588-Page Book of Mormon in Alphabetics

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Page 588 in Zodhiates' NT Lexicon

In selectively viewing the definitions on page 588 of my Zodhiates NT lexicon, a story of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon seems to emerge:

1748 "to lie in wait..."
1749 "a lying in wait"
1750 "to roll or wrap up;" Ant. "to roll away, such as a sepulcher stone."
1751 "things within, means those things which are within the human hear; of the inner man"
1752 "on account of, for the sake of"

Joseph had to wait for years, before he could remove the plates from the stone box in which they were encased, and bring them forth for the sake of the world.  The records had been deposited there some 1400 years prior.

Viewing the page objectively, one could also view some of these definitions as throwing the opposite light on the Book of Mormon.

The first words on the page, spilling over from definition 1747 on the previous page, are:

(1388), guile, deceit; rhadiourgia (4468), malignity, mischief; empaigmos (1701), derision, mocking; sunomosia (4945), plot, conspiracy.
    Ant.: eilikrineia (1505), sincerity; euthutes (2118), rectitude, straightforwardness; timios (5093), honorable.

That certainly describes the controversy with which the Book of Mormon was received in its day, and the charges leveled against Joseph Smith as its author.

Critics of the Alphabetics approach argue that one could read anything they want and support whatever point of view they want through these codes.

I like to look at them as a touchstone of the heart, giving a cause to ponder and probe what one really believes and why. 

The first antonym word above, "sincerity" is one I like to claim for myself, as it is one of the definitions of my name, Sterling.  With that sincerity, I seek to to scrutinize all things that I believe, and discern whether or not it is right and uplifting or not -- independent of what others tell me or what is supposed to be "the word of God."  I define for myself what is right and what is not.  My relationship with deity is between me and God, with my conscience as my guide.

The first full definition on page 588 seems more a description of the role John D. Lee played in the Mountain Meadows Massacre, in which he approached the beleaguered wagon train with a token of truce, when in truth he was leading them to their death.

1748 enedreuo fut. enedreuso, from enedra (1747), an ambush.  To lie in wait as in war or in ambush in order to kill someone.... By implication, to lie in wait as for prey in order to ensnare or seize, to watch narrowly...
    Syn: (64), to entrap, catch; ...(2221), to catch alive, capture or ensnare; (1185), metaphorically, to beguile, entice.

The betraying act of Lee was not done alone.  He was acting under orders of the LDS Church leadership at the time.  Though he was isolated, excommunicated, and executed as a scapegoat as if he was the sole man responsible, he was, in actuality an embodiment of the state of the Church membership at that time.  What he did, was the wish and fulfillment of the hearts of vengeance of the Mormons as a whole at that time.

And this was on September 11, 144 years before the ignominious attack on America.

What does this have to do with the Book of Mormon?

Perhaps it is a case in point illustration that the Mormons blew it.  They completely missed the point of the Book of Mormon, and rather than embracing its message of a mighty change of heart and a godly walk, they chose to isolate those passages that justified (at least in their mind) a bloody vengeance.

To this day, they deny Church culpability in the deed of September 11, 1857

Word 1857 in the NT lexicon gives this sobering definition:

1857 exoteros Outer, exterior.  Matt. 8:12; 22:13 refer to a place for unbelievers, while Matt. 25:30 may refer to a place of less reward for servants who did not use their God-given talents.
    Ant. esoteros (2082), inner.

I would not bring up this correlation to Mountain Meadows Massacre, except that it seems to be thematic for this particular study on 588 and the Book of Mormon.

Word 588 is on p. 222 of Zodhiates

The definition I cited above for word 588 in the NT lexicon, is found on page 222 of Zodhiates.

Here is the catch.  On page 222 of Krakauer's book, "Under the Banner of Heaven," (which is what spurred me to do this study on 588 in the first place, and which I am still reading at the time of this writing) is where the story of John D. Lee's horrific act is told.  The phrase, "September 11" [1857] is located on the center of the page.

    "The next morning, September 11, Lee sent an English convert named William Bateman toward the encircled emigrants under a white flag; Batemen as instructed to tell them that the Mormons were there to intercede with the Indians on the Arkansan's behalf, and would escort them to safety past the hostile Paiutes if the emigrants would hand over their weapons.  After Batemen indicated that the emigrants were willing to parley, Lee approached the emigrant stronghold to 'arrange the terms of the surrender.'
    " 'As I entered the fortifications,' Lee reported, 'men, women, and children gathered around me in wild consternation.  Some felt that the time of their happy deliverance had come, while others, though in deep distress, and all in tears, looked upon me with doubt, distrust and terror.'  It took Lee at least two hours to win the emigrants' confidence, but eventually, seeing no alternative, they agreed to his terms and gave up their weapons."

They were then lead to their slaughter in which 120 men, women and children were butchered in short order.

It is noteworthy, I think, that the last phrase prior to the definition for word 588, the anonym listed for word 587, is:

    Ant.: apobletos (579), rejected; adikimos (96), not standing the test.

The statement that I have posted at the foot of each page of this greaterthings.com website, "Would God that All the Lord's people were prophets," is an appeal for each person to take responsibility for his/her own actions before God, to discern all things for themselves, and to measure all things by the standard of conscience or common sense.  This, I believe, is the invitation of scriptures.  And it his message, that I believe is being missed so profoundly by the Mormon culture today -- who's marching orders are to "follow the prophet."

According to his own account, John D. Lee did what he did in the name of following his church (and government -- they were one and the same at that time in the Utah territory / Deseret) leaders for the promised reward of the highest degree of glory in heaven, in defiance of his own best judgment.  Any truly 'faithful' Mormon man of in that day would have done the same thing, given the circumstance.

The Church's long denial of culpability in this matter is a cowardly act that demands corporate repentance.  Whitewashing of history and ignoring such things stands as an impediment to the maturing of the church and their destined role as world peacemakers in the latter days.

They need to make a choice about what they teach, and come clean about their past mistakes, and embrace a more enlightened and gentle theology.  Their present theology has become stagnant for lack of growth and use.

Page 588 in the 1966 LDS Bible

Page 588 of a 1966 LDS publication of the Bible has an interesting correlation.  It spans I Chron. 22:6b - 23:4a wherein is found the story of how the Lord declined David to build the temple saying "Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight." (22:8.)

While this doesn't seem to point directly to the Book of Mormon, it does tie in to the sub-plot we saw earlier addressing the Mountain Meadows Massacre.  Perhaps that event amounted to a collective sin on the part of the Mormons of that day, and that as long as the church does not repent of that error, their progress will be impaired.

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