Digging Holes in the Bank (Part I of II)

The very first blog that I posted is entitled, Lay Not our Sword upon the Shelf. It pertains to the word of God and much of the symbolism used in scripture to portray it. I have posted several subsequent blogs that address the word of God and the central place it has in our lives. Importantly, the word of God is not only portrayed as an iron rod in Lehi's dream, but is described as an iron rod throughout the Standard Works. That iron rod is a great sword wielded by the Spirit of God (see Ephesians 6:17). "Holding fast" to the iron rod, then, presupposes that we have taken the Holy Spirit as our guide (see D&C 45:57). He is the adhesive that tightens our grip to the word, He is the expedient that gives it life, and He makes it germinate and grow within.

What is generally observed from Lehi's dream about the iron rod is the fact that it led "to the tree by which [he] stood" (1 Nephi 8:19). But, what is often missed in this same verse is the fact that it "extended along the bank of the river". Two questions are germane to this important, but unpopular, fact:

1) what is the river?, and
2) why does the iron rod (sword of the spirit) extend along its bank?

Throughout the scriptures, bodies of water are often symbolic of God's judgments. For example, the Red Sea was parted so that Israel could pass through. But when Pharaoh and his armies attempted the same passage, the record states that--

Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 

And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them (Exodus 14:27-28)

To the wicked, the sea was the power of God's judgments--a symbol that no wicked person can enter the promised land without first passing through them. Thus, the Red Sea became a an Old Testament symbol of Hell, or God's judgments  upon the wicked. In 1 Nephi 15:26, it is recorded that Nephi's brother's asked the question: "What meaneth the river of water which our father saw?" Nephi's reply supports the foregoing conclusion:

And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.

And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.

And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.

And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end. (1 Nephi 15:26-30)

As noted in these verses, the river of water is a representation of filthiness, an awful gulf, an awful hell, and the justice of God.

One may wonder: "How is it that God's justice, which is pure and free from all stain, is also a representation of filthiness? Nephi explained, that "the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy" (1 Nephi 15:34). This place prepared is, according to Nephi, "that awful hell of which I have spoken." Nephi likewise identified the devil as "the preparator of it" (1 Nephi 15:35). Importantly, the devil is not the one who prepared hell, for the LORD plainly stated that He was the one who prepared hell (Moses 6:29; compare D&C 29:28, 2 Nephi 28:23). Conversely, the devil is the "preparator" of it, meaning that he is the "person who prepares a specimen" for hell (see Dictionary.com). It was the devil who prepared Pharaoh and his army to possess and make filthy the waters of the Red Sea (Note: there is some controversy as to the name of the Red Sea, see Psalms 106, footnote 7b, Exodus 23, footnote 31b, and the location where the Israelites crossed. I have seen several documentaries on the matter, even though the matter is of little importance. If seeing is believing, then I have personally accepted the view outlined in this 28-minute video entitled The Red Sea Crossing).

The brother of Jared similarly described the formidable ocean that he and his company was to pass over in small barges:

For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea? (Ether 2:24-25).

One cannot pass through God's judgments save He prepares the way--and the way that He has prepared is the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is by faith in Him and His atonement that one is able to pass through His judgments into the promised land without being destroyed by God's wrath. The apostle Paul thus wrote: "By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned" (Hebrews 11:29).

When Israel passed through the Rea Sea, they were symbolically passing through God's judgments, described as a "wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left" (Exodus 14:21-22). Of their own accord, there was no evidence that they were worthy to pass through God's judgments without a breach in the wall (also called the gates of hell, see 2 Nephi 4:32) consuming them. Righteousness comes through Christ alone (Romans 10:1-4). But Israel had something Pharaoh and his armies did not have--they had the covenants of the LORD. They had the promise of redemption from God's judgments, DEATH and HELL, (see 2 Nephi 9:10) through the atonement of Jesus Christ. They had the Holy One of Israel to stand in the breach and hold back God's wrath and judgments! (see Psalms 106:23,; compare Ezekiel 13:5, 22:30 and Isaiah 30:13-14). But if One is to be able to stand in the breach, then He must be willing and able to suffer those punishments held back from those He redeems.

Clear fountains, great rivers, and small streams that pour into God's judgments are often viewed as the word of God. It was a fountain of water that saved Hagar, Sarah's maid (see Genesis 16:6-7). By striking the rock, Moses caused waters to flow from the rock (see Exodus 17:6) whereby Israel was saved from certain death. Such waters that flow forth of pure fountains give life to all that they touch. Speaking of such rivers, Joel wrote:

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. (Joel 3:18).

The fact that a fountain flows from the house of the Lord is instructive. In His house, waters are pure. In His house, the covenants and word of the Lord flow unsullied . . . free from the philosophies of men . . . and the repetitive words of instruction given therein contain a unique message to every listening ear . . . every time, no matter how frequent, they are heard. With beauty that only God can devise, Ezekiel described the life-giving waters that come forth of the house of the Lord:

And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine (Ezekiel 47:9, 12).

Unfortunately, Satan seeks to make filthy all that is clean. Referring to one of the devil's senior advocates, Ezekiel said of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt . . . that he "camest forth with [his] rivers and troubledst the waters with [his] feet, and fouledst [the clean] rivers" (Ezekiel 32:2). John likewise saw a day when this leviathan would cast from its mouth "water as a flood after the [Church of God], that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood" (JST, Revelation 12:15). Of that day, the apostle Paul foresaw that men would be "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth" (see 2 Timothy 3:7).

That day is often thought to have already occurred during the Dark Ages. However, the "perilous times" (see 2 Timothy 3:1) that brings about the quandary of "ever learning" was certainly not those years in which there was little or no learning at all among a world steeped in ignorance. Rather, the apostle Paul was quite precise as to the timing of this academic bankruptcy. With a clarity that only Nephi can match, the apostle expressed that this crisis would come "in the last days." Adding food for thought, President Howard W. Hunter declared that “all dispensations have had their perilous times, but our day will include genuine peril” (see An Anchor to the Souls of Men. Ensign, October 1993, p. 70). It was with this peril in mind that Paul penned his second letter to Timothy foretelling of a time when man would be “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth”—

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

These verses most assuredly point to our day, for Paul’s warning that “we would not endure sound doctrine” alludes to an earlier event of which Paul said was recorded “for an admonition for those upon whom the end of the world shall come" (JST 1 Corinthians 10:11). Summarizing this event, one month following their departure from Egypt, the assembly of Israel cried out in hunger. To Moses, the Lord responded: "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them" (Exodus 16:4). Although described by David as angels’ food (see Psalms 78:25), other scriptures note that the manna tasted like fresh oil (see Numbers 11:7-8). Thus, the congregation often scorned the light bread (see Numbers 21:5). During one such perilous incident, the mixt multitude cried:

Why came we forth out of Egypt? 

Who shall give us flesh to eat? 

We remember the fish . . . the cucumbers, and the melons . . .. 

But now our soul [is] dried away: [there is] nothing at all, beside this manna, [before] our eyes (Numbers 11:4-6).

In retribution for their scorn of this “bread from heaven”—an emblem of the Word of God—the Lord “brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on [either] side . . . round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.” Eager to partake of this flesh, the congregation gathered the quails, and he that gathered least gathered ten homers. (Numbers 11:31-32). Understanding that a single homer is equivalent to 6½ bushel produces a rather ghastly perspective of an unchecked lusting after flesh. Hence, while the flesh was yet between their teeth, “the Lord smote the people with a very great plague,” and many perished. And, in simplified English, they called the place where they buried the dead, “the graveyard of those who lusted." (Numbers 11:33-34, including footnote 34a. King David wrote that the fattest were slain of the plague, see Psalms 78:31).

Just as ancient Israel did not endure the light bread but heaped to themselves flesh, Paul declared that saints of the last days would not endure sound doctrine—the bread of heaven—but instead heap to themselves philosophers espousing perilous ideals, the likes of which include "Sigmund Freud, Charles Darwin, John Dewey, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes" (see Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson,1988, p. 307). Although latter-day prophets have warned us about these specific individuals, the number that can be added to them espousing perilous “isms” of every kind is truly heaping. Because of them, Nephi wrote, all have “gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men" (2 Nephi 28:14).

With this long, preliminary instruction, I now turn to the event after which this blog is entitled: Digging Holes in the Bank.

Lay Not Our Swords Upon the Shelf

In the Book of Mormon is recorded a vision which Lehi had concerning his family and their journey to the Tree of Life, a symbol of Jesus Christ and the fruit of eternal life. However, because the Book of Mormon was written for our day, Lehi's vision is really a narrative of our lives and the path we must follow to arrive at that Tree and partake of its fruit that is sweet above all.  Of particular interest and importance, Lehi saw an "iron rod" that leads to the Tree. The narrative identifies this rod as the "word of God" (see 1 Nephi 15:23-24).

THE IRON ROD

Artists' depictions of what Lehi saw portray the iron rod as something akin to a hand-railing that extends along the length of the path. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ likewise sing a hymn that suggests the same image, "And, hand o'er hand, the rod along, Through each succeeding day, With earnest prayer and hopeful song, We'll still pursue our way." Notwithstanding, however well-intended the artists may be, the scriptures depict the word of God distinctly as a sword. Hence, although artists' portrayals are generally not harmful, dropping a sword seems to be a more dramatic crisis than simply letting go of a handrail that can be easily found again by walking in its general direction.

Some of the more precise verses portraying this image of a sword are found in the book of Revelation. While exiled on the isle of Patmos, John saw, in vision, "one like unto the Son of man." A salient feature of this man was a sharp two-edged sword that proceeded out of his mouth (Revelation 1:16). In JST Revelation 19:15, this sword is called the word of God. In the King James version of this verse, it is also called a rod of iron. Within the the Book of Mormon, several verses convey the idea that the word of God is a device used for cutting and dividing. One such verse is Helaman 3:29, which states: 

Yea, 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 the snares and the wiles of the devil…. 

The apostle Paul similarly described the word of God as "quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow…" (Hebrews 4:12; compare D&C 6:2).

As used by the apostle, the Greek for "sharper" is tom-o'-ter-os, which means "to cut as if by a single stroke", in contrast to cutting accomplished by repeated blows, like hacking. Comparing the word of God to a sword that is able to divide asunder joint and marrow in a single stroke suggests that the sword is, indeed, sharp and of considerable size and weight. Something that is often overlooked, however, in this and similar verses is the juxtaposing of this sword with joint and marrow. This close association stems from the Abrahamic OATH of the covenant wherein God instructed Abraham to "take ... an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old" and divide them "IN THE MIDST.…" (Genesis 15:9-10). Unlike the manner whereby one might ordinarily slaughter and carve up an adult animal by cutting around the bones, Abraham divided the animals in the midst…cutting through the skull, backbone, joints, and marrow of each sacrificial animal.

It is not my purpose in this blog to explain why these animals were divided with such precision, even though understanding why is certainly worthy of individual study. However, it is worthwhile to note that it was, in all likelihood, this same instrument of death that Abraham raised over his son, Isaac, when commanded to offer him up (see Genesis 22:2-18). The Hebrew for the particular "knife" that Abraham used is mah-ak-eh'-leth, meaning "something with which to eat." First impressions, therefore, might lead one to conclude that it wasn't much more than a butter knife used at Abraham's table. However, the primitive root of mah-ak-eh'-leth defines "eating" as "consuming or devouring." When brought together, these definitions support the idea that Abraham's knife was something used to consume and destroy; hardly the innocuous kitchen utensil that is often portrayed by artists.

To illustrate this point, Solomon compared two types of teeth ("eating" devices) to distinguish the destructive capacity of a two-edged sword versus this knife, or mah-ak-eh'-leth, that destroys. "There is a generation," he wrote, "whose teeth are AS SWORDS, and their jaw teeth AS KNIVES, to DEVOUR the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men" (Proverbs 30:14, emphasis added). Front teeth, like a two-edged sword, slice into pieces all that is to be eaten. Jaw teeth, like knives, are the eventual destroyer of those pieces; they are powerful and are applied for crushing, devouring, consuming, even "to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow" (D&C 6:2).

Attempting to visualize this cutting instrument that is sharper than a two-edged sword may suggest something like a razor-sharp knife, but of much larger dimensions. Revealing the specific instrument that was likely used, the Lord said to the prophet Joseph Smith in June 1829:

Behold, I am God; give heed to 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 word.

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 (D&C 14:2-3).

The sickle, "an agricultural implement consisting of a long, curving blade fastened at an angle to a handle," was primarily used by Israel for cutting grass and grains (see www.Dictionary.com, "scythe") of all sorts. They were not shaped like those purchased at Cal Ranch and, because they were primarily used for reaping the harvest, the blade was religiously sharpened. Like other farming tools, sickles also improvised as weapons used against the enemies of Israel. Bringing this concept to light, the Old Testament prophet Joel described the final conflict against the heathen as one wherein the SICKLE is unsheathed because the harvest is ripe and wickedness is great (see Joel 3:9-14).

However authentic this war may appear in Joel's record, one must be mindful of the teachings of the apostle Paul concerning the "evil day," or the day in which we presently live . . . that the decisive contest is "not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12, compare D&C 27:15). Hence, in this spiritual battle against an unseen foe, the apostle Paul recommended that we wield "the SWORD of the Spirit, which is the WORD of God" (Ephesians 6:17). No other voice has declared so plainly that the iron rod is a sword! The word of God can be found in our day in the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the messages of living prophets and apostles.

With the idea that the word of God, or iron rod, is likened to the sickle once used to divide the joint and marrow of those sacrifices offered in token of the everlasting covenant, note the specific description given by Lehi of the two separate groups of people who take hold of the iron rod that leads to the Tree of Life:

And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of THE END of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of THE END of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree (1 Nephi 8:24, 30).

The END that each group caught hold of was the hilt of a sword. Importantly, as noted by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:17, this sword is the sword of the Spirit and must, therefore, be wielded by Him if it is to have the desired effect. It is the Spirit that carries the word of God into the heart, enlightens the mind, and enlarges the soul. It is the Spirit that discerns the thoughts of the mind and intents of the heart (see Hebrews 4:12; compare D&C 33:1). Together, the Spirit and the word "are the power of God unto the convincing of men" (D&C 11:21). Without its messenger, the word of God are only words on a page. Without the word of God to convey, the Spirit hasn't a message. The Spirit and the word must walk together if conversion is to follow. And, since Jesus Christ is the WORD of GOD (see JST John 1:14), it is appropriate to visualize Him as the iron rod.

Finally . . .  to the point. In the Book of Ether, Moroni recounts an unusual curse that had come upon the land during a time of war and iniquity. Concerning this curse, Moroni wrote:

And now there began to be a great curse upon all the land because of the iniquity of the people, in which, if a man should lay his tool or his sword upon his shelf, or upon the place whither he would keep it, behold, upon the morrow, he could not find it, so great was the curse upon the land (Ether 14:1).

The scriptures have never been more available and convenient than they are today. And, with all this availability and automation, it is hard to imagine that anyone would go unprepared to the battle. Nonetheless, when one lays his sword upon the shelf, the present iniquity is so dreadful that, err he is aware, he may find himself slain in the battle. The apostle Paul foresaw the day in which men would be unable to find their swords, but he renamed it a day in which men would be "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth" (see 2 Timothy 3:7). That day is often thought to have already occurred during the Dark Ages. However, the "perilous times" (see 2 Timothy 3:1) that brings about a quandary of "ever learning" was certainly not those years in which there was little to no learning at all. Rather, those were years of ignorance steeped in the traditions of the fathers.

Rather, the apostle Paul was quite precise as to the timing of this academic bankruptcy. With a clarity that only Nephi can match, the apostle expressed that this crisis would come "in the last days." Adding food for thought, President Howard W. Hunter declared that “all dispensations have had their perilous times, but our day will include genuine peril” (see An Anchor to the Souls of Men. Ensign, October 1993, p. 70). It was with this peril in mind that Paul penned his second letter to Timothy foretelling of a time when man would be “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth”—

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.

And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

These verses most assuredly point to our day, for Paul’s warning that “we would not endure sound doctrine” alludes to an earlier event of which Paul said was recorded “for an admonition for those upon whom the end of the world shall come" (JST 1 Corinthians 10:11). Summarizing this event, when the children of Israel left Egypt, they did so in haste. One month following their departure, the assembly cried out in hunger. To Moses, the Lord responded: "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them" (Exodus 16:4). Although described by David as angels’ food (see Psalms 78:25), manna tasted like fresh oil (see Numbers 11:7-8). Thus, the congregation often scorned the light bread (see Numbers 21:5). During one such perilous incident, the mixt multitude cried:

Why came we forth out of Egypt?

Who shall give us flesh to eat?

We remember the fish . . . the cucumbers, and the melons . . ..

But now our soul [is] dried away: [there is] nothing at all, beside this manna, [before] our eyes (Numbers 11:4-6).

In retribution for their scorn of this “bread from heaven”—an emblem of the Word of God—the Lord “brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on [either] side . . . round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.” Eager to partake of this flesh, the congregation gathered the quails, and he that gathered least gathered ten homers. (Numbers 11:31-32). Understanding that a single homer is equivalent to 6½ bushel produces a rather ghastly perspective from this unchecked lusting after flesh. Hence, while the flesh was yet between their teeth, “the Lord smote the people with a very great plague,” and many perished. And, in simplified English, they called the place where they buried the dead, “the graveyard of those who lusted." (Numbers 11:33-34, including footnote 34a. King David wrote that the fattest were slain of the plague, see Psalms 78:31).

Just as ancient Israel did not endure the light bread but heaped to themselves flesh, Paul declared that saints of the last days would not endure sound doctrine—the bread of heaven—but instead heap to themselves philosophers espousing perilous ideals, the likes of which include "Sigmund Freud, Charles Darwin, John Dewey, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes" (see Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson,1988, p. 307). Although latter-day prophets have warned us about these specific individuals, the number that can be added to them espousing perilous “isms” of every kind is truly heaping. Because of them, Nephi wrote, all have “gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men" (2 Nephi 28:14).

Even the humble followers of Jesus Christ do often err because they are taught by the precepts of men. No one, especially the true Church of God, is exempt from the flood that has been cast from the mouth of the serpent in these days (see JST Revelation 12:15). Concerning this very thing, Elder McConkie wrote:

Even in the true Church in the last days there will be some who do not believe the whole body of revealed truth; some who do not give full allegiance to the Cause of truth and righteousness; some who are members in name only and who continue to live after the manner of the world. This also is one of the signs of the times. It shall be as it was among some of old whom Paul rebuked: ‘When ye come together in the church,’ he wrote to the Corinthians, ‘there be divisions among you.’ Contention, debate, and false views have no place in the Church and kingdom of our Lord. The doctrines are his, not ours, and our concern should be to gain the mind of Christ and to think what he thinks on every point. But the fact is that there are divisions in the Church, for the very reason Paul now gives: ‘There must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you’ (1 Cor. 11:18-19) (see McConkie, Bruce R., The Millennial Messiah; The Second Coming of the Son of Man. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, p. 59).

Great caution, then, must be exercised with respect to the precepts of men, wherever and whenever they are learned. President Ezra Taft Benson taught:

We encourage you to get your . . . degrees and to further your education; but let us not forget that disaffection from the gospel and the Lord’s church was brought about in the past by the attempts to reconcile the pure gospel with the secular philosophies of men . . . Be careful of blending your worldly training with the gospel courses you teach lest you be guilty of diluting the pure gospel of Jesus Christ and end up teaching the philosophy of men mingled with a few scriptures (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, p. 308).

Gratefully, Nephi provided the litmus test by which we can, through the spirit of discernment, measure the truthfulness of all that is taught: “Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man,” he wrote, “or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost" (2 Nephi 28:31).

Given that we live in the heat of the battle and that casualties occur near and far, frequently and unexpectedly, Moroni's description of how men responded in that day when the curse was so great that swords placed upon shelves vanished in the darkness, is especially appropriate:

Wherefore every man did cleave unto that which was his own, with his hands, and would not borrow neither would he lend; and every man kept the hilt of his sword in his right hand, in the defence of his property and his own life and of his wives and children (Ether 14:2).

May we step forward in the battle. Testimonies can neither be borrowed nor extended; they must be individually won. Laying not our sword upon the shelf, but keeping the hilt of it in our right hand, is the means by which we will be able to defend our property, life, and the lives of our family. Our sword is the only offensive weapon in the whole armor of God that shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil in this day, a day known to prophets of old as "the evil day."

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.

[19] See Helaman 3:29.

[20] See 1 Nephi 15:24.

[21] See JST Revelation 19:15.

[22] Hebrews 4:12.

[23] D&C 6:2.

[24] See Genesis 22:6, 10.

[25] See Genesis 15:9-10.

[26] See Alma 31:5

[27] Hebrews 4:12; D&C 6:2.

[28] Ephesians 6:17.

[29] See D&C 76:29.

[30] Exodus 14:16, 21-22; compare Isaiah 10:26; Exodus 7:19; and Exodus 8:5.

[31] See Hebrews 9:4.

[32] i.e., living; compare Hebrews 4:12, footnote b.

[33] Helaman 3:29.

[34] See 1 Nephi 8:24; compare Helaman 3:29; 1 Nephi 11:25; and Alma 31:5.

[35] See D&C 3:15.

[36] 1 Nephi 17:13-14.

[37] JST Exodus 23:20-22.

[38] 3 Nephi 11:7.

[39] 1 Nephi 11:25.

[40] See 1 Nephi 17:35.

[41] See Moses 7:46.

[42] 1 Nephi 19:11-12.

[43] See Moses 7:60.

[44] D&C 88:88-91; compare D&C 43:25.