The Mourning Star : The Word was Made Flesh

Some of the following concepts were presented in a prior blog entitled Lay Not Our Swords Upon the Shelf. However, some of these are presented herein using another perspective:

Following their transgression, Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden and were thereafter appointed to sorrow[1] because of their separation from God. From the time of their exile forward, they were honored to hear the “voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden,” but they “saw him not; for they were shut out of his presence.”[2] As inheritors of this fallen state, their children are likewise remanded to this “lone[3] and dreary world” to experience, to one degree or another, a life of sorrowing. If they so qualify, they are also privileged to hear the voice of the Lord, but it is equally “as the voice of one crying in the wilderness . . . because they cannot see him.”[4]

Making the way back to God’s presence, then, is a matter of entering through the gate that places one on “the way toward the Garden” and, thereafter, hearkening to the Voice to acquire that knowledge and those attributes of which it is life eternal to possess, for “the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name,[5] and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice[6] of strangers.”[7]

As in the case with Adam and Eve, God’s voice is most commonly dispatched by 1) His angels[8]; 2) His servants[9]; 3) His words[10]; and 4) His Spirit.[11] Rarely has His own voice been personally heard. Regardless of the medium through which God’s voice is sent, hearkening to it brings enlightenment, wisdom, and understanding.

Aside from these four expressions of God’s voice, there yet remains an expression that is divine above all. It is the voice of His Son, the very WORD of God.[12] He is the embodiment of God’s voice—the personification of “every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God,”[13] for “the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”[14] Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword,[15] and with it He shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil.[16] And whosoever will, may lay hold upon the end of this rod of iron,[17] and be led[18] “in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked.”[19]

Attempting to better understand this sharp sword that goes out of God’s mouth is a task worth embracing. Before doing so, however, it is important to remind the reader of a mathematical formula--that equality is maintained when one variable is substituted for another variable of equal value. For example, if a = b and b = c, then a = c. This mathematical principle is sometimes called substitution and applies to scriptural principles as well. To illustrate, if the rod of iron = the word of God[20] and the word of God = a sharp sword,[21] then, by substitution, the rod of iron = a sharp sword. A host of verses defend this mathematical relationship. In his letter to the Hebrews, for example, the apostle Paul wrote: “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.”[22] In more recent times, the Lord similarly declared: “Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than [any] two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow.”[23]

Assuming this scriptural equality holds together, one might then ask, “What is sharper than any two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder both joints and marrow?” In response, swordsmen know that a knife can be sharpened to a razor’s edge, and constructing such a knife to exceed the dimensions of a sword would produce an instrument of sufficient weight, length, and serration to cut through joint and marrow with but a few quick, powerful strokes.

When, as instructed by the Lord, Abraham set out to offer his son on Mount Moriah, the record states that he took a knife with him.[24] Despite what is shown in the artistry of today, this was not an ordinary kitchen utensil. The Hebrew word for this knife is ma'akeleth, which is translated from the root 'akal meaning “to consume, devour, or destroy.” To better envision this knife and its dimensions, it is helpful to look at a verse that contains this noun and makes a comparison. In Proverbs 30:14, it reads: “There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth are as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.” Front teeth slice and cut, as would a two-edged sword. But jaw teeth display immense strength, with power to crush through bone and to devour completely. This metaphor illustrates the type of knife Abraham had with him as he ascended the mount—extraordinarily sharp and sufficiently large to cut through joint and marrow with quick, powerful strokes. Although without scriptural support, I suggest this was the knife that Abram used to divide in the midst (i.e., through joints, bone, and marrow) the animals slaughtered in connection with the oath of the covenant.[25]

Returning to a revelation given to the prophet Joseph Smith, ma'akeleth is described both as a warrior's weapon used by ancient Israel and as their primary instrument used in the harvest:

Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words.

Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.

Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God. (D&C 6:2-4).

Indeed, Israel was feared because of this farmer's weapon used to slay their enemies. As reflected in these verses, it continues to be the weapon favored by latter-day saints in the work of gathering and subduing their enemies because it has a "more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which [may happen] unto them".[26] “This [sword] is the word of God,”[27] wrote Smith and Sjodahl. Equating this sword with the word of God, as Smith and Sjodahl have done, accords perfectly with the apostle Paul’s letter to the Ephesians wherein, concerning the armor of God, he wrote: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”[28] Such a view lends support to the idea that the end of the rod of iron is the hilt of a sharp sword to which one “catches hold” and “holds fast” thereby reminding him that “clinging” and “holding fast” to the word of God are not passive activities. Hence, catching “hold of the end of the rod of iron” suggests grasping the hilt of a dreadful sword which, when wielded, is capable of dividing asunder all that it strikes. Such would be a formidable weapon—one with judgment in its stroke and destruction in its wake. The images developed are a reminder that it is a war in which the Saints of God are engaged;[29] not a promenade with a stair railing.

Interestingly, the rod of iron is also portrayed within scripture as a scepter with which the Lord shall rule the nations as “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” In this regard, it is worth noting that rod and scepter are both translated from the Hebrew word shebet. Associating the rod with a scepter is significant because it calls to mind Moses on the shores of the Red Sea stretching out his shepherd’s staff to divide the waters. Of this event, it is recorded:

But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry [ground] through the midst of the sea.

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left.[30]

The metaphor is unmistakable—in the hand of Moses, the scepter divided the sea asunder and then, in the hand of the prophet, led the children of Israel through the midst of the sea to a land of promise. How much like this is the rod of iron in Lehi’s dream! And Paul reminded the Hebrews that Aaron’s rod budded, thereby, demonstrating that the rod, or word, is living,[31] just as the word is elsewhere described as quick.[32] And thus “we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and that snares and wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven.”[33]

Lastly, applying the principle of substitution one more time suggests that the rod of iron is ultimately Christ, the person. To illustrate, if the rod of iron is the word of God and if the word of God is the WORD of God, then, by substitution, the rod of iron is the WORD of God. This view is aptly supported by the Brethren and the Book of Mormon wherein the rod of iron is portrayed as an instrument that will lead the man of Christ through a wilderness to a land of promise.[34] The Liahona is also portrayed as one such instrument. But in each case where a means is provided to guide God’s people through a wilderness, the reminder is given that the instrument is really symbolic of the one true Director.[35] Thus, after obtaining the Liahona and being guided by it, the Lord spake to Nephi:

And I will be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.

Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem.[36]

Moses was similarly reminded that the Angel that went before the tabernacle of the congregation was, in reality, the Lord God—that He was the One who would lead them; that He was the One who would “keep the way” and bring them into a land of promise; that He was the voice to whom Israel must hearken; and that He was the Sharp Sword who would be an enemy unto the enemies of Israel. To Moses, the Lord declared: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions; for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.”[37]

Of the voices that speak for God, only one—His Son—is a personification of His voice. Because of this distinction, Christ is the WORD—the Divine Expression of all that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. Therefore, the Father has, in most instances, simply appeared to men to exclaim: “Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—HEAR YE HIM.”[38] No matter how the rod of iron may be portrayed, there can be no mistake in associating it with the Holy One of Israel. If one hearkens to His voice and cleaves unto Him, he will indeed be “led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God.”[39]

In the foregoing, I have identified six expressions of God’s voice: 1) God’s own voice; 2) the voice of His Son; 3) the voice of His Spirit; 4) the voice of His angels; 5) the voice of His servants; and 6) the voice of His written word. If one ignores or rejects each of these,[40] God shall yet utter a voice from which none shall escape—a voice reserved for “days of wickedness and vengeance.”[41] Concerning this voice, the prophet Zenos wrote: “The Lord God surely shall visit all the house of Israel at that day (i.e., the meridian of time), some with his voice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the thunderings and the lightnings of his power, by tempest, by fire, and by smoke, and vapor of darkness, and by the opening of the earth, and by mountains which shall be carried up . . . . And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.”[42]

Because Israel has remained deaf to the voice of God, His voice of vengeance shall again be heard in the “last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance;”[43] for “after your testimony,” warned the Lord, “cometh wrath and indignation upon the people. For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.”[44] Indeed, since Israel has turned its ear against the “still, small voice,” God will slowly but surely lift His voice till it is a deafening roar heard throughout the land.

I bear witness that the word taught by John was made flesh and dwelt among us and that Jesus Christ is that WORD of God. I testify that His atonement, example, priesthood and love are more powerful than the sword in subduing all who we think to be our enemies. Likewise, I am satisfied that no mortal man has ever weilded this powerful sword better and more completely than the dear prophet, Joseph Smith. He is the righteousness sent down out of heaven to bear witness of this Only Begotten Son and His resurrection. Together, these two individuals, Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith form the most formidable warrior for good the earth has ever known.

FOOTNOTES

[1] The sorrowing Adam and Eve were “appointed to” was more directed to the broken heart and contrite spirit than to a simple sadness. It is worthy to note that the word “strait,” often portrayed as meaning “narrow,” may more precisely mean “afflicting” (see Jeremiah 19:9, particularly footnote c). As will be later shown, the affliction which one must experience because of the way is an afflicting of the heart. Thus, a “strait way” is one that brings one’s heart into subjection. A “narrow way” is one which keeps one’s hands and feet within prescribed limits. A “strait and narrow way,” then, is one which brings the whole person into subjection to God and in compliance with gospel law. This way is symbolized no place more clearly that in the House of the Lord.

[2] Moses 5:4.

[3] The word “lone” more specifically means “only, having no company, or alone in a class or category.” Maybe it is true that this earth was cast so far from the presence of God that it “stands in a world of its own,” housing the most wicked of His creations (compare Moses 7:36). To think that I have been privileged to live on the only dreary world in God's galaxy brings feelings of joy and sorrow.

[4] D&C 88:66.

[5] The name by which He calls His sheep is “Christ” (see Alma 5:37-38).

[6] The apostle Paul wrote: “There are . . . so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification” (1 Corinthians 14:10). Every voice has significance and is distinct. The voice of the stranger is loud, persistent, persuasive, and often appealing. For the greater part of this life’s journey, the voice of God is still and small. For this reason, one should avoid situations and places where the voice of the stranger is present, as his voice may effectively smother out the most important voice. “Someone has compared human consciousness to a great stream of thoughts and feelings. Every waking moment of our lives our minds are filled with thoughts and we are experiencing feelings. It is like a mighty Mississippi River of thinking and feeling . . . . So when we receive a thought or a feeling through the Holy Ghost, how do we recognize it as being different from our own? How do we distinguish it from this never-ending flow of our own thoughts and feelings? To use the river analogy, it is as though from time to time there is a soft plop as one of the Lord’s ‘pebbles’ is dropped into this mighty Mississippi of our consciousness. Should we be surprised, then, that many times when the Lord speaks to us in this way we miss it entirely? (see Lund, Gerald N., Hearing the Voice of the Lord, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, UT 2007, 53-54). To this I might add that the prospect of hearing the “soft plop” diminishes as the flow of the water increases. The “soft plop” of a pebble dropped into a raging river simply cannot be discerned amidst the turbulence. Thus, sacred places and quiet times are fundamental to hearing the still, small voice. This is especially important in today’s environment where those things that create noise is ever increasing . . . television, videos, cell phones, emails, ipods, etcetera.

[7] JST John 10:3-5.

[8] See Moses 5:6.

[9] See D&C 1:38; compare Moses 6:1.

[10] See D&C 84:60.

[11] See Moses 5:9,14.

[12] See Revelation 19:13.

[13] D&C 84:44.

[14] JST John 1:14.

[15] See Revelation 19:15.

[16] See Helaman 3:29; compare 1 Nephi 15:24.

[17] See 1 Nephi 8:24, 30.

[18] See 1 Nephi 11:25.