Continuing with the comments previously mentioned in the
last post, the first sixty-nine comments were answered in the previous 19
posts, the seventieth and additional comments are answered beginning below:
Comment #70 “You
seem to know a lot, perhaps you can tell me why so many things in the Book of
Mormon are written in the “past tense” when they are about “future happenings,”
such as in 1 Nephi 14:23,27; 22:21; 25:18, etc.? The writing was supposedly
written around 600 B.C. to about 545 B.C.” Lindsey
Response: When reading the Book of Mormon, it is
helpful to understand who is speaking, who is writing, and who is telling the
events. As an example, in 1 Nephi 14:23, you have to go back to 1 Nephi 10:17
to know that, after Nephi had heard all that his father, Lehi, had said
concerning the vision he had received, Nephi said: “I, Nephi, was desirous
also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the
Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as
well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the
children of men.” From this point on, an Angel guided Nephi through the same
information or vision his father had heard and seen. This vision concerned not
only the past events, but those events that were to unfold in the future. Thus,
to the Angel, since all things are “now” with the Lord, he spoke to Nephi in
the past tense, knowing what was to take place and, to him, had already
happened—and having seen these events in the vision, Nephi would have seen them
as past events. Note that in 1 Nephi 14:5, the Angel says to Nephi, “Thou hast
beheld [that is, he had seen in the vision] that if the Gentiles [those who
would come after the Nephites in the Land of Promise] repent it shall be well
with them; and thou also knowest [from the vision] concerning the covenants of
the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard [he had been
taught] that whoso repenteth not must perish.” We need to keep in mind that to
God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, all things are known and
understood, and when He sends angels to speak to man, or provides a vision, the
events are said and shown as though already having happened. This
is one of the problems most people have in reading Isaiah in the Bible. He
continually wrote about the past, the present and the future, and sometimes
within the same sentence or paragraph, thus making his writing hard to follow
and understand. You might want to compare Ether 13:2-12, in which Moroni,
injecting his own thoughts into the Jaredite translation, jumps from the past
(Noah’s Flood) to the distant future (coming of the New Jerusalem on the
American continent) to a shorter future (coming of Lehi to the Land of Promise)
to the past (Joseph in Egypt) to a future event at the time of the Jaredites,
but a past event to him (a remnant of Israel led out of Jerusalem) to the
future again (building of a holy city to the Lord) and then jumps back and forth
several times, sometime in the same verse. Scripture, wherever it appears, is
never meant to be read like a novel—it must be studied, pondered, and
understood.
Comment #71 “In your Helaman 3:18,21,23, between the
46th and 49th year of the reign of the judges, Helaman produced two
infants. In verse 37, however, it is suggested that in the fifty and third
year, Helaman died, and his eldest son Nephi began to reign in his stead. If
these dates are correct, it would place Nephi in the judgment-seat anywhere
between his fourth and seventh birthdays. What adult population would elect a
child as chief judge. Sounds kind of fishy to me.” Guilford
Response: That would
be fishy. However, you are reading into the writing something not implied. Keep
in mind that this is Mormon’s abridgement of Helaman’s writing of which he
said, overall, he could only include 1/100th of what he was
abridging (Helaman 3:14). There are two entirely different ideas found in those
passages you list. Helaman 3:1-20 covers a ten year span and numerous events
and activities are very briefly
mentioned. In verse 21, a new thought is mentioned, that Helaman had two sons,
Nephi and Lehi, and then Mormon returns to the years of peace, prosperity, and
blessings in the land. Finally, he concludes by stating that Helaman died. We
do not know when the two sons were born, or even if they were the only children
he had, which is not likely. All we know is that Helaman had these two sons,
their names, and that after Helaman’s death, the older one, Nephi, became the Chief Judge.
Following this, Mormon begins to write about problems, contentions,
dissensions, etc., and covers Nephi’s life, and a little of Lehi’s life.
Comment #72 “Why does Alma, after receiving all the
records from Mosiah, say, “for the time cometh, we know not how soon” regarding
the Lord’s coming when Nephi wrote that “the Savior of the World” would be born
“even six hundred years form the time that my father left Jerusalem” (1 Nephi
10:4). After all, Alma had these records now in his possession.” Hamstead
Response: I suppose
an easy answer would be that maybe Alma had not yet read Nephi’s record, but
that is not the issue here. Alma is not talking about when the Lord would be
born and, by the way, 600 years does not name a month, day and time of day. However,
Alma is talking about the time the Lord would come the second time—at the conclusion of the world. Alma states: “this is for the purpose
of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time
of his coming in his glory” (Alma 13:24). Being born in a stable with very few
people knowing of it is not “in his glory.” When he comes “in his glory,” the
entire world will know it and “every knee shall bend and every tongue confess
that Jesus is the Christ.” Alma goes on to say, “And now we only wait to hear
the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the
time cometh, we know not how soon. Would to God that it might be in my day; but
let it be sooner or later, in it I will rejoice” (Alma 13:25). From the very
beginning of time, the world looked forward to the Second Coming, when the
world would pass away, righteousness would conquer evil, Satan would be bound,
and man would receive the Savior in all his glory. Alma added, “And it shall be
made known unto just and holy men, by the mouth of angels, at the time of his
coming, that the words of our fathers may be fulfilled, according to that which
they have spoken concerning him, which was according to the spirit of prophecy
which was in them” (Alma 13:26). Not knowing when that great (and dreadful) day
would come, Alma states the obvious, as all prophets do, “And now, my brethren,
I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto
pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not
procrastinate the day of your repentance” (Alma 13:27), and then goes on to
preach a marvelous sermon.
Comment #73 “How do you justify where in Alma 52:12 Ammoron, brother of the
deceased Amalickiah and a Nephite enemy, departs from the land of Zarahemla,
when Ammoron could only have been in Mulek (Alma 52:2) as Zarahemla, at that
time, was under Nephite control (Alma 51:11; 53:12).” Alexie
Response: The Land of Zarahemla was
a large area, stretching from the west sea to the east sea, and from the narrow
strip of wilderness in the south to the Land of Bountiful in the North.
Amalickiah (along with his brother Ammoron) had gone down into the Land of
Zarahemla and captured several Nephite cities. When Amalickiah is killed by
Teancum, Ammoron rushes back to the Land of Nephi, tells the queen of her
husband’s death, gathers a greater Lamanite army, and heads back to the land of
Zarahemla to battle the Nephites on the borders by the west sea. If you
actually follow the story line, you will not find a conflict.
(See the next post,
“Answering Recent Comments – Part XXI,” for more comments made about different
posts on this website)
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