Circle Squared
A Textual Analysis of the Book of Mormon
Chapter 12: "A Preponderance of Arrogance"
Chapter Summary:
Isaiah sees the latter-day temple, gathering of Israel, and millennial judgment and peace--The proud and wicked will be brought low at the Second Coming--Compare Isaiah 2. About 559–545 B.C.
Nephi continues to quote Jacob's favorite non-Mormon prophet, Isaiah. Unlike every other chapter taken directly out of Isaiah and inserted into the Book of Mormon thus far, this chapter is taken from the first section of Isaiah (chapter 2), which would have been written before Nephi stole the brass plates and could conceivably be in the Book of Mormon. Of course, this doesn't explain why Nephi felt the need to cite whole chapters from a book which his target audience would have access to.
Isaiah starts by talking about "the mountain of The Lord", which in Mormonism means a temple. This future temple, which conveniently is on top of a mountain, will be a safe-haven for the nations of the world, and they will unite for world peace and none will war against the others. This spiritual United Nations is sometimes claimed to be Utah, a theory which was very popular among Mormons in 2002 when the Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Unfortunately for advocates of this theory, the very next year the United States invaded Iraq and started one of the longest wars in American history.
It is unclear to me how Isaiah's prophecy that war will end corresponds with other end-times prophecies that wars will only get worse until Jesus returns. To me, this appears to be a contradiction.
According to Isaiah god has forsaken his people, the house of Jacob (not Nephi's brother), because the Jews have "hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers". For those unfamiliar with this language, Isaiah is saying god has left the Jews because they listen to psychics who use non-godly magic and they mix their seed with people of other religions.
Mormons today generally don't take psychics seriously, yet they still hold provisionally that genuine psychics could exist by using the power of the devil. They call this "priestcraft", which is not nearly as fun as its cousin, "Warcraft".
Likewise, Mormons tend to frown on intermarriage. A good Mormon, at least one which will be rewarded the most in heaven, will be married in a Mormon temple. This ritual is only available to active, tithe-paying Mormons. So, if a Mormon wants to make it to the highest heaven, the one where they get to spend eternity with their families and make countless offspring, they must marry within the organization. I can't think of anything which screams more loudly of emotional manipulation.
The rest of the chapter is a long-winded condemnation of arrogance. Pride is often discouraged in religious circles, usually because the religious associate pride with higher education, which they have rightly noted makes people less susceptible to superstitious beliefs. This is the same reason many Christians look down on colleges and universities. But there is a difference, I think, between a refusal to be duped for bad reasons and the kind of off-putting arrogance which breeds stubbornness and refusing to see reason.
For all the foreboding I have read and heard about higher education and the cockiness it brings, even within Mormonism, some of the most humbling experiences I have had have been when I have learned more and changed my mind about a topic. For me, education and open-minded learning, especially when it challenges my deeply held beliefs, is the truest form of humility.
Conversely, the highest degree of pride I have encountered has been when religious people say "I believe in 'X' so fervently that nothing can possibly change my mind." This is true close-minded arrogance.