Zeniff's powers of persuasion

I suspect that Zeniff was a very persuasive fellow.  Consider the instances when he used his persuasion:

1) As a member of the first group sent to re-colonize Nephi-Lehi, Zeniff contended with his people to try to convince them to make a treaty with the Lamanites instead of invading and destroying them.  He convinced enough people that the leader seems to have wanted to permanently shut him up by commanding that he be slain.  (Zeniff must have had a lot of good arguments, but in his record he merely says, “I saw that which was good among them.” Ostensibly, he suppresses his reasoning in his record because it won’t fit well with his final indictment of the Lamanite culture.  He is reluctant to seem inconsistent; few of us like to seem inconsistent so we should be able to understand this..)

2) Zeniff returns to Zarahemla with the 50 who were not slain in the contention, and he tells the tale of what happened to everyone else in a persuasive enough way that the families of those who were slain do not seek retribution. 

Zeniff’s account in Mosiah 9:2 says he contended with his brethren not to kill the Lamanites, but in another account in Omni 1:28 by Amaleki, the story is that the leader caused a contention among them.  Amaleki may have gotten the official story told to the families, whereas in Zeniff’s own account he feels free enough to give a different view, perhaps one closer to what actually happened. 

As I think about the version in Omni, it does seem very odd that a leader would cause a contention among a group.  Usually someone else besides the leader causes a contention.  The leader represents the official policy, and others with different alternatives cause contention.

3) Zeniff manages to convince ANOTHER party of Nephites to come on a second colonizing party even after the first one failed.  He seems to have been able to persuade them that a peaceful settlement among the Lamanites was a cinch and they had nothing to worry about.  He didn’t even know where they would settle, yet he was able to make it sound possible and reasonable.  Also take into account that he didn’t even know the disposition of the Lamanite king yet. 

4) Once Zeniff returned to Nephi-Lehi, he was able to persuade the Lamanite king to give up some of Lamanite lands, evacuate his people, and let the Nephites settle in their place.  Zeniffi later attributes his success to Lamanite cunning plans to destroy and bring Nephites into bondage, but I can’t help but wonder why the Lamanites would wait a full 12 years before attacking instead of attacking at the beginning?  Why would they not try to bring them into bondage at the beginning as well?  Wouldn’t they try to make some sort of tribute agreement?

Another detail I noticed that makes me wonder is the fact that Zeniff says in Mosiah 9:6 that the Lamanite king covenanted with Zeniff that the Nephites would possess the land of Lehi-Nephi and the land of Shilom.   “Covenant” usually means a two-way promise.  Yet Zeniff only records one side—what the Lamanites would do for the Nephites (give up land).  It seems extraordinarily generous of the Lamanites to just vacate their land immediately like that, especially if they were as bloodthirsty, hateful, fierce, and cunning as Zeniff later insists they are. 

I suspect that Zeniff actually had an obligation of his own to fulfill in this covenant, but that he chose not to record it.  I suspect that he promised to provide the Lamanites with a certain amount of tribute crops and animals.  Then, I suspect that after 12 years, that burden of tribute began to feel too obnoxious, so he decided to skip paying it. 

So now, consider that first Lamanite attack on the Nephites that comes out of the blue after 12 years of peace.  Its focus is rather unusual.  Instead of attacking the city, the Lamanite army attacks the Nephites in their fields.  Then they start taking off their flocks and the corn of their fields.  It is like the Lamanites are hungry. 

However, this makes perfect sense if you assume that Zeniff agreed to a tribute of food and then didn’t pay it on the 12^th year.  He even inserts his reasoning that the Lamanites were lazy, idolatrous, and wanted to glut themselves on the labors of the Nephites hands.  This is the same kind of resentful grumbling you will hear from people determined to avoid paying their taxes.  “The government is stealing from us. The government is a parasite!” they will say.  If Zeniff withheld tribute, then the Lamanite army attack would be completely understandable.  They would be sent to collect what was agreed upon. 

Another point of Zeniff’s narrative that makes me wonder is his description of the reason for the second battle the Lamanites start with the Nephites.  He says that the new king of the Lamanites began to stir up his people in rebellion against Zeniff’s people (Mosiah 10:6).  Rebellion is such an interesting word here.  It implies that somehow Zeniff’s people had gained some sort of ascendancy, as if they were starting to subjugate the Lamanites.  I have to wonder if this actually describes the reality, or if Zeniff was just twisting the narrative a little.

But either way, calling the Lamanite attack a rebellion raises questions.  If the Lamanites were rebelling against Nephite domination, then Zeniff actually kept some very important contextual information out of his record.  On the other hand, if Zeniff called it a rebellion when it was nothing of the kind, then he bent the truth for his own purposes.  One way he withheld truth, another way he bent the truth.

(Things that make you go, “Hmmmmm..”)

Anyway, all these little details, little inconsistencies add up to a picture of a man who was very persuasive and who was skilled at bending the truth to whatever purpose he had in mind, even going so far as to rewrite his version of history.

Now, when a ruler is adept at bending the truth for his purposes according to circumstances, what are the ruler’s children going to learn to do?   They will do the same, and they may push things even further.  

Thus, this accounts for the wild mismatch of views between King Noah and his wicked priests on one hand and Abinadi on the other about what is happening in the land.  King Noah and his wicked priests are bending the truth and not only have they bent the Nephite historical narrative, they are now bending the Law of Moses to fit their purposes.  Abinadi’s view represents the clear truth to which the Lord desires to bring the people back.

Three Different Ways King Mosiah was Righteous

And it came to pass that king Mosiah did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe his judgments and his statutes, and did keep his commandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him. (Mosiah 6:6)

Somehow this verse caught my eye.  It seems to say three different times that Mosiah was a good man and a good king, but with different wording.  This made me wonder if it simply said it three times or if it was describing different aspects of his righteousness.    (Aha, analysis is called for!)

“king Mosiah did walk in the ways of the Lord” – This uses the metaphor of righteousness as a path.  King Mosiah had to know that path—what the Lord’s ways were—in order to walk in it.  He probably asked himself the question, “What would the Lord do?” when faced with something tricky.   Is walking in the Lord’s ways accidental?  No, it has to be deliberate. It has to be learned and practiced.

"[Mosiah] did observe his [the Lord’s] judgments and his statutes" – The word observe has a number of meanings that help us here. 4 of 9 possible definitions are the following:

--show respect towards

--behave as expected during holidays or rites

--stick to correctly or closely

--conform one’s action or practice to

Another interesting thing is that the words “judgments” and “statues” imply the existence of certain things.  Observing judgments in once sense implies noticing the judgments of God at work and pointing out how natural consequences fit with the Lord’s commandments. Or, it might imply sticking with the precedents formed by a body of case law. Observing statutes implies keeping to smaller facilitating laws.

“[Mosiah] did keep his [the Lord’s] commandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him” – This shows us Mosiah received personal revelation and followed it. We get the account of several instances of his doing this. 1) translating the 24 plates Limhi’s people brought with them, and 2) receiving revelation that he should let his four reconverted sons go preach to the Lamanites. Changing the Nephite government from monarchy to a judge-ruled government may have been part of this, but that is only speculation.

So, having examined these things more closely, we see that those three phrases about Mosiah’s righteousness describe different aspects.  It may strike you as it has struck me that they aren’t only for kings.  We also can walk in the ways of the Lord, observe His statutes and judgments in our stewardships, and keep the Lord’s commandments in all things He commands us.    What a heaven this world would be if we all did that.

Alma as a type of Christ

15 And now it came to pass that Alma, having seen the afflictions of the humble followers of God, and the persecutions which were heaped upon them by the remainder of his people, and seeing all their inequality, began to be very sorrowful; nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him.

16 And he selected a wise man who was among the elders of the church, and gave him power according to the voice of the people, that he might have power to enact laws according to the laws which had been given, and to put them in force according to the wickedness and the crimes of the people….

18 Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being high priest over the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto Nephihah.

19 And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.

20 And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy. (Alma 4:15-20)

These verses describe how Alma gave the office of chief judge to someone else and retained the office of high priest so he could go out and preach to the people to try to reclaim them.

It struck me that Alma here was a type of Christ’s condescension among men.

Christ is both our judge and high priest. He put aside His role as judge for a time to come down as high priest among men to preach and testify in order to save us.

Probably a very small insight, but it is still neat to find types of Christ in the Book of Mormon where I didn’t notice them before. 

Is it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?

D&C 50 was given because the elders did not understand the manifestations of different spirits that were abroad on the earth, which were not uncommon among the members, some of whom claimed to be receiving visions and revelations.

Gospeldoctrine.com pulls together a number of accounts of these kinds of manifestations, so we can know what the elders were up against.

12 Now, when a man reasoneth he is understood of man, because he reasoneth as a man; even so will I, the Lord, reason with you that you may understand.

13 Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained?

14 To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.

15 And then received ye spirits which ye could not understand, and received them to be of God; and in this are ye justified?

16 Behold ye shall answer this question yourselves; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto you; he that is weak among you hereafter shall be made strong.

17 Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?

18 And if it be by some other way it is not of God.

19 And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?

20 If it be some other way it is not of God.

21 Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth?

22 Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.

23 And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. (D&C 50:12-23)

One of the great things these verses teach is that the elders must preach by the Spirit of truth, and the listeners must receive the preaching of the Spirit of truth. I notice there is a lot of repetition and emphasis on the word “preach” in these verses, which would be very helpful to the Saints. The manifestations they wondered about did not involve preaching, but instead involved strange movements, fits, and generally disorderly conduct. Thus, emphasizing preaching would eventually filter out the weird stuff people did.

(Today we focus a little more on the part about having the Spirit of truth, as opposed to perhaps the spirit of speculation or the spirit of contention and controversy or the spirit of emotionalism.)

When the church was restored, there were a lot of false ideas about how someone under the influence of the Spirit would act that were borrowed from other sects. People were familiar with what happened at big revival meetings and may have thought that they had to demonstrate some sort of odd or unusual behavior to prove they were converted or prove they were influenced by the Holy Ghost. And if they couldn’t identify for themselves what the Spirit really did, or if its influence was different from what they thought would happen, or if it didn’t help them prove their spirituality like they thought it should, their insecurity might tempt them to make something up or act odd as though that were the Spirit.

Emphasizing preaching by the Spirit and the necessity for edification helped the Saints know that only edifying demonstrations should be received as from God. Intelligence should be gained by both the preacher and the listener.

I will have mercy and not sacrifice

10 ¶And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9:10-13)

I knew that Jesus said he was sent to heal the spiritual sick, but I was a bit confused about that part in verse 13. I had this idea Jesus was saying the Pharisees should be merciful to the sinners, or else saying He as the Son of God wanted to have mercy for his disciples rather than their sacrifices.

This time when I read it, I noticed a footnote to Hosea 6:6, which I went and looked at, including its context. I got a different impression from the meaning than I had before.

4 ¶O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:4-6)

Hosea called attention to how transitory Israel’s righteousness was, and how quickly they wandered from God. The words of the prophets, since they spoke the Law of Moses, taught them the right way, but also revealed how lost and fallen they were.

Therefore, the proper attitude of worship when making sacrifices was to seek for God’s mercy with faith in the Messiah’s sacrifice, rather than exulting in one’s own obedience. If they approached their sacrifices with an attitude of, “Look at me; I’m so obedient to offer sacrifices,” then they totally missed the point. But if they approached it from the perspective of, “I need to be redeemed; I need the mercy from the Messiah’s atonement, which my sacrifice is meant to remind me of,” then they would be prepared for the Lord’s redeeming power to work on them.

So when Jesus told the Pharisees to learn what Hosea meant about wanting mercy more than sacrifice, He meant they needed to learn their need for His mercy.  They hadn’t realized that yet. They thought they were enough by themselves.

Every once in a while, you hear people spouting that affirming line, “You are enough,” in order to encourage people who feel inadequate.  No, we are not enough. We need the Lord’s mercy.  We are not enough, but His grace is sufficient.

Sifting as Chaff

And let my servant Lyman Wight beware, for Satan desireth to sift him as chaff. (D&C 52:12)

Gospeldoctrine.com has some little explanation about this that I thought useful to include:

"Chaff is the non-nutritious waste product of wheat and is separated from the grain by the wind when it is tossed into the air. This process is called sifting. Chaff is like a rudderless vessel that is driven at will by the wind. Satan desires to sift the Saints like chaff, to separate them from the soul-saving, nutritious grain of the gospel and carry them away in the winds of wickedness." (Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr., Doctrine and Covenants Encyclopedia [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 520.)

"[Lyman Wight] had been ordained a High Priest at the Conference and had received a vision. He was a most zealous and successful missionary. He was fearless as a lion in the defense of the Saints, and he was a terror to the enemy. At the April Conference, 1841, he was appointed an Apostle. But, notwithstanding all, there was a flaw in his character which the Lord saw, and of which He warned him in this Revelation. In April, 1844, he was tried before the High Council at Far West for teaching false doctrine. He acknowledged his fault then and was forgiven. But, after the martyrdom of the Prophet. he declared that he would not turn his hand over to be one of the Twelve, and when the Saints went to the Rocky Mountains, as the Prophet Joseph had predicted they would do, he and George Miller led a small company to Texas. Wight died in that State, March 31, 1858." (Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1978], 305.)

So back to this idea of chaff being like a rudderless vessel driven at will by the wind. There are two problems that can cause us to behave like chaff more than grain. 1) Rudderless- without using our agency to choose, we let others steer our lives. 2) Driven by the wind – without our own good purposes to drive us and motivate us, without the Lord’s purposes to bring about our immortality and eternal life, we are at the mercy of the purposes and drives of others and every wind of doctrine in society.

Furthermore, our faults in our character give Satan an opening to try to chisel us away from the Saints and the church. In Lyman Wight’s case, he seems to have been okay as long as Joseph Smith was alive, but once Joseph was dead, something in him balked at uniting with and working with the other apostles. He didn’t acknowledge their authority or see why he should unite with them.

We all have some particular weakness(es) that Satan will try to use to separate us from the church. We don’t have specific warnings addressed to us in the Doctrine and Covenants like Lyman Wight, but we do have patriarchal blessings, which usually have particular warnings in them. I have warnings in mine that I did not understand the need for until maybe 20 years after getting it.

Pre-conversion Alma the Younger

My husband and I were reading Mosiah 27 about the conversion story of Alma the Younger, and it seemed to me that it was impossible that he had not been taught the gospel by his father Alma while growing up.  It’s easy to wonder where Alma the Younger started to go wrong.

Mosiah 26 describes a great purge of the church, when many members who were unrepentantly sinning were cut off. It is perfectly possible that Alma the Younger and the four sons of Mosiah were cut off from the church for their wickedness at that time.  Later, Alma the Younger himself later tells of how he and Mosiah’s four sons went forth with anger and mighty threatenings to destroy the church (Alma 26:18).  That sounds very much like the anger of someone who felt they had been excommunicated unjustly, someone who rebelled against the authority of the priesthood.

Alma the Younger may have convinced himself that what happened to him and his friends was unjust and that the church needed reform.

So, part of what the angel’s visit would have settled for Alma the Younger and Mosiah’s four sons was that his father was right and was on God’s side, that God did have power and that Alma the Younger was wrong.  And if he was wrong, then his efforts to fix the church were wrong and amounted to persecution  and destruction rather than reform.

The cool thing about Alma the Younger’s conversion story is that it shows us that even an angry ex-member of the Church is not a lost cause. It shows us Alma the Elder’s example of praying for those who separate themselves from us and for those who have been cut off for transgression.  They may yet be brought to the knowledge of the truth.

Why a Serpent in the Garden of Eden?

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1)

I have wondered for a while why the writer of Genesis used a serpent to represent Satan in the story of the Fall.

Lately, because of some experiences I’ve had, I’ve realized why. As Genesis says, the serpent was more subtle than any beast, and Satan is also subtle.  Satan will slither into our thoughts just like a snake when we don’t notice and he will try to plant some lie there. If we’re not aware, we will believe it, and then we’ll make choices based on the lie, which will get us into trouble.

So what do we do? We have to do our best to club him to death when we are presented with his lies or notice them sneaking in.

When God confronts Satan for tempting Adam and Eve, He says this:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

That bruising the serpent’s head expresses beating down the lies and not listening to them. Satan keeps trying to tempt us though, so we have to kill the lies over and over again.

In the temple narrative, however, God says something slightly different. Instead of saying that the seed of the woman would bruise Satan’s head, God says the woman’s seed will crush the serpent’s head.  To me that prophesies of several things: 1) how Christ would resist every temptation presented to Him, 2) that Christ would defeat spiritual death with the atonement, 3) that Christ would overcome physical death so we would not be endlessly dead and subject to the devil, and 4) that with Christ’s help we will be able to resist temptation.

I take great comfort in that bit about crushing the serpent’s head. If I can keep beating down the lies as they are presented, by the grace of God, someday they will be crushed, never more to rise again.

The Greatness of the Task

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I was feeling burdened a few days ago by the demands of my particular leadership calling in cub scouts, and I felt I needed some scriptures to help buoy me up. I headed for my scriptures with a prayer in my heart that Heavenly Father would help me flip instantly to something that would help me.

Here’s where I turned to:

8 And it supposeth me that they have come up hither to hear the pleasing word of God, yea, the word which healeth the wounded soul.

9 Wherefore, it burdeneth my soul that I should be constrained, because of the strict commandment which I have received from God, to admonish you according to your crimes, to enlarge the wounds of those who are already wounded, instead of consoling and healing their wounds; and those who have not been wounded, instead of feasting upon the pleasing word of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds.

10 But, notwithstanding the greatness of the task, I must do according to the strict commands of God… (Jacob 2:8-10)

This was from Jacob, who was about to deliver a chastity talk and an anti-pride-and-materialism talk to the Nephites.

At first I wondered whether I was going to be admonished for sins that I didn’t realize I had. 

But then what suddenly struck me were Jacob’s words of how burdened he felt by the constraint of the Spirit to follow the commandment to admonish the people. But notwithstanding the great task and the overwhelm he felt as a leader, he waded into it determined to do what the Lord asked of him.

Aha! I thought, Another leader has felt overwhelmed by the demands of their calling. I’m not alone. Not that I’m required to admonish people for their sins right now, but it is neat to 1) find this openness in the scriptures about the burden of leadership and 2) find it right when I needed it.  Heavenly Father had answered my prayer, and that gave me just the encouragement I needed to get back to the stuff I needed to do.

See? Heavenly Father answers our prayers to receive knowledge and encouragement from the scriptures.

I honor and salute the church leaders, past and present, who do their duty despite their overwhelm, and who do it with such grace.  Sometimes it can seem like I am the only one who struggles. Maybe you feel the same in your calling.  Jacob’s words show us his struggle, and then we see his obedience and we can see how the Lord magnified his efforts. That gives hope that the Lord can also magnify our efforts.

The Lord making bare His arm

10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make bare his arm in the eyes of the nations.

11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel. (1 Nephi 22:10-11)

When it speaks of the Lord making bare His arm in the eyes of all the nations, it means that the Lord will make His power obvious.

Making bare an arm is a great image to describe how someone shows their power. We visualize a strong man rolling up their sleeves and flexing their muscles and maybe doing some heavy lifting to emphasize the strength they have.

When the Lord makes His arm bare, or shows His power, it will be done through the power of the Holy Ghost that will work upon the hearts of men when they hear the truth of the gospel. It will attract those of the house of Israel to the covenants of the Lord. When they enter covenants, they will also experience the power of the Lord through the priesthood and receive blessings promised to Abraham and his seed.

What “heavy lifting” does the Lord do that we can see? He changes people’s lives. The older we get, the more we understand how difficult change can be without God. People are stubborn. Habit is a deep rut to get out of. But God has the power to change lives, and He shows that to everyone, one by one. He shows people through the Spirit a hint of how they could be blessed, and then they get to choose to respond or not.

Also, everyone will see the power of God at the resurrection.

What gifts do you need?

I ran across this block of verses recently and it really touched me:

7 But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of devils.

8 Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given;

9 For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me, that ask and not for a sign that they may consume it upon their lusts. (D&C 46:7-9)

The major payload for me here was that the Lord wanted me to seek the best spiritual gifts.  And if you’re wondering what the best spiritual gifts are, they are always the ones that you and I really need right now.

We’re to walk uprightly and consider the end of our salvation, and spiritual gifts can help us overcome the bumps in the road, the obstacles, the storms, the whirlpools, and so on.

I’d venture to suggest that everyone who is reading right now has some sort of difficulty they are facing.  Can you think of what spiritual gift you need to get through that?   Once you know what you need, pray for it. 

One of the purposes of spiritual gifts is that they are one of the many means Heavenly Father uses to save us and to enable us to be His instruments to save others.  They are not to flatter our egos or an excuse to think we are better than others. They are meant to save us, and if we need saving, then we certainly have nothing to boast about.

The rest of section 46 talks about various spiritual gifts: testimony, belief, knowing the differences of administration, suiting mercies to the conditions of men, knowing the diversities of operations, wisdom, knowledge, faith to be healed, faith to heal, working miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues and interpretation…

But I’m realizing there are so many more spiritual gifts.  If you need patience, you can pray for that. If you need endurance and stamina, pray for that. If you need an open mind, or a loving heart, or nurturing skills, or a calm demeanor, or cheer, or industriousness and love of work, or creativity..  

Whatever you need, pray for it.

All the prophets testified of Christ

When Abinadi tells King Noah and the wicked priests about he Messiah and how the Law of Moses was to remind of Christ and spiritual duty, he says this:

33 For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began—have they not spoken more or less concerning these things?

34 Have they not said that God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth?

35 Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and afflicted? (Mosiah 13:33-35)

Okay, every time I read that, I would wonder where in the Old Testament prophets testified of Christ, so this time I decided to go to the Topical Guide and look at “Jesus Christ—prophecies about” and see what could be found there. (I should have done this long ago, but you know how things can get put off until they become burning questions..)

So here’s what I found:

Genesis 3:15 – God tells the serpent (Satan) that Eve’s seed would bruise the serpent’s head

Genesis 49:10 – the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes

Genesis 49:24—from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel

Numbers 24:17—there shall come a star out of Jacob 

Deuteronomy 18:15—raise up unto thee a Prophet

Psalms 2:7—Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee

Psalms 22:1—My God, why hast thou forsaken me

Psalms 22:16—they pierced by hands and my feet

Psalms 24:10—who is this king of glory?

Psalms 34:20—He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken

Psalms 68:18—thou hast led captivity captive

Psalms 69:9—zeal of thine house hath eaten me up

Psalms 69:21—In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink

Psalms 110:4—priest forever after the order of Melchizedek

Psalms 118:22—the stone which the builders refused is become the head

Psalms 132:17—make the horn of David to bud

Isaiah 7:14—a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son.. Immanuel, God with us

Isaiah 11:1—there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse

Isaiah 24:9 – this is our God; we have waited for him

Isaiah 28:16—I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone

Isaiah 40:3—prepare ye the way of the Lord

Isaiah 42:7—To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners

Isaiah 50:6—I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks

Isaiah 53:6—he was wounded for our transgressions  [The whole of Isaiah 53 is about Christ]

Isaiah 59:20—Redeemer shall come to Zion

Isaiah 61:1—anointed me to preach good tidings

Jeremiah 23:5—Raise unto David a righteous Branch

Ezekiel 37:12—I will open your graves

Daniel 9:24—to make reconciliation for iniquity

Daniel 9:26—shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself

Hosea 11:1—I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt

Hosea 13:14—I will redeem them from death

Jonah 2:6—thou brought up my life from corruption

Micah 5:2—Beth-lehem… out of thee shall come forth unto me

Habakkuk 3:13—Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people

Zechariah 3:8—I will bring forth my servant the Branch

Zechariah 9:9—thy King cometh unto thee…riding upon an ass

Zechariah 11:13—I was prised at…thirty pieces of silver

Zechariah 13:6—I was wounded in the house of my friends

Malachi 3:1—Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple

When looked at in isolation, they are pretty clear, but when you look at their context, it seems odd that they would be prophecies of Christ.  That makes me think there may be many more that can be found if we look for them, and there must have been many that were plain, but were removed deliberately to obscure that testimony.

The heavens shall shake for our good

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5 For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.

6 For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory. (D&C 21:5-6)

This was part of a revelation given at the organization of the church, about following the prophet.

I wondered what it meant that the heavens would shake for our good. Happily, there are scripture references to explore for the footnote for “shake.”  Each one has a little something extra to add to the picture, with context and with extra details.

And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. (Haggai 2:7)

Keep all the commandments and covenants by which ye are bound; and I will cause the heavens to shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble and Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish; (D&C 35:24)

The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:16)

For, with you saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms; I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble. (D&C 84:118)

Wherefore, be not deceived, but continue in steadfastness, looking forth for the heavens to be shaken, and the earth to tremble and to reel to and fro as a drunken man, and for the valleys to be exalted, and for the mountains to be made low, and for the rough places to become smooth—and all this when the angel shall sound his trumpet. (D&C 49:23)

And then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro, and the heavens also shall shake. (D&C 45:48)

After reading all this, I’m going to hazard a suspicion that the idea of the heavens shaking is symbolic, rather than literal, but I will say that literal fulfillment is also possible too. (How’s that for covering my bases? ;-))

If the imagery of shaking heavens is symbolic, what are we to learn from it?  When I think of the heavens, I think of the place God resides and His angels. But why should the holy inhabitants of heaven shake?  And how could that possibly be for our good?  Shaking makes me think of instability and even a little fear, and are we really to think that the organization of heaven and its inhabitants are unstable and fearful?  The notion is absurd, and I reject it.

So what other possible ways could we interpret heavens besides as the place God resides and His angels?  If these “heavens” aren’t holy, then it must be more worldly. Perhaps it is used here to refer to earthly governments that rule nations, states, cities, etc.  After all, rulers have high status. This would fit with the contrast set up in several of the above scriptures where Zion rejoices, while heaven and earth trembles and shakes.  The Lord roars out of Zion and will be the hope of His people, but the heavens and the earth will shake.

Why go to the trouble of stating it this way?  What purpose could it have? I think it is commonly the Lord’s practice to conceal things from people who are not ready to know it, until the time they are ready.  It is rather uncomfortable to know that governments will be unstable and fearful.  It would be a dangerous thing for the fledgling church to spread about.

But then it is a fact that the Saints’ committed mass of obedience to prophetic direction has always intimidated outsiders and governments. They fear the possibility of the Saints being commanded to do something that would threaten them. This issue was grounds for people accusing the Saints of being undemocratic back in Joseph Smith’s day. A prominent editor of a Warsaw, Illinois newspaper came to Nauvoo to observe the Saints and his alarm over their obedience drove him to write incendiary editorials that wrought up local animosity against the Saints and were instrumental in leading to Joseph Smith’s martyrdom.

So how would this instability end up helping the Saints? I don’t think this is a case where unstable powers that be get intimidated into giving us privileges. Rather, I suspect the unstable conditions will provide an environment for the Saints to develop greater faith in the Lord than they would gain otherwise.  If conditions are shaky and everyone is worried, then you have to choose whether to act out of fear or out of faith in God.

I want to go back to one of the other verses and look at another part of it.

For, with you saith the Lord Almighty, I will rend their kingdoms; I will not only shake the earth, but the starry heavens shall tremble. (D&C 84:118)

What could this mean when it says the Lord would use his servants to rend the world’s kingdoms? 

“Rending kingdoms” to me evokes the idea of something like the Civil War happening in nation after nation. The Civil War started over the ideological divide over slavery and states rights, and it fomented a while before it finally blew up.  And here it seems a future series of rendings will start over a major divide about the Lord’s servants.  (It is also possible that the rending may be political without being violent, such as if there is a peaceful way for nation entities to split. But those kinds of things can still be messy and acrimonious.)

This may sound very scary, but from a certain point of view, it is actually rather encouraging.  For a lot of church history, we have been a tiny minority facing an uphill battle against the prejudices and persecutions from .. well.. practically everyone else.  But if a kingdom is rent to pieces over the Lord’s servants, then that means that there will be enough people in that kingdom for us (or the principles we stand for) to make a significant outcry if we are abused or tyrannized over by those who are against us. And if it happens in multiple kingdoms, then we have more allies across the world.

I don’t know if this has happened yet, so this says to me that this is still future stuff.  But this verse suggests there is significant polarization ahead for the politics of the world’s nations and ideological divides that the Lord’s servants will find themselves at the focus of simply while carrying out religious duty.  I think it is part of how the Lord will test and thresh the nations to see which way they will choose.