Book of Mormon Week 15

Thought: "The Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the everlasting Gospel the record of the ancient Nephites, translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith, by the gift and power of God in him that we may come to a knowledge of the principles of the Gospel in simplicity and in purity. It makes clear many darks sayings of the Jewish Scriptures, as they have come down to us. It sheds a flood of light over the Bible; it contains the key of knowledge and understanding; and it is more precious than all the works of modern times, and is worth more...there is more to be learned out of it, my young friends, that is calculated to prove of real worth and blessing to the soul, than can be acquired at all the universities, colleges and schools of science and of modern times...Therefore, study the Scriptures; acquaint yourselves with the Book of Mormon. Read them in your Sunday Schools; read them at your firesides; let them always be found upon your tables, and never permit your families to be without them; and if you are poor sell your coat and buy them; for you are far better without a coat than without the word of God to teach your children. Let our Bishops, and Elders and Teachers attend to it; and enquire whether you are surrounded by those milk and water Saints who love fine dress more than the love of God, and who love to furnish their children with musical instruments and toys, and who neglect to furnish them the words of life; if you are, labor with them and teach them in all sincerity the duties of a Latter day Saint, a Saint of the living God; and God will bless you in your labors, and you will have more joy in doing this than anything else you could do." (Erastus Snow, JD, 23:300-301)

Book of the Week: A Book of Mormon Treasury- Published by the Religious Studies Center at BYU in 2003. It contains 27 articles written by General Authorities and Religious Educators. All of them are available on line. I listened to John Welch's talk on-line also about the testimonies of Christ by 10 different Book of Mormon prophets.

Gary's Green Verses

Date	Chapter	Verse	Comments
April 27	Alma 22	18	What are we willing to give away to know God?
April 28	Alma 23	6	A pretty impressive retention rate for the sons of Mosiah.
April 29	Alma 24	30	Our greatest critics are often former fellows in the faith
April 30	Alma 25	6 & 17	Sometimes trials & challenges humble us to be willing to make changes. A familiar feeling expressed at the end of missionary service.
May 1	Alma 26	37	Ammon testifies that God is aware and love ALL of His children.
May 2	Alma 27	27	It makes me want to move to Jershon or at least to be one who would feel comfortable there.
May 3	Alma 28	13	We sink below equality as we sin.

One brief comment on fasting: You may not be able to hunger and fast for many consecutive days. Not all of us are Gandhi. But if you reduce your calorie intake, live with fasting while still eating enough to subsist, you can subordinate the flesh to the spirit while still eating and maintaining health. And, most of all, you can do so without calling attention to yourself since fasting should always be a private matter. Sometimes it does take days to receive an answer. Do not abandon the powerful tool fasting can provide to you because you cannot fast for many consecutive days. Instead, fast while eating enough for subsistence, and you will find you can accomplish the same things without jeopardy to health. Many of us eat too much anyway, and reducing food may be a boon to physical as well as spiritual health. (Denver C. Snuffer, Jr. "The Second Comforter, Conversing with the Lord Through the Veil", p. 92)

Alma 20-30

1. Alma 20:13 - See also Alma 2:8-10; 19:21-22; 3 Nephi 12:21-22; Lynn G. Robbins, Ensign May, 1998, p. 80-81. ANGER

2. Alma 20:29-30 - When bad things happen to people trying to be good.

3. Doctrines of Convenience - Alma 21:6 & 8: How do you know that we are sinners? We have churches. We do not believe in the foolish traditions of our fathers. We don't believe that people can see the future.  Moses 4:1-God will save all men. Jacob 7; Alma 1 and 30. Similar Today?

4. Alma 22:15 - We must be willing to give up all, in order to obtain all. - What do we hold back?  Remember Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Consecration

5. Alma 22:16 - Aaron then outlined the steps that the king must take to obtain a testimony of God and His plan. These steps are recorded in Alma 22:16. First, one must have a desire to know about God and be born of him. Second, one must be willing to bow down and be humble before God. Third, there must be a willingness to repent of all one’s sins. Fourth, one must call on the name of God and pray unto him. Fifth, the prayer must be offered with “faith, believing that ye shall receive.” Sixth, the end result is the Lord’s promise that those who follow these steps will receive the hope for eternal life which they desired. (Clyde J. Williams, Instruments in the Hands of God)

6. Alma 23:17-18 - Anti-Knee-Hi-Levies- Freed from the curse? Did their skin become light? No, they received the Spirit. See 2 Nephi 5:20; Alma 3:6-14; 3 Nephi 2:15; ATGQ 3:122-3.

7. Alma 24:14-15 - See D&C 82:7; "the Book of Mormon makes clear that neither the conditional or unconditional blessings of the Atonement would be available to mankind except through the grace and goodness of Christ. Obviously the unconditional blessings of the Atonement are unearned, but the conditional ones also are not fully merited...Even these greater blessings are freely given of him and are not technically earned by us." (JRHolland, Christ and the New Covenant, p. 236)

8. Alma 25:15-16 - The Book of Mormon is our best source for understanding why the Law of Moses was given. See also Mosiah 13:28-33: Galatians 2:16; Mosiah 12:33; Jacob 4:5; Mosiah 16:14-15; Exodus 12:5, 16:15, 17:6, 30:10; Leviticus 16:22; Numbers 9:12, 21:8.

9. Alma 26:22 - An unfailing formula for missionary work, except for Noah, Heber J. Grant, Lehi, Gary.

10. Alma 26:27 - "there are times when you simply have to righteously hang on and outlast the devil until his depressive spirit leaves you...to press on in noble endeavors, even while surrounded by a cloud of depression, will eventually bring you out on top into the sunshine" (ETBenson, Teachings p. 396)

11. Alma 27:28-30 - What is your attitude about death?

12. Alma 28:13-14- And thus we see - What?

13. Alma 29:4 - "Unless you align your desires with those of the Lord, you will have neither happiness here nor everlasting joy in the world to come (NAMaxwell, "The Education of Our Desires") See Abraham 1:2; 1 Nephi 11:1; Alma 32:27; Alma 41: 3, 5, 6; Alma 9:20; D&C 49:2; Jeremiah 17:10; Mosiah 16:12; D&C 3:4.

14. Alma 30 - The Korihor Philosophy—A New Face and Old Voice (Gerald Lund, An Anti-Christ in the Book of Mormon)

If we could take a moment and talk in philosophical terms, there are three branches of philosophy which have a great deal to do with what a person believes, how they approach life and what constitutes their value system: metaphysics, axiology, and epistemology. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of reality. It tries to answer the question, “What is real?” Meta is a Greek prefix meaning after or beyond, so metaphysics means literally, beyond physics. In other words, metaphysics asks whether there is something more than (beyond) the physical world that we see around us. Is there some reality higher than the natural world—literally, a supernatural reality?”

The second branch of philosophy that has much to do with our discussion is axiology. Axi comes from the Greek root which means “worth” or “value.” Axiology is the study of ethics and values. It wrestles with such questions as, “What is good?” and “What is right and wrong?” The third branch of philosophy is epistemology. Epistem is a root meaning “knowledge.” (An “epistle,” which comes from the same root, is a message—or knowledge—sent by writing.) Epistemology is the study of how we know what is real or what is true. Since epistemology is central to our discussion on Korihor, a brief review of some of the major epistemological systems will serve to illustrate better what is meant by the term.

Authoritarianism is the system wherein truth is derived from those viewed as authorities or experts in an area. The recent crisis in the Middle East has illustrated how often we turn to experts for truth and information. We have seen on television a wide range of experts on war, military logistics, Islam, politics, government, etc.

Rationalism is an epistemological system wherein truth is derived through logical processes such as deduction, induction, and so on. In rationalism we ask, “Does this make sense? Is it logical?”

Pragmatism is where truth is determined by whether or not something works. For example, the business world is very pragmatically oriented, constantly focusing on whether a new product or marketing strategy actually produces the projected results. If it does, it is true; if it doesn’t, it is rejected.

Empiricism is where knowledge is gained through observation or experience. The scientific method, wherein one conducts an experiment and observes the results, is based heavily on the empirical method. Empirical evidence is often what people mean when they talk about hard or measurable evidence.

If one were to ask which of the above epistemological systems Latter-day Saints subscribe to, we would probably agree that we accept all of them as valid means of gaining knowledge or truth. However, in our theology, there is yet one more system, and this takes priority over the others.

Revelation is where truth is gained through communication of God’s mind and will to man. In Latter-day Saint theology, revelation comes via the Spirit or through direct manifestations (such as visions) to man.

There are other epistemological systems, or ways of knowing truth, but these are the main ones and will serve our purpose here. These three branches of philosophy—metaphysics, axiology, and epistemology—have a profound effect upon how people view life, what they value, and how they act in various situations.

This proves to be true in the case of Korihor as well. A careful reading of Korihor’s “doctrine” reveals three “linchpins,” or pivotal points, of his entire philosophy. Chart 1 illustrates how these three fundamental points target the very areas we have described above. To put it more simply, Korihor defines how people come to know truth (epistemology), he talks about what constitutes reality (metaphysics), and defines what is good and what is evil (axiology).

Looking at Korihor’s teachings carefully, we see that he starts with an epistemology based on strong empiricism. He states it very simply: “Ye cannot know of things which ye do not see [or we would say, experience]” (Alma 30:15). His metaphysics openly rejects any kind of supernatural explanation of reality. In Korihor’s doctrine, there is no other dimension of reality beyond the physical world—no God, no angels, no Spirit that brings revelation. From his metaphysics comes the natural conclusion that “when a man was dead, that was the end thereof (Alma 30:18). From Korihor’s epistemology (the denial of revelation) and his metaphysics (there is only the natural world and man is the supreme reality in it), flows his axiology (the only good or bad is that which is decided by man himself). This is often the case. In other words, how we answer the questions, “How do we know what is true?” and “What constitutes reality?” often determines how we perceive what is good and bad, right and wrong.

This gets at the crux of the matter and explains why Satan would take such an interest in philosophy. Out of Korihor’s basic philosophy now flow two important corollaries. When Korihor was arrested and taken before the high priest, he boldly challenged the position of the religious leaders (see Alma 30:23–28). Giddonah demanded to know how Korihor explained why the people were getting so much joy out of their religion if what Korihor said was true.

Korihor’s first corollary answers that very neatly. Chart 2 diagrams his answer. There are two reasons people believe in these false ideas. The first is that they have been indoctrinated by their parents (the “foolish traditions” of their fathers) or that they have been deceived by false religious leaders who seek personal gain or power. This indoctrination leads to psychological abnormalities, a “frenzied mind” or “derangement” (see Alma 30:16).

Out of the first corollary flows a second. This is the final, practical conclusion of Korihor’s philosophy. He states that there are no ultimate values set by religion or tradition which put us in jeopardy of some eternal punishment. Therefore, we can live as we please without fear of eternal consequences.

This is the heart of the matter. This is what it is all about. I don’t believe for a moment Satan cares about philosophy as a mental game or academic exercise, only where it can take us. Now that can be most productive in terms of Satan’s ultimate purposes. And Mormon clearly identifies that end result of deceiving philosophy: “And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredoms” (Alma 30:18, emphasis added). What a victory, from Satan’s point of view. This is not just wickedness, it is wickedness in which people take pride. They lift up their heads in it. And why shouldn’t they? Korihor has provided the ultimate rationalization—there is no God; there is no ultimate right and wrong; man is the supreme being. All the guilt and shame people feel (psychological hang-ups) are simply the result of the foolish teachings of their parents or the designs of evil religious leaders.