Circle Squared
A Textual Analysis of the Book of Mormon
Chapter 3: "Pie in the Eye in the Sky"
Chapter Summary:
The pure in heart receive the pleasing word of God--Lamanite righteousness exceeds that of the Nephites--Jacob warns against fornication, lasciviousness, and every sin. About 544–421 B.C.
Small and closed-minded, Jacob lists a few of his favorite platitudes. First up, the "pure in heart" will be especially blessed. What does it mean to be pure in heart? To me, it is being honest and holding to principles and integrity, even when it is difficult to do so.
Upon reading further, however, it seems that Jacob means that the pure in heart are those who stick to their belief in god no matter what--pure in bullheadedness. This is what I mean by small and closed-minded. Defending a pet faith-based belief founded on limited or questionable evidence, or despite evidence to the contrary, is not pure, honest or praiseworthy. It is ignorance seeking intellectual refuge from criticism.
Jacob continues by promising those who pray with "exceeding faith"--a most arbitrary and elusive qualifier--that certain too-good-to-be-true miracles will happen: "[god] will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction."
Consolation is, perhaps, the only positive effect of prayer I can think of. But it comes at a price. It offers an answer that isn't really an answer. There is a term for this type of superficial security blanket: false consolation. Although comforting in the short term, I can't say that I would want this placebo. I prefer to know the truth and face it head on than to cower behind a comforting delusion. Call me crazy...
Even by Jacob's definition of "pure in heart," the question I have is why such a noble person would have such villainous enemies and why they would seek divine retribution. I thought Jesus endorsed turning one's cheek and letting the wicked have their limited fun on earth; for god will surely rain fire and damnation on those wicked people after death. In other words, the righteous are to endure persecution so the wicked can dig their own graves. Obviously, the righteous will be rewarded handsomely for their bruised cheeks.
I find this sentiment to be ridiculous and immoral. Cosmic justice has long been used to justify passivity and standing idly by as evil men literally get away with murder--examples of which are expressly advocated later in the Book of Mormon (a group of Lamanites "find Jesus" and swear never to fight again; then their enemies invade and slaughter them). The idea that after death "god will get his" only serves to stifle morality and justice in this life--the only life we know we have.
The atheist view that justice can only come from us--not from an all-seeing eye in the sky of questionable moral character--means that as a society we must stay vigilant. We must actively work to make our justice system more efficient and more accurate. It is tragic when anyone gets away with a horrific crime. But the Christian proposal for cosmic justice does not adequately fill in the gaps.
In the Christian model, a person may commit a crime, ask for forgiveness from an uninvolved and unharmed third-party (god) and voila! Presto-change-o! The criminal is forgiven and enters heaven. Never mind seeking justice or retribution for the victim. It is the all-power creator of everything whose delicate feelings must be protected.
To make the whole system fall on its face more flatly, if the victim of the crime does not repent to the right god for their lesser sins, they will go to hell. So, in the Christian justice system, the criminal may be saved and the victim may be punished, all based on which god, if any, they believe exists. Is this a better system than our current, demonstrably imperfect justice system? At least our system is run by imperfect people. What is god's excuse?
Jacob further admonishes the ill-defined "pure in heart" to "receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love." Without saying it--but, let's be honest, many believers think it--Jacob implies that those, such as myself, who do not find the word of god "pleasing" must not be sufficiently pure in heart. Blame the victim much, Jake? Can I call you "Jake?"
As absurd as this appears at face value, it only gets worse as I think about it more. This is a subtle proposition common among believers: in order to fully understand, you must first accept and believe. This is nonsense. No sane person under normal circumstances would accept a supernatural, unsupported faith-claim without first having a basic understanding of what it is, how it works or if there is even evidence to support it. But we are not dealing with "normal circumstances" here.
Religion and god-claims come with a special set of cultural circumstances, which often times override a person's reasoning and critical thinking faculties. Consider the fact that the vast majority of people around the world (something on the order of 90-95%) grow up and accept the religion of their upbringing. Very few people have the courage--and it is courage--to openly question and reject the religion their parents have taught them as true.
I know from my own experience the power of this cultural influence and how pressures from family can compel a person to "stamp out doubt." Mormons go so far as to teach people that the icky feelings they get when their beliefs are challenged are caused by god's spirit leaving them and Satan trying to deceive them.
By teaching that "contention is of the devil," religious leaders are in effect teaching young people that the sense of confusion and cognitive dissonance in their minds as they start to question their beliefs or come across conflicting information, is a sign from god that they should stop immediately, lest Satan should ensnare and trap them on a course for eternal destruction. Talk about a psychological defense mechanism set up to preserve pet beliefs. And add to this sickening gut feeling that doubt is a sin with the assured disappointment of Mom, and it is a wonder that anyone makes it out of religion.
Returning to his anti-polygamy shtick from the previous chapter, Jacob warns the Nephites that they have become more wicked than their evil Lamanite brothers:
"5 Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father--that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms committed among them."
Again, these very specific proclamations against polygamy, which can be found throughout the Book of Mormon, were used by Joseph to assure naysayers and authorities that he and his merry band of intermarrying Mormons were not polygamists, when, in fact, they were. Joseph used the Book of Mormon to lie.
What I find most interesting about this verse, in particular, is the claim that at this time the Nephites were more wicked than the Lamanites. If this was the case, why didn't god turn the skin of the Nephites black, as he did to the Lamanites? Furthermore, if the Lamanites were more righteous than the Nephites, why didn't god turn the skin of the Lamanites white again, as promised? A couple verses down the page, Jacob even warns them that this will happen:
"8 O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God."
That's the problem with gods; they're unreliable.
This verse actually carries another implication I have never considered before: when people are brought before god to be judged, the blackness of their skin will reflect their righteousness on earth, in much the same way Joseph's successor, Brigham Young, taught that people were born with black skin on earth due to unrighteousness in the pre-existence. Presumably, black people who join the Mormon Church (and don't have their skin whitened in this life) will have whiter skin in heaven. This is curious.
I have met black people who wish they had been born white, but this has always been a reflection of racism inherent in our society. Outside of the context of sparing oneself from racist prejudices and harassment, I can't think of anyone with dark skin who genuinely wants to be white. But I do know several white people who wish their skin was darker. Heathens...
The whole concept is absurd and archaic. It reflects the racist culture of Joseph's youth more than god-inspired truth.
In a few verses throughout this chapter Jacob pulls out the sympathy card on behalf of the Lamanites. He explains that the current generation of Lamanites (the second generation, mind you) is "filthy" because their fathers taught them to be so. It isn't they're fault. And because it isn't their fault, god will be more lenient towards them come judgement day than he will be towards the Nephites, who have been taught better. I wonder why god bothered to curse the first generation of Lamanites, negatively affecting countless generations of people more righteous than his "chosen people"--or at least with some excuse for their "filthy" behavior--in the first place.
This goes back to the concept I touched on in the previous chapter concerning the damning effects of Mormons proselytizing to non-Mormons. The leniency awarded by god to the disbelieving Lamanites, and the harsher judgements poured down on the Nephites--both being a direct result of either being taught the truth or not in this life--is exactly the point I was making. Exactly. Missionary work is demonstrably harmful in every way according to Mormonism's own holy book and theology. Good thing the "harm" is as imaginary as the god that would dole it out.