Tag: Alma 31
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A note on idolatry and culture
Idol worship in the Old Testament When Moses received the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai, the first two dealt with idol worship. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to…
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Cast out — Part 3
This is a continuation and finalization (I think) of the \”cast out\” theme and how it is used in the scriptures. It is used in different ways, but as I have shown in the previous posts in this series, it is often about removing whatever does not fit in a given environment. It may be…
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The (s)word of God — Part 1
I have written extensively about \”the word\” on this blog and apparently I cannot give it up quite yet. The word is frequently likened to a sword in the scriptures. And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds…
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The word of God — Part 3
Part 1 and part 2 were written long ago. But I just had some further thoughts sparked by this week\’s Come Follow Me lesson. A more recent post also makes a case for Alma 32 being a personal creation account, and \”word\” is a keyword to make the connection. Alma talks a lot about the…
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Internal Consistency in Alma's commandments to Shiblon
In his commandments to his son Shiblon, Alma-2 says: 13 Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.14 Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O…
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Book of Mormon – Old Testament connection series: The judges
The period of judges in the Old Testament is covered by the books of Joshua and Judges. In the Book of Mormon it is the books of Alma and Helaman. This is element C in the combined Book of Mormon – Old Testament chiasmus. As I have explained before, these connections can provide additional insight…
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The Word of God
The Word of God is a concept frequently discussed in the Book of Mormon. I believe there is much to learn about this. Though we frequently focus on the scriptures as the word of God, I believe we should shift that focus to include the words of the living prophet. I\’ll give a few examples.…
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The Anti-Rameumptom
In this article, Matthew Bowen makes a compelling case for a meaning of the name \”Onidah\” in the Book of Mormon. We encounter the Hill Onidah in Alma 32:4 as the setting for Alma-2\’s sermon about faith. Bowen sets the Hebrew meaning for Onidah as: ʿŏnî /ʿōnî/ʿônî (ʿonyî, “my affliction”) + yādaʿ/yēdaʿ (“he knew,” “he knows”) — i.e., “he has…
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"Heart" and "Soul" poetry in the Book of Mormon
I wondered after making this post how often \”heart\” and \”soul\” show up together in other parts of the Book of Mormon, so I looked and found ten other examples: Alma 12:36 36 And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the…
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A deep dive into Helaman 5, part 2 of 2
In part 1, I made note of numerous examples of internal consistency found in just the first 13 verses of Helaman 5. The remainder of the chapter also includes references to other chapters as well as an incident which is later referred to twice. Verses 14-52 — The missionary experiences of Nephi-2 and Lehi-2 In…
Book of Mormon Notes 