Finding a "User-friendly" Approach to the Book of Mormon

In the last few years most of us have been obliged to embrace the digital age. Confronted with a confusing variety of devices with their attendant charge cords, passcodes and modus operandi, we love devices that are labeled “user-friendly.” This is a relatively new term, coined to describe complex machines or systems that are readily accessible without special skills or a lengthy set of instructions. In other words, given a little time, patience, and a few helpful suggestions (usually from someone at least half our age!) you and I can figure them out.

This has got me thinking about another device we can’t function properly without: the word of God. Are the scriptures “user-friendly?” I would submit that they are, and all of the new technology available to us is making them even more so! But, like my tablet or my new FitBit, discovering the power of these wonderful tools takes a little time and effort, and sometimes the assistance of a friend. So I thought we might sit down together and take a fresh look at our own unique text, the Book of Mormon.

Making the Connection

Have you ever given a friend a Book of Mormon, only to find that he or she experienced some confusion when, instead of a book that explains Latter-day Saint beliefs, your friend finds it to be a narrative about Hebrew emigrants to North America in 600 BCE? Let's be honest: though we are very familiar with the story and its characters, we may have a little of the same “disconnect” in understanding how the Book of Mormon relates to our daily lives. There is a crucial difference between reading the scriptures and really using them. 

Let me illustrate. If you are anything like me, this morning you woke up with a set of things that you are: worrying about, praying about, chatting about on the phone with your friends, or trying not to think about! We all have sorrows and weaknesses that weigh us down. We wrestle with money worries and conflicting demands on our time. Our challenges may include health issues, struggling children, addictions, aging parents, marital difficulties or loneliness. We may have all of the above, and more, because life is difficult by definition. Can we actually use the Book of Mormon to address the very modern problems that beset us every day?

We can, and as we learn to do so this book will become more user-friendly in the very best sense. Rather than a chore on our “to-do” list, the Book of Mormon can become the blueprint for a Christian life. The key to “liken[ing] the scripture unto ourselves” is to identify our modern problems as they are faced by these ancient people. Here are just a few examples: Nephi and his brothers have a lot to teach us about family violence. Lehi and Sarah show us how major changes in lifestyle can cause stress on a marriage. Alma Senior and Junior illustrate the difference between control and influence in parenting. The brother of Jared has something to teach us about dating. (Really!) Mormon and Moroni guide us in knowing when it is acceptable to wage war with others. There are so many more, and we will explore them together.

All you need to get more out of the Book of Mormon is a notebook, some quiet time each day, and a commitment to really pay attention. As you read, ask yourself the following questions: Where am I in this story? In other words: how could this story relate to my life? And, where is Jesus in this story? What is He trying to teach me here? Why is this story in the scriptures at all ? And finally, ask the most important question, "So what do I do about this?" or "How does this affect my life?"

Therefore, What?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said the following: "President Boyd K. Packer, himself a master teacher and long-time administrator in the Church Educational System, has a question he often asks when we have made a presentation or given some sort of exhortation to one another in the Twelve. He looks up as if to say, “Are you through?” And then says to the speaker (and, by implication, to the rest of the group), “Therefore, what?”

“Therefore, what?” I think that is what the Savior answered day in and day out as an inseparable element of His teaching and preaching. I’ve tried to suggest that. These sermons and exhortations were to no avail if the actual lives of His disciples did not change." (CES Conference on the New Testament, 8 August 2000, BYU)'' 

The scriptures are meant, above all, to change us, and the only real key to change is Jesus. As you read, try to write down everything you learn about Jesus Christ, the atonement, and his relationship with you. If you do so, your reading of the Book of Mormon will become a source of living water for you. You will find yourself really using what you read in your daily life, and the scriptures will become what one artist has called "the antidote for the emptiness of existence." I invite you to fill your soul with the wisdom, inspiration, and Christian joy that the Book of Mormon offers. As Alma says so beautifully:

"If ye will nourish the word…by your faith with great diligence…it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life. And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in your, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof… and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst." (Alma 32:41-42)

Why the Book of Mormon Is Worth Studying Even if You Aren’t a Mormon

We've said a fond farewell to the Old Testament, and we erstwhile scriptorians are taking a break for the summer! On Wednesday, September 9th, 2015 at 10am, we will reconvene in the Cardiff Chapel at 1444 Lake Drive and begin our study of The Book of Mormon. We thought long and hard about this course of study; we worried just a little about leaving the familiar territory of the Bible, because we love having members of different faiths attend our class and don't want to put anyone off! But we love this book so much that we just have to study it! So for any of you that are not very excited about this idea, here is my best persuasive speech about:

Why the Book of Mormon Is Worth Studying Even if You Aren’t a Mormon

If you want to know what the Book of Mormon is, you might do what many of us do when we want to know about something unfamiliar: take a look at Wikipedia. Here is what it has to say:

“The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter-day Saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi.

According to Smith's account and the book's narrative, the Book of Mormon was originally written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian" engraved on golden plates. Smith said that the last prophet to contribute to the book, a man named Moroni, buried it in a hill in present-day New York, then returned to earth in 1827 as an angel, revealing the location of the book to Smith, and instructing him to translate it into English for use in the restoration of Christ's true church in the latter days.

The Book of Mormon is the earliest of the unique writings of the Latter-day Saint movement, the denominations of which typically regard the text primarily as scripture, and secondarily as a historical record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. The Book of Mormon is divided into smaller books, titled after the individuals named as primary authors and, in most versions, divided into chapters and verses. It is written in English very similar to the Early Modern English linguistic style of the King James Version of the Bible, and has since been fully or partially translated into 108 languages. As of 2011, more than 150 million copies of the Book of Mormon have been published.” (Wikipedia, The Book of Mormon)

Believe it Or Not, It’s Good Stuff

There you have it. As a result of its fantastic claims, The Book of Mormon is taken very seriously only by Latter-day Saints, and is largely ignored by everyone else, except some few who have devoted themselves to debunking it! I will make no effort whatsoever to prove the authenticity or the historicity of the text; that is much better left to more qualified individuals. My approach in this course will be to examine the Book of Mormon as a work of literature as well as a book of scripture, and to try to mine from it some of the nuggets of wisdom that have made it precious and important as a sacred text to millions of people, including myself. After all, even Wikipedia admits that there are some interesting things in the Book of Mormon:

“The Book of Mormon has a number of original and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve, the nature of the Atonement, eschatology, redemption from physical and spiritual death, and the organization of the latter-day church. The pivotal event of the book is an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Americas shortly after his resurrection.”

A Complement to the Bible

            As I have taught our community Bible class over the last two years, I have been continually inspired by the number of beliefs we have in common as Christians; these seem so much more important than the doctrinal issues that divide us. I have used the Book of Mormon as a Bible commentary many times in our classes, and simply invite those who are not of our faith to enjoy the insight offered if it appeals to them, and reject it if it does not. Our sessions have virtually no doctrinal disputation; we’ve been much more concerned about our own relation to the teachings of Jesus than various points of doctrine. The Book of Mormon (though often referred to) has never been a point of discussion beyond this blanket disclaimer.

Nevertheless, I personally feel that the Book of Mormon, whether one accepts it as divinely inspired or not, stands on its own as a great work of literature, based on its character development, its complex plotting, and its remarkable collection of authors, each uniquely different in tone and voice. In addition, I contend that it also stands as a great work of sacred scripture, based on the remarkable and original views it espouses on a number of topics, from human nature to the mission of Christ to the apocalypse. Along with the Bible, I feel that it merits its own course of study.

As we progress together through each of the fifteen books in the Book of Mormon, I hope you will begin to appreciate the tremendous wealth of knowledge and insight (particularly about the role of Jesus Christ in our individual lives) that is available in this very unique text.  Many modern challenges, from class warfare to feminism to personality disorders, are dealt with in its pages. If you are not a Latter-day Saint and do not accept the church’s claims about the origin of The Book of Mormon, it is my hope that this study will open your mind to its value as a sacred text, and will add to your own understanding of your own spiritual quest as a result. If you are a Latter-day Saint and do accept this as a standard work, I hope that this commentary will enrich your appreciation of its timeliness and relevance to your daily dilemmas. 

 It's All About Jesus

In any case, our goal in this course is that same as the stated goal of the Book of Mormon itself, namely, to act as another witness of Christ. As Mormon (the brilliant editor and redactor of the book) states in the closing chapters, there is one sure way to judge the value anything that comes into our purview:

 “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.”

(Moroni 7:16)

For me, the Book of Mormon has offered a significant addition to my knowledge and understanding about Jesus, which is the most important information I possess. Anything that adds to that part of my life is welcome and wonderful to me. I’m grateful for what I have learned from its pages, and I’m excited to journey through them together with you. So let’s get started!

Stories Worth Telling and Retelling

First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings and First and Second Chronicles overlap to some degree. All follow the narrative of the Israelite nation from the reign of the judges through the reign of the kings, to the division of the kingdom into two warring nations. It is interesting to see how the story is told each time, with some additions and some omissions.

This year I'm recording video lessons instead of writing blog posts, so I would invite you to watch them if you miss any classes. Youtube.com, Marilyn Faulkner, Old Testament Studies. Also I have updated our reading schedule, so you may want to take a look at that. We are going to be moving through the material at a pretty good speed! Here is what is coming up in April/May:

April             7 - Isaiah
                   14 - Isaiah
                   21 - Jeremiah
                   28 - Lamentations/ Ezekiel

May              5 - Daniel - Obadiah
                   12 - Guest lecture: Rabbi Adam Wright, Temple Solel
                   19 - Malachi - Conclusion  

As you read, I'd invite you to think about how these stories apply to your life. We are each David, and face our own Goliaths. We are each Samuel, called by the Lord in a still, small voice. Do we hear? We are each Solomon, and God often gives us what we wish and lets us experience the consequences. As one philosopher said, "There are more tears shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones."

These vibrant stories are there, not only for our edification, but to be shared with our families. Do our children and grandchildren know their Bible stories? And if we don't tell them, who will?

Choose Ye This Day

There is a lot of scholarly hoopla these days about the "historicity" of the Bible. Did Joshua actually march around the city all those times, and did the walls of Jericho actually come tumbling down when everybody shouted? Inquiring minds want to know, I guess, but I think all that digging around in archaeological tells, trying to find pieces of the fallen walls, misses the point of the scriptures. The Hebrew writers had a different view of history than we do; what mattered to them was that every great episode in the history of Israel be presented to us in such a way that we learn life lessons from it. As Joshua said when he had the elders gather 12 stones from the dry riverbed after crossing over Jordan in a parting of the waters designed to establish him as the new Moses: "This shall serve as a symbol among you: in time to come, when your children ask, 'What is the meaning of these stones for you?' you shall tell them, 'The waters of the Jordan were cut off because of the Ark of the Lord's Covenant; when it passed through the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.' (Joshua 4:6-7) What matters is what we learn, and what we teach our children as a result.

And so we might ask ourselves, 'What are the meaning of these stories for us?' Like the 12 stones, each story in the Old Testament is a memorial of certain aspects of God's character, and of His relationship to each one of us. What does the Torah mean to us? The first five books of the Old Testament span the time from Creation to the Iron Age, and introduce us to some of the greatest characters who ever lived. We are invited into their thoughts, their fears and their failures as well as their faith and their triumphs. Their stories have inspires some of the best thinking of mankind. (Kierkegaard wrote a whole book about Abraham's walk up Mt. Moriah with Isaac, and Thomas Mann spent a decade and 1500 pages pondering the life of Joseph.) Generations of families have read these stories and believed as a result that God could help them fight their own Jericho battles. And they have been right to believe.

Many scholars contend that the book of Joshua should be part of the Torah, because it finishes the narrative arc as Israel crosses the Jordan and begins to inherit the "land of milk and honey." Milk and honey, by the way, prefigure the millennium, because they are two essential foods that you can consume without killing anything. Milk and honey also refer to the two great, and often competing, occupations, herding and agriculture. (I got those two facts from scholarly articles. Being on a different level, milk and honey just makes me think of Winnie the Pooh, and I find myself longing for a "little smackerel of something…") Joshua brings the fulfillment of Abraham's promise.

What Have We Chosen to Worship?

The great issue that the book of Joshua deals with is expressed in the final chapter during the "recovenant" ceremony, where Joshua recounts all of the miracles that have led them to the banks of the Jordan, ready to cross into the promised land. He says: "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) We tend to skip the middle of this verse, but it's important to realize that serving other gods was a very viable option for these people. They hadn't been monotheists all that long, and had always been surrounded by a variety of deities, in whom many had faith. We need only look back on Rachel, risking her life to steal her father's household gods, or the former slaves of Egypt building a golden calf as soon as Moses turned his back, to appreciate the pull that these "other gods" had.

Some of us might be in the same boat, figuratively speaking. Craig and I have been setting up a second home in Utah, where two of our kids live, and recently we were having a discussion about what kinds of pictures to put in the living room. We wondered if pictures of the Savior might be too "religious" for the living room, and instead belonged in the secondary rooms. Meanwhile, we never gave a second thought to putting the biggest TV we could fit in that room, as well as making sure that we had WiFi, and Netflix, and every other technology that streams worldliness into our home. I thought about that today when I read Joshua's words, and wondered if I  was worshipping "other gods" without realizing it.

Like the children of Israel I can confidently say, "The Lord our God, he it is that brought us up… from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed…therefore will we also serve the Lord, for he is our God." (Joshua 24:17-18) That is the point of every one of these stories.

When we remember to lean on His mighty arm, no matter what the battle, the walls come tumblin' down. Those "other gods," while entertaining, have no real power to save or heal us. So that picture of the Savior is going up in the living room after all.

Exodus for the Rest of Us

          

       
           Exodus, according to the Jewish Study Bible, "is arguably the most important book in the Bible since it presents the seminal events in Israel's history and the definitive institutions of its religion, themes that have reverberated through all subsequent Jewish and Western history." The enslavement of the Hebrews, their liberation through Moses, the deliverer, and their subsequent 40 years of wandering in the wilderness make great drama. (Watch out ~ I hear Batman is set to play Moses in the next movie version!) But what does the Exodus mean to us today? Here are three takeaways from Exodus:

1. God is involved in our lives, but usually in mysterious, confusing ways. Moses is another example of an obscure child that has a great destiny. Like the Savior, he is born into a humble home and must be hidden to save his life. Miraculous things happen to put him in the unique position to represent his people. (Without his upbringing in Pharoah's household, could he have even gotten an audience with the great king?) The Old Testament is chock full of these stories, where the small and the simple are used to make great things happen. So if you are confused about your life, but you are trying to do what is right, don't despair, you may be on the right track after all. It just may be a "40 year" journey before you find out where you are headed!

2. There is a big difference between miracles and magic tricks. Moses is given the power to work miracles, and Pharoah's magicians are able to copy several of them. The sorcerers are unable, however, to do anything positive or creative; they can only make more of the bad stuff. These days we have our own set of sorcerers and the Internet is the box of magic tricks. It can give you the illusion of learning, when you are only browsing. It can give you the illusion of privacy, when in reality unseen people are watching and tracking your habits. And above all, it offers both the worst and the best that people are creating, almost effortlessly. As parents and influencers, it is important to teach our children the difference between miracles and magic. Miracles heal the soul, inspire and give strength to do what is right. Magic tricks tend to shock and awe, which leads to a need for greater shock and awe, and eventually to an addiction to the rush. Pharaoh got the difference too late, and his loss was great.

3. The commandments are conditions of a covenant. The Ten Commandments are modeled after the ancient treaties that were established between overlords and their vassals. The formal style signaled to this mixed group of Israelites and other enslaved people who left with them that God was serious about a relationship. He would guard and protect and bless them on condition of their obedience to certain stipulations. As the narrative unfolds we will see how the Israelites become mired in the minutiae of the commandments and lose sight of the covenant relationship. Could this happen to us? When I asked our class to discuss the difference between covenants and commandments one sister responded, "Commandments are open to interpretations. You can argue about them all day. A covenant is simple. You are either in or you're out."

          Would you describe yourself as a covenant person? One whose relationship with God is not based on scorekeeping, but on loving promises that have been exchanged? Exodus gives us a lot to think about in our own journey, and much to apply that may save us wasted time and sorrow. As one Rabbi said, "In every generation one should look upon himself as if he, personally, had gone out of Egypt."
         

As Promised: A List of Bible Commentaries

This is by no means a comprehensive list of Bible commentaries. These are just the ones I am using, listed in the order of the frequency with which I am using them!

Old Testament Student Manual, Genesis - 2 Samuel (Religion 301) (Paperback)

by LDS Distribution Center

SKU 183648

Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament (Hardcover)

by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Dana M. Pike, David R. Seely

Study Commentary on the Old Testament (Paperback)

by Richard J. Allen

SKU 5112363

Unlocking the Old Testament Commentary (Paperback)

by Ed J. Pinegar, Richard J. Allen

SKU 5027707

Verse by Verse, The Old Testament Vol. 1 & 2 (Bookshelf eBook)

by D. Kelly Ogden, Andrew C. Skinner

SKU 5121112

The Essential Old Testament Companion (Hardcover)

by Kerry Muhlestein

Bible Translations: 

I am using the King James Version of course, but for the Old Testament I am also using the NIV, the New English Bible and…

I am loving my Jewish Study Bible! It is very well annotated and gives me a different perspective.

The Jewish Study Bible: Featuring The Jewish Publication Society TANAKH Translation Hardcover – January 4, 2004

by Adele Berlin  (Editor), Marc Zvi Brettler  (Editor), Michael Fishbane  (Editor)

Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

Sarah and Hagar make an interesting pair. Sarah, so beautiful that Abraham was in continual danger of being bumped off because of her, was unable to bear children. Hagar (who was perhaps part of the compensatory gift that Abimelech offered Abraham in apology for nearly marrying his wife) was suddenly elevated from the role of servant to a second wife to her master. When she gave birth to Ishmael the very same kinds of jealousies, fears and rivalries that have split families forever caused Sarah to send her away. But God had a plan, and saved Hagar and Ishmael. He always has a back-up plan, and we are never alone, no matter how far into the wilderness we might have wandered.

Reading about Sarah and Hagar makes me wonder how many times we jump in to solve a problem without asking God what the best course might be? Years later, when Sarah overheard the angels saying that she would give birth to a child in her old age, she laughed. But once again God had a plan, and at the wonderful fulfillment of that prophecy Sarah named her darling boy Isaac, referring both to her initial laughter and her eventual rejoicing.

Seeing Our Lives Through His Eyes

When Spencer W. Kimball was called to lead the church in 1974, he was old, ill, and felt inadequate to the task. But almost immediately he began to reshape the vision of the church regarding missionary work. In his great address, "When the World Will be Converted," delivered to audiences around the globe, he told the story of Sarah, laughing at the angelic prophecy, and challenged us to open our eyes and see what God could see. Many of us were a part of that great surge in missionary effort, and had the thrill of seeing prophecy in action, as thousands of young people heard a prophet's call and came into the mission field to teach their own countrymen and women. They rose to the vision.

What if we could see what God sees about our lives? What is it that now seems just too hard to overcome, that could be conquered with His help? Perhaps it's worth asking ourselves, when we feel overwhelmed, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" and invite Him to show us what He sees that we are missing.