Latter-day Saint Seminar Volume 4, Number 40 October 20, 2000 ________________________________________________________________________ Table of Contents ________________________________________________________________________ GD40 - 3 Nephi 16, 20-21 Article 1 - Comments by S. Kurt Neumiller kurtn@cybcon.com Article 2 - Structure by D. Lynn Johnson dlj5@voyager.net ________________________________________________________________________ Comments, by S. Kurt Neumiller ________________________________________________________________________ Comments on 3 Nephi 16 This chapter continues (cf. 15:11-24) the scattered Israel theme (v. 1-3) to elaborate on the times of the Gentiles (v. 4- 10) and the redemption of Israel (v. 11-20). v1-3 In addition to the present group of Lehites (cf. 15:11-24), there are other remnants of Israel scattered elsewhere (v. 1) who have yet to hear Jesus' teachings (v. 2). But, his Father has told him to go and visit these other remnants of Israel as well so they may be taught (v. 3). v4-10 Jesus then tells them to document his teachings so that if the Jews at Jerusalem do not learn about the remnants of Israel (and it certainly doesn't seem likely they will given his comments in 15:14-18), then the Gentiles will bring the written word to all of scattered Israel so they will all learn about him (v. 4). Thus will Israel be gathered and the Abrahamic Covenant be fulfilled (v. 5). And those Gentiles who believe Jesus' words by the Spirit will be blessed (v. 6). Jesus then explains that the truth, the fullness of his gospel, will come to the Gentiles in the last days because of their willingness to believe and Israel's unwillingness to believe (v. 7). But, affliction and sorrow on those Gentiles who do not believe in him, because they have abused his people (v. 8). The Lord has been merciful to the Gentiles and has judged Israel, causing them to be smitten by the Gentiles (v. 9). But when the Gentiles sin against the gospel and reject it, then he will take it from them (v. 10). v4-7 On the times of the Gentiles, cp. 21:4-6, Luke 21:24, the JST on Luke 21:32, Rom. 11:25, D&C 45:24-35, JS-H 1:41. v6 "in and of the Holy Ghost", as Jesus will never manifest himself personally to the Gentiles he will send the Holy Spirit to testify of himself, cf. 15:23, 1 Ne. 10:11, 2 Ne. 26:13, John 15:26, John 16:7. v8-9 The scattering and abuse the remnants of Lehi suffer at the hands of the Gentiles was considerable. First the Spanish and Portugese Conquistadores predominantly in South and Central America then the post-Colonial era expansion into Western North America. Even to this day the descendants of the native Indians generally suffer at the hands of the descendants of the European immigrants. v10 The message is when the Gentiles become apostate and wicked and scattered Israel humbles itself, then the Lord will reject the Gentiles and accept Israel. It's a matter of reversal. The Gentiles are more accepting than Israel in v. 7, but here they are less accepting than Israel. When exactly this event occurs is a matter of speculation. B. H. Roberts was of the opinion that when the Saints were driven West out of the U.S. into what was then Mexican territory was when this prediction was fulfilled. Forced to select a specific point in time I would favor a yet future event given the various predictions in v. 14-20, which are typically cast as being associated with the Second Advent of Christ. However, if we reflect on Enos' allegory of the olive tree in Jacob 5 we will recall there was a gradual grafting in of the natural tame branches concurrent with a gradual removal of the wild branches which had gone bad (cf. Jacob 5:65-74). While over-literalizing allegories is problematic, Smith was tasked very early on to preach to the remnants of Lehi (D&C 3:18-20, D&C 10:45-55, D&C 28:8). And, that has persisted ever since and only expanded. So, I generally favor a more gradual fulfilment than some specific event. v11-20 When the Gentiles reject him (v. 8-10), Jesus will return to the covenant with Israel and reintroduce them to the gospel (v. 11), and show them the Gentiles will not have power over them (v. 12). Now, if the Gentiles do repent, then they will be numbered among Israel (v. 13) and not crushed underfoot (v. 14), but if they don't then Israel will abuse them just as they have abused Israel (v. 15). The Father has told Jesus that this land is for the inheritance of the remnants of Lehi (v. 16). When they ultimately inherit it is when, in part, Isaiah's prediction of Zion will be fulfilled (v. 17-20). v14 "tread them down", just as the Gentiles did to Israel in v. 8. The scattered (v. 8) become the scatterers (v. 15) when they repent and return to the Lord. v15 "tread them down...as salt that hath lost its savor", a fulfilment of 12:13, implying deliberate apostasy on the part of the Gentiles. v18-20 A quotation of Isa. 52:8-10, also partially quoted again in 20:32-35. v19 "Jerusalem", in the Isaiah quote the primary contextual reading is that of ancient Jerusalem being redeemed and reestablished as Zion. However, in the present usage, Jesus is referring to the establishment of a new Jerusalem in the New World, another Zion, cf. 20:22. General Comments on 3 Nephi 20-21 These chapters are a continuation of the redemption of Israel theme left of in ch. 16, cf. 20:11. In ch. 20 Jesus discusses the role of the Gentiles (cf. 20:10-28) and the fulfilment of various OT prophecies concerning the gathering of Israel (cf. 20:29-46). In ch. 21 Jesus gives the sign of the start of the gathering of Israel (cf. 21:1-7), and ties it to the determining factor on which of the Gentiles and which of Israel are gathered in and which are cast off and destroyed (cf. 21:8- 29). Both of these chapters rely heavily on the rhetorical style of the OT prophets, particularly Isaiah. Familiarity with the OT prophetic writings will definitely be an aid in understanding this text. Comments on 3 Nephi 20 In reading this chapter we cannot take the events describe herein as occurring linearly. Reading it as though v. 10-19 happens, then v. 20-28 happens, then v. 29-46 happens will leave the reader terribly confused as they really are all talking about the same single event. What each portion does is address the same even from a different viewpoint so as to emphasize a particular point. Verses 10-19 emphasize that Israel will be gathered and made the Lord's people and the Gentiles will be under Israel's heel, a reversal of Israel's general history. Verses 20-28 then expound upon this theme to emphasize this reversal is because Israel is the Lord's covenant people where the Gentiles have no covenant. And, v. 29-46 emphasize that Israel's return to the Lord will be when the remnants receive the fulness of the gospel and accept Christ. All three sections address the gathering of Israel, each emphasizing a particular point thereof. v1-9 Jesus administers the sacrament to the enlarged audience. He initially administered it the day before (cf. 18:1-11) using the same pattern of administration (v. 2-7) and explanation (v. 8). The noteworthy differences here are Jesus providing bread and wine miraculously (v. 6-7) and the people being filled with the Spirit afterwards (v. 9). v1 Ending the prayers of the preceding chapter, Jesus tells them to continue to pray in their hearts. To the Western mind this is somewhat baffling as we consider prayer a formalized act, so how could they keep praying when they are watching Jesus administer the sacrament? The Semitic notion of prayer is less formal. The Hebrew term "palal" (which term also serves as the root for the Hebrew "tephillah" [Strong's 08605] which is commonly translated to "prayer") is defined in Strong's as follows: 06419 palal {paw-lal'} a primitive root; TWOT - 1776; v AV - pray 74, made 3, judge 2, intreat 1, judgment 1, prayer 1, supplication 1, thought 1; 84 1) to intervene, interpose, pray 1a) (Piel) to mediate, judge 1b) (Hithpael) 1b1) to intercede 1b2) to pray The term applies to considerably more than just the formal act of praying and carries a meaning of entreaty, supplication and thought (see the KJV on Gen. 48:11 for the translation to "thought"). Thus, Jesus' command for them to continue to pray in their hearts, the heart being the seat of one's desires to the Semitic mind, means he is telling them to keep the same thoughts and desires continuing with them even though they stop the formal act of prayer to participate in the sacrament. v3 "bread", the previous day the bread was provided by the disciples at Jesus' request. Here, Jesus provides the bread. As the people were probably observing the Passover the bread provided by the disciples would have been unleavened. In this case with Jesus providing the bread and teaching them concerning the end of the Law (cf. 15:1-10), it would have been a particularly poignant symbol for him to provide his own bread and it be leavened. If he did, then the Lamb of God, the ultimate symbol of the old Passover, supercedes the disciple's unleavened bread of the old Passover with his own leavened bread of the Sacrament as a transformation of the old Passover Seder. Unfortunately, Mormon doesn't give us any details concerning the bread itself which would indicate such symbolism, only that it was produced miraculously. But, it does stand to reason that if Jesus was teaching them to no longer observe the old Passover that the bread he would provide would leavened. v10-28 Jesus reviews the material covered the preceding day (v. 10-19, cp. 16:4-20), and then expands upon the subject (v. 20- 28). v10-19 Jesus informs them that when all of the words of Isaiah concerning Israel are fulfilled (v. 11), only then is the Father's covenant with them fulfilled (v. 12). When it is fulfilled all of the scattered remnants of Israel will know that Jesus is the Christ (v. 13) and be gathered to their ancestral lands (v. 14). Those Gentiles who do not repent and accept the gospel that was granted to them (v. 15) will be punished by Israel (v. 16-19). Given the considerably larger size of the crowd today over the day before, Jesus would recap yesterday's material for the benefit of the majority who were not present the day before. v10 "now I finish the commandment", cp. 16:3-4, 18:27. v11-12 Jesus' intent is to keep the remnants of natural Israel focused on their enduring covenant status until it is completely fulfilled, cp. 15:6-7. v11 "the words of Isaiah...search them", the words of Isaiah are recommended by Nephi (cf. 2 Ne. 25:5-7), Jesus (cp. 23:1), and Moroni (cf. Mormon 8:23). Despite this, it is largely treated as an impenetrable text by the LDS community. v16-19 are a composite paraphrase of a series of Micah passages, cp. v. 16-17 with Micah 5:8-9 and v. 18-19 with Micah 4:12-13. Jesus is invoking the Messianic and Redemptive themes of Micah 4- 5 and saying that when Israel does chose to return to him they will be made great and powerful and overthrow the nations that afflicted them. v20-28 Jesus expands upon the subject of v. 10-19 by contrasting the perilous situation the Gentiles are in (v. 20, 28) with the elect condition of Israel (v. 21-27). The underlying premise is that while there are promises to Abraham and all the subsequent patriarchs (v. 24-27) to preserve at least a remnant of their lineage, there is no such promise for the Gentiles. When the Lord says His sword is hanging over them in Judgement, it means there is no covenant there to prevent Him from annihilating them utterly if they deserve it. In the case of Israel, the Lord is bound by covenants such that he cannot utterly annihilate them, even if they deserve it. The Gentiles have nothing of the sort to protect them, and when they rebel against Him and reject His gospel they will be annihilated even as were the Jaredites. Naturally, the condition for Israel being restored to her full glory and is the acceptance of Christ (v. 23-24). v20 "the sword of my justice shall hang over them", cp. Ether 8:23, Isa. 34:1-8, D&C 87:6-8. v23 "cut off", i.e., from the covenant with Abraham, cf. 21:11. v28 "I will return their iniquities upon their own heads", cp. Isa. 51:23, D&C 45:25-31. v29-46 Jesus then expands upon the subject of v. 23-24 to explain that when scattered Israel receives the fulness of the gospel and accepts Him as Christ (v. 30-31) then they will be gathered and established upon her ancestral lands (v. 29). And when this occurs, all of the predictions of the OT Prophets be fulfilled and Zion will be founded and her people rejoice and so on (v. 32-45). Jesus then closes the quotations by stating plainly that all the predictions he just quoted will come to pass and Israel will be established on her ancestral lands (v. 46). v32-45 are a compounded quotation of selections from Isa. 52 and Isa. 54. v40-45 Note these verses quote Isa. 52:7 and Isa. 52:11-15 in the context of the marred servant being Israel, and not the Messiah as Christians generally like to read it, cp. 21:10. Comments on 3 Nephi 21 In this chapter Jesus focuses mainly on the role of the Gentiles in the restoration of Israel (v. 1-10), and the reaction the Gentiles will have to that role. Some will reject him (v. 11-21) and some will accept him and therefore assist in the gathering of Israel (v. 22-29). v1-10 Jesus gives a sign of when the work to gather Israel will start (v. 1, 7) and provides a couple of parenthetical comments (v. 4, 6) to explain why the Gentiles are going to be involved in it. The sign that the gathering of Israel has commenced in the last days (v. 1) is when these Scriptures written to the Lehites (v. 2) are brought forth to scattered Israel through the Gentiles (v. 3). It is part of the Father's plan to have the Gentiles set up on this land promised to Lehi's children because they will bring the gospel to the remnants of Israel (v. 4). Thus, the historical, contemporary, and future words written by the Lehites will go to the Gentiles in the last days, and they will give them to the remnants of the Lehites (v. 5). Again, it is part of the Father's plan to do it this way because then the Gentiles will have the opportunity to accept te gospel, repent, and be adopted into Israel's covenant (v. 6). So, when people see these writing come among them in the last days, they will know that work to gather Israel have started (v. 7). Jesus then paraphrases a number of OT Prophets to explain and contextualize his plan for the Gentiles and Israel (v. 8-10). v1 "I give unto you a sign", in Isa. 66:18-20 it says the Lord will give a sign among the Gentiles for the gathering of Israel. Jesus' comments here are probably in reference to this passage in Isaiah. v4 Compare 16:4. v8-10 The paraphrase in verse 8 is intended to draw on the context of Isa. 52:15 where the powerful kings of the Gentiles will be stunned and awed at the manner in which the Lord gathers Israel. Verse 9 draws on the sealed book context of 29:10-14 and then draws on Hab. 1:5 to invoke the message of Gentile nations being used to accomplish the Lord's goals with Israel (there in Hab. 1 the Lord is describing His plan to use the Chaldeans to suit His needs, but will then turn and punish the Chaldeans when they offend Him, just as the latter-day Gentiles do when they reject the gospel when it is sent among them). Verse 10 then paraphrases Isa. 52:14 to say that though Israel will be smitten at hands of the Gentiles, the Lord will relent from His anger and heal Israel per Isa. 57:17-19. v10 Note Jesus is quoting Isa. 52:14 in reference to Israel and not himself, indicating plainly that passage has a broader application than only referring to the Messiah. Also compare 20:44. v11-21 Jesus states plainly that whoever will not believe his words, which will come through the Gentiles, will be cut off from the covenant with Israel (v. 11). Then, the Lord's people will have power over the Gentiles (v. 12) when the Gentile's worldly power and ways will be thrown down (v. 13-19). Because whoever will not accept Jesus Christ will be cut off from Israel (v. 20) and the Lord will execute terrible fury upon them, the likes of which have never been seen before (v. 21). v12-19 are a compound of various OT Prophetic statements. Verse 12 is another quote of Micah 5:8. And, not surprisingly, v. 13- 19 are quite derivative of Isaiah's descriptions of Babylon, cp. Isa. 13:19, Isa. 21:9, Isa. 43:17, Isa. 47:9-13. Also cp. Isa. 2:6-20 and Isa. 5:8-23 where apostate Israel is castigated for being like the Philistines. v21 is referring to the Day of the Lord, which in NT parlance is called the Second Coming. v22-29 However, if the Gentiles hear the words of Christ and repent, then the Lord will establish the Church among them and they will be included in Israel's covenant (v. 22), and assist in the gathering of natural Israel so New Jerusalem will be built (v. 23). If and when New Jerusalem is built, then the believing Gentiles will further assist in gathering natural Israel (v. 24), and the power of God will be with them and Christ himself will be among them (v. 25). Then the work to gather in the Lehites and all the remnants of Israel will be in earnest (v. 26) so there will be a way made for all the remnants to return to the Lord (v. 27) and be gathered to their ancestral lands (v. 28). Scattered Israel will go out from among the nations with the Lord watching over them (v. 29). v23 "that they may build a city...New Jerusalem", the early saints were commanded through Smith to start building New Jerusalem so as to establish Zion (cf. D&C 84:3-4), but as a result of various difficulties this was never achieved (cf. D&C 124:51). However, this did not preclude the world wide missionary effort discussed in v. 26-28. If we compare v. 23-24 with Ether 13:6-8, we will note in the passage in Ether it states New Jerusalem will be built by the remnants of Joseph. In v. 23 it says the Gentiles "shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob" when the New Jerusalem is built. This suggests the time when New Jerusalem will be built is when the Church is composed of a significant portion of natural Israel, and perhaps even a majority. This might seem arbitrary or irrelevant, but in the context of Enos' allegory of the olive trees the tame olive tree ends up doing best and producing the most good fruit after the wild grafts which have gone bad are removed and replaced with grafts of returning tame branches. v29 quotes Isa. 52:12 again as did 20:42. The imagery of the Lord as their vanguard and rearward invokes the original exodus where there was a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day which lead them at the front and protected them at the rear. ________________________________________________________________________ Structure, by D. Lynn Johnson ________________________________________________________________________ Today I will discuss 40 and part of 41, 3 Nephi 20:11 to 23:3, because herein lies the absolutely best example of inverted parallel structure that I have found or heard of in all scripture. You really need to see the full reformatted text to fully appreciate it - http://www.cybcon.com/~kurtn/exegesis.html. Jesus Christ mentions Isaiah exactly twice in the Book of Mormon account of His visit to the Nephites and Lamanites, in 3 Nephi 20:11 and 3 Nephi 23:1-3. Moreover, He urges the people to search Isaiah, and promises the fulfillment of his words, in both instances. Between these two statements He quotes Micah (excerpts from chapters 4 and 5), Isaiah (excerpts from chapter 52 and all of 54), and Acts (3:22-26, which is a reference to a prophecy in Deuteronomy 18:15-19), rearranging the text in both Micah and Isaiah 52, altering the wording in places, and adds His own prophecies and commentary. While the narrative flows as a cogent whole, closer examination reveals intricate and intertwined patterns of repetition that serve remarkably to enhance the impact of the message and assist the student in understanding the meanings of the words, phrases, and paragraphs. I found 18 inverted systems here. The first level covers the entire text from 20:11 through 23:3, and its elements are labeled with doubled capital letters, with or without subscripts. The second level inverted systems, five in number, are labeled with single capital letters. Some of the nine third level inverted systems are labeled with lower case letters, but the smallest ones are left unlabeled to conserve space (for an example of the latter see 20:23). One of the two fourth level inverted systems is labeled with lower case Roman numerals, and the other is unlabeled. The single fifth level system, of minimal size, is unmarked and delineated by indentation only; it is the first part of 20:16. Thus, this little system belongs to four other inverted systems. Four inverted systems commence with 20:11. They extend, in turn, to the end (23:3), through 20:35, through 20:19, and to the first part of verse 12. It may be significant that four inverted systems commence with Christ's words "Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled...". The subject matter of the 9 third level systems follow an inverted pattern. The central system of these is found in 20:35. A great amount of overlap occurs in the inverted systems. The following statistics were obtained by word count: 1.16% of the text belongs to 5 inverted systems, 4.31% belongs to at least 4, 38.19% belongs to at least 3, 73.86% belongs to at least 2, and 100% belongs to at least 1. Summing these up, the ratio of the number of words that appear in at least one inverted system to the number of words in the text is 2.18. This is by far the greatest degree of overlap of structure that I have found in many hundreds of inverted systems in all four Standard Works. Just for fun I used the computer to count the words in these systems and determine the center points of each inverted system. The center of the turning point of the first level system is at almost the exact center of the system (at 48.76% of its total length). Despite this, there are two major imbalances in this system. The first BB (20:12-14) comprises 3 verses, while the second (22:1-17) includes 17, the whole of Isaiah 54. This is offset by the first CC2 (20:25-40), which has 16 verses, compared with 2 for the second CC2 (21:22-23). The centers of the turning points of the first through fifth level systems range from 30.81% to 69.19% of their lengths. The weighted average center, which takes into account the size of each system, is 50.22%, an astounding number indicating perfect overall balance in mass. In my mind, the Lord is the author of structure in scripture, so it is not surprising that his personal words would set the standard of excellence. Now, of course, this is the English translation of his words. Nevertheless, he was intimately involved in the translation, and made sure the balance came through. No frontier farmer boy, or the most erudite scholar, could hope to come close to this. I’ll show the overall structure and one of the second level systems, and comment on them below. You’ll need to see the rest on the web site. 3 Nephi 20:11-23:3 Inverted AA The words of Isaiah shall be fulfilled, therefore search them. // Search these things, for great are the words of Isaiah, and all things that he spake have been and shall be. BB Promises to Israel; the Lord will fulfill his covenants; promised land given and to be re-established; disruption of wicked Gentiles by remnant of Israel. // Promises to Israel; gathering and restoration of Israel; Israel to inhabit desolate cities of the Gentiles; oppressors to fall. CC1 Moses' prophecy of the Savior; people must hear or be cut off. // Those who will not believe the words of Christ shall be cut off, as Moses said. CC2 Israel to be purified, gathered and restored to Jerusalem. // Repentant to have the church, come into the covenant, be numbered among Israel, assist in building New Jerusalem. CC3 Gathering, the Lord to be with them. // Gathering to New Jerusalem; I, and the Father, will be with them. DD My servant shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. // Yet I will heal him. EE Many astonished, his visage and form marred. // Shall be those who believe not, but they shall not hurt him, though he shall be marred because of them. FF He shall sprinkle many nations. // The Father to work a great and a marvelous work. GG Kings shall shut their mouths. // Kings shall shut their mouths. HH Covenant of the Father to be fulfilled. // The work of the Father hath commenced unto fulfilling the covenant. II Gathering to be a sign. // It shall be a sign unto them. JJ When I declare these things. // When thy seed begin to know these things. KK Gentiles to recognize the remnant of Israel. // Repentant Gentiles to be numbered among Israel. LL When these things shall be made known unto the Gentiles of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father, from them unto you. // When these works and the words which shall be wrought among you hereafter shall come forth from the Gentiles, unto your seed. MM It is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of your seed, that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he covenanted with his people, O house of Israel. 3 Nephi 20:29-46 Inverted A I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people. The fulness of the gospel to be preached unto them, and they shall believe in me. Then will the Father gather them together again, and give unto them Jerusalem for the land of their inheritance. // Then shall Jerusalem be inhabited again with my people, and it shall be the land of their inheritance. B The Father hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of the Father. // Then shall the covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled. C Then shall be brought to pass that which is written. // All these things shall surely come. D1 Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength, O Zion... // Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch not that which is unclean...be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. D2 Ye have sold yourselves for naught. // His visage was so marred. D3 Ye shall be redeemed without money. // So shall he sprinkle many nations. D4 My people shall know my name. // The kings shall shut their mouths at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see. E Then shall they say: How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings unto them... This system encompasses the Lord’s quotes from Isaiah 52. The order has been rearranged by the Lord, which results in the pattern shown above. Here is the comparison of verses. Element 3 Nephi 20 Isaiah 52 First A 32 8 First A, first B 34-35 9-10 First D1 36-37 1-2 First D2 38a 3a First D3 38b 3b First D4 39 6 E (center point) 40 7 Second D1 41-42 11-12 Second D2 43-44 13-14 Second D3 45a 15a Second D4 45b 15b Note that verses 4-5 in Isaiah are not quoted by the Lord. Thus we see that the structure in 3 Nephi 20 is significantly different from that in Isaiah 52. In fact, although Isaiah 52:1-3 are parallel to verses 11-45a, there is little other parallelism in that chapter as it appears in the Bible. It is noteworthy that the structure of this second order system blends nicely into the overall system, which couldn’t have happened if Isaiah 52 had been quoted without rearrangement. Finding these parallels solved two decades-old problems for me simultaneously. I wondered what was meant by the marred visage, and also what was meant by “so shall he sprinkle many nations,” as found in Isaiah 52:14-15 and 3 Nephi 20:44-45. In the overall system these are the first EE and FF, respectively. The marred servant is mentioned again as the second EE, 21:9b-10, along with comments about unbelief. The second FF speaks of a great and marvelous work to be wrought by the Father. In the second order system described above we find the marred visage, the second D2, parallel to “Ye have sold yourselves for naught.” The sprinkling of many nations is parallel to “And ye shall be redeemed without money.” Thus, my puzzling verses have parallels both forward and backward in the text, perhaps emphasizing the importance of their message, and at least clarifying their meanings. To those who reject the gospel, it, and the Lord, are unattractive-even ugly, or marred. The sprinkling is the sprinkling of blood in propitiation (see Strong’s Hebrew dictionary), or the atonement. There is much more to be seen in the structure of today’s chapters. ________________________________________________________________________ Next Assignment: 3 Nephi 22-26 ________________________________________________________________________ A note to readers: LDS Seminar Digest [LDSS-D] is a summary of posts made to LDS Seminar, an open forum for discussion on upcoming Gospel Doctrine lessons. LDS Seminar [LDSS] posts are open to exegesis, textual analysis, historical issues, and life applications. Submissions to LDSS will not be edited for content, but not all submissions will be automatically included in LDSS-D. LDSS-D is a one way list, subscribers cannot post to LDSS-D. If you wish to post you must join LDSS. 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