Circle Squared
A Textual Analysis of the Book of Mormon
Chapter 3: "A Tooting of Horns"
Chapter Summary:
Joseph in Egypt saw the Nephites in vision--He prophesied of Joseph Smith, the latter-day seer; of Moses, who would deliver Israel; and of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. About 588–570 B.C.
Lehi now directs his dream-inspired prophesying to his "last born" son, Joseph. If you thought that Jacob, at the tender age of 8 years old, was a wee bit young for Lehi's heavy-handed parting incantation in the previous chapter, wait until you hear what Lehi has in store for Joseph at the age of 6.
Is it odd that Lehi would be on the brink of dying of old-age with two boys so young? Perhaps this is just another "similarity" between the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament in order to borrow "authority" from the bible. Or maybe my math is wrong. Maybe Jacob is 10 and Joseph is 8. Maybe they are 12 and 10. Maybe some other unknown variable completely makes the story less farfetched than Aesop's Fables.
Verse 3 informs young Joseph that his seed "shall not utterly be destroyed". Whew; that's a relief for the mind of a six (or eight) year old.
The next few verses are confusing to me. Lehi seems to be distinguishing Joseph's line from that of Nephi, whose seed is to be righteous for a time, then fall into wickedness and be destroyed by Laman and Lemuel's seed. The confusing part for me is that Lehi says that Joseph will be blessed, and will not be destroyed, so long as Joseph heeds unto Nephi.
Obviously Joseph's seed will intermarry with the seed of his brothers. In fact, all of the different lines will intermarry at various times throughout the Book of Mormon. If Joseph joins Laman's line, then his children will not be righteous, but they will survive. Conversely, if Joseph joins Nephi's line, they will be righteous but ultimately they will be destroyed. This is an important part of the Book of Mormon narrative. I honestly don't see how Lehi's promise to Joseph, which offers a cake just begging to be eaten, fits any of it.
Lehi goes on to point out that his ancestor and the name-sake for his last born son, Joseph in Egypt, foresaw Lehi's family in America! Don't get too excited, though, as there is absolutely no evidence to support this outside of the circular retrofitting of this prophecy contained in the most historically tenuous book ever offered: the Book of Mormon. This seems odd when you consider Lehi’s most likely source for this prophecy, the Brass Plates, which are supposed to be an exact copy of the first half of the Bible. And what is found in the first half of the Bible? The story of Joseph in Egypt. So why does the Bible not contain the exact same prophecy as the Book of Mormon?
Joseph in Egypt (as quoted by Lehi (as quoted by Joseph Smith)) prophesies that from his own loins will come a "great seer" "like unto Moses" whose "name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father." It may be hard to catch that which Joseph in Egypt is dropping, so I will make this perfectly clear: the person referred to here is Joseph Smith.
That's right, the Book of Mormon prophesies that Joseph Smith will be a prophet like Moses and he will be super successful in converting the Native Americans and he will restore the house Israel in the latter days with the help of an unspecified spokesman (I honestly have no idea who this spokesman is supposed to be) because Joseph Smith kind of sucks at public speaking, but he will write down a bunch of super important stuff, like the Book of Mormon! Do you believe it now?
It is truly laughable how Mormons see this as a legitimate prophecy (just look at the chapter summary above) and fail to see it for the self-serving, self-aggrandizing, hubris-laden, retrofitted prophecy that it is. I have never heard its equal in terms of promoting one's own importance. Even Jesus only ever alludes to his own divinity. Theologians still can't agree whether or not Jesus claimed to be god. Joseph toots his own horn loud and proud for a full nineteen verses!
In fact, almost the entirety of Lehi's blessing to his youngest son is dedicated to bolstering Joseph Smith's future reputation. Remember, Joseph published this masturbatory prophecy before he ever started a church or tried (and failed?) to convert the bulk of the Native American population. This endeavor is still a work in progress nearly two hundred years after Joseph Smith ushered in the "latter days". This is a readily transparent fraud, yet people still believe this book to be genuine and inspired.