The Lamb AND the Lion*??

Recently I came across the words of a father and son¹ whose passionate advocacy of non-violence turned my thoughts to that subject. And once again, I found myself confronted with the mysteries of God, and with how easily our passions and philosophies can blind us to the full spectrum of:

who God is:

[Who] sittest enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness, from everlasting to everlasting  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 109:77);

what He says:

… for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good  (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 6:32);

and what He does.²

We have been told in various ways and times that:

Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out. His purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 76:2-3; see also Old Testament | Isaiah 55:8-9).

Yet, like Job’s friends, we, too often, take rigid positions on God’s “permissible ways and means” and criticize those whom God Himself has lauded. Let’s take the example of Nephi₁ as J. Madson does in his Claremont lecture.³

But first, let me say: I too am a pacifist who wonders why D&C 98 has seemed to receive such short shrift in this latter-day. I believe that war and violence are prime tools of the adversary to lay waste to as much of creation as possible, YET (if we observe full spectrum), war and violence seem to also be facets of God’s restoration, justice and judgment—a restoration, justice and judgment that cannot be robbed even by mercy⁴ (or even by one’s passion for non-violence).

Let us observe.

The scriptures are overflowing with references to God’s promises of restoration, justice and judgment:

Alma₂: … the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful. Therefore, my son[s and daughters], see that you are merciful unto your brethren [and sisters]; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again. For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all  (Book of Mormon | Alma 41:13-15).

King Benjamin: Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that Adam should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore, mercy could have claim on them no more forever  (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 3:26; see also Alma 12:32).

Amulek: Yea, well doth he cry, by the voice of his angels that: I will come down among my people, with equity and justice in my hands. Yea, and I say unto you that if it were not for the prayers of the righteous, who are now in the land, that ye would even now be visited with utter destruction; yet it would not be by flood, as were the people in the days of Noah, but it would be by famine, and by pestilence, and the sword  (Book of Mormon | Alma 10:21-22).

Samuel the Lamanite: And he said unto them: Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the sword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people  (Book of Mormon | Helaman 13:5; see also Ether 8:23).

Jesus: And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles  (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 20:20).

Mormon₂: Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against you—lest a remnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among you as a lion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver  (Book of Mormon | Mormon 5:24).

(Many other relevant scriptures follow the footnote section below.)

Granted, some may claim that all this violent imagery of sword, bloodshed, destruction “tearing to pieces,” etc. is merely symbolic; yet a perusal of history (especially BoM history) witnesses that there is real blood and real annihilation in God’s justice and judgment.

So back to Nephi and J. Madson. This is what I would ask Brothers R. & J. Madson (and every other soul persuaded by the Madson analysis of Nephi’s killing of Laban):

▪ Does your narrative of Nephi jive with God’s (1 Nephi 11:6)? Or with his own father Lehi’s (8:3)? Or with Nephi’s own witness in the very next chapter:

And it came to pass that thus far I and my father had kept the commandments wherewith the Lord had commanded us (1 Nephi 5:20).

▪ Did God cut Nephi off? denounce him? deny him further revelation? Or did Nephi pass the excruciating test of:

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; (Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 3:25)?

Is this not the type of supreme test that proved Abraham’s loyalty, and will test the loyalty of every other soul that advances that far in faith and obedience to God?⁵ (Before you completely misinterpret this sentence, please read the blog post entitled, “Rule of Law: Ten to One” —web address and note also at footnote 5.)

▪ What if God’s justice finally caught up with Laban (God’s own due time) AND thrown into the mix was a supreme test for Nephi?⁶

▪ Hasn’t God demonstrated time and again that He is a God of discernment?⁷ Doesn’t He do what seemeth Him good—tailored to the needs of each and every soul—even if it appears bizarre or objectionable to us?

▪ Why do you call Nephi a murderer when God doesn’t? You talk of “proof-texting.” What is the word for disregarding voluminous text that counters your theory? Is that not the equivalent of “taking away plain and precious things”?

▪ What if you were a faithful, obedient servant of God and were constrained by the Spirit as Nephi? Or as Abraham?

▪ Whose “lack of imagination” are you really criticizing in Nephi’s “narrative”? Couldn’t God have provided the essential Brass Plates in myriad, miraculous ways? Why didn’t He? And why did He pick what was probably Abraham’s greatest aversion (human sacrifice) to prove him?⁸ Could “Thou shalt not kill” have been a passion of Nephi’s?

And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him  (1 Nephi 4:10).

We don’t know a lot of things, except we observe that God seems to target our passions / obsessions when He “proves us herewith.”

▪ So, if God doesn’t use His transrational powers to ease our way, is it always for lack of our imagination?⁹ or might God, at times, have some overriding transrational purpose—as we are “led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [we] should do”  (1 Nephi 4:6)?

SIDE NOTE: It might be interesting to compare the parallels and inverses of these two scriptures when considering the Spirit’s words to Nephi:

Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 4:12-13 ~ … the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands; Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

New Testament | John 11:49-51 ~ And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

▪ Can your imagination consider that Laban’s sword could stand for God’s “sword of justice”—a term used several times in the Book of Mormon and by Jesus himself at 3 Nephi 20:20:

And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.

And while we are quoting Jesus:

And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people— Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off  (3 Nephi 20:15-17).

And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver  (3 Nephi 21:12; see also 3 Nephi 20:16; Mormon 5:24).

Also look at 3 Nephi 9:1-13; 10:14, and 16:9 to observe what the resurrected Christ declares He did in judgment in the Americas. (This was no metaphor!)

▪ Furthermore, could Laban’s sword have been preserved as a warning and witness of God’s attributes of justice and judgment? a witness that he who takes the sword [to get his own way versus God’s way—like so many in the BoM; like the Crusaders of old; etc., etc.] will perish with the sword (New Testament | Matthew 26:52)? Or as Shakespeare put it: “hoist with his own petard.” Or as Nephi phrases the broad application:

And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood (1 Nephi 22:13). (See a further parallel at 1 Nephi 14:3.)

▪ Can the fiery wrath /anger / fury of God always be explained away as a figure of speech designed to work repentance upon the hearts of men (D&C 19:7)? or did the Jaredites, Nephites, and countless others experience, in real time, the meaning of justice and judgment?

▪ How often has God Self-described as a God of justice and judgment, as well as of mercy?

I shouldn’t have to say this, but this post is not a pro-war pitch. It is a pitch to us pacifists to consider ALL the Godly attributes, so when Christ returns, we don’t find ourselves in a devastating (inverse) déjà vu. If the Jewish hierarchy and others could reject a long-anticipated Savior because He came as a meek Lamb when they expected an avenging Lion, what about us? What are we priming ourselves to receive the second time round? Only the meek Lamb? What if He comes as a Lion?¹⁰

Beyond decrying war, I think the Book of Mormon is a treatise on justice and judgment filled with pleas of a merciful God to repent and come unto Christ with a broken heart and contrite spirit and to yield to the enticing of the Holy Spirit OR face the unyielding Law of Justice and Judgment—which I suspect will “Do unto us as we did unto others.” (Again, see the last sentence of Alma 41:15.)

In summary, we may passionately disagree with the ways and means of restoration, justice and judgment that fill scripture text (especially the Book of Mormon); but, as I’ve said before: “The God we want isn’t always the God we get.” In the end, it will all come down to a matter of life and death.

He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you  (Book of Mormon | Helaman 14:31).

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NOW A NOTE to all who assume they are a tried, true, and chosen people with God’s sanction to pursue war: I offer the words of the Lord to His “saints” through Joseph Smith (1832):

Ye call upon my name for revelations, and I give them unto you; and inasmuch as ye keep not my sayings, which I give unto you, ye become transgressors; and justice and judgment are the penalty which is affixed unto my law. Therefore, what I say unto one I say unto all: Watch, for the adversary spreadeth his dominions, and darkness reigneth; And the anger of God kindleth against the inhabitants of the earth; and none doeth good, for all have gone out of the way  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 82:4-6).

Isaiah has a lot to say about us too, if seeing we would but see.

Finally, I would suggest that God’s restoration (with judgment and justice) is so powerful and potentially devastating that it can only be justifiably engaged in by tried and true people of God under direct, unequivocal revelation from Him and within His revealed parameters. Spoiler alert: Tried and true is extremely rare in history, so it’s highly doubtful that any justice or judgment is being dispensed via God’s revealed word by any group or nation in this latter day. (For those who believe in the “chosen” USA, there are hundreds of informed, warning voices—Chris Hedges for one; Chalmers Johnson for another—detailing the dire and despicable state of affairs. My own brief observation of several years ago is at http://www.dejavu-times.blogspot.ca/2008/06/memo-to-cindy-mccain-et-al.html).

So, is there any latter-day justice and judgment? Perhaps inadvertently as natural men and natural law¹¹ pursue their own way—as oblivious as the tyrants of old to what they and we are bringing upon ourselves.


This post has become too long, so I will address other relevant questions in future posts, such as:

▪ Have Captain Moroni and others been as redacted as Nephi in the Madson writings and the lecture on non-violence?
▪ Do only the wicked destroy the wicked? (Mormon 4:5) or does God sometimes use others as His agents of justice and judgment? and
▪ Why we shouldn’t judge everyone who is destroyed in the flesh as wicked.

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1. http://puremormonism.blogspot.ca/2011/09/speaking-truth-to-power.html (See also the long comments section following that post.)
http://themormonworker.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/non-violent-reading-of-book-of-mormon-claremont-conference/
2. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2013/11/god-is-not-rational.html
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 26:24 ~ He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. ...
3. http://themormonworker.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/non-violent-reading-of-book-of-mormon-claremont-conference/
4. Book of Mormon | Alma 42:24-26 ~ For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved. What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God. And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and misery.
(See also Book of Mormon | Jacob 6:10; Mosiah 15:9, 27; Alma 34:16.)
5. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2013/11/rule-of-law-ten-to-one.html . Also I will be posting in the near future an essay entitled “Questions of Evidence?” regarding who is speaking in Abraham 3:25, for the consideration of those who think it may be the voice of the adversary.
6. I will consider Mormon 4:5 in another post.
7. Some synonyms for discernment are: judgment, acumen, sensitivity, insight. Some might also say that God is “a God of the expedient” as LDSA did in the comments section of the blog post referred to in footnote 1 above. You did not like that word, but expedient is used 7 times in the New Testament and 106 times in the BoM, D&C, & PoGP, mostly in referring to God’s instructions.
8. As confirmed in Book of Mormon | Jacob 4:5 ~ Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son.
9. Obviously and scripturally our unbelief, doubts, behaviors, etc. have an impact. (See 2 Nephi 27:23)
10. New Testament | Revelation 5:5 ~ And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
11. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/03/natural-or-unnatural.html


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Additional scriptures of relevance:

Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 6:15 ~ And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed, both by fire, and by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by bloodsheds, and by pestilence, and by famine. And they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of Israel.

Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 10:6 ~ Wherefore, because of their iniquities, destructions, famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon them; and they who shall not be destroyed shall be scattered among all nations.

Book of Mormon | Alma 34:16 ~ … while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

Book of Mormon | Alma 41:1-4 ~ AND now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the restoration of which has been spoken; for behold, some have wrested the scriptures, and have gone far astray because of this thing. And I perceive that thy mind has been worried also concerning this thing. But behold, I will explain it unto thee. I say unto thee, my son, that the plan of restoration is requisite with the justice of God; for it is requisite that all things should be restored to their proper order. Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself. And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good. And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other—

Book of Mormon | Alma 42:1 ~ AND now, my son, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry your mind, which ye cannot understand—which is concerning the justice of God in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery.

Book of Mormon | Helaman 5:3 ~ Yea, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction.

Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 26:5 ~ If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation; being on a parallel, the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, and the justice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was before the world began.

Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 28:35 ~ For do ye suppose that ye can get rid of the justice of an offended God, who hath been trampled under feet of men, that thereby salvation might come?

Doctrine and Covenants | Section 24:16 ~ And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall lay their hands upon you by violence, ye shall command to be smitten in my name; and, behold, I will smite them according to your words, in mine own due time.

Old Testament | Proverbs 13:2 ~ A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.

Old Testament | Proverbs 21:3 ~ To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

New Testament | Revelation 18:21 ~ And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

*Old Testament | Isaiah 31:4 ~ For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

*Old Testament | Hosea 5:14-15 ~ For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

*Old Testament | Hosea 13:7-9 ~ Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them: I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them. O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.

*New Testament | Revelation 5:5 ~ And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

See also Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 10:6; 23:9+; 3 Nephi 9; 10:13.

There are too many to reference all, but searching and study will lead you forth.

First, Last, In-between, Or ... ?

(A Mormon Faux-Conundrum??)

Q: How many times have individuals or teams been working in “splendid isolation” only to discover that  their great scientific breakthrough has been preempted by another individual or team working also in “splendid isolation”?

A: Often enough that it has a Wikipedia entry!

“The concept of multiple discovery is the hypothesis that most scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and more or less simultaneously by multiple scientists and inventors.”¹ (Bold emphasis added.)

The hypothesis is strongly supported. Here is an extracted sample:²

▪ Calculus – Isaac Newton, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Pierre de Fermat and others;
▪ Sunspots – Thomas Harriot (England, 1610), Johannes and David Fabricius (Frisia, 1611), Galileo Galilei (Italy, 1612), Christoph Scheiner (Germany, 1612);
▪ Leyden Jar – Ewald Georg von Kleist (1745) and Pieter van Musschenbroek (1745-46);
▪ Oxygen – Carl Wilhelm Scheele (Uppsala, 1773), Joseph Priestley (Wiltshire, 1774). Antoine Lavoisier (1777) and others;
▪ Theory of the evolution of species, independently advanced by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace (19th century);
▪ Cadmium – Friedrich Strohmeyer, K.S.L Hermann (both in 1817);
▪ Electrical telegraph – Charles Wheatstone (England), 1837, Samuel F.B. Morse (United States), 1837;
▪ Helium – Pierre Jansen, Norman Lockyer (both in 1868);
▪ Two proofs of the prime number theorem by Jacques Hadamard and Charles de la Vallée-Poussin in the same year (1896);
▪ Sound film – Joseph Tykociński-Tykociner (1922), Lee De Forest (1923);
▪ Jet engine by Hans von Ohain (1939), Secondo Campini (1940) and Frank Whittle(1941);
▪ Higgs boson into a full relativistic model in 1964 independently and almost simultaneously by three groups of physicists: by Englert / Brout; Higgs; and Guralnik / Hagen / Kibble;
▪ Endorphins ~ in Scotland and the US in 1975.

SO, if multiple, independent discovery is frequently true for science, WHY do we seem so adverse to the possibility of multiple, independent inspiration / revelation in religion? I ask because of the contest about who first discovered /developed / received the “restored gospel” sequence³ in the 1820s-early 1830s. Was it Walter Scott, Barton Stone, Alexander Campbell, Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sydney Rigdon, or some unknown other persons, lost to history? ⁴

Why the attempts to order or reorder dates so one’s verifiable or preferred creator comes first? Why the anxiety to cover up seeming plagiarism of ideas and concepts; or the enthusiasm to levy such charges? Why the need to disparage other “contestants” for prime position? Why “revise and expand” suppositions in order to defend tradition and orthodoxy? Why insist on a precise, documented order that may misrepresent a revealed order?

Despite our dispositions and predispositions, is it  possible to accept the documented historical “proofs” AND the confusions / contradictions / inexplicables? Is it possible to concede that God is often inscrutable and unconcerned about presenting linear, pristine provenance for momentous events? Is it possible to admit that God isn't constrained by our expectations of precision, proofs, or exclusivity?

Surely, God’s spirit can brood upon the flowing waters of desire and sincerity and pour down knowledge into diverse, imperfect vessels, wherever they may be, even in near neighborhoods! Can’t He follow the trails of agency and stewardship; and apply the principle of added-upon or not, as each case may prove?

So, why all the allegations of plagiarism? If an angel repeats “the very same things” on at least four occasions⁵ might other heavenly manifestations / inspirations contain elements of repetition? Does the economy of Heaven favor déjà vu?

What if Oliver Cowdery’s “Articles of the Church of Christ”⁶ is an inspired reception of truths—truths also revealed to others? Is God not permitted to repeat Himself? to speak to more than one at a time? to give testimony into the mouths of two or three witnesses?

What did God say?

To Oliver, April 1829: Behold thou hast a gift, and blessed art thou because of thy gift. Remember it is sacred and cometh from above— And if thou wilt inquire, thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous; therefore thou shalt exercise thy gift, that thou mayest find out mysteries, that thou mayest bring many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 6:10-11)

To Alma: For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true. (Book of Mormon Alma 29:8; circa 76 B.C.)

To Joel: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. (Old Testament Joel 2:28-29; see also Numbers 11:29; New Testament Acts 2:17; Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 14:25-6; Doctrine & Covenants 1:20, 34)

So, can we mortals drop exclusivity? Can we stop cobbling together sparse facts to create “true” scenarios that favor our view of how something really happened (or should have happened)? How  can we ever think to discover the invisible workings of God by pure study of and reliance on (or manipulation of)  the visible?

Can we let God be non-exclusive?!⁷ Can we exercise a modicum of trust in one of the most important scriptures ever pronounced for the enlightenment of every saint, sinner, scribe, and scholar?

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Old Testament Isaiah 55:8-9)

Can we remember that faith is, in part, "the evidence of things not seen"?

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1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_discovery
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_multiple_discoveries
3. As in the Article of Faith # 4 sequence: Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost.
4. See Daymon M Smith, A Cultural History of the Book of Mormon: Vol. 1, setting, a foundation of stones to stumble over, where he discusses the distortions from entwining tradition and history; where he critiques several scholars, including: Bushman, Givens, Faulring, Welch, et al.; and where he, too, sometimes seems to take a position, that may itself distort.
5. Pearl of Great Price, “Joseph Smith History;” and “Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” frontispiece of the Book of Mormon
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Articles_of_the_Church_of_Christ
7. “Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments; And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets— ... But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; ... And again, verily I say unto you, O inhabitants of the earth: I the Lord am willing to make these things known unto all flesh;” (Doctrine and Covenants Section 1:17-18, 20, 34; bold emphasis added.)

Rule of Law: Ten to One

In the days of Moses, God gave the world Ten Commandments* consisting of 8½ negatives and 1½ positives. Many of the Twelve Tribes of Israel seemed in dire need of these “Thou shalt nots ...” which should perhaps be a déjà vu, “state of affairs” caution for our 21st Century, seeing as how most of our news and entertainment thrives on the breaking of these Commandments.

Then, some millennia after Moses received the Ten Commandments, a Pharisee put a question to Jesus:

... one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (New Testament Matthew 22:35-40)

And so, from ten mostly negatives, the law was condensed into two positives: love God and love thy neighbour as thyself.¹ We can see, with minimal study, how these two commands transcend, yet clearly include the prior Ten.

Then in 1835 (published 1842), Joseph Smith translated² some writings purporting to be those of Abraham where God’s will for mankind was expressed in a single, positive form:

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them. (Pearl of Great Price Abraham 3:25,** bold emphasis added.)

This overarching (transcending/including) law and purpose was further elaborated by Joseph Smith in section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants. And though the framework of God’s instruction (apparently³) arose out of Joseph’s question about the Biblical plurality of wives, a broader meaning of “the new and everlasting covenant” is surely warranted in light of:

I am the Lord thy God; and I give unto you this commandment—that no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 132:12, bold emphasis added.)

... [Abraham] abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 132:37.) ⁴

Is this not the way of progression? From Ten to Two to One? When we have matured enough spiritually to go from perfection in the micro-details of the “Thou shalt nots ...,” then we advance into the positive guides of loving God and loving our neighbours as ourselves.

Then line upon line, precept upon precept, we are prepared for the test and trauma of the One—the new and everlasting covenant to “do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command [us].”⁵

It will be new and different for every soul. It will try us to the nth degree, and may appear to offend the Ten and even perhaps the Two.⁶ Only those who know God by years of obeying the Ten and living the Two, who cannot mistake His glory or His command⁷ will be tried to that nth degree. Just ask Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Nephi, Joseph Smith, et al.⁸ Is that why we are warned against judging unrighteously? Who can know for sure if those who have lived the Ten and the Two have not been required to prove utterly obedient, against sense and reason, to the One? Divine perspective and endowment are beyond mortal capacity to fathom.⁹ They can only be revealed and gifted to those prepared; and may be utterly incomprehensible to those of us still struggling with Ten and Two.

If we shrink from the One, how can we possibly imagine that our new and everlasting covenant will ever be offered? Doesn’t Doctrine and Covenants 88:21-24 put us on notice.¹⁰

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** Note added 24 September 2014: For those who have encountered the theory that Abraham 3:25 describes the plan of the adversary (commands, punishment, laws, measuring, testing, etc.), I refer you to my post of that date at http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/09/questions-of-evidence.html

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*See Exodus 20, Deut. 5, etc.; though these Ten could have been given previously and restored through Moses. A cursory reading of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy reveals an endless supply of “Thou shalt nots ... .”

1. The Two were also taught my Moses but it seems many people were in a state where they needed the “don’ts” spelled out. We find Moses’ statement of the TWO as follows: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Old Testament Deuteronomy 6:5; see also 11:1); ... but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: ... (Old Testament Leviticus 19:18).
2. This writer acknowledges that there is some considerable controversy about this translation, but the question is: Do we really know enough to judge between scholarly analysis and claimed revelation? How often is the test of faith resolved by a scholarly analysis? Is Joseph's translation/interpretation based on revelation of older, uncorrupted texts and facsimiles—like his inspired translation of the Bible? How probable is it, over thousands of years of Egyptian history, that texts and facsimiles were copied, changed, varied etc. for a myriad reasons, perhaps polemic, as was done with the Bible? Has not God given us enough seeming contradictions, contraries, and inexplicables to make us proceed with profound caution?
3. Admittedly, the provenance of D&C 132 is not known for certain. It was several years after Joseph’s death that it “came to light,” engendering some continuing controversy as to its full authenticity.
4. See also: Doctrine and Covenants Section 132:5-6: For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world. And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God. // Doctrine and Covenants Section 130:20-21: There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
5. Even as Christ: Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. (New Testament John 4:34)
6. Doctrine and Covenants Section 132:36: Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. //  Doctrine and Covenants Section 132:59: Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him.
7. Pearl of Great Price Moses 1:13-22
8. Doubtless, countless women, like Eve, Naamah, Sarah, Esther, Mary, Emma Smith (D&C 132:51), et al. could witness of the One, but for some reason their stories were seldom recorded. I believe we shall have them in time.
9. Doctrine and Covenants Section 76:1-2: HEAR, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior. Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out.
10. And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom. For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory. And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory. And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 88:21-24)

In Good Company

Recently I have listened to the interviews of John Dehlin at Mormon Stories.¹ There he speaks of the pain that has been his companion for many years—the pain of witnessing a world in pain.

This is what I would say to the John (and Jane) Dehlins of this world. Pain and confusion are déjà vu nigh every prophet of old, plus a thousand, thousand other seekers of truth. Why so much sorrow in this world? Why so much pain in seeking to know God? in trying to reconcile His character, plan, and promises with this mortal life? in trying to endure His ways?

From my observations, it seems we have two extremes in believers: those who are perpetually of “good cheer”; and those who cannot shake the sorrows of a broken world. I have a sister on the perpetual cheer side. I have struggled for decades on the grief side. We each think the other is too extreme, which is undoubtedly true, but I take consolation in the counterweight we are to each other.

Those who manage to do as the Savior directed:

... In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (New Testament John 16:33);

are probably the more healthy and balanced as they grieve the tribulation, yet remain of good cheer—like the people of Mosiah:

“Now this account did cause the people of Mosiah to mourn exceedingly, yea, they were filled with sorrow; nevertheless it gave them much knowledge, in the which they did rejoice” (Book of Mormon Mosiah 28:18).

But nonetheless, many of us struggle with the discord between a God who self-describes as a Being of lovingkindness and the state of His creation.

These are some of the things that have, at times, given comfort:

▪ the Savior being described as “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:” (Old Testament Isaiah 53:3);
▪ the poignant verse, “Jesus wept.” (New Testament John 11:35); and though he undoubtedly laughed and smiled at times, the descriptions of Him seem to confine themselves to the sorrow side;
▪ the honesty of Biblical Job² in crying out his despair and confusions; and then, of God’s preference² for Job’s integrity over that of God’s own defenders, Job’s friends;
▪ the lamentations of Old Testament Jeremiah, e.g., “OH that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Old Testament Jeremiah 9:1);
▪ the cries of Ezra who, like Jeremiah, sorely lamented before God about the fate of the mass of humanity; and God’s reply: “For you come far short of being able to love my creation more than I love it.”³
▪ that God and the Heavens should weep for suffering mankind (Pearl of Great Price Moses 7:28, 31, 37, 40);
▪ that Enoch had bitterness of soul and wept, and wept, and wept, and wept (Pearl of Great Price Moses 7:41, 44, 49, 58);
▪ the description of the only designated survivors from a sword of justice as: “the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof” (Old Testament Ezekiel 9:4);
▪ the lamentations of Nephi, Jacob, Limhi, Alma, etc.: “... why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?” (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 4:26); “... I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be”(Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 32:7); “... wherefore, we did mourn out our days” (Book of Mormon Jacob 7:26); “... great are the reasons which we have to mourn;” (Book of Mormon Mosiah 7:24); Alma’s prayer (Alma 31:26-35);
▪ the baptismal covenant that we are “willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort,” (Book of Mormon Mosiah 18:9);
▪ the beatitude: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (New Testament Matthew 5:4);
▪ the words of Joseph Smith expressing his “painful anxiety” about the world and Zion: “I am led to exclaim, "O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night"; and “... if the fountain of our tears be not dried up, we will still weep for Zion. This from your brother who trembles for Zion, and for the wrath of heaven, which awaits her if she repents not.” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 13, 19; see also Doctrine & Covenants 21:8.)
▪ the forewarning: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. ... And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you” (New Testament John 16:20, 22); “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you [and almost every mortal soul], as though some strange thing happened unto you” (New Testament 1 Peter 4:12);
▪ the scripture that I turn to perhaps more than any other: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Old Testament Isaiah 55:8-9).

And though many of us yet lack the balance of Jesus’ admonition, yet I take consolation that we are not alone in struggling to comprehend the contraries of life and a loving God; and that sorrow and grief are acceptable before God as we mourn with those that mourn, and strive to trust in a Being greater than ourselves.

THE Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. (Old Testament Isaiah 61:1-3)

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1. http://mormonstories.org/john-dehlin-and-faith-reconstruction/
2. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2010/01/finding-god.html . See also: “Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor? ... My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep” (Old Testament Job 30:25, 31).
3. (The Fourth Book of Ezra, The Old Testament Pseudephigrapha: Vol. 1, Apocalyptic Literatures & Testaments, ed. by James H. Charlesworth, pp. 543-544, bold emphasis mine)

Man vs. God

The discussions concerning Church history and Joseph Smith seem to have heated up in recent years with the ease of publishing and sharing of opinions. Clearly, for many seekers, God has not made faith easy to maintain. Some can’t even get to faith, because God Himself has become such an obstacle. And from a strictly human, rational, moral, and legal POV, one can hardly fault them. Many times, God manifests as an incomprehensible stumbling block.

On a diet of milk (or skimmed milk¹), God seems easy enough to accept, but when one attempts to eat meat in His house, one is almost guaranteed to experience bouts of choking because, at some point, He quits mincing it for us. Just ask Adam & Eve, Noah & Naamah, Abraham & Sarah, Moses, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nephi, Peter, Joseph & Emma Smith, and tens-of-thousands of others.

He has forewarned us about the meat in His house.

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. (New Testament 1 Corinthians 3:2)

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (New Testament Hebrews 5:12-14)

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: (Old Testament Isaiah 28:9-10)

For they cannot bear meat now, but milk they must receive; wherefore, they must not know these things, lest they perish. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 19:22)

Many of us study the history of God’s dealings with mankind, and know of His dealings with us and our loved ones, and when we get to the meat of life, we, like Job, often cry out:

... I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; For it increaseth. ... (Old Testament Job 10:15-16)

God’s meat (will) is full of contradictions and contraries despite what we would prefer (and often preach). Consider:

▪ the command for Abraham to perform human sacrifice;
▪ the unmerited sufferings of “perfect” Job;
▪ the command for Isaiah² to go naked and barefoot like a slave;
▪ the command for Hosea ² to marry an infamous  “wife of whoredoms”;
▪ the counsel of an old prophet³ to a young prophet to disobey personal revelation (and the fatal consequences, I Kings 13, JST);
▪ the command for Nephi to kill Laban;
▪ Peter’s denying the Christ (as a command???⁴);
▪ the command for Joseph Smith to practice polygamy; (???)
▪ the horrible suffering and death of hundreds of prophets, saints, sages, and defenders of truth as they sealed their testimonies with their blood.

What do these few examples say about our belief in: “Thou shalt not kill”; justice and lovingkindness; the dignity of prophets; following the prophet; “Thou shalt not bear false witness”; “Thou shalt not commit adultery”; God protects and blesses His faithful; and so on?

At times, the meat of contrarieties⁵ becomes too dissonant, agonizing, overwhelming, nonsensical, shocking, irreconcilable, and on and on. For many of us, the point comes where belief runs up against information, documentation, allegation, assumption, disappointment, etc., etc., and we cry: “I know too much (to remain faithful).”

BUT WHAT IF, in the end, the final, simple question is: “Did you know enough? (—to judge Me or My thoughts and ways?")?

We already have the short answer:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Old Testament Isaiah 55:8-9)

which is perhaps the one scripture that should be written on the forehead of every seeking soul. Or perhaps:

... he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: (Old Testament Isaiah 11:3)

If we demand a rational, reasonable, logical, common sense God, then we won’t get the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; of Moses, Joshua, Hosea, Gideon, Joseph Smith, or of any of the old prophets. We seem, in this latter day, to want a telestial/terrestrial God who conforms and confines Himself to the enlightenment paradigm.

But no! we have been told time and again:

He is beyond us:

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. (New Testament Romans 11:33-36)

He has a purpose:

For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Pearl of Great Price Moses 1:39)

He is going to try us:

... that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. (Old Testament Exodus 16:4)

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; (Pearl of Great Price Abraham 3:25; bold emphasis added.)

But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, ... (Old Testament Jeremiah 11:20)

My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom. (Doctrine and Covenants Section 136:31; bold emphasis added.)

And HOW is He going to test/prove/try us? by NOT offending our sense of logic and reason? by always confirming our faith-based, telestial/terrestrial biases? by offering up physical evidence? by preventing contradictory, confusing evidence? by making it easy to believe?

So if God commands Abraham or Nephi or Joseph Smith (or others) do we ever know enough to cry foul? And if the civil authorities do, then is it not up to God to provide a way for their escape, or not, as He sees fit?

Each of their acts offends our sense of what is rational, logical, reasonable, legal, moral, etc. And worse yet, how are we supposed to reconcile any of this with civil law and order? How, if confronted with civil or criminal law, could any of these have justified themselves? The contraries cannot be anything but agonizing and incomprehensible.

God’s will is often like a harpoon to the heart (or the imaginations of the heart, or mind, as the case may be). Again, just ask Abraham.

And maybe, in this twenty-first century, our harpoon to the heart is to let God be transrational⁶; to let Joseph Smith be His prophet of the Restoration (or as I first mistyped it, Testoration) even when he fails our “enlightenment,” evidentiary tests. What better way to push us toward “the evidence of things not seen”⁷ than to hopelessly confound the “evidence of things seen.”

In light of Abraham 3:15, the question we will surely face regarding Joseph Smith will be: Despite all you knew or thought you knew, did you ever know enough to judge him righteously?

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The following links are expansions of several of my thoughts expressed above:
1. Skimmed milk: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2010/10/skimmed-milk.html
2. Isaiah/Hosea: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2010/11/shock-of-contrast.html
3. Old Prophet: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/search/label/Old%20Prophet ; Ask yourself: How correlation-rational is this story?
4. Peter: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2011/12/in-defense-of-peter.html
5. Contradictions: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2009/09/agony-of-contradictions.html
6. Transrational: http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2012/11/transrational.html
7. Faith: Hebrews 11:1

In Defense of Peter



Saint Peter
6th-century encaustic icon
from Saint Catherine's Monastery
Mount Sinai
Public Domain Wikimedia Commons

Every so often the topic of the Apostle Peter’s denials surfaces for discussion, and each time, I have felt we were missing something vital in the accepted interpretation of those accounts. Then in the early 1990s, I read a talk^[1] by Pres. Spencer W. Kimball that opened the door, just a crack, for re-analysis. I decided to put my thoughts into a one-act play, “Witness for Peter” and did so in 1995. (It has remained, with minor tweaks, in various incarnations of electronic storage since that time.) Several years after writing it, I discovered a talk^[2] by Bruce C. Hafen, then president of Ricks College, wherein the crack for re-analysis widened. Then in 2005, I encountered a discussion^[3] at TimesandSeasons.org wherein a Greek word was presented as a trump against such re-analysis. In defense of Peter, I left a comment as follows:

11/4/2005 at 8:04 pm
Belated caution re post #17
  Proposition: As no original manuscripts remain to prove the compositional language(s) of the Gospels; as there is no consensus amongst scholars or historians about the use of Greek in those originals; as most of the relied-upon, copied texts for the KJV are distant from the original authors by several hundred years; as interpretive choices in translation work, even by well-meaning translators, can, and often do, change meaning and intent (not to mention, “corrective” or “correlative” interpolations made by copyists and translators); therefore, it is questionable whether we know the precise words spoken by the Lord and whether the words have been accurately transmitted (e.g., compare the synoptic gospels with John’s). And more to the point, we cannot know with certainty how the Lord meant His words—probably spoken in Aramaic—to be understood.
  Perhaps, in fairness to Peter, the safest course is not to take a dogmatic position either way, but to ask, as Spencer W. Kimball, “Are we sure of his motive in that recorded denial?” And then, to not be afraid of uncertainty about the matter (see, Bruce C. Hafen, “On Dealing with Uncertainty,” BYU Devotional, 9 January 1979, Ensign, Aug. 1979, 63-4 where he also addresses the Peter question).

Two days ago, (Nov. 29, 2011) I discovered a thoughtful, scholarly analysis^[4] by Andrew Skinner, that is worth the consideration of every soul who wonders about Peter—an analysis that seems to ably answer the “Greek trump.”

Not only does the command interpretation appear possible, but does it not fit within the pattern of “Abrahamic” tests that God seems to require of all who follow in the footsteps of His Son? A pattern that requires a complete submission of will^[5], of nature, of passion, and sometimes, of possessions (Mark 10:17-22)? If Christ had to suffer great contradiction^[6], and Abraham, Job, Mary & Joseph, Joseph & Emma, and nigh every scriptural prophet, and many saints and sages in the triumph over self, why not Peter?

For some this is an intensely emotional issue. For them it deeply offends the scriptural account. Yet, is it not strange that the Apostle John, who was present at the trials and witness to the events first-hand, does not include any remark about Peter's sudden recollection of his Lord's words when the cock crew?

Also, in this analysis, the inconsistencies in Peter's character do not arise. As well, Peter seems to have had no reservation about rushing to the empty tomb or of meeting his risen Master three days after his awful denial; nor did the Church seem to hold Simon Peter in less esteem for what would surely have been seen as a monumental failing. So shouldn't we be willing to hear all the evidence before making as reasoned a  judgment as possible in the circumstances?

Of course, we cannot know the full truth of that night, but does it not seem credible that this was a night of supreme testing for Peter, which, as we see with Abraham and others, came as a nigh unbearable contradiction (and denial) of his bold character and convictions—to submit his will, against every inclination, to God’s will?

Even if it turns out that Simon Peter failed this test^[7], the account still testifies to the great cleansing power of repentance and to the efficacy of the realized atonement.

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[1] Given in 1971 and now found at http://emp.byui.edu/marrottr/GenlAuthorities/PeterMyBrother.pdf
[2] Given in 1979 and now found at http://lds.org/ensign/1979/08/on-dealing-with-uncertainty?lang=eng
[3] http://timesandseasons.org/index.php/2005/02/peter/
[4] http://emp.byui.edu/marrottr/211FOLDER/Peters%20Denial.pdf
[5] http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/search/label/WILL
[6] http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2009/09/agony-of-contradictions.html
[7] I am aware of Pres. Hinckley’s talk on Peter, but find other thoughts and analyses far more persuasive.

See also: http://troygparker.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/peters-denial-prediction-or-command/

I hope in the near future to publish my one-act, one-person play, Witness for Peter, at Scribd.com.

Don’t Worry! Be Happy! (???)

~
Being happy, cheerful, positive (as we are often counseled) is all well and good—to a point. And what is that point? Perhaps to the point of awareness of the tragedies, misery, pain, and grief that fills the lives of so many of our fellow human beings (and other creations). Awareness too, that much of the sorrow need not be—if we really loved our neighbor and lived the Golden Rule. Of course, there is much happiness and joy (which we should celebrate), but does it not seem significant that a chief description of our divine mentor is “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” ^[1] How many of our scriptural prophets might also be described with the same appellation.

There surely is a balance somewhere,^[2] yet the following story might give us pause in these latter days as we get caught up in the personal pursuit of happiness (too often defined as prosperity).

4 And the LORD said unto him [the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side], Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. 5 ¶ And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city. 8 ¶ And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? 9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not. 10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. 11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. (Old Testament Ezekiel 9:4–11; emphasis added)

Perhaps we need a little more sighing and crying; awareness thereof in others (in both rich and poor); and commitment to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.”^[3]

Consider the déjà vu from circa 83 BC:

12 Yea, he [Alma] saw great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted. Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ's sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy; (Book of Mormon Alma 4:12-13)

How do we individually measure up to New Testament Romans 12? And do we find any companionship in these latter days with "the men that sigh and that cry" from Ezekiel 9:4?

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[1] Old Testament Isaiah 53:3; Book of Mormon Mosiah 14:3
[2] The Lord himself counsels: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (New Testament John 16:33). A seeming contrary perhaps—that in the midst of tribulation, we can find peace and good cheer—the working out of opposites and opposition?
[3] Doctrine and Covenants Section 81:5

The Agony of Contradictions*

(*Things that appear to be incompatabile)

So much of our pain seems to arise out of the contradictions of our lives. We expect God to manifest in a certain way, and then He does a Biblical “Job” on us and we, like suffering Job, cry out, “I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction” (Job 10:15).

But surviving contradiction seems mandatory to salvation. Promises made, then delayed;^[1] commandments given, then exempted by a superseding command;^[2] faithful souls suffering at the hands of enemies, traumas, or an inexplicably silent God;^[3] faithful people in all corners of the world suffering their various trials of contradiction.

The epitome of one who suffered contradiction was the Son of God himself.

… the Son, … ordained from before the foundation of the world to be a propitiation for the sins of all those who should believe on his name, and is called the Son because of the flesh, and descended in suffering below that which man can suffer; or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions [emphasis added] than any man can be. But, notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God, and remained without sin, … (Lectures on Faith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1985], 5:2.)

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction [emphasis added] of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds (New Testament Hebrews 12:2-3).

I believe that the contradictions of our lives are designed to test us in the three necessities: faith, hope, and charity (Moroni 10:21). Will we choose faith in the midst of fearful circumstances, hope in the midst of seeming hopelessness, and charity in the midst of persecutions, oppressions, and injustice? In other words, we will be given opportunities to choose and to develop faith, hope, and charity in the midst of pain, suffering, and contradiction. It is truly a world of opposites; the only kind of world where meaningful choice is possible; where

… men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 2:27).

Contradiction in the realm of spiritual things is not something we seem to acknowledge very much, but as it is central to our experiences in this world, wouldn’t our trials and sufferings be more bearable (endurable) if we recognized the centrality of contradiction and the indispensable role it plays in forcing us to confront the necessities of faith, hope, and charity?

[1] read Hebrews 11; also includes promises in Patriarchal Blessings.
[2] Abraham to sacrifice his son; Nephi to slay an unconscious Laban, etc.
[3] Alma’s flight from wicked king Noah, only to be enslaved by his former “priestly” colleagues in alliance with the enemy Lamanites (Book of Mormon); faithful Job, faithful Daniel, faithful Paul, faithful martyrs by the hundreds, faithful Mother Teresa (Come Be My Light), and countless others.