If I could ask them one question about
the Church’s Book of Mormon, Come Follow Me, Lesson 4
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For Jan. 20-26, 2020
1 Ne 11-15
If I wanted to encourage thought and try to understand devout believers better, I might ask:
“How might non-Mormons or Mormons who are Native Americans be affected by the Book of Mormon passages claiming Lamanites were scattered and smitten 1,000 years after their ancestors dwindled in unbelief?”
Things to consider:
- In 1 Ne 13:12, Nephi says that in a vision he, “beheld a man among the Gentiles, . . . and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.”
- The Church has declared unequivocally that this man whom the Spirit wrought upon was Christopher Columbus (Book of Mormon Student Manual for Religion 121-122 copyrighted 2009, pp. 27-28)
- Juxtaposed to the Book of Mormon portrayal of the Spirit of God inspiring Columbus is the brutality that Columbus himself would inflict and that his explorations would unleash.
- In some references to the scattering and smiting of Lamanites described in the Book of Mormon I have referred to colonial imperialism and cultural colonialism, but something about this reference to Columbus seems more aptly described as manifest destiny. Please refer to the blog post “Response to Manifest Destiny – Taught at Brigham Young University Education Week” to see what I mean.
- Many statements like the following have never been specifically denounced by the Church: “I saw a striking contrast in the progress of the Indian people today ... they are fast becoming a white and delightsome people.... For years they have been growing delightsome, and they are now becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised.... The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their brothers and sisters in the hogans on the reservation” (Elder Kimball, October 1960 General Conference; ellipses as found here. For more quotes showing this is still a problem, see “Response to Manifest Destiny – Taught at Brigham Young University Education Week”.
If you could ask believers questions about this week’s Come Follow Me lesson, what would you ask?
Have fun studying!
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If I could ask them one question, Lesson 4
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