The Book of Mormon Chapter 3 Critique
Setting: Mormon cries
repentance unto the Nephites—They gain a great victory and glory in
their own strength—Mormon refuses to lead them, and his prayers for
them are without faith—The Book of Mormon invites the twelve tribes of
Israel to believe the gospel. About A.D. 360–362.
Verses 1-2: And it came to pass
that the Lamanites did not come to battle again until ten years more
had passed away. And behold, I had employed my people, the Nephites, in
preparing their lands and their arms against the time of battle. And it
came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this people—Repent
ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church,
and ye shall be spared.
Note: Jesus Christ does not promise an easy life for His people.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when they revile and
persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My
sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in
heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 5:10-12.
Note: Sidney Rigdon believed in the health and wealth heresy.
Verses 3-4: And I did cry unto
this people, but it was in vain; and they did not realize that it was
the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for
repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts against the Lord
their God. And it came to pass that after this tenth year had passed
away, making, in the whole, three hundred and sixty years from the
coming of Christ, the king of the Lamanites sent an epistle unto me,
which gave unto me to know that they were preparing to come again to
battle against us.
Note: Jesus Christ was unknown in pagan Pre-Columbian America.
The Moche may have also held and tortured the victims for several weeks
before sacrificing them, with the intent of deliberately drawing blood.
Verano believes that some parts of the victim may have been eaten as
well in ritual cannibalism. The sacrifices may have been associated
with rites of ancestral renewal and agricultural fertility. Moche
iconography features a figure which scholars have nicknamed the
"Decapitator"; it is frequently depicted as a spider, but sometimes as
a winged creature or a sea monster: together all three features
symbolize land, water and air. When the body is included, the figure is
usually shown with one arm holding a knife and another holding a
severed head by the hair; it has also been depicted as "a human figure
with a tiger's mouth and snarling fangs". The "Decapitator" is thought
to have figured prominently in the beliefs surrounding the practice of
sacrifice. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verses 5-6: And it came to pass
that I did cause my people that they should gather themselves together
at the land Desolation, to a city which was in the borders, by the
narrow pass which led into the land southward. And there we did place
our armies, that we might stop the armies of the Lamanites, that they
might not get possession of any of our lands; therefore we did fortify
against them with all our force.
Note: Solomon Spalding did not know about the Darien Gap.
The geography of the Darién Gap on the Colombian side is dominated
primarily by the river delta of the Atrato River, which creates a flat
marshland at least 80 km (50 mi) wide, half of this being swampland.
The Serranía del Baudó range extends along Colombia's Pacific coast and
extends into Panama. The Panamanian side, in sharp contrast, is a
mountainous rainforest, with terrain reaching from 60 m (200 ft) in the
valley floors to 1,845 m (6,053 ft) at the tallest peak (Cerro
Tacarcuna, in the Serranía del Darién). Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verses 7-10: And it came to
pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first year the Lamanites
did come down to the city of Desolation to battle against us; and it
came to pass that in that year we did beat them, insomuch that they did
return to their own lands again. And in the three hundred and sixty and
second year they did come down again to battle. And we did beat them
again, and did slay a great number of them, and their dead were cast
into the sea. And now, because of this great thing which my people, the
Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and
began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of
the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies. And
they did swear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they
would go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut them off
from the face of the land.
Note: Jesus Christ was unknown in pagan Pre-Columbian America.
Cocijo was the most important deity among the pre-Columbian Zapotecs
because of his association with rainfall. He is commonly represented on
ceramics from the Zapotec area, from the Middle Preclassic right
through to the Terminal Classic.[1] Cocijo was said to be the great
lightning god and creator of the world. In Zapotec myth, he made the
sun, moon, stars, seasons, land, mountains, rivers, plants and animals,
and day and night by exhaling and creating everything from his breath.
Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verses 11-12: And it came to
pass that I, Mormon, did utterly refuse from this time forth to be a
commander and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness and
abomination. Behold, I had led them, notwithstanding their wickedness I
had led them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the
love of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been
poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them;
nevertheless, it was without faith, because of the hardness of their
hearts.
Note: Mormon was not a Christian per the Holy Bible.
Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one
of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword,
struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus
said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword
will perish by the sword. Matthew 26:50-52.
Verses 13-15: And thrice have I
delivered them out of the hands of their enemies, and they have
repented not of their sins. And when they had sworn by all that had
been forbidden them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they
would go up unto their enemies to battle, and avenge themselves of the
blood of their brethren, behold the voice of the Lord came unto me,
saying: Vengeance is mine, and I will repay; and because this people
repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off
from the face of the earth.
Note: Mormon was not a saint per the Holy Bible.
If anyone has an ear, let him hear. He who leads into captivity shall
go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the
sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. Revelation
13:9-10.
Verses 16-17: And it came to
pass that I utterly refused to go up against mine enemies; and I did
even as the Lord had commanded me; and I did stand as an idle witness
to manifest unto the world the things which I saw and heard, according
to the manifestations of the Spirit which had testified of things to
come. Therefore I write unto you, Gentiles, and also unto you, house of
Israel, when the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare
to return to the land of your inheritance;
Note: The land of inheritance is in the Middle East not America.
“And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting
covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the
allotment of your inheritance.” Psalm 105:10-11.
Verses 18-19: Yea, behold, I
write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto you, twelve tribes of
Israel, who shall be judged according to your works by the twelve whom
Jesus chose to be his disciples in the land of Jerusalem. And I write
also unto the remnant of this people, who shall also be judged by the
twelve whom Jesus chose in this land; and they shall be judged by the
other twelve whom Jesus chose in the land of Jerusalem.
Note: The Apostles will judge from the Middle East during the regeneration.
So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the
regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you
who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19:28.
Verse 20: And these things doth
the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for
this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand
before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the
whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your
works, whether they be good or evil;
Note: Sidney Rigdon plagiarized the Holy Bible.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each
one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has
done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10.
Verses 21-22: And also that ye
may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall have among you;
and also that the Jews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have
other witness besides him whom they saw and heard, that Jesus, whom
they slew, was the very Christ and the very God. And I would that I
could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand
before the judgment-seat of Christ.
Note: Jesus Christ was unknown in pagan Pre-Columbian America.
Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl
language and means "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered
serpent is first known documented in Teotihuacan in the first century
BC or first century AD. That period lies within the Late Preclassic to
Early Classic period (400 BC – 600 AD) of Mesoamerican chronology, and
veneration of the figure appears to have spread throughout Mesoamerica
by the Late Classic (600–900 AD). Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
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