Passing thoughts on Healings, Judgmentalism, and the World’s Wisdom

Post by Bill Bailey

The past few months, we have been attempting to read two or three verses from the Book of Mormon each night with our Sunbeam-age son, Asher, before he goes to bed. The reading has become a comfort to him as part of his nightly routine and he now cannot be put to bed without it.

We were reading in 1 Nephi 11:31-33 (plus 34 to 36 for this thought). The context is a portion of Nephi seeing the tree of life vision, as the Spirit of the Lord—in the form of a man, but in Spirit—interprets various parts of the dream for him:

31And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were ^asick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with ^bdevils and ^cunclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were ^dhealedby the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.

 32And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was ^ataken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was ^bjudged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

 33And I, Nephi, saw that he was ^alifted up upon the cross and ^bslain for the sins of the world.

 34And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to ^afight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.

 35And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious ^abuilding, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to ^bfight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

 36And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the ^apride of the world; and it ^bfell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

What struck me in this passage in this reading was the epic symbolism of (1) the power of God over literally the scariest/most troubling things on Earth (disease, devils, etc.), (2) the astonishing and ironic judgment of the world against its Savior (the world thinks it has the right and duty to judge its God?), and (3) the exceedingly great fall of the large and spacious building that represents the pride and wisdom of the world.

A few thoughts on each of these.

Healing

Those who were healed were healed by the power of the Lamb of God as he went forth among the children of men. What do we learn from who the Lord is here—what type of man was he? What does His healing tell us? Why is this attribute so important to show Nephi (and us, the reader, millennia later)? Why was He going around healing people instead of freeing the Jews from the oppressive Romans (isn’t that what good kings do—free their enslaved people…?).

Perhaps certain attributes of God take priority over others here. For example, what could be more merciful than healing? What could be more compassionate? What could be more personal than being healed? What would be more memorable than living with a physical or mental or spiritual ailment for months and years and then, in one instant, be freed of it? What could make a more powerful mark on the people regarding the power of God, than freeing them of their ailments, physical and spiritual?

Judgment of World

After these precious gifts (including the healing power of the Gospel itself), the world turned on the Lord. He was taken by the people and judged and then made subject to an inhumane, painful death. Why did such men think they could judge a man who had manifested such great powers of healing—powers of helping and lifting others? Was it fear? Was it anger? Was it indifference? Was it ignorance? In what ways is speaking and doing righteousness considered a form of blasphemy according to the world today?

Here’s a thought I admittedly don’t spend too much time thinking about–am I prepared to withstand such judgments of the world myself, as I attempt to follow the Savior? Am I prepared to be judged of the world?

Fall of Pride and the World’s Wisdom

“[T]he multitude of the earth” is not a small number of people. But the imagery of its great fall is clear. It is quite vivid that those who put their faith in the Wisdom of the world—wisdom that may have well been around for many generations—will ultimately face destruction, while those who put their faith in the wisdom of God (and his apostles) will not face such a downfall. What clearer choice can we have?

My three-year-old doesn’t quite grasp a lot of this yet—I’m still trying to figure it out myself. But I can’t wait to have these discussions with him as he grows up.