Jacob 1 - That We Might Persuade Them to Come Unto Christ I'm taking an online economics class right now, which prompted me to think of the definition of economics in the context of the scriptures. Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. In the case of Nephi and his successor Jacob, the plates upon which they engraved their record was a scarce resource. They were costly to make and difficult to engrave, and instilling a tradition of passing them through generations was surely cumbersome. Recognizing the great importance of spiritual things and the challenge of maintaining records, Nephi instructed Jacob to prioritize religious instruction saying, " if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people" (Jacob 1:4). This priority was not only reflecte...
In response to my post on the wrath of God (2 Nephi 23), a missionary I served with in Taiwan reached out with the following question:
"I struggle with the passages that make god sound petty. It would seem to me that an omniscient deity who had created a perfect plan of happiness would allow free agency to abound. If the gospel is true regardless of whether or not you or I believe it, then why does god need to destroy those who don't throughout history? And why does he reserve that destruction for a lack of faith when there is true evil in the world?"
Again in 2 Nephi 26, Nephi prophesies of Christ and the destruction that awaits the wicked. "The day that cometh shall burn them up ... mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder. And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions, for the fire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them" (2 Nephi 26:4-6)
Throughout the scriptures there are numerous examples of the Lord doling severe punishment for what seem like minor infractions. Lot's wife simply looked back as she fled her home and was turned to salt (Genesis 19:26). Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead when they failed to fully live the law on consecration and lied about it (Acts 5:1-11). Laban refused to give up his rightful property (1 Nephi 3-4). And as I mentioned in my earlier post, God commanded that 3,000 of the people of Israel be slaughtered for not repenting after worshiping the golden calf (Exodus 32:26-28).
So how do we reconcile these examples with our understanding that God is our loving Heavenly Father?
Whenever I am faced with an incident in the scriptures or an aspect of doctrine that I cannot readily accept, it helps me to start with my most foundational beliefs and work my way back. Like Nephi, "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things" (1 Nephi 11:17). I also know that know that God has declared, "this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). The question then becomes, "How can this event, incident, doctrine, policy, or experience be a manifestation of God's love designed to bring to pass the salvation of His children?" Starting from this foundation of faith, a few ideas about God's wrath emerge:
It Is Better That One Man Should Perish
As a friend pointed out to me, these examples of destruction for seemingly trivial offenses came at times when the Lord had an immediate need for a pure people. The Lord has a macro view of the development and progress of His children and it constantly optimizing their chances for salvation. He only intervenes when it is necessary for the long-term propagation of the gospel and blessing the greatest proportion of His children.
Ananias and Sapphire lived when Christ's church was in its infancy and required absolute purity and obedience of its members for survival. Striking them down for failing to live the consecration and then lying about it was not about punishing their sin, but instructing the contemporary and future followers of Chris. In Acts 5:11 we learn that after Ananias and Sapphire were struck dead, "great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things." And here we are, 2,000 years later still learning lessons about the peril of spiritual death if we disobey the commandments. Part of the reason this scripture feel so outrageous is because the punishment seems disproportional to the sin. I'm not sure their destruction has as much to do with punishing their sin, per se, as it does instructing generations of followers. Ultimately all sin and all righteousness will be rewarded justly, now or at the judgement. It seems that Ananias and Sapphira faced the full wrath of their mistake up front, but in the final balance it will not be disproportionate to the punishment faced by others for the same sin, and we do not know how the rest of their story ends in the Spirit World.
God's priority for saving His children can also be seen in Nephi's slaying of Laban. Laban does not seem like a particularly righteous man, but he was only defending his rightful ownership of the brass plates. We learn, however, that his death was necessary to prevent millions of Nephites and Lamanites from hundreds of years of spiritual darkness. "Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (1 Nephi 4:13).
In the same way the Lord destroys the wicked, he also allows the righteous to perish if it serves His ultimate goal of spiritually saving as many of His children as possible. Think of Abinidi who gave his life bearing testimony, and persuaded Alma to leave king Noah's court and become a powerful missionary. Later, when Alma's son, Alma, was preaching with his companion Amulek their converts were burned alive for their beliefs "And [the wicked] brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused that they should be cast into the fire; and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by fire" (Alma 14:8). When Alma and Amulet watched in anguish and asked God if the should intervene, Alma said "The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory" (Alma 14:11).
Lastly, while it doesn't explain why God chooses to immediately and extremely punish at times, it is helpful to note that the Lord warns of destruction, He continues to love the wicked, and personally mourns them. As Nephi explained "never hath any of them been destroyed save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord" (2 Nephi 25:9). While it seems like the agency of the wicked was infringed upon because they were summarily destroyed for minor sins, the Lord did so to preserve the agency of those that would follow. Thousands and millions that followed them would only have an opportunity to choose the gospel if the wicked were destroyed in that instance. The fact that God at times destroys in wrath should not be construed as an absence of love. In addition to considering the welfare of the masses that would be impacted by not eliminating a wicked person, he love those he destroy personally, and mourns their poor choices and destruction. Nephi sums up this feeling perfectly when he foresees the destruction of his people. "O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just" (2 Nephi 26:7)
Application Questions:
Which passage of scripture or aspect of Church doctrine is most troubling to you? How could it be a manifestation of God' love? How could it facilitate the spiritual welfare of His children?
What warnings have we received from living and ancient prophets? What can you do to more exactly follow God's counsel to avoid them?
How can you reach out in love to those in your life who are making poor choices or suffering the consequences of sin?
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