Several of our readers have asked for the Beehive Standard Weekly to speak out on the recent raids on polygamists in Texas. Uniquely, our staff consists of lawyers who also happen to be Mormon, who also happen to be journalists. To that end, perhaps we can't avoid having or expressing an opinion.
To that end, we offer the conclusion before the commentary, so no one can misquote us without knowing that they are misquoting us.
Conclusion: Our conclusion is that though there may be specific and individual examples of violations of several laws of the State of Texas relating to underage marriage, the state and federal authorities have also violated the most sacred law of all, the United States Constitution. In the balance, religious prejudice and bigotry has tainted the actions of authorities, the media and the peeping-tom public. It may be one of the ugliest displays of religious intolerance since -- well, since the Mormons were driven out of the United States.
With that said, this is not an apology for those who have violated the law or abused children. Those participating in such low crimes should be brought to justice. The FLDS cannot hide behind their faith for attrocities against children. Religion is not an excuse for violating the laws which are clear and unambiguous.
Collective persecution, however, is not the way to obtain justice. In the majority, the people who were subject to the raid were living peaceful lives, though their religious practices are clearly not mainstream.
Some may view this act of Texas authorities as America taking a stand against abusive religious doctrines. In many ways, this is a test of the American system. Either we believe in religious freedom, or we don't. If we don't, then let's not act like hypocrites and let's rescind the right under the Bill of Rights. We can't continue to hold up litmus tests for public office and persecute those who don't hold mainstream religious beliefs and claim at the same time to have religious freedom. We either do, or we don't.
When Jesus Christ visited the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, one of the express charges he made to the people was to study the words of Isaiah. More particularly, he stated "And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea a Commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah. For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake." See 3 Nephi 23: 1-3
Isaiah's writings take time to read and to understand, but if a person is willing to take the writings one verse at a time, and look for keys to understanding Isaiah, the rewards are magnificent.
In Part I of our lesson commentary, the focus was on chapter 6 of 2 Nephi. This Part II of our commentary moves on to chapters 7 and 8. As volumes could be written on these chapters, we will try to cover the profound material in brief, but insightful, fashion. Chapters 9 and 10 are covered well in the Gospel Doctrine Manual. As this commentary is intended to be supplemental in nature, we would encourage teachers to avoid making lessons complex and use this material only to the extent it provides insight into the simple concepts of the Plan of Salvation taught in the official Manual. Those who have a good grasp of those concepts can then consider these writings in their personal study.
As we always say, "Words Have Meaning," and this is particularly true for Isaiah. Our past pattern in reading scriptures works well for plowing through hundreds of chapters of material in a single year. If we did not read the Book of Mormon like a romance novel, we could never begin in 1 Nephi in January and end at Moroni in December. The same holds true to Seminary and Institute Curriculum that must cover an entire work of scripture like the New Testament or Book of Mormon in only five months. What is good for the calendar and teacher, however, is not always good for the student or the author of the scripture.
This is where personal scripture study must come into play. The teacher must keep moving to keep up with the curriculum. The student, however, can approach scripture study in any manner they choose in order to make the most out of the time they put in.
Would it be too difficult a concept to ask students to study no more than a single chapter of scripture in an entire week? Can anyone imagine Christ reading the scriptures like the latest issue of People Magazine -- jumping from headline to headline. Of course, we can't. So how should we approach Isaiah in the Book of Mormon.
First, we have a commandment to study his words. A commandment is not a suggestion, nor is it even a word of wisdom. It is something that has a duty associated with it, so let us examine what that duty is before we go further.
At the most modest level, it is to read the words of Isaiah at a level of complete lack of understanding. In short, it would be no different than if you were to pick up a book in a foreign language. You could read the text, but have no understanding as to what is being said. In a technical sense, this would be in compliance with the commandment to read Isaiah.
But wait, Christ did not command us to read Isaiah, he said that we needed to "Search these things." What does search mean? The dictionary description of search indicates that it is to go or look through carefully to find something lost or missing (www.dictionary.com). If words have meaning, then these words are very important to the reading of Isaiah.
Most would say that Isaiah is confusing and that the original meaning has been lost somehow. The words of Christ that we should search Isaiah indicates that we need to go or look through carefully to find the lost or missing meaning.
Then how should we approach Isaiah? There is very little time during the day to set aside to try to understand what appears to be difficult and obscured language.
Agreed. Isaiah has hidden the meaning of his words, but understanding Isaiah requires three things. First (1), it requires a key or decoding concept; (2) it requires time for contemplation and third (3), it requires the Holy Ghost for understanding. Without these guideposts, our search of Isaiah's meaning will be difficult, if not impossible.
Sometimes, the scriptures put the cart before the horse. Such is the case in 2 Nephi. In these chapters, 6-10, we read the key or decoding concept after Jacob shares the Isaiah chapters. This makes reading the Isaiah chapters so much the worse because we don't have a clear understanding as to why these chapters have been chosen by Jacob and what it is that Jacob is trying to teach us.
Before you read chapters 6, 7 or 8, please read chapters 9 and 10. If you are impatient and just want to know the key concept, like most of us in the world, then we will share the key with you.
The key concept is . . . (spoiler -- don't read unless you really want to know!)
For those who want to know, the key concept is the physical and spiritual redemption of Christ. In other words, in order to understand the quoted Isaiah in chapters 6, 7 and 8, you need to understand that Isaiah is not exclusively talking about the restoration of Israel, but is also talking about the redemption of Christ in the physical and spiritual sense for all mankind. If you only read the words of Isaiah as to the restoration of Israel, you will only catch a small nuance of meaning within the written words. If you understand also that Isaiah is concurrently talking about the gift Christ gives to all mankind, then the book is opened more fully to one's understanding and perhaps for the first time, you will actually read and understand Isaiah. So let us check off the key concept aspect on our requirements.
Next, we turn to time for contemplation and the Holy Ghost. The interesting thing about these two requirements is that they speak more to personal preparation than anything else. Only the student can gauge whether they have the time or correct spiritual attitude to read Isaiah.
Let us assume, for a moment, that the reader or student does not have the Holy Ghost. Perhaps the student needs to repent for something or has taken the gospel commandments too lightly and the Spirit has withdrawn. Or maybe, the student or reader has just had "one of those days." The reader may not have control over whether he or she has the Holy Ghost at the very moment of reading the passages of Isaiah. Despite the Holy Ghost not being present, all is not lost.
What is in the reader's control is the time for contemplation. In other words, if the student or reader has a general understanding of the key concept and is willing to dedicate time for contemplation, the Holy Ghost need not be immediately present at the beginning of the exercise of "searching." In most instances, the Holy Ghost will come if the reader is sincere as the mission of the Holy Ghost is to bear witness of Christ and the truth of the gospel. With adequate diligence, it would be more probable than not that the third prong for understanding Isaiah will be met.
Having at least two of the elements in place, we can begin the study of chapter 7.
2 Nephi 7: 1-2 It takes two to tango. It also takes two in order to cast someone off, to put away, to divorce or to sell a debtor to a creditor. In each case, it takes two people. If I cast someone off, then there is the person in the boat and the person on shore. If I put someone away, there is the person in prison and the person outside of the prison responsible for making the charge that leads to imprisonment. To divorce someone, there first has to be the marriage of two persons. To sell a person into a debtor's prison, there must be a creditor. In each case, the Lord is saying through Isaiah that there is an active participant in removing a person from the presence of another person.
In verse 1, the Lord simply states the obvious: "ye have sold yourselves." He then tells us that our sin impacts others, not just ourselves when he states: "and for your transgressions is your mother put away."
These are chilling statements that cut to the heart. First, the Lord is making it very clear that our removal from God has been accomplished through our acts, not the acts of another. This is a statement of accountability. Only we are responsible for our removal from God. We are the ones who are in a fallen state because we have sinned (think of the key concept of redemption to get more meaning out of these words).
The second statement makes it clear that others have been injured because of our sins. What sin doesn't impact another person -- often times, those most dear to us? Under what egregious circumstances can we imagine that the sins of a child would result in the mother of the family being imprisoned?
Let us look at the role of the mother. She gives us life. She loves us. She would do anything for us, yet our sins are so significant that she would be put away. Perhaps the statement is meant to show us how blind we really are about our condition. First, we blame others for our condition and second, we harm others as a result of our acts.
So Christ comes to the house. He calls upon the family of mankind in Verse 3 and there is no man.
In this instance, the Lord seems to be saying that our sins have resulted in the enslavement of loved ones and the death or removal of the man of the household, or more importantly, perhaps the removal of the priesthood of God from the home. There is no one to answer his call. Not only is the priesthood and virtue removed because of sin, but there is no one who will serve God left remaining.
Continuing on in Verse 3, the Lord talks about his power and his priesthood authority. He can and does control the elements, but by all indications, he does not control you. You have openly sinned against God and left his presence and he cannot command you back into his presence. He has the power to deliver you, but he will not force you to return. Like the Prodigal son, you have left on your own and you must choose to return to God before Christ will deliver you.
This lesson is centered around the sermon of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, and his comments on the atonement of Christ for the sins of man. Here are some points you may want to consider in giving your lesson:
Teacher Hint: Always question why certain words were chosen in the scriptures and the history of the writer to obtain proper intention of the writer.
Background
Jacob has received the priesthood from either Nephi or his father and has been "consecrated." From this we can presume that he has received a call to a particular position or responsibility. (1 Nephi 6:2). We note that Nephi has taken the role of a "king" and is probably busy with administrative matters. Not unlike King Josiah in Jerusalem, Nephi would have had a secular and religious role over his people and has likely passed on to Jacob some of the responsibilities of the church.
We see in versus 4, 8, & 9 that Jacob has had the same or nearly the same vision experienced by his brother Nephi and his father Lehi regarding the coming of the Messiah and the destruction of the people of Jerusalem; however, his vision has come much later. Jacob states that he has been shown that those in Jerusalem have now been slain and carried away captive -- in the past tense. So his vision would have come more recently or at least after Nephi's vision.
He mentions an angel who has spoken to him of these matters (v9).
Jacob's sermon seems to accent the role of the Messiah in the last days in the fulfilling of the promises to the chosen people. In verse 14, we see that the Messiah will recover Israel a second time by manifesting himself and destroying their enemies.
At the Beehive Standard Weekly, our Internet analysis tools allow us to see what some people are searching for on search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and the like. Time and again, we see searches for "Mormon Underwear" coming up in our keywords section.
There appears to be some appetite for those who are curious as to the undergarment that some Mormon men and women wear. Rather than the void being filled with some anti-Mormon lunatic or those who might only desire to ridicule, we thought it would be appropriate to give a discrete response to those who might be genuinely curious, but who don't want to read the bigoted slander that exists on the world wide web.
Shunned Mormons Could Serve Up the West for Obama Mormons learned a hard lesson from the presidential campaign of Mitt Romney. The message Southern Evangelicals made loud and clear was "you are not welcome." Despite sharing substantially similar values, Mormons and Evangelicals are deeply divided on the issue of theology. To Mormons, voting for Evangelical candidates is routine. For Evangelicals, voting for a Mormon candidate is now seen as nearly heresy -- hence the reason Mormons may abandon the Republican Presidential nominee in November
As one blog contributor noted recently, this election was never about the Mormons supporting Evangelicals, as there is a history of such support coming from Mormons. This election was about turn about and fair play. Mormons believed that the Republican Evangelical base in the southwestern portion of the United States would accept a Mormon candidate on shared values, despite theological differences. In other words, Mormons incorrectly assumed that where common values prevailed over theology, Evangelicals would return the favor and vote for a Mormon candidate.
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