LeGrand L. Baker

Mosiah 11:1-19 — LeGrand Baker — King Noah as politician

In the early 1992 Beck Locey, Devan Barker, and I started the Book of Mormon Project. Until 1999 Beck took on the responsibility of sending out the emails. Richard Dilworth (Dil) Rust became a part of the Project a year or so after it began. With that background the following correspondence will make sense. The date was

[12 March, 2001, Beck wrote:]

Last week LeGrand sent me a comment which he wasn’t sure I should publish. What follows is a compilation of LeGrand’s unpublished comment from last week, as well as Dil Rust’s and my e- mail comments on LeGrand’s unpublished comment. I am including them as they occurred in e- mail, beginning with LeGrand’s original comment.
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[My original comment on Mosiah 11:1-19 was:]

Hi Beck, I’ve got a problem with this. Sometimes I don’t do sarcasm very well. If this comes through as though I actually think Noah was a good king, you better either change it or not send it out.
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Mosiah 11:1-19, 7 March 2001, LeGrand Baker

We mention “wicked King Noah,” and everyone who has read the Book of Mormon knows who we are talking about. But I am not the first to notice, that if we saw the beginning of his reign though eyes other than Mormon’s, he would probably be called a successful king, and a very successful politician. Consider his accomplishments.

First of all, he established himself as his own man, and he did it in the time honored way which other kings had used – like Jeroboam, for example, when Solomon died. Noah did not break up the kingdom like Jeroboam did, because he didn’t have to, but he did get rid of all of his father’s counselors (priests), and replaced them with men of this own choosing. Like Jeraboam, he did not start an entirely new religion, but he altered the doctrines and moral standards of the old one. To justify his version of the religion, he established new cultural norms (Mormon gives us a catalog of sins), which he made acceptable to the people, and which, in turn, made it almost impossible for the people to return to the old ways or to re-accept the ideas of the old leaders. Noah himself was an overtly religious man, restoring and redecorating the temple in a glorious manner that he could be proud of, and everyone else could admire.

1 And now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons;therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and he did not walk in the ways of his father.
2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.

Those of you who have taken classes from Chauncey Riddle will remember that he said something like this: “The general populace will tolerate corruption and lasciviousness in their leaders, as long as the leaders make sure the people have enough spare money and enough leisure time to have similar corruption and lasciviousness in their own lives.” That doesn’t sound like Chauncey’s words, but the principle is the same.

Noah had a severe tax policy, but it is obvious he spent the money well. He erected wonderful public buildings (his palace and the temple), he spent part of the money for a good defense system. This speaks of a great tower in the city, but elsewhere we learn of city walls – and he had a powerful army. These, no doubt, helped considerably in what must be seen as an excellent international relations policy. He clearly had (or they all thought he had) an good relationship with the Lamanites, and the country was at peace. Notwithstanding the taxes, the people were prosperous and the economy was growing. An idea of the wealth of the country is found in the list of things Noah taxed:

3 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed, a fifth part of their gold and of their silver, and a fifth part of their ziff, and of their copper, and of their brass and their iron; and a fifth part of their fatlings; and also a fifth part of all their grain.

That does not describe a poor, struggling agrarian community. Neither does the description of the lifestyle of the new political and religious leaders suggest anything like poverty. Economically, the country was well off, and when the people stopped griping about Noah’s taxes, they would discover his policies would make the economy even better.

4 And all this did he take to support himself, and his wives and his concubines; and also his priests, and their wives and their concubines; thus he had changed the affairs of the kingdom.
5 For he put down all the priests that had been consecrated by his father, and consecrated new ones in their stead, such as were lifted up in the pride of their hearts. [Abinadi did not come into the city of Nephi as a stranger, but rather as a fugitive. If there is a place to discover who he was, this verse is a likely place.]
6 Yea, and thus they were supported in their laziness, and in their idolatry, and in their whoredoms, by the taxes which king Noah had put upon his people; thus did the people labor exceedingly to support iniquity.
7 Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them.

Here we have the mark of a “true” politician. He did not live in luxury and idolatry, and insist the people live different kinds of lives. He shared the rationale for his life style with the masses, letting them share the pleasures, hype, and justification of their having a new lifestyle like his. And all this was justified by the new interpretation of the old religion.

8 And it came to pass that king Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings; and he ornamented them with fine work of wood, and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff, and of copper;
9 And he also built him a spacious palace, and a throne in the midst thereof, all of which was of fine wood and was ornamented with gold and silver and with precious things.
10 And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass.

That’s important. Noah did not enslave his people to provide his magnificent buildings, rather he used “workmen.” In other words he shared the wealth by creating new jobs, both in civilian and military life. The taxes were heavy, but the people could see they were doing good things. New jobs improve the standard of living. The economy was so good that it could support a class of non-food-producing artisans. He employed these people to build and work with gold and silver. These were good jobs for people, good jobs meant that the people could afford – within limits of course – to live the same kind of life the king and his priests were living. It is probable that the standard of living was much higher under the reign of king Noah than it had been in his father’s day, because his father had not taxed the people so heavily,

therefore his father’s government could not afford to build such fine buildings, and employ so many trained and skilled workmen. So there were probably many more good paying jobs under king Noah than there had been before. From all appearances, under Noah, the economy was really great.

11 And the seats which were set apart for the high priests, which were above all the other seats, he did ornament with pure gold; and he caused a breastwork to be built before them, that they might rest their bodies and their arms upon while they should speak lying and vain words to his people.

Woops, that puts a damper on things, but then, after all, that’s only Mormon editorializing again. Under the new standards, neither Noah, his priests, or the people would have accepted that kind of editorializing as an unbiased look at the situation. After all, one must not impose one’s own value judgements on others. To be unbiased – or at least to give the appearance of being unbiased is the most important thing!

12 And it came to pass that he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about.

The people are not only financially well off, but they felt secure in their persons and property. No Lamanites are going to sneak up on them. This king Noah, really knows how to look after his people.

13 And it came to pass that he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land; and thus he did do with the riches which he obtained by the taxation of his people.

He is not only garrisoning the city of Nephi, he is extending the military protection to the outlying areas as well. The people are comfortable, financially well off, militarily secure, and their lives are a riot. Why shouldn’t the king live it up just like the people do!

14 And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots.
15 And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land; and he built wine- presses, and made wine in abundance; and therefore he became a wine-bibber, and also his people. More economic progress! With the large production of wine, farmers now have a new cash crop – and one with a ready market – and one which increases the pleasure and the sense of well-being of both king and people.
16 And it came to pass that the Lamanites began to come in upon his people, upon small numbers, and to slay them in their fields, and while they were tending their flocks.
17 And king Noah sent guards round about the land to keep them off; but he did not send a sufficient number, and the Lamanites came upon them and killed them, and drove many of their flocks out of the land; thus the Lamanites began to destroy them, and to exercise their hatred upon them.

This is not good – but notice – the Lamanites are not actually attacking the main body of Nephites. No doubt this is just some renegade group which the

Lamanite king cannot control. Noah will take this opportunity to demonstrate the wisdom of his tax and spend policy, by showing the power of the army he has created. He will not only settle the matter with the unruly Lamanites, but he will also demonstrate his own power to his own people.

18 And it came to pass that king Noah sent his armies against them, and they were driven back, or they drove them back for a time; therefore, they returned rejoicing in their spoil.

This war was not only successful, but “their spoil” provided both pleasure and riches of the people, and it added to the accolades of the king.

19 And now, because of this great victory they were lifted up in the pride of their hearts; they did boast in their own strength, saying that their fifty could stand against thousands of the Lamanites; and thus they did boast, and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their king and priests.

Now power is beginning to be fully consolidated into the hands of the King. He has demonstrated his military ability (remember, military and police power were the same in the ancient world), so now Noah can take even more severe steps to make his own people toe the line. The words, “and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their king and priests,” suggests king Noah’s government has begun to be openly intolerant and oppressive. There are several ways to get rid of one’s political enemies, and Noah seems to have employed the most efficient means of them. It is little wonder that Abinadi wasn’t welcome when he came back to town and began to preach the old religion and the old ways.

This story presents a challenging perspective: Many of Noah’s policies were obviously good and wise, and were built on principles which may have been followed by righteous rulers. Economic well-being is a good thing. A strong, growing economy brings a sense of security. Good defenses and an adequate military do the same. Security – economic and physical – is usually essential to happiness. Wise leaders know that. For example, Joseph Smith in Nauvoo built public buildings, including a temple, and he commanded the city’s militia which protected the people – but there the similarity ends – and we are forced to return to Mormon’s perspective. Noah used some good principles to promote bad ends – and those bad ends corrupted the principles, so under Noah’s rule even the principles became bad – there’s the rub! There was a point to the story, and even to the sarcasm with which I told it. It could be a commentary on current affairs, but I’ll leave that for you to decide if and how. This in not the place for me to go into all that.

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[Note from Beck Locey to LeGrand:]

It’s interesting that you said what you did about this comment. I think I will follow your suggestion and not publish it yet. I think there is something very important here to comment on. It is that people can and are lulled into a sense of “carnal security”. This block of scriptures along with your comments define how this king did it. I think it is useful to point out that we as a nation have probably suffered from a similar malady.

I think if you remove the sarcasm and point out the pattern here, this is a terrific comment. The pattern is what is important for us to see. In fact, I listen to past Gen Conf tapes, and I was listening to Elder Maxwell talking

a few years back about the terrible slide we are experiencing and how many people talk about the “progress” in the world, when in fact we MUST be aware that we are digressing spiritually.

To illustrate, in priesthood, a brother said that our world is in many ways much better off today than it was 20, 30, 50 years ago. He pointed out sex education, women’s rights, equality, and other things that in fact have improved. He went on to criticize the prophets statement that we are worse off spiritually. He was convincing. After the meeting though I thought about it, and I could see the fallacy of his points. He missed the spiritual picture, he only focused on the political issues, some civic issues, and some few things that are better.

He apostatized and has left the church. It has been a sad thing to see him go. He was easily one of the brightest guys in the quorum, and did an outstanding job while he was active.
Beck

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[Note from LeGrand Baker to Beck Locey and Dil Rust:]

Your point is well taken — too well, perhaps. Your example of the man who criticized the prophet is just the point. The problem is, I’m not at all sure how to make it. The Book of Mormon Project is not the place for comments about the contemporary political situation. Besides that, everyone knows I’m a Republican, and if the comments were seen as an anti-Clinton statement, that would miss the whole point. The issue is not a Republican / Democrat problem, it is a cultural erosion which is either reflected in contemporary politics, or else made worse by it – or both. I know Dil well enough to know that his comments this week were very restrained. I think I’ll send this conversation to him and ask how he thinks we should handle it.

Dil,
Will you read this and tell us what you think

Love you both LeGrand

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[Note from Dil Rust to LeGrand Baker and Beck Locey] Dear LeGrand and Beck,

Thanks for asking my advice. That advice is: By all means, print LeGrand’s post as is–with the exception of changing “Jeraboam” (third usage) to “Jeroboam.” (By the way, in looking at flagged “Jeraboam” I saw something interesting and typical about my spelling checker: It doesn’t contain the word “whoredoms,” but recommends “wholesome” as a replacement. Another sign of our time?)

Your comments really push the buttons that turn on my fire hydrant (and all you asked for was a drinkofwater). Anyway,heregoes.

First of all, LeGrand’s comments are not sarcasm. Given my field (especially my years of teaching MarkTwain),Iknowsarcasm–whichessentiallyisheavyuseofironyinabitingmanner. A dictionary I have at hand (I’m at my daughter’s in Connecticut) defines sarcasm as “a taunting, sneering, cutting, or caustic remark; gibe or jeer, generally ironical.” LeGrand’s remarks are quite the contrary: You are reading the story of King Noah straight and interpreting it through the lenses of the Book of Mormon writers.

LeGrand is absolutely right when he says: “The issue is not a Republican/Democrat problem, it is a cultural erosion which is either reflected in contemporary politics, or else made worse by it–or both.” Indeed, the Republican/Democrat division is, from one perspective at least, the kind of either-or decoy that Hugh Nibley has spoken about. The real opposition is between the forces of the Lord and the forces of Satan, between the children of light and the children of darkness–with the possibility that a person can be in one camp one day and in another camp the next.

Finally, as a Latter-day Saint who desires the full blessings of the gospel, I have to follow the Prophet scrupulously and to be wary of deception. That deception most distressingly can come from Church members: “Darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people. . . . Vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth. . . . First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord” (D&C 112:23-24, 26).

With warm regards to you both,
Dil

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[Note from LeGrand Baker to Dil Rust and Beck Locey]
Dil,
Thank you for your vigorous and insightful comments. I’m glad you agree this is not a Republican/Democrat issue, but one that goes much deeper than that. As I read what you wrote I saw two sides of you coming through with equal clarity: 1) the highly moral, deeply offended citizen; 2) and the member of his stake presidency who deals with the reality of this world in the lives of the saints, so understands first-hand how serious the problems are. Again I thank you.

Beck,
I have a suggestion. Our group is not a formal academic society which only publishes well polished things. It is only friends who like to talk and think together. Why don’t you send out this entire conversation, even the little notes like this one. Dil’s point that the Book of Mormon is supposed to teach us about our times is true. So lets let our friends read the entire conversation and decide for themselves what they think. Who knows, they may even tell us.

My love to both of you

I grew up on a farm where I watched my father measure fields, gardens, and other places by “stepping them off” – measuring them by the length of his stride. Satan seems to be doing that same thing.

The beginning of all acts of creating sacred space is to measure it. Here, as I read it, we see Satan “stepping off” the earth – measuring it to declare it to be his sacred space.

“And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”

And there we have, in a nutshell, the entire drama which is to follow: Satan is claiming this world as his sacred space. But the Lord denies his claim by asking, “Hast thou considered my servant Job?” Satan cannot claim the earth to be his own as long as Job is here. The presence, and the integrity of Job precludes Satan’s claim to the earth, just as his presence, integrity sustain God’s own claim.

So, from Satan’s point of view, Job has to go. And in this story, it is Job – poor picked-on Job – who alone must decide whether the earth will be turned over to Satan, or will remain a temple of Jehovah. Finally, after Job has suffered as much intellectual as physical persecution, Job prevails, and God makes him king.

Ultimately the decision of who gets this beautiful earth, will be made by the people who live on it. And it is now true, in this generation, as it has always been, that it is the power of the integrity and rectitude of the Saints which ultimately tips the balance of that scale toward heaven. In a word: each of us carries the same individual burden as poor, patient, kingly Job.

End of 12 Mar 2001, Comments.

But half way through the book of Isaiah there is an even more interesting colophon. Beginning with chapter 40 and continuing to the end, Isaiah is a review of the principles, ordinances, and sacred rites of the ancient Israelite New Year’s festival. The colophon which introduces that portion of Isaiah reads:

1    Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God,
2    Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins (Isaiah 40:1-2).

Here, “God” is translated from the Hebrew, “Elohim.” The word “ye” is plural. In the Old Testament, whenever Elohim talks to a group of people, that group is always the Council in Heaven. In Elizabethan English, the word “comfort” has to do with empowering (see OED), as in Isaiah 61:2-3 where to “comfort” means to make one a king or queen by performing the ancient coronation rites of washing, anointing, clothing, crowning, and giving a new covenant-king-name. The word “double” (also used in Isaiah 61) is a reference to the double portion of the birthright – in this instance the birthright blessings of Abraham. In our verses, that “double” is given in exchange for one’s sins, and it is given “of the Lord’s hand.

If these two verses are, in fact, a colophon introducing the remainder of the book of Isaiah, then it is extraordinary indeed. It establishes the author as Elohim, establishes the authority of the writing as God and his Council, and it identifies the purpose as to “comfort” the people so that they can receive the birthright blessings of Abraham from the Lord’s hand.

If one takes that seriously, and accepts that as a colophon which is a legitimate statement of authorship and authority, then it establishes the remainder of Isaiah as an awesome example of sacred literature.

There are a number of colophons in the Book of Mormon. The best example, and most important is Nephi’s: “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. ”

It is significant that when we encounter Zeniff’s autobiography, he also begins with a well structured colophon: “I, Zeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our fathers’ first inheritance, and having been sent as a spy among the Lamanites that I might spy out their forces, that our army might come upon them and destroy them–but when I saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed.”

Zeniff’s colophon merges into his story, just as Nephi’s and others do, but that first verse deserves some close examination.

Zeniff identifies himself and establishes his authority by writing “I, Zeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi,…” The phrase, “all the language of the Nephites” is an important key here. If “all” means “all,” then by that phrase Zeniff has probably written everything which he thought was necessary to establish himself as a member of the royal house – probably as a Nephite prince.

The first thing Mormon tells about King Benjamin’s sons (Mosiah 1:2) is that their father “caused that they should be taught in all the language of their fathers. (Same phrase as the one Zeniff uses)

In the next few verses we learn that this education was necessary because the brass plates were written in Egyptian, just as we learn elsewhere that Nephi’s small plates were also written in Egyptian. It appears that, like the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Nephites used at least two, and perhaps more concurrent languages. There was the every-day language which had its roots in Hebrew, and the sacral language of the scriptures which was Egyptian. It is likely that some of their first and second generation records were also written in pure Hebrew – the Hebrew which came with them from Jerusalem, before it was altered by additions from Lamanite dialect, Mulikite dialect, and (judging from the introduction of Jaredite names) the Jaredite language as well. So by the time of king Benjamin, there are at least three languages (Hebrew, Egyptian, and the contemporary mixture- like our contemporary English is a mixture of Celtic, German, French, etc) which a well educated Nephite would have to learn.

If just everyone learned all of those languages, then such an education would have been assumed, and there would have been no point in Mormon’s telling us that king Benjamin made sure his sons were taught “all the languages.” It is that implication of the uniqueness of the king’s son’s education which suggests that if Zeniff had a similar education, he may very well have had a similar birthright – may have been a prince in his own right – perhaps even the younger son of King Benjamin’s father, Mosiah I. (After all, Zeniff was the one chosen to go back to lead the reoccupation forces, and to be the new king when his Nephite followers returned to the original land of Nephi)

If I have read the statement of Zeniff’s authority correctly, then Zeniff’s colophon is another perfect example of that important ancient literary form. He identifies himself, tells his authority, and tells why he is writing. The information in that colophon not only establishes his legitimacy, but it also establishes the legal authority for the new Nephite colony – the implications of that stretch on into the Book of Mormon story for at least four or five more generations, and probably continues through the entire Book of Mormon.

Once again, the Prophet Joseph never misses. Zeniff’s colophon — but more especially the very fact that it is there where it is supposed to be, and says what it is supposed to say – is just one more little evidence that the Book of Mormon is an ancient text, and could not possibly be the product of Joseph’s backwoods New England culture.

In the middle of this essay about Wisdom, there is this most important idea:

5    Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6    In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7    Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
8    It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones (Proverbs 3:5-8).

The Hebrew word translated “navel” actually means umbilical cord. Then they asked, why would an adult want a healthy umbilical cord. The answer, of course, was that the cord was symbolic of their attachment to the eternal world from which we gain sustenance. So the notion of a healthy cord suggests that one does not break his connection with God or the world from which we came.

Proverbs continues:

13    Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
14    For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15    She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
16    Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
17    Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
18    She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her (Proverbs 3:13-18).

I recommend the rest of those chapters to your reading.

Some scholars have suggested that in the gospels and in Acts, when a scripture is referred to by only its first or most relevant lines, what the author is really saying is that in the story he is relating, the entire scripture was quoted, but the author of the written account believes that his audience knows the scripture well enough that he doesn’t need to quote any more than that portion. For example, when Jesus was at the synagogue at Nazareth and they brought the book of Isaiah to him, he read: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” (Luke 4:19) It is likely that what the author Luke is saying is that Jesus read all of Isaiah chapters 61 and 42 (both of which proclaim him to be the God of Israel and his eternal kingship), then he said to them, “This day is the scripture fulfilled in your eyes.” The Jews understood the meaning of those two chapters, so they got mad and tried to kill him.

Another example is on the cross where Jesus spoke the first lines of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” It is likely that while hanging on the cross, Jesus sang or spoke the full psalm which prophesied of his death and of his triumphal entry into the world of the spirits.

If this holds true in our king Limhi story, then it is possible that during his speech, the king quoted from Proverbs all or part of the essay on Wisdom, and used that to show why it was that the people who had murdered Abinadi, by that act subjected themselves to the sufferings and afflictions heaped upon them by their Lamanite overlords.

 Mosiah 8:13-18 — LeGrand Baker — sub-text in the Book of Mormon

 

Mosiah 8:13-18
13 Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God.

 

There are three truly remarkable things about Joseph Smith’s power to translate – not just the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price, but also his ability to translate into the language of the prophets the revelations which he received from God. There are two explanations for the latter, either he spoke the words as he received them, so the words are not his at all. Or else the Lord gave him ideas which he then spoke in his own language. (The statement in D&C 1:24 is useful, but it does not really answer the question. It reads, “Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.”)

 

I would like to discuss the problem of Joseph’s translating Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price into the double languages of English and the sub-text language of the Prophets, and to talk about his own revelations as expressions of that same double language.

 

Like English, the Nephite language was written and therefore reasonably constant in its history – but like English, that history ranged over a period of 1000 years. A thousand years ago Englishmen were speaking and writing the language of Chaucer – which no one but trained scholarscannowunderstand. The language reached an epitome of beauty in the time of Elizabeth, Shakespear, and the Bible; then it declined through the language of Victoria, and still more to our present time. Anyone who can read well enough can pick up something written in those various times and recognize the time it was probably written by the way the English is used. The book of Mormon language probably went through much the same kind of evolution (the introduction of Jaredite names after King Mosiah’s time suggests the source of one such change. The distorted, unwritten Hebrew of the Mulekites would be another, just as the introduction of French and modern German was to English.) Their language was at least a mixture of Hebrew and Egyptian – so mixed that Mormon says anyone who knew either Hebrew or Egyptian would not be able to read the Nephite ‘reformed Egyptian.’ King Benjamin and Alma lived roughly half way through that evolutionary period. Third Nephi was 400 years from the time of Mormon. If Mormon actually quoted them, which he appears to have done, then Joseph had to know almost the full range of the language’s evolutionary history – not just the words of the language, but the subtle evolutionary changes in the meanings of its words, especially religious words, so they could all be translated into English in the same way. The Small Plates were written in Egyptian – so Joseph had to be able to translate that language into the same kind of English. The English into which he translated it was not his own back-country New England English – it was like the English of the Elizabethan Bible. That was extremely important. Not because the Book of Mormon had to sound like the Bible so it could sound like scripture, but because it had to employ the same words in its sub-text as the King James Bible used for its sub- text. And that is the truly amazing thing about the translation of the Book of Mormon – Joseph translated its surface text into English, but at the same time he translated its sub-text into the sacral code language used by Isaiah, the Psalms, and the writers of the New Testament, and other prophets. It is his translating the book into those double languages which makes the Book of Mormon so amazing.

 

That double language is like an encoded signature – not of the individual prophet, but of his prophetic call. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Nephi begins his with a review of the temple ceremony, or of the plan of salvation, or of the mission of the Saviour, or of the sacral biography of every son and daughter of God. It doesn’t matter what one calls it, they are all the same thing.

 

The surface text of the first 6 verses is a bit awkward – but look at the ideas he crammed into those few words – and at the sequence of those ideas:

 

He begins at the Council: “I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father.”

 

He then moves to the difficulties of this lonely, dreary world: “and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days….” He continues discussing this world and its tensions and contrasts between good and evil, asserting that he has “a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God.”

 

He then describes the language he is going to use in writing: “…the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.” That is, the double language of his father, which consists of the sacral code language of the prophets, and the surface language of the world.

 

He asserts that the writing is true, according to his hand gesture and his own personal knowledge.

 

4 contains these ideas: kingship (Zedekiah), priesthood power (father Lehi), temple authority (lived in Jerusalem), and a statement of covenantal responsibility (teaching of the prophets).

 

5 is a prayer “in behalf of his people.”

 

6 He is before the veil. The “pillar of fire” is the ‘shechinah’ (see your Bible dictionary). “Rock” may have been a real rock, but it is also the code word for the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem. Then he “saw and heard much.”

 

After that he has a sode experience where he “saw God sitting on his throne.” He is given a book to read in which he learns about his own personal responsibilities and about the mission of the Saviour.

 

That “signature” tells us that Nephi is a true prophet. John uses his letters to the seven churches thesamewayintheBookofRevelation. Thesequenceofideasinthoseletterstestifythat Revelation was written by a prophet who understood the sacred language of the prophets. Moroni includes that “signature” in the last chapter of the Book of Mormon. The Saviour spoke

 

it in the Beatitudes when he began his ministry in America, and on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. It is found in the last chapters of Job – actually the whole book of Job. It found completely, or in part, in all of the major sermons in the Book of Mormon. It is the way prophets have of identifying themselves. In 1 Ne. 1 it is simply embedded into the sequences of ideas, but in most instances it is encoded into the sub-text – and if Joseph had not correctly translated the sacral sub-text of the Book of Mormon it would not have been able to bring people nearer to God than can any other book.

 

This week, Dil sent me some e-mails and I responded by sending a review of D&C 10 to both him and Derek. After I read the scriptures Beck had sent us for this week, I realized that what I had sent to them was central to what I wanted to say here. So what follows are those comments on section 10. I wrote:

 

I want to read with you one of the most amazing scriptures I have ever read. I read it “for the first time” last Sunday in sacrament meeting while I was preparing my Sunday School class (that is a very good environment in which to read the scriptures, by the way). There were times when I just sat there and stared at the page. The amazing things are what it says, how it says it, and when that revelation was written.

 

First the when – it was in 1828 – soon after Martin lost the 116 pages and some time before Oliver came to help Joseph translate – and two years before the church was organized. The knowledge Joseph would have had to already had, in order to fully understand this revelation is astounding.

 

How he says it – exactly the way it is said in Isaiah, the Psalms, and the Book of Mormon. The surface text has an historical relevance which fits into the context of the story of the Lord telling Joseph he can translate again, then it ends with a nice bit of poetic rhetoric which is intended to encourage him. If one wants to read it that way, it works fine. But the sub-text is about Joseph’s responsibilities as those responsibilities were outlined in the Council, and that bit of poetic rhetoric at the end is a review of the concluding saving ordinances of the temple – and all that in 1828. Dil, I haven’t changed the subject, by the way. What the Lord told Joseph in this revelation is the answer to the question of battle between good and evil in this world.

 

Section 10, Date: Summer 1828, Place: Harmony, Pennsylvania, To: Joseph Smith

 

1 Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you delivered up those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the Urim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them.
2 And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your mind became darkened.

 

Here “mind” means the same thing it does in the Book of Mormon. The evidence for that is that “heart” is used here to represent both intellectual thought and emotion. So if “heart” is used the way it is in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon, that leaves no meaning for “mind” except the reasoning and emotional powers of one’s spirit. If Joseph’s “heart” were darkened, he would be in a serious depression. If his “mind” is darkened – he is deep, deep trouble!

 

3 Nevertheless, it is now restored unto you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue on unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of translation as you have begun.

 

“Now restored” – so the person the Lord is addressing is no longer in darkness, he is not only back in the good graces of God – but his “mind” can fully understand.

 

4 Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end.
5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.

 

This is a reference to his assignment at the Council. The Lord does not explain how or why he is to conquer Satan. The idea just comes out of the blue – which means either that the Lord isn’t going to explain, or else that he knows Joseph understands what he is talking about. When that happened, we don’t know, but when the idea is dropped into the context of the beginning of Job, as it is a few verses later on, then it is apparent that Joseph was intended to understand this statement about conquering Satan in the context of Joseph’s assignment at the Council. When the statement is put in that context it becomes apparent that “conquer” means conquer.

 

In addition to the Job reference, the other place we learn that Joseph’s assignment is to defeat Satan is in the 1 Ne 20-21 version of Isaiah 48-49. There we learn of the Prophet Joseph giving a speech.

 

The part about the speech reads: 1 Ne. 20:13 [Jehovah speaking] Mine hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned [measured – OED says “with fingers and thumb extended.”] the heavens. [The heavens are people = members of the Council – same as the “stars” in Job.] [So I read that to say that God placed his RIGHT hand on them, measuring them to define them as sacred space {ye are temples}, and ordaining them to a “call”] I call unto them and they stand up together. [one stands to make a covenant – 2 Kings 23:1-3 ]

 

1 Nephi 20:14 All ye [“ye” seems to be all of Israel, who he has talked about throughout the chapter, rather than just members of the Council], assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? [So someone is going to give a speech. This tells who he is:] The Lord [that’s Jehovah] hath loved him [the one who is giving the speech]; yea, and he [the speech maker ] will fulfill his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans. [ He is a man of great integrity – It is instructive that this was written by Isaiah at the time when Nineveh, not Babylon was the great enemy. So here “Babylon and the Chaldeans” are representative of the world, just as they are elsewhere in the scriptures.]

 

15 Also, saith the Lord [Jehovah] ; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called him [the speaker] to declare [to give the speech] , I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. [another declaration of his integrity.]
16 Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me. [I can’t tell whether this is spoken by the Saviour, or the speechmaker, because it works either way.]
17 And thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel [So that identifies the “Lord” as the Saviour, and not as his Father] ; I have sent him [speechmaker], the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit [temple type code word], who leadeth thee by the way [another code word] thou shouldst go, hath done it (1 Nephi 20:15-17).

 

In the next few verses there is more information about the speechmaker and those who will assist him until we get to the next chapter. I can’t tell for sure what that chapter is. Either it is a prophecy of what Joseph will do to defeat the kingdoms of “Babylon”, or else it is a synopsis of the promises in his speech which was referred to in the previous chapter. The reason I cant tell, is that it works either way. By the time we get to ch 21: 8 we are learning about the how of Joseph’s defeating the kingdom of Satan – he will restore the temple and thereby restore scattered Israel.

 

7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nations abhorreth, to servant of rulers: Kings [sacral kings] shall see and arise, [“see” and make covenants] princes [ those anointed to become kings] also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful. [He has kept his part of the covenants]
8 Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time [time when priesthood is here so ordinance s are acceptable] have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee my servant [In the LDS Bible, footnote “a” identifies this servant as the Prophet Joseph] for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth [ same language as describes the mission of Elijah] , to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in darkness: Show yourselves. [All that is the same language Isaiah uses in ch 61 to describe temple work for the dead] They shall feed [code word] in the ways [code word] , and their pastures shall be in all high places. [temples]
10 They shall not hunger nor thirst [fruit of the tree of life, waters of life – Rev. 20:6], neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. [more temple imagery]
11 And I will make all my mountains [temples] a way [code word], and my highways [codeword] shall be exalted.

 

The rest of the chapter deals with how the temple covenants will come into play in order to bring about the gathering of Israel.

 

So that is Joseph’s assignment, and that is the way he will “defeat” Satan and overthrow his kingdom. Now lets return to D&C 10.

 

D&C 10:6 Behold, they have sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom you have trusted has sought to destroy you.
7 And for this cause I said that he is a wicked man, for he has sought to take away the things wherewith you have been entrusted; and he has also sought to destroy your gift.
8 And because you have delivered the writings into his hands, behold, wicked men have taken them from you.
9 Therefore, you have delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness.
10 And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts [ ‘hearts’ here has the power to contrive, or think through a plot ] to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands.
11 And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be written;
12 And, on this wise, the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy this work;
13 For he hath put into their hearts [same idea about ‘heart’] to do this, that by lying they may say they have caught you in the words which you have pretended to translate.
14 Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing.
15 For behold, he has put it into their hearts [their ‘hearts’ make plans ]to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God, in asking to translate it over again.
16 And then, behold, they say and think in their hearts [Again, ‘hearts’ think – just as hearts do in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon] –We will see if God has given him power to translate; if so, he will also give him power again;
17 And if God giveth him power again, or if he translates again, or, in other words, if he bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the same with us, and we have altered them;
18 Therefore they will not agree, and we will say that he has lied in his words, and that he has no gift, and that he has no power;
19 Therefore we will destroy him, and also the work; and we will do this that we may not be ashamed in the end, and that we may get glory of the world.
20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that Satan has great hold upon their hearts [Until now’heart’ has been used to mean the intellect, soon he will use it to also mean the seat of emotion – Satan has “great hold” on both ] ; he stirreth them up to iniquity against that which is good;
21 And their hearts are corrupt, and full of wickedness and abominations [that’s not just intellect! ]; and they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil; therefore they will not ask of me.
22 Satan stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction.
23 And thus he has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work of God; but I will require this at their hands, and it shall turn to their shame and condemnation in the day of judgment.
24 Yea, he stirreth up their hearts to anger [here ‘heart’ is used as the seat of emotion- the heart is angry] against this work.
25 Yea, he saith unto them: Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy; behold, this is no harm. And thus he flattereth them, and telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him.
26 And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus he causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare.
27 And thus he goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men.

 

This is the quote from Job. Now lets read Job and I will show you why this quote is so important.

Job 1:6 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD [we are at the Council] , and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?

 

That is: where have you been?] Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. [ Dan Belnap wrote a paper showing that the word translated “walking” is from a Hebrew verb which only kings and gods do. That is, it is a ceremonial “walking” It is the word used when God walked in the Garden, and when David “walked” on the roof when he saw Bathsheba bathing (which suggests it was a ceremonial time, and she may have been doing a queenly thing rather than just taking a bath). Here Satan claims to be “walking” as a king or god upon the earth – to and fro, up and down – he is measuring it out as his own sacred space, and declaring his sovereignty over it.] 8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? [ In other words: Satan, you cannot claim dominion over the earth, because Job is there. So after that, the person of Job becomes the focal point in the struggle between God and Satan. God pits Job’s integrity against Satan’s power. In the end, Job wins and Satan is defeated. Then in the last chapters are an endowment where Job is prepared to meet God; sees him; and is made sacral king.]

 

Here, in D&C 10, the Lord makes reference to this passage casually enough that it is apparent that the Lord knows Joseph already understands what it all means – Joseph and Job are in the same situation – now Satan’s kingdom hangs in the balance of Joseph’s integrity – and Satan will loose.

 

28 Verily, verily, I say unto you, wo be unto him that lieth to deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for such are not exempt from the justice of God.
29 Now, behold, they have altered these words, because Satan saith unto them: He hath deceived you–and thus he flattereth them away to do iniquity, to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God.
30 Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those words which have gone forth out of your hands;
31 For, behold, they shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those words. For, behold, if you should bring forth the same words they will say that you have lied and that you have pretended to translate, but that you have contradicted yourself.
32 And, behold, they will publish this, and Satan will harden the hearts of the people [That is defined in Alma 12: 11 as refusing to know the ‘mysteries’ – the SOD, secrets of the Council – temple things] to stir them up to anger against you, that they will not believe my words. [so it is defined the same way here.]
33 Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation.
34 But behold, here is wisdom, and because I show unto you wisdom, and give you commandments concerning these things, what you shall do, show it not unto the world until you have accomplished the work of translation.
35 Marvel not that I said unto you: Here is wisdom, show it not unto the world–for I said, show it not unto the world, that you may be preserved.
36 Behold, I do not say that you shall not show it unto the righteous;
37 But as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter.
38 And now, verily I say unto you, that an account of those things that you have written, which have gone out of your hands, is engraven upon the plates of Nephi;
39 Yea, and you remember it was said in those writings that a more particular account was given of these things upon the plates of Nephi.
40 And now, because the account which is engraven upon the plates of Nephi is more particular concerning the things which, in my wisdom, I would bring to the knowledge of the people in this account–
41 Therefore, you shall translate the engravings which are on the plates of Nephi, down even till you come to the reign of king Benjamin, or until you come to that which you have translated, which you have retained;
42 And behold, you shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my words.
43 I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.
44 Behold, they have only got a part, or an abridgment of the account of Nephi.
45 Behold, there are many things engraven upon the plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel; therefore, it is wisdom in me that you should translate this first part of the engravings of Nephi, and send forth in this work.
46 And, behold, all the remainder of this work does contain all those parts of my gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples, desired in their prayers should come forth unto this people.
47 And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers;
48 Yea, and this was their faith–that my gospel, which I gave unto them that they might preach in their days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions.
49 Now, this is not all–their faith in their prayers was that this gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other nations should possess this land;
50 And thus they did leave a blessing upon this land in their prayers [these were prayers of power, not of pleading], that whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land might have eternal life;
51 Yea, that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred, tongue, or people they may be.
52 And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers [‘faith’ {token of the covenant} “IN” their prayers – these are not ordinary prayers ! ] will I bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people. Behold, I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up.
53 And for this cause have I said: If this generation harden not their hearts [accept and understand the mysteries] , I will establish my church among them.
54 Now I do not say this to destroy my church, but I say this to build up my church;
55 Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.
56 But it is they who do not fear me, neither keep my commandments but build up churches unto themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and build up the kingdom of the devil–yea, verily, verily, I sayunto you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and shake to the center.
57 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. [Not just an identification of who Jesus is, but a reminder to Joseph that he will not have to go anywhere his Saviour has not already been]
58 I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. [Quote from John. There “comprehend” does not mean “understand,” it means to encircle – darkness cannot encircle and crush the light – another encouragement to the Prophet ]
59 I am he who said–Other sheep have I which are not of this fold–unto my disciples [a Book of Mormon reference (otherwise he would have used ‘apostles’), but Joseph had not yet translated Third Nephi] , and many there were that understood me not.
60 And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that they were a branch of the house of Jacob;
61 And I will bring to light their marvelous works, which they did in my name;
62 Yea, and I will also bring to light my gospel which was ministered [‘minister’ does not mean teach, it means to teach and to act – so if the gospel was ‘ministered’ there were ordinances as well as information.] unto them, and, behold, they shall not deny that which you have received, but they shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me.
63 And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea,

 

Satan doth stir up the hearts [‘hearts’ again == this time both academic and emotional ] of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them.

 

64 Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery;

 

So now we are going to learn about the ‘mystery’ which he will teach. This is the conclusion of the revelation. So, since the revelation has been about Joseph’s responsibilities and challenges, one would expect that the conclusion would be some sort of promise that he would have the strength to succeed. There are a thousand ways that might have been said. But there is only one absolutely correct way, and that way would not have been guessed by the greatest biblical scholars in the world in Joseph’s day. Yet that perfect conclusion is the one we have here: It is a reference to the coronation ceremony at the conclusion of the ancient Israelite New Year festival, where the newly anointed king sits on the throne of God in the Holy of Holies, and (symbolically at least) does so in the presence of and with the approval of God. – The revelation does not conclude with only a promise that Joseph will succeed in overthrowing Satan’s kingdom, but with the promise that Joseph, and those who assist him will be made kings.

 

65 For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;

 

Above the throne in the Holy of Holies stretched the wings of two great cherubim. Their wings reached up 16 feet high. Often, in the Psalms, God is referred to as the One who sits beneath the wings. In both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, Christ says he would have gathered the people beneath his wings, as a hen gathers her chickens. That can be a nice barnyard metaphor, or it can be a reference to his invitation to them to accept the ordinances of sacral kingship. I think it is the latter there, just as I think it is here in D&C 10.

 

66 Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely. [In the last chapters of Revelation, as in Ezekiel, the waters of life flow from beneath that sacred throne in the Holy of Holies. Only those who have eternal life may freely drink.]
67 Behold, this is my doctrine–whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, [Come to where Christ is – in this world to the temple and the veil – in reality it is to come to where he really is. ] the same is my church.
68 Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.
69 And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock [THEE ROCK to which he so frequently refers elsewhere in the scripturesistherockinJerusalemuponwhichtheHolyofHolieswasbuilt. Thereisonlyone way to be ‘established’ on that rock, and that is to sit on the throne which is on the rock.] , and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. [Hell must release him – its gates cannot keep him in]
70 And now, remember the words of him who is the life and light of the world, your Redeemer

 

[the One who brings you into the presence of God], your Lord and your God. Amen.

 

Dil and Derek, the two things which struck me about this section are (1) the confirmation that the Lord would keep his covenants with Joseph and thereby Joseph could keep his covenants to defeat Satan and his kingdom. (2) The language the Lord uses to affirm that is the sacral sub-textual language of Isaiah, the Psalms, and the Book of Mormon. That second is especially important for two reasons. A) It shows that the “pseudo-biblical” language of the D&C is not Joseph’s invention to make his revelations sound like scripture, but it is real biblical language designed to be read in the same way the other scriptures are read. B) It testifies to everyone who can read the Isaiah sub-text language, that the author who wrote this revelation also knows the sacred language of Isaiah – that is, the language itself testifies to one who can read it that the one who wrote it is a true prophet. And in the precision of the sacral sub-text language is the testimony that the author knows the ‘mysteries’ and speaks with their authority. Thus, as early as 1828, the language of his revelations testifies of the reality and divinity of the Prophet Joseph’s sacred call.

 

So, Dil, this is the only response I can give to your two emails: There is a struggle between good and evil in this world and two generals in that struggle are Satan, whose kingdom is fighting for life. Because of Joseph Smith who is still the head of this dispensation, the outcome is assured.

 

My love to each of you LeGrand

 

The example of iron, steel, and bronze is instructive. They are not evolved by imperceptible degrees to conquer the world in steady progressive triumph through the ages, but appear fully developed to be used in one place and forbidden in another, thrive in one age and be given up in the next.The same applies to another product attributed to the Jaredites and believed until recent years to have been a relatively late invention. In Joseph Smith’s day and long after there was not a scholar who did not accept Pliny’s account of the origin of glass without question. I used to be perplexed by the fact that reference in Ether 2:33 to “windows . . . that will be dashed in pieces” can only refer to glass windows, since no other kind would be waterproof and still be windows, and they would have to be brittle to be dashed “in pieces.” Moreover, Moroni in actually referring to “transparent glass” in 3:1, is probably following Ether. This would make the invention of glass far older than anyone dreamed it was until the recent finding of such objects as Egyptian glass beads “from the end of the third millennium B.C.’and “plaques of turquoise blue glass of excellent quality” in the possession of Zer, one of the very earliest queens of Egypt. “Very little is known,” writes Newberry, “about the early history of glass,” though that history “can indeed be traced back to prehistoric times, for glass beads have been found in prehistoric graves.” We need not be surprised if the occurrences of glass objects before the sixteenth century B. C. “are few and far between,” for glass rots, like wood, and it is a wonder that any of it at all survives from remote antiquity. There is all the difference in the world, moreover, between few glass objects and none at all. One clot of ruddy dirt is all we have to show that the Mesopotamians were using iron knives at the very beginning of the third millennium B.C.-but that is all we need. Likewise the earliest dated piece of glass known comes from the time of Amenhotep I; yet under his immediate successors glass vases appear that indicate an advanced technique in glass working: “they reveal their art in a high state of proficiency, that must be the outcome of a long series of experiments,” writes Newberry.

The finding of the oldest glass and ironwork in Egypt is not a tribute to the superior civilization of the Egyptians at all, but rather to the superior preservative qualities of their dry sands. We have seen that the Egyptians cared very little for iron, which was really at home in the land of Tubal-cain. The same would seem to be true of glass. The myths and folklore of the oldest stratum of Asiatic legend (the swan-maiden and arrow-chain cycles, for example) are full of glass mountains, glass palaces, and glass windows. In one extremely archaic and widespread legend the Shamir-bird (it goes by many names), seeking to enter the chamber of the queen of the underworld, breaks his wings on the glass pane of her window when he tries to fly through it. The glass mountain of the northern legends and the glass palace of the immense Sheba cycle I have shown in another study to be variants of this. “Glaze and vitreous paste,” so close to glass that its absence in the same region comes as a surprise, were “known and widely used in Egypt and Mesopotamia from the fourth millennium B. C. onwards.” But such stuff, applied to clay objects, has a far better chance of leaving a trace of itself than does pure glass which simply disintegrates in damp soil-a process which I have often had opportunity to observe in ancient Greek trash heaps. This easily accounts for the scarcity of glass remains outside of Egypt. We now realize that the scholars who categorically deny Marco Polo’s claim to have seen colored glass windows at the court of the Grand Khan spoke too soon. A contemporary of Marco “mentions that the windows of some of the yachts or barges had plate glass,” in China, but the commentator who cites this authority adds that “the manufacure was probably European.”It is interesting that the earliest use of window glass in the Far East was for ship windows, but the fact that glass was scarce in China does not make this European glass, for it was not Europe but central Asia that excelled in glass production. A Chinese observer in central Asia in 1221 was impressed by the great native industry, which produced among other things windows of clear glass.

The histories (except Chronicles), along with the writings of the twelve minor prophets and Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel were referred to in the New Testament as “the Prophets.” Some scholars suggest these became accepted as scripture after the Babylonian captivity, however, it is apparent from the Book of Mormon that Isaiah’s writings, and the writings of Jeremiah (who was a contemporary of Lehi) were considered to be scripture even before the Babylonian captivity.

When the New Testament writers spoke of “the Law and the Prophets” those are the books they were talking about.

The remainder of the Old Testament books (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, etc.) were called the other writings, or simply the “Writings.” Jewish scriptures are still divided into those three groups: Law, Prophets, and Writings.

It is apparent that the Writings were also included in the Jewish canon at the time of the Saviour. One evidence is that fragments or full copies of every book in the Old Testament (except Ruth) have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. But the most important evidence is the Saviour’s statement to the Twelve, “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” By that we understand that the resurrected Christ accepted at least the Law, Prophets, and Psalms as scripture.

Early Christians, as well as the Jews, also accepted some books as scripture which we do not have in our present canon. At least one evidence of this is Jude’s quoting from the Book of Enoch. (Jude 1:14-15 quotes Ethopic Enoch 1:9 )