Helaman 6:17 [Book of Mormon]
“For behold, the Lord had blessed them so long with the riches of the world that they had not been stirred up to anger, to wars, nor to bloodshed; therefore they began to set their hearts upon their riches; yea, they began to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another; therefore they began to commit secret murders, and to rob and to plunder, that they might get gain. “
Someone has to make up their minds, is riches sin or not?
But then this gets to be just ludicrous. They committed “secret” murders? Really, as opposed to public murders? Are public murders more acceptable that secret ones? Any way….
8 comments:
No. Riches is not sin. Money is not evil. The love of money is the root of all evil. Would the word "Philomoney" )the love of money) make sense here?
Benjamin,
To ask what would make sense here is absolutely pointless now isn't it.
The point is at one point in the book riches are a blessing, at another point God punishes them for being rich, and even labels it as sin.
Perhaps as Joseph Smith was "translating" he might have asked himself, but since his translation was supposedly of divine origin, and God supposedly felt that it was a worthy enough translation that no one need anylonger consult the original so that he removed the golden plates from the earth, what is written is written. This puts you in a pickle.
Because where as I might bicker about the translation of a word here and there in the English New Testament, I can consult the Greek see how it was written originally and contemplate the various translations and meanings of that word to determine which one is more or less accurate given the setting. What i could not do, and which is what you are here attempting to do with the book of Mormon, is replace one word in the original for another more to my liking. That would be to tamper with God's word. And God's word is not to be tampered with.
> "The point is at one point in the book riches are a blessing, at another point God punishes them for being rich, and even labels it as sin. "
Nobody in the Book of Mormon is punished simply for being rich. It is the sin of pride which the people often fell into which they are punished for. The devil twisted their worldly possessions, which were good things in themselves, into sources of temptation to pride for them.
Nothing is evil in itself - it has to be twisted for it to serve evil. There is a good discussion of this point in "The Screwtape Letters." I think temptation as depicted in the Book of Mormon works much the same way as discussed there.
As to your point about not having access to the original text of the Book of Mormon, Isaiah prophesied that it would be so when he wrote, "And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:" http://kingjbible.com/isaiah/29.htm
You do realize that Isaiah there is not actually talking about a book, but the obstinate refusal of men to believe in God, and repent of their sin? It employs the use of simile and speaks of the vision that Isaiah has expounded. The words of which Christ himself echos when he says and seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear.
No, I do not refuse to see what Isaiah actually says because he does actually refer directly to an actual book in very clear and specific language.
Isaiah 29:11-12 (ESV)
And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." [12] And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."
King James says "as", ESV says "like", Both of which invoke simile, look it up. Isaiah talks of how the vision is treated, using the analogy of a book people refuse to read. There needs be no actual book for the simile to hold.
What in your view is it saying is similar to what else?
Benjamin,
I'm not even sure where to begin. Simile, look it up. Or revisit third grade lit. It is a very common literary device.
Post a Comment