Literary Gems in the Book of Mormon

Literary Gems In The Book Of Mormon

By Elder E. Cecil McGavin

Author of “Mormonism and Masonry” and “Cumorah’s Gold Bible.”

THE Book of Mormon contains many gems of beauty, wisdom and philosophy which tower above the intellectual environ - ment of the frontier settlements of New York in 1830. Such precious gems as these were not the thoughts of Joseph Smith or his generation. Like the pearl of great price which merchantmen found after diligently searching, these literary gems are of great value.

In the Bible such literature is largely limited to a very few books, while in the Book of Mormon they are freely sprinkled over all of its pages. Such gems are an expression of culture, coming late in the civilization of people, yet the first Nephite scribe made extensive use of this advanced and learned literary construction.

Every sermon that was preached and every epistle that was transcribed by the Nephite evangelists contained choice expressions equal to the Book of Psalms and Proverbs in literary beauty and philosophy.

From the writings of Mormon we select a few choice gems that were written on the eve of the annihilation of his people.

“And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried:

“O ye fair ones, how could ye 'have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!

“Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.

“O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!

“But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.”—Mormon 6:16-20.

“Behold, my heart cries; Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, and wickedness and abominations from before thy face! …

“O the depravity of my people! They are without order and without mercy. Behold, I am but a man, and I have but the strength of a man, and I cannot any longer enforce my commands.—Moroni 9:15, 18.

Mormon spoke of the insincerity and hypocrisy of those in his day who professed to take the name of Christ:

“And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine, apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.

“For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted. 

“O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, Why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than the misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?

“Why de ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?

“Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads?

“Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer.”— Mormon 8:36-41.

PROFOUND PHILOSOPHY

Lehi proclaimed the profound philosophy of the virtues of adversity in these words:

“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life, neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

“And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.”

Nephi gave expression to a beautiful lamentation thus:

“Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

“Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

“Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

“O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?

“May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

“O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of my righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thon not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.”—II Nephi 4:28-33.

At a time when the Nephite soldiers fell before the warriors of the Lamanites, Alma sought to comfort his people with this philosophy:

“Do ye suppose that, because so many of your brethren have been killed it is because of their wickedness? I say unto you, if ye have supposed this ye have supposed in vain; for I say unto you, there are many who have fallen by the sword; and behold it is to your condemnation;

“For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.”—Alma 60:12, 13.

Mormon said, concerning the participants of war:

“But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed.

It was said respecting the death of Laban:

“Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.”— I Nephi 4:13.

Alma said of the sinister influence of a wicked man:

“Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place place among the children of men.”—Alma 46:9.