it is no more impossible than what we find in the next few verses (Genesis 41:5-7), where we read of corn eating corn!
The Bible tells us that Samson's great strength derived from his long hair and that when the hair was cut, he immediately became weak, but regained his strength again after his hair grew back (Judges 16:6-30). This story describes an impossible situation. We know that physical strength depends on such factors as proper nutrition, exercise, and rest, and that one's hair length plays absolutely no role. If long hair makes men strong, why did so many circus strong men shave their heads?
The Bible talks about a virgin conceiving and bearing a child (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). This is, of course, utter folly. Unless impregnated by male sperm, the female ovum cannot produce a child any more than you can build a house without materials and construction workers.
About nine years after his preaching to the people of Zarahemla as recorded in Alma 5, Alma the Younger went to teach the wicked and apostate Zoramites. This branch of Nephi and Lehi's people had descended from Zoram, whom they brought with them to the promised land. They had built a tower upon which they sanctimoniously proclaimed their chosen status and gave hypocritical and ostentatious prayers to God, thanking Him that they were better. more chosen of God than other individuals within their neighboring faith communities.26 Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge — even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.So, as you can see, knowing the truth of something is not simply hearing it, finding it agreeable, and moving on. If you do only that, you will have neglected to grow that truth by nourishing it as you would a tree seedling. To make it grow within you, you have the responsibility--the imperative--to be humble, and to keep wanting more and learning more to get perfect knowledge of God's truth.
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than
desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do
not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts [archaic "chest"] ; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.
30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.
31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.
32 Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.
33 And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.
34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.
35 O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?
36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.
37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.
40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.
41 But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit
thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.
42 And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.
43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.
I felt impressed tonight to post about Alma Chapter 5 in the Book of Mormon. I realize I'm skipping ahead in my long neglected, chronological, chapter-by-chapter posting regimen, but this particular chapter has been on my mind.If you want a quick check of where you stand before God with respect to salvation and exaltation, answer these questions for yourself, whether you're LDS or not. These are universal truths that apply to all men and women. And, that is exactly why the Book of Mormon is considered by members of the LDS Church to be an additional witness of Christ.
Ether 2:10,12President Benson also taught us that there are three things that we must do to avoid destruction in this land ordained for freedom (links added for additional study):
10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be aswept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the bfulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are cswept off.
12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be afree from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but bserve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.
Ether 13:1-31 And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been writing.2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had areceded from off the face of this bland it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should cserve him who dwell upon the face thereof;3 And that it was the place of the aNew Jerusalem, which should bcome down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
2 Nephi 10:10-121 And now I, Moroni, proceed to finish my record concerning the destruction of the people of whom I have been writing.2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had areceded from off the face of this bland it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should cserve him who dwell upon the face thereof;
November 4th is our opportunity to assist in God's will for this land: that it remain free and prosperous based on sound Gospel principles. We will do this by voting in what we hope to be a fair and free election. If it is not free and fair, we must make sure that this and future elections are to the best of our ability. Whether Democrat or Republican, we each have the duty and responsibility to exercise that right to elect our electors and representatives and to maintain the course that God has already expressed for us if we are to remain free.First: We must return to worship the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. He has promised that the righteous will be preserved by His power (see 1 Ne. 22:17). But we must keep the commandments of God. We must pay our tithes and offerings, keep the Sabbath day a holy day, stay morally clean, be honest in all our dealings, and have our family and personal prayers. We must live the gospel.
Second: We must awaken to “a sense of [our] awful situation, because of this secret combination which [is] among [us]” (Ether 8:24). We must not tolerate accommodation with or appeasement toward the false system of Communism. We must demand of our elected officials that we not only resist Communism, but that we will take every measure to prevent its intrusion into this hemisphere. It is vital that we invoke the Monroe Doctrine.
Then we must put our trust in Him who has promised us His protection—and pray that He will intervene to preserve our freedom just as He intervened in our obtaining it in the first place.
Third: We must do as the Lord commanded us by revelation in 1833: “Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil” (D&C 98:10).
Men who are wise, good, and honest, who will uphold the Constitution of the United States in the tradition of the Founding Fathers, must be sought for diligently. This is our hope to restore government to its rightful role.
Last: We must study the inspired Constitution and become involved in the political process ourselves. I quote the First Presidency statement that was read in sacrament meetings on Sunday, 1 July 1979: “We encourage all members, as citizens of the nation, to be actively involved in the political process, and to support those measures which will strengthen the community, state, and nation—morally, economically, and culturally” (Letter from the First Presidency, 29 June 1979).
