Mormon 1:1-12
1:1 - It seems like we are brought into a reconciliation with time because before now, we've been kind of juggling back and forth between references of the past and those made in current time. HN says, "If you have tears, prepare to shed them because we come to the book of Mormon now. It starts out with a colophon which tells us it was an autograph. It was written by his own hand... This is after Cumorah, after the whole thing is finished. This is the last conclusion that he's putting in here, and it's before the other stories. Don't think that this is following in chronological order. It isn't. This is when the whole thing is over." That's kind of a bleak synopsis, but it makes sense. I thought that this was being written while the destruction was going on, like he would write in between battles, but I guess that's not the case. And it surely helps to know that this is not necessarily in chronological order, because that's the assumption that I've been going on this whole time. He starts out with a statement similar to that of Nephi's in the first verse of the book, saying, "And now I, Mormon..." The IM quotes President Gordon B. Hinckley as giving an introduction to Mormon when he said, "May I remind you for a moment of the greatness and of the goodness of this man Mormon. He lived on this American continent in the forth century after Christ. When Mormon was a boy of ten, the historian of the people, whose name was Ammaron, described him as 'a sober child, and... quick to observe.' Ammaron gave him charge that when he reached the age of twenty-four, he was to take custody of the records of the generations who had preceded him. The years that followed Mormon's childhood were years of terrible bloodshed for his nation, the result of a long and vicious and terrible war between those who were called Nephites and those who were called Lamanites. Mormon later became the leader of the armies of the Nephites and witnessed the carnage of his people, making it plain to them that their repeated defeats came because they forsook the Lord and He in turn abandoned them... He wrote to our generation with words of warning and pleading, proclaiming with eloquence his testimony of the resurrected Christ. He warned of calamities to come if we should forsake the ways of the Lord as his own people had done. Knowing that his own life would soon be brought to an end, as his enemies hunted the survivors, he pleaded for our generation to walk with faith, hope, and charity, declaring 'Charity if the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.' Such was the goodness, the strength, the power, the faith, the prophetic heart of the prophet-leader Mormon." One statement that really stood out to me was that, as his last words, knowing that he was going to die soon, "he pleaded for our generation to walk with faith, hope, and charity." It really put an exclamation point on this, I hadn't thought about the fast that Mormon knew his death was imminent, and I thought, "what would my last message be if I knew that I was going to die?" It's not the same, but last week was the last Sunday I was in the nursery before I went to my new ward, because I moved. As I was saying goodbye to the kids like I do every week, it hit me that this was the last time I might see some of them, and so I thought, "if they could only remember one thing that I told them, what would I want it to be?" I told them, "Always say your prayers, always read your scriptures, and always follow the prophet." I told them that like 5 times and yes they are only 3 years old, but who knows, maybe it will get buried in their subconscious, I realized in that time, that that would be my dying message to my children. "Always say your prayers, always read your scriptures, and always follow the prophet," this is the lesson that I've learned throughout my life.
1:2-5 - Even though we've heard about him in the book the whole time, we are just now beginning to learn who Mormon really is, and HN says, "Now obviously, Mormon was in all modesty a phenomenal person. He was chosen to lead the armies at sixteen (there have been generals that young before); he was recognized as a person of amazing gifts and talents. He's the one man about whom the whole thing centers here. He supports the people, then he withdraws himself. Then it breaks his heart; he has to go back to them again, etc. He's perhaps the most outsized figure in the Book of Mormon... But Mormon is the most tragic figure, and he is the most epic figure, actually, even more than the brother of Jared." A little bit of insight there into who Mormon is, and Ammaron, the keeper of the records at the time, sees Mormon's potential, and I'm sure with the help of the Lord he goes to the 10 year old boy and tells him, "I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe; Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that ago go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people." It's interesting to me because Ammaron had enough foresight to assign that task to Mormon before he died, and I also think it's interesting that he didn't give Mormon the exact location of the plates, he just told him that they were buried in a hill. He knew that Mormon would have to be guided by the Holy Ghost in order to actually find the plates, but gave him enough information to get started. So the plates were passed on, but still protected from the possibility of Mormon turning wicked like everyone else and using the plates for personal gain. HN has an interesting side note here, "The hill of Shim in very interesting. What's the Arabic word for shim? It means north, north country. Shim is north in any Semitic language. Of course, you get shimal from that- the same sort of thing, the left hand when you're facing east. It's the left. And sure enough we learn a little later on that when they go further north, they get to the hill Shim. So here's another one of those places where the Book of Mormon just casually tosses off just a bit of evidence at no extra charge. But people don't notice these things. Therefore, go to the hill Shim, 'and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.' He knew that the movement would be northward. It wouldn't be safe for them to remain south when they start into this long tragic retreat here." Another example of Ammaron's foresight as far as when, where, and how he secured the plates.
1:6-12 - Mormon tells us that when he was 11 years old, so just after Ammaron had told him the things concerning the plates, his father moves their family "southward, even to the land of Zarahemla." HN reminds us that this is coming from the point of view of a child, being taken to the big city, with all the people, I'd imagine it's the same kind of feeling that a kid might have going to New York or LA. He also comments on the population of Zarahemla as being "as numerous, almost, as it were the sands of the sea." This is a really interesting phrase because it's in the scriptures all the time, talking about Abraham's posterity, talking about those who will end up in the telestial kingdom, etc. And it's always been kind of an overwhelming concept for me, statistics wise, but HN gives a much more understandable explanation of this phrase. he says, "Now this in important for the Book of Mormon, you see. We talk about such vast numbers- well we'll see what vast numbers are. When they gather all their forces for a big for a big war down here, how many do they have in the army? Thirty thousand- that's just one division. In our army 27,000 would make a division. He calls that as numerous as the sands of the sea. Well, as an eleven-year-old, he's impressed. You'd be impressed with these things. So we have to be very careful and not be simplistic when we read the Book of Mormon. When this kid tells us that people in Zarahemla were as numerous as the sands of the sea, how many hundred trillion people are there? It doesn't mean that at all. It's a metaphor here, as it were the sands of the sea." I really like that explanation, I think that it gives some great perspective on that phrase, because I'm the type of person who thinks, "ok if the telestial kingdom has people as numerous as the sands of the sea, what do that mean is going to happen to me and my loved ones, statistically?" I know it doesn't work like that, but it's a source of anxiety for me when I think about that.
1:2-5 - Even though we've heard about him in the book the whole time, we are just now beginning to learn who Mormon really is, and HN says, "Now obviously, Mormon was in all modesty a phenomenal person. He was chosen to lead the armies at sixteen (there have been generals that young before); he was recognized as a person of amazing gifts and talents. He's the one man about whom the whole thing centers here. He supports the people, then he withdraws himself. Then it breaks his heart; he has to go back to them again, etc. He's perhaps the most outsized figure in the Book of Mormon... But Mormon is the most tragic figure, and he is the most epic figure, actually, even more than the brother of Jared." A little bit of insight there into who Mormon is, and Ammaron, the keeper of the records at the time, sees Mormon's potential, and I'm sure with the help of the Lord he goes to the 10 year old boy and tells him, "I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe; Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that ago go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people." It's interesting to me because Ammaron had enough foresight to assign that task to Mormon before he died, and I also think it's interesting that he didn't give Mormon the exact location of the plates, he just told him that they were buried in a hill. He knew that Mormon would have to be guided by the Holy Ghost in order to actually find the plates, but gave him enough information to get started. So the plates were passed on, but still protected from the possibility of Mormon turning wicked like everyone else and using the plates for personal gain. HN has an interesting side note here, "The hill of Shim in very interesting. What's the Arabic word for shim? It means north, north country. Shim is north in any Semitic language. Of course, you get shimal from that- the same sort of thing, the left hand when you're facing east. It's the left. And sure enough we learn a little later on that when they go further north, they get to the hill Shim. So here's another one of those places where the Book of Mormon just casually tosses off just a bit of evidence at no extra charge. But people don't notice these things. Therefore, go to the hill Shim, 'and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.' He knew that the movement would be northward. It wouldn't be safe for them to remain south when they start into this long tragic retreat here." Another example of Ammaron's foresight as far as when, where, and how he secured the plates.
1:6-12 - Mormon tells us that when he was 11 years old, so just after Ammaron had told him the things concerning the plates, his father moves their family "southward, even to the land of Zarahemla." HN reminds us that this is coming from the point of view of a child, being taken to the big city, with all the people, I'd imagine it's the same kind of feeling that a kid might have going to New York or LA. He also comments on the population of Zarahemla as being "as numerous, almost, as it were the sands of the sea." This is a really interesting phrase because it's in the scriptures all the time, talking about Abraham's posterity, talking about those who will end up in the telestial kingdom, etc. And it's always been kind of an overwhelming concept for me, statistics wise, but HN gives a much more understandable explanation of this phrase. he says, "Now this in important for the Book of Mormon, you see. We talk about such vast numbers- well we'll see what vast numbers are. When they gather all their forces for a big for a big war down here, how many do they have in the army? Thirty thousand- that's just one division. In our army 27,000 would make a division. He calls that as numerous as the sands of the sea. Well, as an eleven-year-old, he's impressed. You'd be impressed with these things. So we have to be very careful and not be simplistic when we read the Book of Mormon. When this kid tells us that people in Zarahemla were as numerous as the sands of the sea, how many hundred trillion people are there? It doesn't mean that at all. It's a metaphor here, as it were the sands of the sea." I really like that explanation, I think that it gives some great perspective on that phrase, because I'm the type of person who thinks, "ok if the telestial kingdom has people as numerous as the sands of the sea, what do that mean is going to happen to me and my loved ones, statistically?" I know it doesn't work like that, but it's a source of anxiety for me when I think about that.
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