tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6275804374019732213.post1830414012085203331..comments2024-03-26T10:31:54.453-07:00Comments on Book of Mormon setting: Cumorah and the Three Witnessesjonathan3dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05379975395372054926noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6275804374019732213.post-24537790105406472362020-01-25T21:33:47.862-08:002020-01-25T21:33:47.862-08:00Thank you kindly, internet friend. I’m not looking...Thank you kindly, internet friend. I’m not looking to be right or wrong, but I appreciate the sentiment. <br /><br />Personally, turning the Book of Mormon into allegory and metaphor is not a place I want to go. Justification takes many strange paths and it’s very tempting to “advocate those personal theories” and relay it in a “ any setting or manner that would imply either prophetic or Church support for those theories.”<br /><br />Thanks for the kind words, but this is probably where our paths diverge. Roryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464871210618980262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6275804374019732213.post-61703645263209575282020-01-25T18:01:28.489-08:002020-01-25T18:01:28.489-08:00Rory, you are right. The Book of Mormon is a real...Rory, you are right. The Book of Mormon is a real history of a real people in a real place. Other than that, I'm out of my league to try to explain the nuances of Book of Mormon references to a "promised land." I am not a scholar on any topic, but I have some sense of what a promised land means to me.<br /><br />In 2 Nephi 1:5 we read that “Notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed.” The First Presidency statement in the Gospel Topics Essay on the website explains that the events described in the Book of Mormon "took place in the ancient Americas" and that has always met my geographical needs in reading and relating the message of the Book to my own life.<br /><br />Lehi's destination was to be a "land of promise," meaning it was more than an exceptional place to dwell and prosper - it was to be a "place of promises" or covenants...a place where God would covenant with His people for their eternal benefit. This land of promises was always spoken of as part of the "inheritance" he would bestow on them, conditioned upon their faithfulness to the covenants. I have never imagined in my study of the Book that the land was necessarily blessed by his promises but that the people would be blessed if they kept the covenants He was willing to make with them.<br /><br />Even though Lehi's family landed in a "land of promise" it never had much of an effect on Laman or Lemuel. They never prospered in the land because they never made nor kept the covenants required to receive the blessings. In the end the entire Lamanite and Nephite nations never prospered in this "land of promises" because they didn't keep or make promises with the Lord.<br /><br />The destination of Lehi's family and the place where they grew and multiplied for 1,000 years held such promise for them - but in the end the "land" was never really blessed because they refused the inheritance...or in other words they refused the conditions upon which the inheritance was based.<br /><br />That land of promises - wherever it was physically located in the ancient Americas - has no real bearing on us today, for it is not the land that desperately needed the promised blessings - it was the people. And so it is today, it really won't matter what blessings flow with the "land of promises" if His people don't keep the promises.<br /><br />God bless us both in our study of the Book of Mormon this year. You are absolutely right - no one needs a blogpost to discover the most essential answers to their particular life questions. It's in the Book and in the words of modern prophets.<br /><br />In the end I can only rely on what President Nelson is telling us today on the subject of "where" that land is - and he said "the Lord has not spoken."<br /><br />Best,<br />FDHFDHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08965853399898000279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6275804374019732213.post-85362466014442095082020-01-24T23:02:04.595-08:002020-01-24T23:02:04.595-08:00The reality here is to choose whether the Book of ...The reality here is to choose whether the Book of Mormon is real history of a REAL people in a REAL place. I respectfully disagree with the statement that the Lord hasn't spoken on these things. For me, it's terribly difficult to sift through the large amount of cognitive dissonance this statement presents when reading through the Book of Mormon BECAUSE of the prophecies, revelations, and covenants being tied so tightly with the land in which the people lived. Didn't that stuff come from the Lord? In this case, I can see clearly that the Lord hasn't revealed or spoken on many specifics, but one can't deny that the Book of Mormon speaks specifically about the LAND quite often. So...what to do, if anything? <br /><br />If you care, I propose a few questions while you study your Book of Mormon this year. Does the promised land matter to the people who wrote the on the plates? Why? What are the covenants associated with the land(s) of the Nephites, Lamenites, and Jaredites? Are those covenants still in effect? Why? How important is for me to know where the promised land is at this time? Why? <br /><br />I'm telling you, the Book of Mormon can answer all of these for you. You may find that you don't need all these blog posts, and you do your own thing because you have the Book of Mormon before you. Roryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464871210618980262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6275804374019732213.post-83016963182859849362020-01-23T19:42:48.360-08:002020-01-23T19:42:48.360-08:00Brother Neville,
It seems odd that you would cont...Brother Neville,<br /><br />It seems odd that you would continue to cite statements of past Church leaders to support your ideology on Book of Mormon Geography in light of the First Presidency's request on their official website (ChurchofJesusChrist.Org) that asks you not to do that very thing in ANY setting or manner that would imply either prophetic or Church support of your theories.<br />Their statement asking that you not do this reads:<br />.....<br />"Individuals may have their own opinions regarding Book of Mormon geography and other such matters about which the Lord has not spoken. However, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles urge leaders and members not to advocate those personal theories in any setting or manner that would imply either prophetic or Church support for those theories."<br />.....<br /><br />It's pretty clear to us long-time readers of your blogs that you regularly rely on the statements of past prophets (today it is Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff) to imply support for your ideology. If you want to be credible I, for one, would hope you would comply with our First Presidency's request so that your readers will not be confused or be forced to "choose which prophets they will follow", which is surely in the mind of todays leaders.<br /><br />Thank you for considering this suggestion. FDHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08965853399898000279noreply@blogger.com