| Book of Mormon |
Annotations |
|
Chapter 9
|
|
|
1 And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among
all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying:
|
|
|
2 Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of
the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his
angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my
people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are
fallen!
|
|
|
3 Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with
fire, and the inhabitants thereof.
|
3 Ne 9:3-12
Jesus had recently been crucified, and while on the cross
he said of at least the soldiers who killed him, if not also for others
around him who mocked him in his suffering, “Father, forgive them; for they
know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). They were killing the Son of God, but
the Son asked for their forgiveness.
Then, perhaps days later in these verses, the great Jehovah,
the Christ, the God who had just sacrificed himself for the sins of all
mankind, the Prince of Peace declares he has burned, drowned, and otherwise
caused the wholesale destruction of all men, women, and children in various
cities. He killed the innocent (does anyone dispute the little children would
have been innocent?), and he did it via natural disasters.
Sounds a lot like the God of the Old Testament. Or, it’s much too similar to
this Westboro Baptists quote for my liking:
“At least 5,000 Swedes are dead as a result of the
tsunamis which ravaged Thailand and the other lush resorts of that region,
and thousands more are unaccounted for. ... Scarcely a family in Sweden has
been untouched by the devastation. Bible preachers say, THANK GOD for it
all!” (Said regarding the 2004 tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands, “Free to Hate: An American Church Rejoices in Swedish Tsunami Victims”).
It is also worth noting that great cities being sunk into
the sea and covered or buried in earth, and upheavals o appear where there
had been cities would all be expected to leave massive and undeniable
geological evidence, yet there is no such evidence for such a large
cataclysmic event in that time frame as I understand it.
|
|
4 And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be
sunk in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned.
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
5 And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered
with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their
abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the
saints shall not come any more unto me against them.
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
6 And behold, the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk,
and the inhabitants thereof to be buried up in the depths of the earth;
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
7 Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof,
and the city of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem
and the inhabitants thereof; and waters have I caused to come up in the stead
thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that
the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me
against them.
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
8 And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of
Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno, all these have I
caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof; and the
inhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to hide
their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the
prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto me against them.
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
9 And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was
inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire
because of their sins and their wickedness, which was above all the
wickedness of the whole earth, because of their secret murders and
combinations; for it was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the
government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy
them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints
should not come up unto me any more against them.
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
10 And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh,
and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned
with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in
casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto
them concerning their wickedness and their abominations.
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
11 And because they did cast them all out, that there were
none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their
wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood
of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me
from the ground against them.
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
12 And many great destructions have I caused to come upon
this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their
abominations.
|
Annotation for 3 Ne 9:3-12 above
|
|
13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous
than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be
converted, that I may heal you?
|
|
|
14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye
shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you,
and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come
unto me.
|
|
|
15 Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the
heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father
from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath
the Father glorified his name.
|
|
|
16 I came unto my own, and my own received me not. And the
scriptures concerning my coming are fulfilled.
|
|
|
17 And as many as have received me, to them have I given
to become the sons of God; and even so will I to as many as shall believe on
my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses
fulfilled.
|
|
|
18 I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end.
|
|
|
19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood;
yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will
accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
|
|
|
20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken
heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and
a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even
as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their
conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it
not.
|
|
|
21 Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption
unto the world, to save the world from sin.
|
|
|
22 Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a
little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold,
for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore
repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved.
|
|