Mosiah 4:11-16
In the war between works and grace in the LDS doctrine, an early grace pioneer, Colleen Harrison, placed Mosiah 4:14 in the battlefield. She disagreed with the traditional interpretation that this scripture described actions parents needed to take (what I will call a should). Rather she claimed it described what parents would become after a change in heart (lets call it a shall).
She accused the Latter-day Saints of misunderstanding the order of things - thinking what we have to do to come unto the Lord is in fact what we get when we reconcile with him. In fact, so often in the Book of Mormon the exhortation to reach out to the goodness of God falls right before what we call a commandment that she accused us of simple dyslexia, reading things in the wrong order. Moving back a few verses to Mosiah 4:11 we find a list of shoulds, it even uses the word. We should remember God, remember our nothingness, remember God's goodness and long-suffering, humble ourselves, call on the Lord daily, stand steadfastly in the faith that Jesus will come. A check list for the mind. In fact Mosiah 4:11 ends a nice list of shoulds beginning Mosiah 4:9-10 (though really winding through the entire speech). Believe in God and his wisdom and power. Believe that we must repent. Once you can believe it, then do it. Things for the mind to work out.
Mosiah 4:12 begins a list of shalls, which again uses the word. Again, I claim that these things shall happen after one has repented and cast our nothingness onto a faith in Jesus' redemptive power, as described int the verses above. The rewards of becoming changed.
This is difficult to wrap my mind around. Being able to better take care of your children (actions) is the same sort of spiritual blessing as being able to always rejoice and love God (attitudes). But it is so. It has to be. I doesn't make any sense for anything else! We are dyslexic -- all we have to do to become like this is do the stuff before. What was that stuff in Mosiah 4:9-11 again? I can't remember, do you? Wait, we just covered this part in Sunday School. Unfortunately a Sunday School lesson written in the time of the works philosophy has to jump over all the confusing grace stuff, and land on this fairly insignificant point in Kind Benjamin's speech. Its a shame.
In the war between works and grace in the LDS doctrine, an early grace pioneer, Colleen Harrison, placed Mosiah 4:14 in the battlefield. She disagreed with the traditional interpretation that this scripture described actions parents needed to take (what I will call a should). Rather she claimed it described what parents would become after a change in heart (lets call it a shall).
She accused the Latter-day Saints of misunderstanding the order of things - thinking what we have to do to come unto the Lord is in fact what we get when we reconcile with him. In fact, so often in the Book of Mormon the exhortation to reach out to the goodness of God falls right before what we call a commandment that she accused us of simple dyslexia, reading things in the wrong order. Moving back a few verses to Mosiah 4:11 we find a list of shoulds, it even uses the word. We should remember God, remember our nothingness, remember God's goodness and long-suffering, humble ourselves, call on the Lord daily, stand steadfastly in the faith that Jesus will come. A check list for the mind. In fact Mosiah 4:11 ends a nice list of shoulds beginning Mosiah 4:9-10 (though really winding through the entire speech). Believe in God and his wisdom and power. Believe that we must repent. Once you can believe it, then do it. Things for the mind to work out.
Mosiah 4:12 begins a list of shalls, which again uses the word. Again, I claim that these things shall happen after one has repented and cast our nothingness onto a faith in Jesus' redemptive power, as described int the verses above. The rewards of becoming changed.
Mosiah 4:12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.These blessings are the fantastically wonderful things what I would expect: Happiness, staying saved, understanding God as you walk with him. Unlike the blessings of Mosiah 4:14 (where we started) which are not what I would expect. The verse between connects the list solidifies for me whether Colleen Harrison's claim is true. Mosiah 4:13 starts with "ye will" which in English can be either a command (you will clean this up or else), or a result (first clean up your room, and then you will get your allowance.) When I look at what verse 13 says will happen, its the things I would expect as a result of the preceding verses: having a desire to live peaceably, take care of each other. How can verses 14 and 15, (and in fact 16) whose form perfectly matches the preceding verses be anything but a continuation of the list?
Mosiah 4:14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.
Mosiah 4:15 15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.
This is difficult to wrap my mind around. Being able to better take care of your children (actions) is the same sort of spiritual blessing as being able to always rejoice and love God (attitudes). But it is so. It has to be. I doesn't make any sense for anything else! We are dyslexic -- all we have to do to become like this is do the stuff before. What was that stuff in Mosiah 4:9-11 again? I can't remember, do you? Wait, we just covered this part in Sunday School. Unfortunately a Sunday School lesson written in the time of the works philosophy has to jump over all the confusing grace stuff, and land on this fairly insignificant point in Kind Benjamin's speech. Its a shame.
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