tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40974562011-07-14T17:27:12.990-04:00Book of Mormon DiaryMusings of a Latter-day Saint law student on his Pilgrim's Progress through New World scripture--the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1124999983163679002005-08-25T15:58:00.000-04:002005-08-25T15:59:43.166-04:00Wow! Check out the new Book of Mormon blogging phenomenon!Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1069365442443036702004-11-20T16:57:00.000-05:002004-10-11T00:15:35.320-04:00This noble experiment has blossomed into something better. I've transferred over to timesandseasons, quite possibly the most xxx but xxx LDS group blog ever.
Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1097468719043586912004-10-11T01:15:00.000-04:002004-10-11T00:25:19.043-04:00I think there’s a complex of scriptures that get distorted into a divine warrant for a hermeneutic of suspicion towards our leaders. Captain Moroni says that he seeks not for power, but to pull it down. Doctrine and Covenants 3 contemplates even the prophets, let alone lesser leaders, falling into carnal and wicked paths that lead to destruction. And D&C 121 tells us that it’s the nature of Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1067961311308108322003-11-04T10:55:00.000-05:002003-11-04T10:55:26.640-05:00The sin/crime discussion also made some interesting points about secular punishment being justified as a way of lessening divine punishment. I have two points to make in that regard:
1) Perhaps secular punishment can partially replace divine punishment. As long as offender X gets Y amount of punishment, it matters not from whence the punishment comes. It may not matter even if punishment is Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1067960570637435242003-11-04T10:42:00.000-05:002003-11-19T16:22:03.450-05:00I drafted a statute to make my point that necessary voluntariness ought to be the sin/crime distinction. Nate Oman countered.
My statute:
Section 1. Of their own free will and choice, everyone shall love and
serve God with all their might, mind, and strength, and not for fear of the secular
law.
Section 2. Violation of the foregoing shall be punishable by a maximum $50,000 fine and up to 2 Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1067959958043943182003-11-04T10:32:00.000-05:002003-11-19T16:22:58.356-05:00We’ve been having an online debate about the distinction between sins and crimes, viz., the idea that society and government shouldn’t punish every instance of clear sin. Kaimi Wenger relies heavily on the distinction to justify his ACLU membership. Matt Evans, although fairly un-ACLU in his outlook and disposition, also recognizes it and finds scriptural support: “The Nephites recognized the Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1066319489362029092003-10-16T11:51:00.000-04:002003-10-16T11:55:10.063-04:00God has not ceased to be a God of miracles . . . . And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust These words rebuke me. God rarely blesses me with miracles and revelation, and I do not doubt that my unbelief is to blame. In consequence, I've Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1066231799137629392003-10-15T11:29:00.000-04:002003-10-15T11:29:59.023-04:00Stephen R. Marsh weighs in, especially on the role of children in a Zion experiment.
He first mentions that a community of telecommuters lacks a raison d'etre.
> Harder are things such as relevance. A balanced commune of
> telecommuters? Ok, how is my neighbor relevant to me if I am
> self-supporting? Does he exist to focus my charitable urges more directly
> on a specific neighbor? If not, Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1066223751959836352003-10-15T09:15:00.000-04:002003-10-15T09:15:51.923-04:00"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Thus Paul, preaching that Christ has freed us from sins, and allowed us to obey the good directly, instead of obeying rules designed to someday achieve the good.
As the Book of Mormon makes clear, this liberty is not spiritual liberty alone. Because Christ has freed usOsvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1066055898613803402003-10-13T10:38:00.000-04:002003-10-13T10:38:18.280-04:00Others abide our question. My wife alone is free. She once again has proved herself to be a from a better plane of existence.
She's presenting at the nursing school of St. Mary's, the all-girl sister school to Notre Dame. Her topic is a history of our child, her cancer and other ailments, and her medical experience. Her message is that the nursing they do will pass, but the examples of love Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1066055196481878452003-10-13T10:26:00.000-04:002003-10-13T10:26:36.303-04:00It's outside my normal course of reading, but 4 Nephi has preyed on my thoughts lately. I wish I could live in a time when great things were afoot, and people wanted to be more than casually good. I would like to build Zion: "And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift . . . .Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1064236534865411462003-09-22T09:15:00.000-04:002003-09-22T09:15:34.816-04:00For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them
Why? Is not God mighty?
Yes, He is mighty. What then?
A miracle must be more than the exercise of divine power. We cannot constrain that power, we cannot limit its exercise.
A miracle must be our recognition of divine power. Divine power, otherwise, is dismissed as a natural occurrence, or else as Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1063977100160970672003-09-19T09:11:00.000-04:002003-09-19T09:11:40.180-04:00 RELIGIOUS JUSTIFICATIONS FOR PRESERVING SPECIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
I’ve been thinking about the environment and the gospel. My environmental law professor, John Nagle, is a convinced Christian who isn’t at all God-shy in class, and he’s got me thinking.
This is where my thoughts have taken me: it seems that secular justifications for environmental protection are usually justifications for Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1063899241433199912003-09-18T11:34:00.000-04:002003-09-18T11:34:01.150-04:00ANIMAL TOTEMS, ANIMAL KINGDOMS:
From the Doctrine and Covenants, we see that God and the Gods are surrounded by the resurrected, glorified animals of their creation. (Rev. 5: 11-14; D&C 77:1-3; HC 5: 343). I think it follows that we also, who are God’s children, if faithful, will reign in courts of glorified, intelligent beings who were the animals in creation. This knowledge puts the Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1063896286814355542003-09-18T10:44:00.000-04:002003-09-18T10:44:46.376-04:00Incidentally, all this talk of angels being charged with certain functions, which deserves far more attention than I give it here, explains paganism as a corrupt form of the gospel truth, rather than as a weird outgrowth of who knows what in the way of psychology. All this presupposes, of course, that knowledge of the Sons of God and of their particular tasks was once much more common than it isOsvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1058365932975190522003-07-16T10:32:00.000-04:002003-07-16T10:32:12.943-04:00Oh, oh, I am gashed to the quick. Not only am I (accurately) accused of posting infrequently, but I am also described as giving "news, advice, and other info." Not so! This blog starts and stops with amateurish speculation.Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1058365816311924202003-07-16T10:30:00.000-04:002003-07-16T10:59:41.053-04:00And for those who like that sort of thing (viz., me) here's a little more amateurish s.
I notice 4th Nephi says that in 200 years two generations had nearly passed away. What possible meaning of "generation" covers a 200-year span? Oh, I know there's various explanations for the wierd scriptural usage, none of which seem vary convincing to me, but passages like this one make me think they're Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1057934352953439472003-07-11T10:39:00.000-04:002003-07-11T10:39:12.936-04:00Some of the best things about reading the scriptures can't be posted here. Very frequently while reading 3 Nephi I've been overcome by the spirit of repentance, faith, and knowledge of God. What can I say to this--"ye need not any longer spurn at the doings of the Lord, for the sword of his justice is in his right hand"--other than that I believe it and welcome it. Likewise the promise to the Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1057761465082103862003-07-09T10:37:00.000-04:002003-07-09T10:37:45.006-04:00If you a particular fan of logic, read no more. This is a post where I will simply assert things.
I notice that fulfillment--of prophecy, of scripture, but especially of the law of Moses--is one of the great themes of 3 Nephi. In the massive cleansing ritual of 3 Nephi 9, Christ announces "by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled." He reiterates at 3 Nephi 12:19 and atOsvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-1056981231757721572003-06-30T09:53:00.000-04:002003-07-09T10:39:13.050-04:00I"ve nearly finished with 3rd Nephi. The central portion of it--the destruction of the Lehites and then Christ's visit--form a powerful whole. John L. Sorenson, for one, argues that the section is a "temple text," a sequence with ritualistic meaning and overtones.
Sorenson extends this argument through all of Christ's visit, but to the casual reader the penultimate part looks like a Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-957145362003-06-16T09:05:00.000-04:002003-06-16T09:07:10.000-04:00I've been reading some of Nibley's commentary on the Book of Mormon. He cites the promise made to the readers and the writers of the Book of Mormon, who felt an affection for its peoples. That is, the promise that the "Lamanites shall blossom as the rose." D.&C. 49:24
Who are the Lamanites? In my view, most American Indians probably have some Lamanite blood, especially those near the probable Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-937998452003-05-05T09:59:00.000-04:002003-05-05T10:15:11.000-04:00The latest attempt to keep religion out of the public-square is the requirement for "publicly-accessible reasons." Arguments based on faith, scriptural tradition, or ultimate destiny don't count.
But the hypocrisy of this demand is seen as soon as religious people try to put their explanations in terms that don't explicitly invoke religion. Here at Notre Dame, for example, they try and couch Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-912549072003-03-23T21:59:00.000-05:002003-03-23T21:59:12.733-05:00I wish someone would make a spectacle out of ">Helaman 5. The dissenter/Lamanite dancers would stand frozen into a pained rigidity while Nephi and Lehi would unfold under a bright light, eyes upcast towards heaven. Gradually the light would tinge the frozen dancers. They to, then, would cast their eyes upward and be transformed into light. All then would move at the marvel of being and the Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-912547652003-03-23T21:56:00.000-05:002003-03-23T21:56:14.746-05:00It must be my conservative temperament, but I worry a lot. I see the enormous victories of our troops, and the enormous technical edge we carry and I thrill, like every other red-blooded American. But I wonder how long it can last.
Because I see a nation crazed with wealth, posessions, indulgence, pornography, and every wickedness that can be thought of. I think that God will, sooner or later,Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-912543222003-03-23T21:46:00.000-05:002003-03-23T21:46:47.343-05:00Captain Moroni was an exemplary man. He was also a piece of work. In "Alma 62:9 we read about some political dissenters who revolted during wartime. Captain Moroni put them all to death.Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-912541362003-03-23T21:43:00.000-05:002003-03-23T21:43:18.436-05:00Captain Moroni was an exemplary man. He was also a piece of work. In Alma 62:9 we read about some political dissenters who revolted during wartime. Captain Moroni put them all to death.Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-894351372003-02-20T10:04:00.000-05:002003-03-23T21:40:52.000-05:00More institute thoughts:
Traditional Christians, especially the theologians among them, talk quite a bit about unknowable mysteries and God as the Great Mystery.
But to the faithful, all things can and will be known, either through revelation or direct experience. So we don't talk about mysteries much, and when we do it's to bracket difficult questions and not to evoke a sense of awe and Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-893715462003-02-19T10:01:00.000-05:002003-02-19T10:01:59.246-05:00Brothers and Sisters, when your soul cries out against the dithering uncertainty of your leaders and your people, or when you suspect that they may be more evil than erring, and you fear for the consequences . . . what then?
Helaman, the leader of an outnumbered army in the wars, wondered the same. For a long time his government sent him no reinforcements or provisions, to the point of Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-893476082003-02-18T22:15:00.000-05:002003-02-19T09:42:45.000-05:00I do not think God delights in sin. I do think he allows transgression. The choice Adam and Eve made to eat the fruit is not the only example of transgression. Nephi killed Laban; Abraham prepared to sacrifice his only son, a gift from God. Both of these transgressions were in similitude of God's transcendence of the law to allow for mercy. When a greater good can be achieved by completingSarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12612694471662069544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-893451112003-02-18T21:34:00.000-05:002003-02-18T21:34:00.476-05:00More wandering off-topic into the Book of Moses:
We Latter-day Saints wrestle with the difference between a Transgression and a Sin. For instance, we know that Adam and Eve somehow only transgressed when they chose to break God's commandment not to eat of the fruit. If they deliberately chose to do something evil, then how could it not be a sin, unless we assume God somehow approved of the sinOsvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-893433642003-02-18T21:03:00.000-05:002003-02-18T21:03:11.800-05:00We wondered in institute why God would give contradictory commandments: They were told to multiply and replenish the earth, and they were told not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. See 2 Nephi 2:22-23.
We discussed some good possibilities:
1) As the temple ceremony implies, perhaps God had already prepared another way to comply with the commandment. Then, the Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-893421342003-02-18T20:41:00.000-05:002003-02-18T20:41:00.790-05:00I'm still reading though some of the best parts of the Book of Mormon. I refer to the two thousand (sixty) striplig warriors, and their faith. I have little to say about it, though.
While it has inspired me greatly, it hasn't caused me to reflect. I see in it only the old message, Be ye men of faith and valor.
So read it, and be inspired. Alma 56, Alma 57Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-889760752003-02-12T10:30:00.000-05:002003-02-12T10:30:23.133-05:00Notre Dame's Institute is working its way through the Pearl of Great Price. I am permitting myself to digress into some of the finer points of our discussions there.
The accounts of creation found in Moses and Abraham are in many ways temple texts--symbolic or ritual accounts of the life of an individual. While describing the lives of Adam and Eve, they are also describing our own life. Thus, Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-889124022003-02-11T09:36:00.000-05:002003-02-11T09:36:57.493-05:00Ladies and Gentlemen, we've come to that long awaited moment in which I stray off topic. Yes, the Church has a new website, www.providentliving.org, and I'm excited, yes, I truly am. It has everything you want to know about finances, food storage, exercise, plus a neat circle graphic.
And, now that the floodgates are open, expect me to wander off the reservation even more often. (Yeah, you Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-889120822003-02-11T09:30:00.000-05:002003-02-12T10:17:49.000-05:00We every one of us possess the central role in an enormous drama. That's the message of the temple. In everyday terms, we can change the salvation history of our ancestors, our friends, and our countless progeny.
Thus, although the careful reader can see the traces of class and economic forces, Moroni the compiler emphazises the roles of individuals in his account of the wars of Captain MoroniOsvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-883942202003-02-01T17:27:00.000-05:002003-02-01T17:31:09.000-05:00Alma 46:39
"And it came to pass that there were many who died, firmly believing that their souls were redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ; thus they went out of the world rejoicing."
We can only hope that our dead Astronauts went out of this world with joy in Jesus and boundless space. As President Bush said, "The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-883257242003-01-31T09:01:00.000-05:002003-01-31T09:01:25.110-05:00I went hometeaching last night, accompanied by the lovely Mrs. Mandias. As usual, I couldnt find the Ensign, so I talked about the 3 Nephi 27:13-14. That scripture and some recent experience got me to thinking.
I was raised to keep a stiff upper lip, for which I'm grateful. Troubles and trials come easier if you expect them as a matter of course. It also shows a commendable respect for your Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-882883162003-01-30T16:32:00.000-05:002003-01-31T09:02:42.000-05:00I just listened to a presentation by Francis George, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Chicago. He made the following remark, which I present as best my memory serves:
Freedom of Religion can no more be reduced to Freedom of Conscience, than Freedom of Commerce can be reduced to the liberty to trade with oneself.
I agree. I remembered a passage my wife shared with me a few days ago, 3 Nephi 27:13-Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-882822052003-01-30T14:25:00.000-05:002003-01-30T14:25:52.356-05:00Alma 50:7
How horrible a thing is war. Captain Moroni, one of God's great men, is reduced to driving Lamanite settlers from their homes in the east wilderness, probably because they've been providing aid and comfort to invading armies that, as we've previously read, traveled throught the east wilderness to strike at the Nephites in their hinterlands.
But how more horrible if the Nephites and Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-880999902003-01-27T10:39:00.000-05:002003-01-30T14:27:21.000-05:00Alma 49
Captain Moroni’s antagonist, Amalickiah the dissenter, displayed the more typical kind of anger. After his invading army foundered on Moroni’s innovative fortifications, Amalickiah shed no tears for his dead subjects. He was ‘exceeding angry’ because he hadn’t obtained his desire. He hadn’t “subjected [the Nephites] to the yoke of bondage.” He then cursed God and swore to drink Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-880999712003-01-27T10:38:00.000-05:002003-01-30T14:27:50.000-05:00Alma 48
Verses 17-20 give us an example of Paul’s teaching that the church is one body with many different members: limbs, feet, organs, all in need of each other. Captain Moroni the warrior is lauded as a Man of God because of his faith and diligence in war. The lay preachers are counted as “no less serviceable” because they brought truth and Spirit to the people. The life of the second Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-880999332003-01-27T10:37:00.000-05:002003-01-30T14:29:26.000-05:00The Wrath of Captain Moroni
A Lamanite army made an unprovoked attack on the Nephites (Alma 43, 44). Moroni and his men fought back, beat them, and trapped them. Once they did, Moroni called off his men and offered peace to the Lamanites if they would give up their weapons and swear an oath to invade no more. But, we are told three times, the Lamanites were angry. And they refused the Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-876020592003-01-17T13:52:00.000-05:002003-01-30T14:30:18.000-05:00Alma 45
Alma asks his son Helaman 3 questions: Do you believe the scriptures? Do you believe in Jesus Christ? Will you keep my commandments?
We have here the pillars of any living faith: Scripture--the written records of other peoples and prophets in their dealing with Christ; Jesus Christ--the Savior of mankind; the revelation, prophecy, and visions of prophets (such as Alma was). One Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-872881052003-01-11T22:09:00.000-05:002003-01-30T14:31:22.000-05:00Alma 39:6
Every savage and post-modern overfed nihilist has sufficient light from Christ to know that murder is wrong.
Osvaldonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4097456.post-872880702003-01-11T22:08:00.000-05:002003-01-30T14:32:20.000-05:00Alma 38
After Alma, the high priest, and his sons had participated in a major missionary effort to the straying Zoramites, Alma reviewed with each son his performance on that mission. This review was a time for the praise, call to repentance, and reflections by Alma on the meaning of his own life and the truths that found in the living of it.
Alma tells his son Shiblon, “I trust thatOsvaldonoreply@blogger.com