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Chapter 12: "Arbiter of Arbitrary Obituaries"

 

Chapter Summary:

Nephi sees in vision the land of promise; the righteousness, iniquity, and downfall of its inhabitants; the coming of the Lamb of God among them; how the Twelve Disciples and the Twelve Apostles will judge Israel; and the loathsome and filthy state of those who dwindle in unbelief. About 600–592 B.C.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This chapter continues Nephi's vision from the previous chapter, which makes one wonder why there is a chapter break to begin with. Nephi sees the "fate" of his seed and also the seed of his less-righteous brothers, Laman and Lemuel.

 

Some Mormon apologists claim that the Book of Mormon narrative takes place on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico as a way to account for various discrepancies with the book's geography. There are many reasons why this ad hoc rationalization is bogus, such as a lack of archaeological support, and that such a stretch would require multiple hills called "Cumorah" (more on this in later chapters). This chapter provides a simple but ultimately indirect criticism to the notion.

 

Verse one claims that Nephi saw multitudes of people in the "land of promise" (the Americas), numbering greater than the sands of the sea. Granting this as mere hyperbole, this implies a massive number of people (presumably multiple millions at least) living on the peninsula. So great a number of people that it seems unreasonable to limit their geography to such a small area. Now this is no smoking gun, I will grant you. But the verbiage sounds to me more supportive of the idea that Nephi's seed occupied a much larger area, perhaps, as Mormon critics of the Yucatan peninsula theory propose, the bulk of the North American continent.

 

But all of this seems like petty internal squabbles when one considers the incontrovertible fact that nothing in the Book of Mormon has been demonstrated conclusively to have happened at all. It is much like postulating the interior design of flying saucers or discussing the mating habits of Bigfoot before demonstrating that they exist.

 

Verse 4 begins a new trend in the Book of Mormon, one which will play a big role in several of the most important chapters (when Jesus visits America): god uses natural disasters to punish the wicked. Being a foreshadow to the chapters to come, Nephi doesn't go into great detail, but he does mention seeing "...lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof."

 

Nephi goes on to clarify that all of these calamities occurred because of unrighteousness by stating that some were spared seemingly arbitrarily: "I saw multitudes who had not fallen because of the great and terrible judgments of the Lord." No reason other than god's judgment is given for being destroyed by nature or for being spared. This seems odd to me. If we are to take seriously the idea that god will punish us in this way for not following his commandments, then should the process not be consistent? Interestingly, you will find fulfillment of god's blessings for being obedient to be equally inconsistent. God clearly doesn't want to have his hands tied by clear-cut consequences. Or perhaps it is the spokesmen of god who wish to avoid accountability.

 

Next Nephi sees Jesus come to America, set up a church complete with a hierarchy, and several generations (up to 4!) live in righteousness. And why do they live in righteousness? Because they saw and interacted with Jesus! Whenever I hear a Mormon say that god doesn't want to provide clear, unambiguous, demonstrable evidence that the church is true because doing so would create a bunch of mindless robots, I think of these people in the Book of Mormon who saw Jesus and lived several generations in righteousness. Clearly the Book of Mormon does not agree that having such an experience will inhibit one's free will. So why doesn't god or Jesus appear to me and put this all to rest?

 

Nephi then sees more symbols from Lehi's dream, drawing parallels to wickedness and sin, etc. Nothing original, really. Dirty water and seeking riches are always bad to those who seek eternal wealth in the afterlife. This may seem hypocritical, but that is only because it is.

 

Verse 12 brings up something which has always confused me. Much like the arbitrary way in which god uses nature to punish people, Nephi notes that "because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed." But it is never specified why the seed of Laman and Lemuel would be the victors despite their lineage being purported to be even more wicked and for a greater amount of time!

 

The chapter ends with a fun tidbit about the seed of Laman and Lemuel dwindling in unbelief (I for one prefer to twinkle in unbelief) and because of this "they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations." This is the way Mormons, at least according to their holy book, view unbelievers. Not a pretty picture (especially the part about becoming dark and loathsome, which will become apparent in chapters to come, is about skin color and is inherently racist). Luckily most Mormons are passive-aggressive in their self-righteousness and would never say anything like this to someone directly. But believe me, I have heard many, many Mormons make negative "holier than thou" comments about unbelievers and those of other faiths. They will even make comments about other Mormons not being "Mormon" enough or in the right way.

 

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