Farewell to Babylon (2 Nephi 23)

The preamble of 2 Nephi 23 (compare Isaiah 13) says that the destruction of Babylon is a type of the destruction that will happen at The Lord's 2nd Coming.  Therefore, today I will talk about
Last of the Mohicans...

Doesn't look like Babylon lasted very long.  I guess Isaiah was right about them...

2 Nephi 23: 19

19.  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20.  It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

Here's Babylon today

What was so awful about Babylon?  There were lots of places around the world whose people weren't models of obedience to The Lord.  Why pick on the Babylonians as the standard in wicked behavior, always to be referred to in a negative context?

Me & Gerry Lindley in Vincennes, Indiana; circa 1988

Pictured up yonder is me as a missionary and my mission companion, Gerry Lindley.  It may seem like we're rocking out, but actually we're singing along with Bring the World His Truth, and are on the "Weeeee are as the Army of Helaman, we have been born in our youth" part of the song.

In my mission, the rules restricted our listening pleasure to Mormon Tabernacle Choir songs and Church Hymns.  Though this song is in the LDS Primary songbook, the version we listened to was technically against our rules.  Anything we missionaries had which was outside the rules was called Babylon.  This song was Babylon, and so was the stereo I was playing it on, much as I tried to justify myself by listening to our Gospel Study tapes on it.  I finally ended up bringing my stereo thing into the Mission Office and leaving it until I finished my mission and went home.

Most of the tribes of Israel were already scattered and lost.  The Babylonians conquered what was left, The tribe of Judah, and carried them away captive to Babylon, where they remained for about 70 years, long enough for God's people to pick up some bad habits.  When Judah returned from Babylon, they brought much of its influence with them, and this caused some major apostasy.  In order to cleave unto God and the covenants they had made with Him, the people of Judah were commanded to leave Babylon behind, not just physically, but spiritually too, even more so.  Those who were able to leave Babylon behind were able to remain steadfast in their faith.  If they kept some souvenirs, they had a much harder time, and many were lost.

How does this connect to me? 

The reason missionaries attached the name Babylon to stuff against the rules is because the same principle applies to them.  Those who are able to let go of the world (in our case it was TV, good music, going to movies, dating, etc.) could become missionaries of great faith and influence, wielding the sword of the spirit like the Army of Helaman.  Those who hold on to the world (my stereo), are much less effective.  And in some cases, this has led to apostasy as well.

Screenshot of Babylon from "Age of Empires" computer game

In my 30's I was quite the gamer.  As a lonely bachelor, I found computer games to be a welcome distraction from my otherwise dull life.  I used to say stuff like, "My life sucks anyway, might as well buy this $2000 computer."  Now, computer and video games ain't a bad thing.  It ain't a sin to play Age of Empires or whatever.  That is, until it distracts you from what is really important.  Sometimes I'd play for hours, late into the night.  This usually exhausted me for the next day's activities, be they work or family or church, or just productive living.  Then I'd be back at it that night, and so on.

She finally found me in 2008

Whether it was because marrying Emilie filled the emptiness in me that caused me to lose interest in my computer games or the fact that we are so broke that I can't even afford a decent computer, let alone the 50-buck games I'd want to play, either way I'm grateful.

I heard a scary statistic the other day.  An LDS Bishop in Orem, Utah stated that over 60% of the divorces in his area were related to video/ computer gaming. 

What a jerk.  C'mon man, it's her turn.

So that's my speech about Babylon.  People have different things which, to them, is a 'hanging on to Babylon' issue.  My advice is to bid farewell to Babylon, whatever that may be to you, and remember who you are, where you're headed, and what is important.

It's actually quite a battle to keep your head in the game of life these days.  There are zillions of distractions around us all the time, and the effects of The Fall of man are such that our "natural man" wants to be distracted.  To do battle against our "natural" desire for Babylon, The Lord has blest us with power from on High, if we only ask for it, reach for it.  If you personally are able to live a life that balances spiritual joys and temporal fun, that's groovy.  Nothing wrong with playing a game, watching a movie, hangin' with friends, etc.  Ain't nobody said we need to read the BOM all day long.  It's when the distractions take a more weighted role in our lives than the important stuff that could cause us trouble.

As Colonel Munro said in Last of the Mohicans,

"There's a terrible feature of war here in the Americas, Major Heyward; best we keep our eye fixed on our duty:  To defeat France (or Babylon)."

Here's Ye Elders of Israel if you'd care to listen to a verse or two 
(at least listen to 1:05 to 1:22)...

So, this is my spiel for today:

• Recognize if you are hanging on to any part of Babylon
• If it's a problem, and you'll know if it's a problem, make a decision to leave your Babylon behind, whatever it is
• If you find it difficult to defeat Babylon or France, call upon your good buddy Hawkeye to help you...

He will "let Killdeer take part in the conversation; for at this distance, he will touch the life 2 out of 3 times."

Great Spirit and Maker of all life

A warrior comes to you straight and true as an arrow shot into the sun

Welcome him, and make a place for him at the council fire of my people

He is Uncas, my son

Teach him to be patient, as he has death for speed

For they are all there, but one:  I, Chingachgook, Last of the Mohicans

Good luck, and

Peace be with you...

Judgement of a Righteous King (2 Nephi 21 & 22)

Time to sweep the dust bunnies off my keyboard and corntinue my blog.  Yes, Christmas + lots of visitors + new schedule and duties at work + wedding anniversary + Isaiah is difficult + too much stuff in this office and a messy desk + I'm a lazy no-account by nature = It's been a struggle to get back to this blog.  But, I ain't getting any younger, so...

At the end of the day you're another day older
And that's all you can say for the life of poor John
It's a struggle, it's a war
And there's nothing that anyone's giving
One more day standing about, what is it for?
One day less to be blogging.

I left off in November (for goodness sakes) with 2 Nephi 20.  Today we'll continue on with  
2 Nephi 21, and maybe even go into 22, since it's a shorty.

2 Nephi 21: 1

1.  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

2.  And the Spirit of The Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of The Lord;

3.  And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of The Lord; and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.

4.  But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall he slay the wicked.

So, Jesse was David's dad, and Jesus Christ was a direct descendant of David, King of Israel.  That means that, if the Romans hadn't conquered Israel and brought them into subjugation, Jesus Christ would have been born the King of Israel.

It also says up there in verse 4 that Jesus will judge the poor and the meek with righteousness and equity.  Now that's my kind of justice system.

Ain't gonna be no botched DNA tests, biased witnesses, or nonesuch like that in Heaven.  Ain't nobody gonna spend 23 years in outer darkness before new evidence comes to light, and overturns his conviction. 

Anywayz,

2 Nephi 21: 6 is a famous one:

6.  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

9.  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of The Lord, as the waters cover the sea.  

I would assume that this prophecy is talking of a day as yet to come, probably after the 2nd coming of The Savior, when there will be peace on earth.  Like real peace.  Like the bitterest of enemies, like goats and wolves and lions and sheeps and stuff, will hang out together and not fight, or eat one another.

Won't that be an amazing thing to see?  Imagine turning on the news and having nothing but goodness and kindness abounding everywhere.  In fact, the news programs would probably be canceled due to low ratings.

That'll be nice, huh?

I find verse 9 interesting... It says that peace will come because the whole world will be full of the knowledge of The Lord.  What a day that will be.

2 Nephi 22 is a short one.  Let's do a couple verses, shall we?

Verse 2 & 3:

2.  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for The Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation.

3.  Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

And a little child shall lead them...

Peace be with you...

Painter of Light (2 Nephi 20)

Some books are harder to read than others.  Back in 1990-something I read my first book considered a classic.  It was Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper, for whom the city of Cooperstown, NY was named, which is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Anywayz, it was a hard read for me, & took me a few months.  I've read, or tried to read other classics since then.  Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Twain, Austen, Bronte, Cervantes, Dickens, Hugo, etc.  Les Miserables took me 6 months.

I was told A Tale of Two Cities was a very good book.  I got about 60 pages into it my first try, before I grew weary of the effort to stay awake.  I tried again the next year, and got over 100 pages in, but with the same result.  Third time's the charm, and I persevered to the end.  I really liked the last 20 pages or so.

Authors like these guys use language as an art form, and create paintings in the mind.  

Some paintings have a changing affect on my mind, on my mood.  Like these by Albert Bierstadt. 

There's something about the areas of sunshine and shade on the mountains that is familiar to me.  I have seen things like that in real life, and love to look at them.  The storm coming over the water nearly causes me to be able to feel the chilly breeze and smell the approach of rain. 

Of course, some paintings are pretty boring to look at, even priceless ones.  I've never had much use for Pablo Picasso.  I recognize that he had talent, and understand that my lack of interest doesn't mean his art is not interesting, just not to me.  This painting, The Head of a Woman, is valued at over $10,000,000.

No idea what I'm supposed to glean from this painting.  She looks like she oughtta be rushed to the hospital after what was obviously a serious car crash.

Nephi loved to read the words of Isaiah.  He knew they were of great worth to us, so he transcribed them on to the plates of Nephi.  Nephi admits, however, that his people had a hard time understanding Isaiah.  In 2 Nephi 25, to which it is my foremost goal in life to reach right now, Nephi says...

25.  Now I, Nephi, do speak somewhat concerning the words which I have written, which have been spoken by the mouth of Isaiah.  For behold, Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews.

Isaiah is kind of like those artists and authors mentioned up there.  I know he's important, I know he writes truth, but there's so much that I don't understand, and I get bored.

2 Nephi 20 (compare Isaiah 10) is your basic "Israel's not doing what it oughtta, and so it will be scattered and lost, with the understanding that Israel will be gathered back in eventually."  Notwithstanding the difficulty of reading the entire chapter, a few verses stand out to me.  I'll hit them here, and say something dumb about them.

2 Nephi 20: 5-6

5.  O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is their indignation.

6.  I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

So, that's how The Lord plans to reek judgment on Israel, use its neighbor like an axe to knock 'em down a bit.

2 Nephi 20: 15

15.Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith?  Shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?  As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood!

This verse seems to be talking about Assyria thinking they're tough because they beat up on Israel, while in reality, they were just The Lord's instrument in Israel's consequences.  It seems to be talking about that, but it's not really.  It's really talking to me.  It's telling me that I can do nothing without Him.  It's telling me that all that I provide for myself and for my family through any means available to me, it is really The Lord that provides those things.  Right?

Hint hint, nudge nudge.

This one's about me too...

2 Nephi 20: 16

16.  Therefore shall The Lord, The Lord of Hosts, send among His fat ones, leanness; and under His glory He shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

Here's a fat one back in 1980. Still waiting for the leanness.

Sorry about that.  Sometimes I sacrifice a good spiritual feeling just to get a laugh or two.  When I interviewed for Supervisor at work, my wife told me to have confidence in myself, and not spout out goofy stuff just 'cause I'm nervous. "Now be serious and don't joke around with them."  So, I got clear thru the interview without one goofy remark, and then as I'm leaving I says, "I hope I did ok, my wife told me not to be funny."  Then I slugged myself all the way home.

OK, back to seriousness.  The end of verse 16 up there says, "His glory He shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire."  Then read on to verse 17...

17.  And the Light of Israel shall be for a fire, and His Holy One for a flame, and shall burn and shall devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

Always, always, always, the answer to life's darkness is The Light of Israel, His Holy One, Jesus Christ. Always.  And no matter how far we wander or how lost we become, we can follow that Light back to Israel, back to the promised land.

2 Nephi 20: 21

21.  The remnant shall return, yea, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.

Peace be with you...

Washing dishes in the dark (2 Nephi 19)

Welcome to 2 Nephi 19 (Compare Isaiah 9).  In this chapter, Isaiah speaks Messianically.  What does Messianically mean?  The Blogger program that I'm writing this with uses a little, red, squiggley line to say that Messianically ain't a word (and ain't is?).

See?

I'm not 100% sure what Messianically means, really.  Isaiah is either speaking as The Savior, to The Savior, about The Savior, or maybe a combination of these and other tricky Isaiah-type things. 

From Google...

Messianic [ˌmɛsɪˈænɪk]adj

1. (Christian Religious Writings / Bible) (sometimes capital) Bible

a.  of or relating to the Messiah, his awaited deliverance of the Jews, or the new age of peace expected to follow this

b.  of or relating to Jesus Christ or the salvation believed to have been brought by him

 Oh, OK.  That makes more sense.  Let's just look at a few verses and hope it works out...

Darkness into Light

My parents' house, looking from the kitchen toward the living room. About 2005.

So, I lived in my folks' house from 1999 to 2007.  I did so 'cause Ma was sick, and Dad needed help taking care of her.  She died in 2004, but by that time Dad was sick too.  He died in 2007.  Anywayz, look at how we lived.  I hated how dark it was all the time.  Mom & Dad had darkly painted walls (Ma had the inside of the kitchen cupboards painted black for goodness sakes), inadequate lighting, and some of those dark red drapes hiding the big front window.

From living room toward kitchen, with brother Irch, 2006.

2 Nephi 19: 2-4

2.  The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

3.  Thou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joy -they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

4.  For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor.

So, here we have Israel living in darkness.  In other words, living under the burden of oppression.  Darkness can come from sources outside of our control, but also from our own choices.  Living in sin is living in darkness.

In 2008 I remodeled the house.  So much difference.

From the kitchen into the living room in 2008.

From living room toward the kitchen, 2008.

My first day in the house after the remodeling was finished, I did about 3 hours worth of dishes.  I didn't even notice that it was getting dark outside and I hadn't turned any lights on yet.  It was AWESOME.

Whether we are in darkness because of our own actions or because we were acted upon, the remedy is the same.  It is the unspeakable gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

2 Nephi 19: 6

6.  For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His Name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

A big part of my testimony of The Savior had its beginnings in listening to Motab sing this song.  I got the cassette tape from my parents when I graduated from my high school seminary program.  It still gives me chills.

3 More things, or maybe 1 more.

2 Nephi 19: 12

12.  ...For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

2 Nephi 19: 17

17.  ...For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

2 Nephi 19: 21

21.  ...For all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still.

In other words, there is always mercy.

 
The Light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives light to a dark world.  No matter what has made your world dark, remodel that house of yours, and let the Son shine in.

Peace be with you...

The Wizard or The Word: Option B (2 Nephi 18)

A fool such as I could never pretend that I understand the book of Isaiah.  Some stuff is clearer than others, but it's them others that present an insurmountable obstacle (emphasis on 'stack') to me in my goal of writing a blog post about every chapter in the BOM.  I could buy me some books, or research some online helps for Isaiah, and pass on my findings to you, but that's not been my method.  These is my thoughts and reflections.

I'm on 2 Nephi 18 (see Isaiah 8) today.  In reading through this chapter, I find that I could tell you everything I get out of it in about 1 short, boring paragraph.  I have 2 verses highlighted, verse 2 and 3, and one phrase in the preamble highlighted: "peeping wizards".

The Richmond district in Beattyville, KY (circa 1987). That's me out front.

Although I have bought a couple or 3 new B's OM since my missionary days, I always highlight "peeping wizards" because of memories from goofing around and laughing during what should have been serious BOM study time with my companions.

Anyways, let's write a couple things...

2 Nephi 18: 2-3

2.  And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.

3.  And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived and bare a son.  Then said the Lord to me: Call his name, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

These verses are kinda weird.  Does this mean that Isaiah took witnesses with him when he went to "see" the prophetess?  And who's the prophetess?  Is that his wife?  Like I says, I ain't no professor of ancient scripture, so I don't know.  My guess is, the prophetess is his wife, and the 2 witnesses came to witness the naming of the child.  I don't know much, but I know I love you..., er, I believe that it's a Jewish thing to have witnesses present at the circumcision and naming of a child. Anywayz, that's my opinion.

"Maher-shalal-hash-baz" means: Destruction is imminent.  Either Isaiah suffers from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (I've heard that the acronym is not the commonly known OCD, but rather CDO, so that the letters can be in alphabetical order, as they should be) or the Scattering and Gathering of Israel is an important subject.  I'm gonna go with option B. 


2 Nephi 18: 18

18.  Behold, I and the children whom The Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from The Lord of Hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion.

"I'd like you to meet my sons.  This is Destruction is Imminent, and this is A Remnant Shall Return."
I wonder if it used to frighten Destruction is Imminent when he was a child, until he learned that this was a prophecy for the house of Israel, and not a warning for when his Dad got home from work.

Need Answers?

If you need a message from heaven to give you knowledge or comfort or whatever, there are lots of suggestions in the world.  You can, Option A: Read the stars, the tea leaves, your palm, tarot cards, your horoscope, or even your Crazy 8 Ball.  Or Option B: You can pray, read your scriptures, live your life so that the Spirit of The Lord is with you, go to the Temple, listen to The Prophet, or anything that is lovely or of good report or praiseworthy.  I would choose option B myself.

If your choice is to seek answers from a 

Peeping Wizard, like Zoltar here....

That's a Big mistake...

Rather...

2 Nephi 18: 16, 19-20

16.  Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

19.  And when they shall say unto you:  Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter -should not a people seek unto their God for the living to hear from the dead?

20.  To the law and to the testimony; and if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

Bind up the testimony (Have faith in Jesus Christ)

Seal the law (Obey the commandments)

Seek unto God (Come unto Christ)

Option A: Wizards that peep and mutter.

To the law and to the testimony

If not, there is no light in them

Option B: The Word of God

Go with option B.


Peace be with you

A plague of briars, a promise of thorns (2 Nephi 17)



To me, 2 Nephi 17 (compare Isaiah: 7) is one of the more difficult of the Isaiah chapters.  There is a great and wonderful verse about The Savior in it, but the rest talks about cows and sheeps and arrows and prophecies of the affliction of Israel by way of thorns and briars and wars and stuff.

In the map up there, you can see where Syria and Ephraim are located.  Judah down to the south didn't like the idea of Syria being confederate (or allies) with Ephraim.  That's cool and everything, but I'm just going to write about 3 things out of this chapter:

1. The Lord shaves with a razor
2. Shearjashub
3. Mary Christmas

One

2 Nephi 17: 20

20.  In the same day shall The Lord shave with a razor that is hired.

I used to stop reading there and giggle a little bit.  As a younger dude, I thought The Lord shaving presented a funny image, but really was figurative of some different meaning that I couldn't guess.  Later on I finished the verse.  You should always finish reading the instructions before you start your bird house.  Can't tell you how many times I've put a bookshelf together backwards twice before reading the instructions.

20.  ...hired, by them beyond the river, by the king Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

Ahhh, so that's what Isaiah means, or what I think he means:  The Lord will shave the head and beards of the men of Judah, and do it through the alliance of Ephraim and Syria (or Assyria) coming to battle against them.  I think that means that the people of Judah are going to forget their covenants.  It's all part of the scattering thing.  What do you think?  

Two

2 Nephi 17: 3

3.  Then said The Lord unto Isaiah:  Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool of the highway of the fuller's field.

That's quite a name you got there, dude.  I pronounce Shearjashub like it's spelt, but I'm sure I'm butchering it.  Anyways, Sheer-jay-shub translates as "A remnant shall return".  This is one of Isaiah's two major themes:  The scattering and gathering of Israel and the coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

They probably called him Shub for short.  I don't know what they called Shub's brother, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

Three

 2 Nephi 17: 14

14.  Therefore, The Lord Himself shall give you a sign -Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Over 700 years before the birth of our Savior, Isaiah prophesied of Christ's miraculous birth, His life full of miracles, the malicious treatment he would receive at the hands of those He came to save, and His loving sacrifice for all mankind. 


Christ With Thorns, by Carl Bloch

Isaiah's references to the coming of the Son of God are scattered throughout his writings, even in places where it is not clear what Isaiah's talking about.  My favorite Isaiah chapter on the Atonement of Jesus Christ is Isaiah 53, but we'll talk about that in 3 1/2 more years when I get to Mosiah 14.

O Come, O Come Immanuel

Merry Christmas.

Peace be with you