Right and Wrong

I have come to believe and appreciate something about the Book of Mormon that I think is of staggering importance.

If you do away with the chapters and verses and see the Book of Mormon as a set of separate (yet related and complementary) parables, motifs, events, and sermons, and you line them up and abbreviate them, a picture emerges, at least for the first few books.

You might see it like this; 1.) Lehi departs Jerusalem. 2.) Tree of Life. 3.) Apostasy & Restoration. 3.) Olive Tree. and so on.

I believe the events were ordered so the record would reflect the basic principles that people need to learn, then principles that build upon that foundation. For example, one of the first things we learn is that there is a God and He speaks to man (1 Nephi 1:8). This is first principle of the gospel.

Next, and the point of this post, is what makes something right or wrong. This understanding is critical to a mature saint, not to mention a true mystic.

When Nephi cut off Laban’s head he hesitated because he knew murder was wrong. But, Nephi also knew what makes something right or wrong is whatever God says is right or wrong. That is the definition.

There is no moral code above God. A selective or conditional agreement to accept God’s commands, because they may be wrong (you disagree with them) betrays a number of things including:

1.) A lack of faith in God (because he may do wrong) [Lectures on Faith Section 3].
2.) A rebellion against God.
3.) You have become a law unto yourself, deciding what is right.

These are not principle that will save, exalt, or unfold the mysteries. When we get our hearts inline with the Plan of Salvation, we seek His will in carrying out this plan, whatever the cost.

Whatta say, how about joining the cause?