Doctrine and Covenants 2

Doctrine and Covenants 2 is a variation on Malachi 4: 4-5 that the angel Moroni told Joseph Smith during his visit in 1823.  The D&C version expands the Bible passage quite a bit, focusing on priesthood, promises, and the importance of family ties. On Talking Scriptures with Mike Day and Bryce Dunford they suggested that while the Book of Mormon revealed the Doctrine of Christ, the Doctrine and Covenants restores the importance of temples and temple work.  In every major settlement of the saints, they are commanded to build a temple.  It has always seemed a little crazy to me that they were asked to build temples when they were in the most dire of circumstances, but now I think that, even though God knew they wouldn't be able to build most of the temples he commanded them to build at that time, the fact that he asked them to build them was a way to underscore their importance.  

Of course, the building of temples is related to this chapter.  Joseph didn't know in 1823 anything about temples and the sealing power. He was just a teenage boy, wondering about his standing with God. Yet, even then, God was planting a seed of an idea in his mind that would grow and develop into an understanding of the importance of the temple ordinance culminating in temple marriage. Since Joseph's Smith's time that understanding has continued to develop so that now almost every talk at conference emphases the importance of temple worship. 

Just one more side thought. 

In that episode of Talking Scriptures, Bryce geeks out a little on Malachi 4:2.  It says, (JKV) "But unto you that fear my name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings."  What Bryce noted is that in Hebrew the "Sun (שֶׁמֶשׁ)of Righteousness" is not masculine, but feminine.  So it should be translated, "Sun of Righteousness" with healing in "her" wings. Bryce didn't mention this, but I am pretty sure the gender switch came because of the Septuagint.  When the King James scholars translated the Old Testament, they primarily used the Greek Septuagint version of it, instead of the original Hebrew, and in Greek, the word sun, ἥλιος, or Helios, is masculine. Anyway, Bryce was wondering who this feminine "sun of righteousness" represented.  Could it be an example of the divine feminine that the Hebrews worshiped before the reforms during the reign of Josiah?  Or could it represent the church, which is often portrayed as a woman, dressed in glorious robes, as in the book of  Revelation (19: 7-8). The idea of having "healing in her wings" makes me think of the image of the hen gathering her chicks under her wings (Luke 13: 34-35).  Or it could just be that the word, "sun" is feminine in Hebrew and masculine in Greek, and the gender isn't really relevant to the scripture.  Who knows?

A Random Thought about Matthew 17.

This year in Come Follow Me we are studying the Doctrine and Covenants, but I am also reading the New Testament in Latin as part of my four year cycle to keep up on my ancient languages. This week in the New Testament I read about the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17.  It is an interesting coincidence since both the reading in the Doctrine and Covenants and my Bible reading recount an important theophany.  In both cases God the father and Jesus reveal themselves in their glory to disciples that are destined to become the leaders of the organized church in their dispensation. The two events have a lot of the same elements. 

•  In both cases the participants went into a wilderness place apart.  For Peter James and John, Jesus lead them to a high mountain.  For Joseph Smith, he went into the woods.
• In both cases, the theophany was accompanied by great light. In Matthew it says "and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light." In JS History 1:17, Joseph Smith describes the beings "When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air."
• In both cases, the Father introduces the Son in the same way, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." in Matthew, and "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" in JS History.

What struck me this time reading through is that this form of theophany draws both from the Old Testament and Roman traditions. In the Old Testament, the presence of God is associated with a pillar of fire or light. The pillar of fire leads the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21), and when the temple is built in Jerusalem, a pillar of light fills the temple to show that God has accepted it (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). In Joseph Smith's 1835 account of the first vision, he states that the personages appeared as if in a pillar of fire, and he was surprised that the forest didn't catch on fire.  

The idea that God has a son, born of a mortal mother, and a divine father is not really an Old Testament idea. It is, however, all over Greek and Roman theology.  All the great heroes of these mythologies-- Hercules, Theseus, Odysseus, Jason, et alii--are demi-gods, with a mortal parent and a divine parent. It is no wonder that the idea of Christianity, with its half god/half mortal founder, would be successful in the Roman world. In Greek mythology, the gods also have a divine glory associated with fire and light. In the story of Zeus and Semele, Semele is burnt up when Zeus is tricked into showing himself to her in all his glory. Of course, that story doesn't have much to do with Joseph Smith, but it does show that the idea of the divine revealing themselves to mortals, accompanied by light/fire, is an old one that crosses cultures. 

In D&C 1: 24 God tells the world "after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding."  That doesn't just mean words.  It means that God uses images and symbols that are part of our culture to communicate important ideas. Both Joseph Smith's first vision and the vision on the Mount of Transfiguration are examples of God using symbols the from people's culture to communicate truth.

 

The Woman in the Wilderness from Revelation 12

 Several of the podcasters I listened to this week referred the story of the woman who is cast into the wilderness in Revelation 12. I am not sure why.  Maybe there are some key words in this chapter that refer back to the passage in Revelation, but if so, they aren't super obvious to me. More than one commentator talked about it, so there must be something there.

In that story the woman is about to give birth (Revelation 12:2) but as soon as her child is born it is taken up to heaven. Then the woman flees into the wilderness (v. 6) where is she protected while the dragon fights against Michael and his hosts. Once the war is over the dragon his hurled to earth. He then pursues the woman, but she is miraculously saved and preserved (v. 15). Then when the dark ages are over, she is brought out of the desert and enthroned with the Lamb (21:9). The podcasters compared this to the apostacy and restoration.  The true church is the woman, who, after Jesus is taken into heaven, has to flee and hide because of persecution.  This leads to apostacy which is represented by the desert. The restoration is when the church is restored by Joseph Smith and takes its place as God's true church. I think that is a good interpretation of this scripture, but I think the image doesn't just have one interpretation. 

I tried to think up all the times this pattern was reenacted.  To be clear, this is the pattern

1. a start-up group of people bring forth something great but then immediately has to flee into the wilderness for safety.
2. While in the wilderness they are protected and nurtured.
3. When they are strong enough, they emerge from hiding.  
4. They are then ready to take their place next to God. 

The first place this happens is when the children of Israel, while still a small group, produce the Abrahamic covenant and religion, but within a few generations descend into Egypt so they won't die due to a famine.  There in the wilderness, although enslaved, they grow into a mighty nation. When they get strong enough they are lead out of Egypt into the Promised Land. They eventually conquer the people of the Promised Land establishing Jehovah worship at the temple as the dominant culture. 

Most Christian religions see the woman figure as Mary, who watches over the church between the time of Jesus' death until his return. It is she who will join Jesus on the throne at his second coming.

It happens again with the Latter-Day Saints. While small, the church produces the Book of Mormon and establishes a church.  It is then driven out of the USA and hides in the desert of Deseret, protected and safe from the Civil War.  In recent decades we have seen it then emerge from obscurity to become a major force for good in the world. 

This further confirms what I wrote in my last blog.  It really was essential for the continued success of the church to leave civilization and set up camp in Utah.  The whole Doctrine and Covenants document key events in that process. There they were able to grow in both size and cultural identity until now, we have gone to almost all the world, trying to bring people back to Christ.

I am curious if there are other instances of this pattern.  It feels like an archetype--like the wilderness journey, and the hero's journey--to me.  I will have to keep my eye open for it. 

The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

 It is now January and in Come Follow Me we are starting the study of church history and the Doctrine and Covenants.  I must admit it is my least favorite year in the four year cycle of study.  I think that the last time we studied it I began to understand it better and reconcile myself to what it is and what it isn't. 

The hardest thing about the Doctrine and Covenants is that so often the Lord tells people that they should do something, and then a few chapters later he says, "because you were wicked you no longer get to do that thing.  Instead do this thing."  It is hard to feel like the Lord isn't deceiving the Saints in these instances. This is most obvious concerning the establishment of Zion. The Lord tells the people they will establish Zion in Missouri, but it ends up that they hardly spend any time in Missouri at all. Then they go to Nauvoo, and build the temple, only to have to leave it soon after it is completed. 

I have partially reconciled myself about this with the idea that God knew the end from the beginning.  He knew that he needed to get his people from New York, to Kirtland, to Missouri, and then to Illinois.  He new that he then needed to somehow get them to cross the Great Plains and end up in a fairly desolate desert in Utah where they could finally grow and flourish.  For God it was about like herding cats. The Saints would have not been prepared to move to Utah when they were in Kirkland, either emotionally or temporally. They needed the time and the motivation to want to follow the church here and there and finally clear out of the country so that they could have the protection of the vast frontier before the Civil War broke loose. God knew this, but he couldn't tell them straight forwardly, because they weren't ready to accept it. So he herded the cats from one place to another until they were ready to be swept out the back door into the valley of the Great Salt Lake.

Since I had this realization I have been able to see God working in my life in a similar way.  I feel directed to do something that then doesn't work out.  I didn't realize that direction wasn't to an end, but just to the next point in the map on the road to where I really needed to go. When I am feeling emotionally strong, I can tell myself that God knows what he is doing with my life, and I can just trust him. When I am more vulnerable I worry and cry and plead with the Lord on my knees in the middle of the night. I think, however, the trust periods are getting longer, they really are, and the cry-in-the-middle-of-the-night events... well... that still happens pretty often (:-). I guess I have a way to go.