There are a lot of lessons to be drawn from the end of the war. One is an exclamation point on need for national unity. Internal strife and factions almost destroyed the Nephites. The Nephites won only after the Chief Judge Pahoran, backed by the military might of Captain Moroni, put an end to the dissension.
Another lesson is given a choice, the masses, the people who actually get sent to war to fight, don’t like fighting and won’t. The Lamanite armies not only lost the battles, but also the war in large part because their soldiers defected and joined the Ammonites. No soldiers… no army. No army… no war. You really have to stir people up emotionally to get them to go to war because by nature people are appalled and terrified by it.
We get another glimpse into the different culture of the Nephites with the end of the war. They demobilize to a certain extent, but Moroni oversees the construction of more “places of defense” or refuge throughout the country. He then retires and hands over command of the army to his son, Moronihah. (Can you imagine the Commander of the Joint Chiefs saying, “I’m retiring now, so my son is going to take over in my stead.” Not in America.) The Nephites were okay with that. It would never happen here.
Helaman resumes the role of High Priest, but soon dies. Shiblon becomes custodian of the records. But he’s old too and knows he’s going to die soon. Since Pahoran doesn’t want the records, they are given to Helaman’s oldest son Helaman. I just have to comment here for a moment. We assume the custodian of the records is THE High Priest. Like so much of the Nephite society, these high leadership positions seem to be handed down from father to son among the Nephites. The judgeship passes from father to son. The army passed from father to son. The church did with Alma the Younger getting the job after his father. And then Helaman got it from his father.
Lest you think it was coincidence that the church leaders were such good men, I think the better interpretation is this patrilineal descent from father to son is something Heavenly Father worked with. So, he made sure men worthy of the callings were born at the right time to the right family.
And so ends the Book of Alma. The stage is set for the next epoch of the Nephite saga.
Personal Note: This actually is the end of my first pass of blogging through the Book of Mormon. It was nearly a year ago, July 5, 2015 to be exact, when I made my first post on Helaman chapter one. Rather than rehash things, After this post I'm going to spend some time consolidating these entries into book form. Surprisingly, it's 47,000 words long - about 150 pages. I plan on posting it to Amazon where you can get it for free, or $0.99 if I must charge something for it.
In the mean time, about once a week, I'll post entries consisting of my impressions of our Gospel Doctrine lessons. It'll be more Book of Mormon goodness, but I'm going to spend most of my writing time working on a new Sci-Fi novel. I had a chance to pitch the idea to a book publisher recently and they really liked the idea, so I want to work on that to see where it goes. I plan on posting chapters to another blog so you can read along if you'd like.
I love feedback. If you'd like to see the contents of the past year's blog posts in a book, please let me know. The amount of interest will tell me how much effort to put into putting it together.
Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Friday, March 11, 2016
Mosiah 21-22 - The People of Limhi
After Noah’s death, the people choose one of his sons, Limhi, to be their king. Then true to the prophecy given by Abinadi, the Lamanites subjugate them. Thus begins a decades long period of chastening by the Lord to bring them back to Him. More on this in a moment.
I just have to wonder. Don’t you think a society brought to ruin by a king would not want any of his descendants to be their new king? I wouldn’t. Joseph Smith nor any American in the 1820’s wouldn't either. Yet the event is recorded as if it’s the perfectly normal thing to do. Hearkening back to what Orson Scott Card said, if an author feels something needs to be explained, he will make a point to do it in the narrative. Mormon does that with the monetary system: it was unusual to him. But handing a kingdom, by the voice of the people no less, from father to son is no big deal. It’s another piece of evidence showing an American living in 1820 did not write this. Someone used to kingly succession amongst an aristocratic class did.
The other thing of note is the evolution of the people through this time. They accept bondage and appoint their own king, Limhi. Then the Lamanites attack them because of the abduction of 24 of their daughters. The Nephites are spared because they capture the Lamanite king and persuade him it wasn’t them. They live in peace but chafe under the tax burden and treatment by the Lamanites. Imagine what it would be like to have “just” a 50% tax burden. It’s bondage to the Nephites, but democracy to us. Go figure.
They try three times to fight their way out, to win their freedom by the sword. They fail and humble themselves to the dust. For a time the Lamanites treat them little better than beasts of burden. They also learn charity by caring for the widows of the dead soldiers. By slow degrees Heavenly Father starts to bless them with ever more abundant crops. Finally, when they are as desirous to be baptized as the people of Alma were, Ammon is led to them and they make their escape.
The community they establish, the Land of Gideon, becomes one of the stalwart cities among the Nephites for generations.
I just have to wonder. Don’t you think a society brought to ruin by a king would not want any of his descendants to be their new king? I wouldn’t. Joseph Smith nor any American in the 1820’s wouldn't either. Yet the event is recorded as if it’s the perfectly normal thing to do. Hearkening back to what Orson Scott Card said, if an author feels something needs to be explained, he will make a point to do it in the narrative. Mormon does that with the monetary system: it was unusual to him. But handing a kingdom, by the voice of the people no less, from father to son is no big deal. It’s another piece of evidence showing an American living in 1820 did not write this. Someone used to kingly succession amongst an aristocratic class did.
The other thing of note is the evolution of the people through this time. They accept bondage and appoint their own king, Limhi. Then the Lamanites attack them because of the abduction of 24 of their daughters. The Nephites are spared because they capture the Lamanite king and persuade him it wasn’t them. They live in peace but chafe under the tax burden and treatment by the Lamanites. Imagine what it would be like to have “just” a 50% tax burden. It’s bondage to the Nephites, but democracy to us. Go figure.
They try three times to fight their way out, to win their freedom by the sword. They fail and humble themselves to the dust. For a time the Lamanites treat them little better than beasts of burden. They also learn charity by caring for the widows of the dead soldiers. By slow degrees Heavenly Father starts to bless them with ever more abundant crops. Finally, when they are as desirous to be baptized as the people of Alma were, Ammon is led to them and they make their escape.
The community they establish, the Land of Gideon, becomes one of the stalwart cities among the Nephites for generations.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Helaman 6 - Willfull Disobedience
When we hear the truism about the Book of Mormon, that is was "written for our day," I wonder how much credence we give to it? As I look back on what I've read, I see a symmetry between the events in the book and the history of our country. It's not exact by any means, but it's close enough and follows a pattern that has repeated throughout history.
It goes something like this: a nation is founded as a conglomerate of people who share a common set of beliefs join together. At first, idealism and a strong adherence to the founding principles knits the country together through a turbulent but mostly prosperous growth period. Then as the culture matures, a rot of first pride, then greed and corruption follow. It spreads from the cities out into the general populace. As it spreads, the original principles are abandoned for "new" and "enlightened" way of thinking, then the nation fails from the inside out leading to a period of anarchy and chaos until a new society springs up in its place.
As far as I can tell this happened at least four times in the Book of Mormon, first with the Jaredites, although if I spent more time thinking about it, I could identify several more of these cycles in their history. Then with the Nephites, you have the first reign of the Nephite Kings in the Land of Nephi. Then, after the Nephites flee the Land of Nephi before it is overrun by the Lamanites, they join to form the second reign of Kings and Judges with the Mulekites. The fourth starts when Jesus Himself comes after His ascension into Heaven to visit and teach the Nephites and Lamanites who survive the great destruction. At the end of this last cycle, the Nephites cease to exist as a society and the Lamanites degenerate to what was found when Columbus came.
In Helaman chapter six, the Nephites culture is degenerate and Nephi warns them of what is about to happen to them because they have deliberately turned away from God and what they know to be true. (v24 is particularly scathing.) I see this in our own country today. How many are abandoning their morals and values for money and the "nice things" of life? How many are ignoring their family for pornography and online gambling? How many are turning from the Gospel because they think they know better? I could go on, but this is enough to make the point: we are on the same trajectory.
The aim point identified by the Book of Mormon is not comforting.
It goes something like this: a nation is founded as a conglomerate of people who share a common set of beliefs join together. At first, idealism and a strong adherence to the founding principles knits the country together through a turbulent but mostly prosperous growth period. Then as the culture matures, a rot of first pride, then greed and corruption follow. It spreads from the cities out into the general populace. As it spreads, the original principles are abandoned for "new" and "enlightened" way of thinking, then the nation fails from the inside out leading to a period of anarchy and chaos until a new society springs up in its place.
As far as I can tell this happened at least four times in the Book of Mormon, first with the Jaredites, although if I spent more time thinking about it, I could identify several more of these cycles in their history. Then with the Nephites, you have the first reign of the Nephite Kings in the Land of Nephi. Then, after the Nephites flee the Land of Nephi before it is overrun by the Lamanites, they join to form the second reign of Kings and Judges with the Mulekites. The fourth starts when Jesus Himself comes after His ascension into Heaven to visit and teach the Nephites and Lamanites who survive the great destruction. At the end of this last cycle, the Nephites cease to exist as a society and the Lamanites degenerate to what was found when Columbus came.
In Helaman chapter six, the Nephites culture is degenerate and Nephi warns them of what is about to happen to them because they have deliberately turned away from God and what they know to be true. (v24 is particularly scathing.) I see this in our own country today. How many are abandoning their morals and values for money and the "nice things" of life? How many are ignoring their family for pornography and online gambling? How many are turning from the Gospel because they think they know better? I could go on, but this is enough to make the point: we are on the same trajectory.
The aim point identified by the Book of Mormon is not comforting.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Helaman Chapter 5 - The Voice of God
Helaman Chapter five is so loaded with information you will miss if you aren't paying attention when you read it. The casual reader will typically notice the promise in verse 12 and the impressive feat where the converted Lamanites and Nephite dissenters give back to the Nephites the lands they'd taken from them in v52. Those are impressive in their own right, but how many notice the detailed description of God's voice? Or the geography lesson? How many see the great power of listening to the Spirit, and how that gives one the ability to speak with God's power and authority even to the convincing of those with murderous intent? How many notice they traveled freely through the Lamanite controlled Nephite lands including Zarahemla and surrounding areas? How many noticed they travelled into a far north country to preach to both Nephites and Lamanites? (Heartlanders rejoice?!)
These hints show the culture of the Lamanites and Nephites is far more extensive and complicated than we typically think. It is another evidence to me that it is not the fabrication of a farm boy or even one assisted by a school teacher and a preacher.
Many critics allege the Book of Mormon was the brain child of more than one person, but consider this thought experiement: The television show, I Love Lucy, was the result of many talented and smart people. It was a popular show in its day. The cultural comments it makes however place it in 1950's America. It could exist at no other time because the values it holds up as humorous are insulting today. It reeks of the culture of the day in which it was created. Virtually every work of fiction is similarly "fingerprinted" by the prevailing culture known to the authors.
In this light, the Nephite and Lamanite cultures in the Book of Mormon, should show fingerprints of 1820 America. But where was the aristocracy that held both political and religious power in Joseph's day? Where did people freely travel into even enemy held lands? While I'll grant there are common values such as the love of liberty in the book but those are by design. In my opinion, inspiriation guided Mormon to reveal those aspects of his society which we would understand as he compiled the stories that became our Book of Mormon. But the things he leaves in the footnotes and sidebars reveal a culture that is alien to ours. Had he put those elements in, we would not have recognized it nor identify with it as we do today. It truly was, written for our day.
Well, I'm rambling, but such are the adventures contained in Helaman Chapter five.
These hints show the culture of the Lamanites and Nephites is far more extensive and complicated than we typically think. It is another evidence to me that it is not the fabrication of a farm boy or even one assisted by a school teacher and a preacher.
Many critics allege the Book of Mormon was the brain child of more than one person, but consider this thought experiement: The television show, I Love Lucy, was the result of many talented and smart people. It was a popular show in its day. The cultural comments it makes however place it in 1950's America. It could exist at no other time because the values it holds up as humorous are insulting today. It reeks of the culture of the day in which it was created. Virtually every work of fiction is similarly "fingerprinted" by the prevailing culture known to the authors.
In this light, the Nephite and Lamanite cultures in the Book of Mormon, should show fingerprints of 1820 America. But where was the aristocracy that held both political and religious power in Joseph's day? Where did people freely travel into even enemy held lands? While I'll grant there are common values such as the love of liberty in the book but those are by design. In my opinion, inspiriation guided Mormon to reveal those aspects of his society which we would understand as he compiled the stories that became our Book of Mormon. But the things he leaves in the footnotes and sidebars reveal a culture that is alien to ours. Had he put those elements in, we would not have recognized it nor identify with it as we do today. It truly was, written for our day.
Well, I'm rambling, but such are the adventures contained in Helaman Chapter five.
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Helaman 1: Cultural Observations
Helaman chapter one at first glance is the rather unremarkable telling of yet another war precipitated by dissident Nephites who stir up the Lamanites and persuade them to go kill those nasty, evil Nephites. In fact, the main event in this chapter is the rise of THE secret combination which becomes the Gadiantons and one Kishkumen who murders the legally elected governor, Pahoran.
But tucked into the narrative is one of the little comments Mormon inserts which show, the Nephite and Lamanite cultures are nothing like 1820 United States. (Yes, there will be a touch of apologist in this blog: deal with it.)
In particular is a little nugget I've never noticed before which is hidden in verse 13:
"And now behold, Pacumeni was appointed, according to the voice of the people, to be chief judge and a governor over the people, to reign in the stead of his brother Pahoran; and it was according to his right...."
He had a right to be chief governor? Really? That's amazing! Back in Mosiah 26, when King Mosiah sets up judges to rule the country who are appointed by the voice of the people you get the idea these are elections like we have today where "anyone" with the money and backing can run for the office. A closer read of the scriptures, show this isn't really the case with the Nephites and this little verse, hammers the idea home that there was a ruling class, an aristocracy if you will, which controlled not only the government but the religion too.
Think about it. There was no "Quorum of Apostles" in which leadership was based upon a seniority system as we have today. Instead the role of High Priest went from father to son for many generations, right down to the coming of Christ in fact. I'm not discounting the personal righteousness of these leaders, merely making the observation that they lived in a different culture and time and God, in His matchless wisdom and grace, worked within it to lead, bless and teach His children.
But, I digress...
Can you imagine anyone in Upstate New York shortly after the War of 1812, with grandparents who fought in the War for Independence and steeped in the tradition of unalienable rights and a democratically elected Republic to come up with a culture where it's okay to have the political and religious leadership be a right belonging to an aristocracy? I can't. Nevertheless, there it is, hiding all these years in plain sight.
The point of all this is the Lamanite and Nephite cultures were far different from ours and presented with a richness of detail an uneducated farm boy would likely think of or even consider including in a story.
There's more in this chapter to talk about, but that's for another time.
Enjoy the day!
But tucked into the narrative is one of the little comments Mormon inserts which show, the Nephite and Lamanite cultures are nothing like 1820 United States. (Yes, there will be a touch of apologist in this blog: deal with it.)
In particular is a little nugget I've never noticed before which is hidden in verse 13:
"And now behold, Pacumeni was appointed, according to the voice of the people, to be chief judge and a governor over the people, to reign in the stead of his brother Pahoran; and it was according to his right...."
He had a right to be chief governor? Really? That's amazing! Back in Mosiah 26, when King Mosiah sets up judges to rule the country who are appointed by the voice of the people you get the idea these are elections like we have today where "anyone" with the money and backing can run for the office. A closer read of the scriptures, show this isn't really the case with the Nephites and this little verse, hammers the idea home that there was a ruling class, an aristocracy if you will, which controlled not only the government but the religion too.
Think about it. There was no "Quorum of Apostles" in which leadership was based upon a seniority system as we have today. Instead the role of High Priest went from father to son for many generations, right down to the coming of Christ in fact. I'm not discounting the personal righteousness of these leaders, merely making the observation that they lived in a different culture and time and God, in His matchless wisdom and grace, worked within it to lead, bless and teach His children.
But, I digress...
Can you imagine anyone in Upstate New York shortly after the War of 1812, with grandparents who fought in the War for Independence and steeped in the tradition of unalienable rights and a democratically elected Republic to come up with a culture where it's okay to have the political and religious leadership be a right belonging to an aristocracy? I can't. Nevertheless, there it is, hiding all these years in plain sight.
The point of all this is the Lamanite and Nephite cultures were far different from ours and presented with a richness of detail an uneducated farm boy would likely think of or even consider including in a story.
There's more in this chapter to talk about, but that's for another time.
Enjoy the day!
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