The desire of some people (historically more men than women) to want to dominate the lives of others is evident in all scripture, and has not gone away in the centuries which have followed. We could cal it the practice of politics, the ambition described in Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar and Macbeth, or the power struggles documented by the records of the old Soviet Union or of the families of organized crime. The story of Amalickiah is one of these.
The Book of Mormon is shorter than the Bible, and so people come and go in it without our knowing anything about their background, The first we know of Amalickiah is his campaign to be elected ruler of the Nephites. He is described as an articulate person, adept at flattery and manipulation, but his campaign does not succeed.
He then does something which has little or no precedent. Having been rejected as a candidate for Nephite "king", he flees to the Lamanites with a small group of followers and, using strictly the power of the spoken word, persuades the Lamanite king to prepare to attack the Nephites, something they have undertaken before, but without success. Amalickiah gains for himself a position of leadership in the Lamanite army.
Through stratagem, including assassination of the Lamanite king and the marrying of his widow, Amalickiah eventually becomes king of the Lamanites and leads an army against the very people he once sought to govern. A long conflict follows, described in some detail for fifteen chapters. Amalickiah's military skills do not match his political skills, and he does not survive to the end of the war, which nevertheless continues with others taking his place.
One notable characteristic of his leadership is his lack of regard for the people depending on him. In this respect he seems quite similar to Adolf Hitler, leader of W.W. II NAZI Germany, who would leave whole armies exposed to capture or destruction rather than grant their requests to withdraw from a battle in which they faced superior numbers..
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The Rich Young Man, New Testament
The fact that God chooses his personal representatives from all different kinds of men is evidence that having great wealth in itself is no sin, provided, of course, that the wealth was gained without exploiting others or taken by force.
The Gospel of Matthew records a short incident between Jesus and a nameless young man who is described as having great wealth. There is nothing to indicate that the young man wishes for anything more than what he mentions - to know the requirements for him to have eternal life with God. His background seems to have included religious instruction because he assures Jesus that he has been diligent in keeping the commandments (as delivered from Moses) since childhood.
At this point, it's easy to ask questions, the answers to which are not entirely clear. Why did the young man choose to approach Jesus? Did he make an active effort to find him, or did he just happen to be in the area? Was Jesus teaching a lesson to all, or simply taking questions from some possible new disciples? Was there anything of a mocking tone in the young man's question? Was he inspired enough to guess that he had missed something that went beyond the simple framing of the Ten Commandments?
Regardless, Jesus answers the questions put to him respectfully, though not with any pretend humility that people often used in the presence of prominent persons. A conclusion is reached very quickly. In so many words, Jesus says, "Take your possessions, sell them and donate the proceeds to the poor. Then follow me, and you will have all you need in this life and the next."
This is not the answer the young man expected, nor was it the one he was prepared to back up with action. The scripture says he "went away sorrowing" no doubt thinking "This man doesn't know anything about my responsibilities and all that's expected of me. Follow him? My gosh, if I gave it all away it wouldn't put a dent in the number of poor, and then I would be one of them.What would THAT solve?"
Jesus saw all this, and used it as a teaching moment. Riches don't completely keep us from advancing in spirit, but they can certainly cloud our vision and distort reality. Most of us would see a clearer path to eternal life by living the simple life, knowing that mortality is short and soon to end no matter what our balance sheet may show at this moment.
The Gospel of Matthew records a short incident between Jesus and a nameless young man who is described as having great wealth. There is nothing to indicate that the young man wishes for anything more than what he mentions - to know the requirements for him to have eternal life with God. His background seems to have included religious instruction because he assures Jesus that he has been diligent in keeping the commandments (as delivered from Moses) since childhood.
At this point, it's easy to ask questions, the answers to which are not entirely clear. Why did the young man choose to approach Jesus? Did he make an active effort to find him, or did he just happen to be in the area? Was Jesus teaching a lesson to all, or simply taking questions from some possible new disciples? Was there anything of a mocking tone in the young man's question? Was he inspired enough to guess that he had missed something that went beyond the simple framing of the Ten Commandments?
Regardless, Jesus answers the questions put to him respectfully, though not with any pretend humility that people often used in the presence of prominent persons. A conclusion is reached very quickly. In so many words, Jesus says, "Take your possessions, sell them and donate the proceeds to the poor. Then follow me, and you will have all you need in this life and the next."
This is not the answer the young man expected, nor was it the one he was prepared to back up with action. The scripture says he "went away sorrowing" no doubt thinking "This man doesn't know anything about my responsibilities and all that's expected of me. Follow him? My gosh, if I gave it all away it wouldn't put a dent in the number of poor, and then I would be one of them.What would THAT solve?"
Jesus saw all this, and used it as a teaching moment. Riches don't completely keep us from advancing in spirit, but they can certainly cloud our vision and distort reality. Most of us would see a clearer path to eternal life by living the simple life, knowing that mortality is short and soon to end no matter what our balance sheet may show at this moment.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Isaiah, Old Testament
Looking into the backgrounds of individuals called to serve as prophets, what seems surprising is that they don't seem to follow a pattern. They include farmers, herdsmen and others with more high profile assignments. At least one, Moses, started life as a foundling, then became a part of Pharaoh's Court, then served under his father-in-law as a herdsman.
Isaiah had the important job advising King Hezekiah on how to avoid conquest and capture by the Assyrians and other ambitious neighbors. In that capacity, one would assume his advice had to be quick, easy to follow and understand and given with confidence and conviction. Anything less would make for a short career as a royal adviser.
But the world of prophets can be far removed from advising kings. A prophet's view, we are told, may take in the past, present and future - all at the same time. This, in turn, may make it more difficult for the listener/reader to see things as the prophet might, especially if the message dates back centuries. Hence the proliferation of churches, all with different convictions.
Isaiah's prophetic writings would have had to be very different from anything he wrote for the King, and his references do take in all of time, not just his own. His use of figures of speech is extensive. Christians and Jews cannot even agree when or even if he prophesied regarding the future Messiah. His prophecies are concerned with big events, some so far in the future as to make one wonder how his contemporaries would have made use of them.
But we retain his words today. Some have even been set to music. It's sometimes laborious to know with clarity the subject of short passages, even different parts of the same sentence. Nevertheless, we see him as the most important of all the Old Testament prophets.
Isaiah had the important job advising King Hezekiah on how to avoid conquest and capture by the Assyrians and other ambitious neighbors. In that capacity, one would assume his advice had to be quick, easy to follow and understand and given with confidence and conviction. Anything less would make for a short career as a royal adviser.
But the world of prophets can be far removed from advising kings. A prophet's view, we are told, may take in the past, present and future - all at the same time. This, in turn, may make it more difficult for the listener/reader to see things as the prophet might, especially if the message dates back centuries. Hence the proliferation of churches, all with different convictions.
Isaiah's prophetic writings would have had to be very different from anything he wrote for the King, and his references do take in all of time, not just his own. His use of figures of speech is extensive. Christians and Jews cannot even agree when or even if he prophesied regarding the future Messiah. His prophecies are concerned with big events, some so far in the future as to make one wonder how his contemporaries would have made use of them.
But we retain his words today. Some have even been set to music. It's sometimes laborious to know with clarity the subject of short passages, even different parts of the same sentence. Nevertheless, we see him as the most important of all the Old Testament prophets.
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