The Book of Mormon and Writing

So, though it's not my day to blog, I attended part of the Sidney B. Sperry Symposium last night, and learned some interesting things I wanted to share here.

The symposium was based on speaking about "approaches to Lehi's Dream and Nephi's vision" of the Tree of Life.

Normally, I wouldn't have expected to find much related to written knowledge in an entirely oral symposium. However, the second speaker I listened to, Matthew L. Bowen, pointed out some very interesting things about the Book of Mormon that led me in the right direction.

The Book of Mormon, itself so key to our understanding of the gospel, shows within its pages why written knowledge is so important to a nation. As early as 1 Nephi 4:13, the Spirit implies to Nephi that his people will "dwindle and perish in unbelief" without the brass plates, their scriptural record.

(Okay, so that picture had nothing really to do with it. But it's funny. I'm fairly certain that the brass plates were not hidden in a maze, however...)

This insistence on retaining a scriptural record, even to the point where Nephi is commanded by the Spirit to kill Laban in order to obtain it, shows how vital writing is to the maintenance of the gospel's truths. Indeed, once the Lamanites split from the Nephites, they did "dwindle in unbelief", largely because of Laman and Lemuel's rebellion, of course, but also due to their lack of any sacred records. In fact, they didn't even know HOW to write anymore after a few generations of "idleness."

The people of Mulek had the same problem - they didn't bring any records at all, and by the time the Nephites found them, their language had been "corrupted" and they had lost their knowledge of the ways of the gospel, even to the point of "deny[ing] the being of their Creator", which to me sounds like having either no religion at all or a kind of spiritualism like some more tribal societies (Omni 1:17).

Not only is writing crucial to religion, but the Book of Mormon also shows that it is central to the very civilization of a society. The Lamanites, having lost their writing, were for years a people who were "full of idleness" (1 Nephi 12:23). However, once Amulon and the wicked priests (my roommate says that sounds like a rock band, btw) had integrated themselves among the Lamanites, they "taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another". This teaching was a very useful thing to their civilization, despite the utter wickedness of the source, and the Lamanites began to "increase in riches", and "to trade one with another and wax great," and they became "a wise people, as to the wisdom of the world,"(Mosiah 24:4-7).

This to me shows how important writing is to a people. In fact, it seems to be only after they learn to write that the Lamanites are able to advance as a society and begin to have their own culture and learning.

So how does this apply to us today? I believe it's a reminder not to take for granted the incredible wealth of written and recorded knowledge that we have, because it may be all that keeps us in the faith in the long term. How many new Christian churches have been started in the past two hundred years? Probably too many to count. How many Christian Churches have been restored with written proof of their validity, translated by the power of God through His Prophet on the Earth today?

Just one. The true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

That, I think, should tell us more than anything else about the power of the written word, and especially the written Word. God will not send us into the world without guidance. We have the teachings of the prophets always with us. The Book of Mormon is proof that God does love His children, and that He will help us in the way that's best for our needs, whether we realize it or not. He did not restore His Church through the mighty speech of a great orator; that would have gained a swift following, perhaps, but the significance and impact would fade as time went on. He restored His Church instead through the humility of a young man who had enough faith to do whatever the Lord asked of him, and was therefore able to bring us many more of the written Words of God, so that the gospel would never again be lost from the Earth.

To finish up, here's an irony for you: After Alma the Younger's miraculous angelic visitation, he and his friends, the sons of Mosiah, became very valiant missionaries. Ammon in particular was an incredible influence for good because of his steady faith and sure example. And how did he teach the Lamanites of Lamoni's kingdom?

"He laid before him the records and the holy scriptures of the people." (Alma 18:36)

And who taught the Lamanites to read and write, so that they could remember these things once they were taught them, which they accomplished even to the point that those who believed "never did fall away?" (Alma 23:6)

That was Amulon, an incredibly evil man who consistently persecuted all the believers under his power.

Romans 8:28:

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.