tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post8747126093591133855..comments2023-11-02T07:25:45.884-05:00Comments on Mormanity - a blog for those interested in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Another Reversal: Why Is King David So Absent in Book of Mormon Discourse? Jeff Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-9313190729024276762018-04-28T00:21:45.955-05:002018-04-28T00:21:45.955-05:00I should say, Jeff--that's a juicy bibliograph...I should say, Jeff--that's a juicy bibliography. Great stuff.<br /><br />And, as always, another great article.<br /><br />I'd like to see you get your stuff published in a book format. Maybe that's something that the Interpreter Foundation could help you with ... ?<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-25806424029228325002018-04-27T03:12:11.095-05:002018-04-27T03:12:11.095-05:00anon,
The Book of Mormon is ultimately about livi...anon,<br /><br />The Book of Mormon is ultimately about living *beyond* the Law. It is a compilation of carefully selected writings that have to do with redemption through Christ and the consequences of failing to follow him. And as such, the BoM never sets out to establish the Law in explicit terms. That, simply, is not its purpose. Even so, the writings of Nephi do make it clear that the Law was had on the plates of brass which they brought with them from the Old World. And further reading in the BoM reveals that the brass plates were considered by the Nephites -- throughout the whole of their history -- as a sacred artifact.<br /><br />That said, if one is interested in digging she'll find all kinds of allusions in the BoM to Moses and some of the writings and traditions that spring from his tenure as a prophet in Israel.<br /><br />JackAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-9420671722139660962018-04-27T00:06:44.802-05:002018-04-27T00:06:44.802-05:00Another extremely Hebrew item that came to mind is...Another extremely Hebrew item that came to mind is the concept of circumcision. One would expect any religious Hebrew text to spend some time either discussing the subject, or at least referencing the practice as it was literally their calling card in the early covenant days (38 hits from the OT & 57 from the NT). Guess how many references the Book of Mormon has to the practice--exactly one:<br /><br />Moroni<br />8 Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me.<br /><br />The only mention we have of the practice that would have taken place by the Hebrew believers for centuries is a snippet about it being done away with, almost as an afterthought. This is a huge change. It is such a big departure from Hebrew tradition that it caused a schism in the early Christian church. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-91533772292637763572018-04-26T23:48:44.672-05:002018-04-26T23:48:44.672-05:00Adding to this, I decided to take an amateur stab ...Adding to this, I decided to take an amateur stab at searching for what seem to me to be typical Hebraic ideas from the Bible, in the Book of Mormon. Here's what I came up with from the LDS tools search function. I'm by no means a Biblical scholar so bear that in mind. <br /><br />I first searched for "law of Moses." This returned 141 hits from the Old Testament (17 exact matches of the phrase) 49 from the New Testament (11 exact matches) and a surprising 173 from the Book of Mormon (53 exact matches). This must mean that the Book of Mormon has many Hebraic conversations about the law and aspects of the culturally significant Sinaitic Covenant discussed above, right? Here are a few samples to illustrate how differently this subject is treated between the two books:<br /><br />Joshua 8<br />31 As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings<br /><br />2 Nephi 5<br />10 And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses.<br /><br />Joshua 23<br />6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;<br />7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:<br />8 But cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day.<br /><br />2 Nephi 11<br />4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.<br /><br />2 Kings 14<br />6 But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin.<br /><br />Alma 31<br />9 But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God, and his statutes, according to the law of Moses.<br />10 Neither would they observe the performances of the church, to continue in prayer and supplication to God daily, that they might not enter into temptation.<br /><br />2 Chronicles 30<br />16 And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites.<br />17 For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord.<br />18 For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon every one<br /><br />Helaman 13<br />1 And now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth year, the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea, in great wickedness, while the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God, according to the law of Moses.<br /><br />It seems that the Book of Mormon treats the Sinaitic Covenant as a theory--it mentions the law of Moses in concept but never in specifics. Compare that to the often stark specifics of the law one encounters in the Bible. To me this is the difference between someone who knows the concept of the law, and someone who <i>lives</i> the law on a daily basis.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-85086720870614559242018-04-25T23:38:51.472-05:002018-04-25T23:38:51.472-05:00This is an interesting exercise, but discussion of...This is an interesting exercise, but discussion of inclusion & exclusion of Old Testament themes & ideas should address, on some level, the overall thematic lack of traditional hebrew thoughts & ideas in the Book of Mormon. It is much more of a Christian, New Testament text than an Old Testament text. There is almost no mention of David, but there is also very little mention of the Sinaitic Covenant which, according to your source above, was so much more culturally important.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-69522690968769663372018-04-24T21:14:24.930-05:002018-04-24T21:14:24.930-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Rayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11436739378682127357noreply@blogger.com