Weekly E-mail Reminder

	HIDDEN LDS/JEWISH INSIGHTS #17 Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Supplement by Daniel Rona Weekly E-mail Reminder << A SEER . . . BECOMETH A GREAT BENEFIT TO HIS FELLOW BEINGS >> Mosiah 7-11 --------------------------------------------------------------------- (1.) SEARCHING FOR RELATIVES: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ammon and fifteen men searching for relatives is similar to Jews seeking out Jews wherever they might be in the world. Imagine the surprise of an entire nation of black Ethiopian Jews when white Jews discovered them just a few decades ago! ". . . this (Ethiopian) group refer to themselves as Beta Israel . . . They practice an early form of Judaism . . . According to their tradition, their ancestors were . . . Menelik, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba . . ." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (2.) BEING FOUND BROUGHT LIGHT AND KNOWLEDGE: --------------------------------------------------------------------- The absorption and integration of Ethiopian Jews into Israel’s society have some parallels with Ammon’s discovery of the people of Limhi. Limhi’s people had lost their identity and their covenant relationship to God. They lost their "seer." Now, they were given a chance to get a "proper education" as they expressed their desire for pure light and knowledge once again. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (3.) MAGEN DAVID (STAR OF DAVID) - YES AND NO: --------------------------------------------------------------------- One possible explanation is that the two triangles represent a characterization of the Urim and Thummim. According to statements attributed to Joseph Smith, the Urim and Thummim were two triangular stones connected by a silver bow. One pointed up and the other pointed down. According to a paper given at Hebrew University by John Tvedtnes, now Senior Researcher at FARMS (BYU), the words Urim and Thummim may come from Egyptian words similar to "RMMM" and "TMMM," one meaning yes or act upon it (positive), the other a more negative meaning (leave it alone). Since the Urim and Thummin were revelatory tools, it is possible that they represent a procedure or operate on a simple principle of revelation with answers of yes or no. (Doctrine & Covenants 9:8) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (4.) CONTRAST OF FOLLOWING GOOD OR EVIL: --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Book of Mormon chapters being examined this lesson show a contrast of leaders, righteous and unrighteous. In the Middle East, the followers of Islam, a religion started by Mohammed, are called Moslems. The word "Moslem" means a follower. Today, we can see how deeply ingrained their culture is in following – righteous and unrighteous leaders. --------------------------------------------------------------------- (5.) GATHERING INFORMATION AND SPYING: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Reading Zeniff, we can reflect on the importance of gathering information about those who choose to be our enemies. The tiny nation of Israel has many parallels to "spying" mentioned in the Book of Mormon. One Israeli military leader, a skilled spy and archaeologist was Nelson Glueck. "Nelson Glueck was an important archaeologist and conducted excavations throughout Transjordan . . . as president of Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Glueck opened branches of the college in New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem. He wrote many articles in learned journals, and several important books on archaeology." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) Another military leader, trained intelligence gatherer, statesman and archaeologist was Dr. Yigal Yadin. "When 16 years of age, Yadin joined the Haganah, Israel's pre-State defense force. As its operations and planning officer, he was responsible for drawing up and directing the operations of the War of Independence (1948). From 1952 Yadin devoted himself to archaeology, in 1956 receiving the Israel Prize for Jewish Studies for his research on one of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He served as a deputy prime minister for the Ninth Knesset and left politics, returning to academic life, in 1981." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (6.) ANTI-SEMITISM SPAWNED BY MISINFORMATION: --------------------------------------------------------------------- One of the tragic things that have happened to Arabs living around Israel is the amount of false information they have been given about the Jews. "In a sense, the unbelievable excesses of Nazism shocked the world for a while. People began to realize what anti-Semitism could lead to. But only for a while. Anti-Semitism began to rear its ugly head again, particularly in Soviet Russia . . . and, because of their conflict with the State of Israel, many Arab countries adopted anti-Semitic propaganda." ". . . the people who fled Israel during the 1948 War of Independence . . . settled in Arab lands, mainly Jordan and Lebanon, where they were not allowed to integrate into the population but were kept in refugee camps where they were fed vicious anti-Israel propaganda." (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (7.) HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF: --------------------------------------------------------------------- There are numerous parallels of the Book of Mormon peoples, the Nephites and the Lamanites and the Middle East peoples, the Jews and the Arabs.
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