Episode 14: In Hearts, to Heads, from Towers (Mosiah 1-2)

A kick in the pants: that's what society needs sometimes.  Through-out the scriptures and throughout history we see examples of great reformers who take a moment to bring their head up, look around, and really see where everyone is...and where they should be.

The succession of Nephite kings in this portion of the Book of Mormon all fit that description.  King Mosiah I led his people to a new land where they made an alliance with the inhabitants of that new land, forming a new people in the new land--although for the people already there it was actually an old land, and so the people of the old land mixed with the new people to make a newer hybrid people in the new-old land of the old-new people.  Then!  King Mosiah's son, King Benjamin, solidified that alliance through active social and religious campaigns aimed at bringing order and cohesiveness to this new, hybrid nation.  Then!  His son, King Mosiah II, oversaw the continuation and realization of his father's efforts, eventually implementing a new system of government to meet the needs of this new people in the new land (that to some was an old land)--a system of government that would remain in place until their eventual national demise.

Hugh Nibley makes an interesting point that the name "Mosiah" is a combination of the names of two great reformers in Judaism: Moses and Josiah.  Moses was, of course, the prophet who led the children of Israel out of captivity in Egypt and not only reminded them of, but also renewed the covenant between them and God.  He also oversaw the implementation of a new form of government, as well as new laws and other social reform, amongst his people.  King Josiah was a righteous king of Jerusalem who brought in a number of sweeping reforms that ousted the idol gods that had by then infected almost the entire kingdom of Judah, as well as reinstated the traditional religious practices given their people by Moses and other prophets.

Among the most famous examples of cultures being
eclipsed by other cultures is that of the collision between
Europeans and the native inhabitants of the Americas.

Being a prophet-king, it's only fitting that Mosiah should bear a name that reflects a prophet and a king who were each great reformers among their people.  Nevertheless, as anyone familiar with the history of the United States knows all too well, it is not always easy to create true cohesion between differing cultures.  The most common outcome is that one culture feels threatened by extinction (and not infrequently on a valid basis), fearing that their way of life will be eclipsed and eventually erased by the presence and influence of the other.

Even if the two cultures trying
to coexist share the same skin-
color and have similar roots, it
is by no means guaranteed they
will get along: this sign, a com-
mon sight in the 19th century in
the U.S., illustrates that.  In fact,
these signs were so common that
they gained their own moniker:
"NINA signs" (No Irish Need
Apply). 

So, it's no surprise that, after King Mosiah I came into the land of Zarahemla and attempted to unite the Nephites and Zarahemlites, his son and successor had to spend his life trying to "make it stick."

There are a lot of parallels that can be drawn here between the story of the Nephites/Zarahemlites and the Israelites/Canaanites.  I first found and explored this parallel through a side-by-side comparison of Mosiah chapters 1-2 with Deuteronomy chapter 6. (Later, when we get to Alma 5, I'm going to bring this parallel up again, because it works there as well).  Here are a few of them:

The Israelites' wilderness...

...and (possibly) the Nephites'
wilderness.

In both cases--in Mosiah and Deuteronomy--you had a people who had recently gone through much hardship, spent time in the wilderness, were being reminded of their covenants, and were on the
cusp of a new era in their history.




Deuteronomy 6 contains a great address given by Moses to his people;

and beginning in Mosiah 2, King Benjamin likewise crowned the administrations and ministries of he and his father through a great, national address.

An example of a "yoke": a crossbeam that rests
across one's shoulders, used to carry heavy loads.

In Deut. 6:4, Moses began by saying, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord." That word, "hear," is "shema" in Hebrew, and "Shema Yisrael" is "the title of a prayer that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewish prayer services" (Wikipedia: "Shema Yisrael"). The recitation of the first two lines of this prayer (which are found in Deut. 6:4) is known as the "acceptance of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven." I think the Savior was tapping into this when he said in Matt. 11:29-30, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me (because His yoke is the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven); for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  And what, exactly, is this yoke?  In 1 John 5:3, the apostle explained: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous" (or, in other words, His "yoke is easy, and [His] burden is light").  John knew of what he was speaking because he was present when, during the Savior's earthly ministry, we find another example of Christ using the powerful context of the Shema:

The first commandment has always been
to love God: additional commandments
come up because of transgression and
man's chronic refusal to be led by the
Spirit (or, in other words, we "ask" for
more commandments).  We also add to
our burden through an over-reliance
on our own perceived righteousness
rather than Christ's atonement.  A gos-
pel focused only on "works" is a two-
legged stool.  And this load only gets
heavier until we must conclude that we
are not strong enough to carry it on our
own: then, we are finally ready to ask for
help.  When that happens, our natures
change so that we are not "asking" for
more commandments quite as much, but
rather, we ask for God's help.  Thus led by
the Spirit, rather than the law, we become
"agents to act" (through the Spirit), rather
than "to be acted upon" (by the law), and
our burden truly becomes light.

"And one of the scribes came, and...asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength ... And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou has said the truth: for there is one God; ...And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength...is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. [And] Jesus...said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:28-34).

This scribe had truly taken upon himself the "yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven" because he understood that "to obey is better than sacrifice," and obedience--true obedience--comes from love.  Thus, if the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven is accepting God's commandments, and the first of the commandments is to love God, and the love of God leads to the keeping of commandments, well...it may seem like a "chicken-or-the-egg" puzzle but who cares--the point is, if you worry more about loving God than about simply keeping His commandments, you're headed in the right direction.  A change of behavior results from a change of heart.

King Benjamin likewise came out of the gate swinging in the opening of his speech: "My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, ...I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak unto you this day, ...but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear (shema!), and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view" (Mosiah 2:9).

It would also be beneficial to take note of King Benjamin's tax policies.  I'm sure you're scratching your head right now, but I'll explain.  Throughout the Book of Mormon we see the phrase, "that which is grievous to be borne," used to describe heavy tax burdens.  This phrase often accompanies the descriptions of wicked kings, such as the case in which Limhi discussed the heavy tax burden placed on he and his people by the Lamanite king.  He asked rhetorically: "Is not this grievous to be borne"(Mos. 7:23)? The opposite example is seen in King Benjamin's statement that he had labored with his own hands to serve his people, rather than the usual attitude we associate with kings (that their people serve them). King Benjamin said he did this that "there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne" (Mos. 2:14).  His example of Christlike leadership brings greater depth to John's words cited above concerning God's commandments: "[A]nd his commandments are not grievous." The Savior--the King of Kings--came to earth to minister, and not to be ministered to.

Let's go back to Moses.  He next told the children of Israel, "love the Lord thy God with all thine heart" (just like we saw above when Christ cited these very words). Then, Moses illustrated how to love the Lord in the very next verse: just as King Benjamin encouraged his people to open their hearts that they might understand, Moses said, "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart."  I've noticed on more than one occasion Pres. Eyring saying of the doctrine on which he is expounding, that it "must go down into [our] hearts."

In the temple, we are taught through the symbolism of a compass how the desires and passions of our

Geometry compass

hearts must be kept within the bounds set by the Lord.  These are not bounds set by laws or commandments--those are the things of the mind, or of the intellect (and don't forget, they are the "training wheels"); rather, these are bounds we set ourselves through our love of the Lord.  How often are we shown in the scriptures that the Holy Ghost communicates to man in his bosom (or, in his heart), and not his head?  The Spirit goes straight to our core--to our passions and wills--and speaks to us there.

The concept used in a compass (i.e. using a fixed point
to create, in essence, a tiny orbit) has done more than
simply help mankind make really nice circles.  We see
this concept everywhere in nature, and it has helped man
explain the universe.  Planetary orbits are held together
through gravity: "a natural phenomenon by which all
physical bodies attract each other."  Think about that:
planetary orbit is maintained through mutual attraction.
Both parties are investing in their orbit; and even if a
larger, more powerful party like the sun is able to invest
an exponentially larger amount than a smaller, weaker
party, like the earth, it is still enough.  Regardless of how
little the earth can contribute to the gravity of its orbit in
comparison with the sun's contribution, it is still enough
to maintain that orbit.  The sun makes up the rest...   

And, if we are told in D&C 121 that the priesthood "rules" through persuasion and long-suffering, then we know that that is how Heavenly Father works as well: through guidance that leads to self-governance in his children.  We get beyond the "reward and punishment" dogma that so many people perceive as being the essence of religion.  We arrive at a state of becoming.

(Stop for a moment and go back to re-read that last paragraph--it's important).



Okay, once again, getting back to Moses...

In Deut. 6:7, 20-25, we see some counsel on teaching one's children.  Moses encouraged his people to teach their children about God's commandments and covenants; and in doing so, they should teach their children (I'm gonna paraphrase here): "we were in captivity (vs. 21), but God showed us miracles and mercy (vs. 22), and He delivered us (vs.23), and He commanded us to obey Him so that He could continue to protect us (vs.24), and if we obey, it is counted unto us for righteousness" (vs. 25).

King Benjamin lived up to this counsel.  We are told in Mos. 1:2-5 that he taught his children about the covenants of God through the lessons, prophecies, and ordinances discussed in the scriptures.  He made a point to them that, "were it not for these things (their records, or scriptures), we must have suffered in ignorance," and again, "were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief."

Those words he uses right there, "always before our eyes," are an obvious reference to Moses' words in Deut. 6:8: "And they (the commandments and miracles of God) shall be as frontlets between thine eyes."  This was the counsel that led to the creation of phylacteries--tiny boxes strapped to one's forehead...









...inside of which is a tiny piece of paper, on which is a tiny prayer written in tiny letters...

...and became such an indelible part of Jewish culture and tradition that it is still practiced to this day:

This also reminds me of the line in D&C 4 that I rehearse with the Aaronic Priesthood of our ward every week: "with an eye single to the glory of God."  Some may think that wearing a little box to one's forehead, as well as another box strapped about one's arm (as seen in the picture to the left) is kind of weird.  But, then again, it's kind of weird to go to some far off place and walk around for two years in a white shirt and tie with a black name tag telling people about a book from God given to a farm boy in 19th century rural America.

I can't help but respect that "I don't care" attitude in people who are willing to demonstrate their faith in ways that might even bring ridicule from others.


If we move to the next portion of counsel that Benjamin gave his sons, he tells them in Mos. 1:7, "I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers."

This idea of spiritual blessings tied to something temporal, like one's land of inheritance, is a huge part of Judaism.  If we look back at Deut., Moses admonishes: "And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers...to give thee great and goodly cities...and houses full of all good things... And thou shalt do that which is right...that thou mayest go in and possess the good land" (6:10-11, 18).  But he accompanies the promise with this warning: "then beware lest thou forget the Lord."  Or, as Mosiah put it (in vs. 7 again): "And I would that ye should remember."

With this injunction, Moses told the children of Israel: "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, ... ye shall not go after other gods, or the gods of the people around you, ... ye shall diligently keep the commandments" (Deut. 6:13-14,17).

King Benjamin told his sons, concerning God's commandments and the scriptures: "search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby" (Mos. 1:7).  A few verses later, he demonstrated to his sons the results of such diligence when he told them, "I shall give this people (the Nephites/Zarahemlites) a name, that thereby they may be distinguished above all the people which the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I do because they have been a diligent people in keeping the commandments of the Lord" (vs. 11).  This was an important step--don't forget that he was given the unenviable task of uniting two peoples into a single nation.  Having a single, unified, national identity was a crucial step for them.  And what was this name he gave them?  The best possible name for uniting any group of people: the name of Christ!  A few chapters later, in the midst of his speech to his people, and after they had all indicated to him their willingness to renew their covenant as God's people by entering into a covenant that day to serve and obey Him, King Benjamin said, "And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ ... And under this head ye are made free...; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.  And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this...shall be called by the name of Christ" (Mos. 5:7-9).  And then he brings it all back nicely into one, eternal round, by once again touching on the imagery he'd used at the beginning of his speech: "I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts."

Now the people understood what Mosiah meant when he told them at the beginning of his speech to "open" their hearts that they "might understand"; now they knew what Moses meant when he said, "love the Lord thy God with all thine heart," and, "these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart."  Remember that one of the names for Christ is, "the Word."