If I could ask them one question . . . Come Follow Me, Lesson 40

[annotatedbom]

For Come Follow Me, Lesson 40, Oct 12-18, 2020, 3 Ne 20-26

It's good to be back from conference weekend. I'm glad to report I didn't watch any of it. Though my wife did have it on at our house for a short time on Saturday, I was outside working during that. At any rate, back to the BoM.

If I wanted to encourage thought and try to understand devout believers better, I might ask:
“There shall be among them those who will not believe?”

See the Things to consider for this lesson.

And, here’s a list of some other observations about this lesson’s reading.

Enjoy!
A-Bom

[deacon blues]

The 3rd Nephi 21:12-15 prophecy was very important in the early Church. I believe one reason Zion was designated in Missouri was because Andrew Jackson and others were forcing all the Indians to move west. There was a feeling that the Saints and Indians would unite to build the temple, and that the Indians would be like a “young lion” among the gentile “sheep.” Imagine being a gentile in 1830’s Missouri. The prophecy in Nephi would have sounded like a Jihad. And the Saints were boasting that they would inherit the land at the same time.

[annotatedbom]

The 3rd Nephi 21:12-15 prophecy was very important in the early Church. I believe one reason Zion was designated in Missouri was because Andrew Jackson and others were forcing all the Indians to move west. There was a feeling that the Saints and Indians would unite to build the temple, and that the Indians would be like a “young lion” among the gentile “sheep.” Imagine being a gentile in 1830’s Missouri. The prophecy in Nephi would have sounded like a Jihad. And the Saints were boasting that they would inherit the land at the same time.

Yes. Given the context of what you’ve written and other things the Saints did and said, it’s easy to understand the opposition they faced from much of the society around them. It doesn’t excuse the abuse they received, but it’s almost like the Saints were asking to get their butts kicked.

My take now is that they were not persecuted because they had the gospel truth. They were persecuted for their weirdness and especially for the perceived threat they arguably were politically, socially, and even militarily. I don’t think many devout believers understand the level of crazy that was going on back then. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say the FLDS are about the same level of crazy but not the same threat because they are nowhere near as big as the early LDS compared to the rest of society. But, maybe I’m off regarding all this. I’m no historian.