{"id":34103,"date":"2015-10-06T15:42:54","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T20:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/?p=34103"},"modified":"2015-10-06T18:27:28","modified_gmt":"2015-10-06T23:27:28","slug":"smpt-teaser-a-close-reading-of-alma-32","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2015\/10\/smpt-teaser-a-close-reading-of-alma-32\/","title":{"rendered":"SMPT Teaser: A Close Reading of Alma 32"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/soil-type.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-34104\" src=\"http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/soil-type.jpg\" alt=\"soil-type\" width=\"265\" height=\"278\" \/><\/a>I&#8217;m presenting this Saturday at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smpt.org\/conferences_2015.html\">the conference in Provo<\/a>. I&#8217;ve kicked some of these ideas around for a while, but only started work on them in earnest recently. I&#8217;m addressing conceptions\u00a0of faith and knowledge in Alma 32 through close reading. For me, that process entails creating a bibliography to see what&#8217;s been done, and working through\u00a0the chapter closely and slowly, looking for patters and connections, textual issues, and logical flow.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The bibliography for Alma 32 is almost non-existent:\u00a0Brant Gardner&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/1GuVQ6p\">excellent commentary<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/43042330?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents\">an old BYU Studies article<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/rsc.byu.edu\/archived\/book-mormon-alma-testimony-word\/8-seeds-faith-followers-view-alma-32\">RSC book chapter<\/a>, and the <a href=\"http:\/\/publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu\/book\/an-experiment-on-the-word\/\">Alma 32 seminar<\/a>. Step 2 is creating a document and writing a paraphrase, which gets revised as I work through it again and again. Over the summer, I experienced the power of close group-reading and critique both in my Seminar and the weekly sessions at Joe Spencer&#8217;s house. And so below, I present a work-in-progress for discussion, critique, and ideas.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, I&#8217;m looking for clues to understand how Alma understands the difference between faith and knowledge <em>in terms of certainty<\/em>. \u00a0Forms of &#8220;know&#8221; appear 22x, and in significant passages, it&#8217;s &#8220;perfect knowledge.&#8221; What&#8217;s\u00a0the force of &#8220;perfect&#8221; in modifying &#8220;knowledge&#8221;? Is degree of certainty the difference between faith and knowledge?\u00a0(I don&#8217;t think it is, for Alma.) If not, what is?<\/p>\n<p><strong>General Observations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Working through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mormoninterpreter.com\/books\/volume-4-of-the-critical-text-of-the-book-of-mormon-analysis-of-textual-variants-of-the-book-of-mormon\/part-four-alma-21-55\/\">Skousen&#8217;s text-critical volume<\/a>, there are no major text-critical issues that obscure or enlighten my questions.<\/p>\n<p>Alma 32 makes a\u00a0highly rhetorical argument.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rhetorical questions appear in vv. 10, 11, 14, 18, 19, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35 (2x)<\/li>\n<li>Alma constructs hypothetical conversations with an opponent, e.g. 17, but also repeatedly says (against this opponent?) &#8220;I say&#8221;, &#8220;I said,&#8221; &#8220;I ask&#8221;, and &#8220;I would ask.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>The entire chapter is heavy on logical-flow filler words like &#8220;then,&#8221; &#8220;now,&#8221; &#8220;needs&#8221; (in &#8220;must needs be&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li>twice Alma appears to get off-track and must resume by saying &#8220;Now as I said concerning faith&#8230;&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>I&#8217;ve italicized words in\u00a0the 1981 text with commentary attached.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>1981 Text of Alma <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\" width=\"184\"><strong>My paraphrase<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>16<\/sup><\/strong> Therefore, <em>blessed<\/em> are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, <em>blessed<\/em> is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without <em>stubbornness of heart<\/em>, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>16<\/sup><\/strong> So, fortunate are those who humble themselves through choice rather than circumstance. Or, perhaps better said, whoever believes in God\u2019s word and is baptized, freely, without complicated argument or intellectual wrestling, is favored.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">\u201cBlessed\u201d in the KJV OT represents either be<em> bar?<\/em><em>?<\/em> (passive, \u201cblessed\u201d) or <em>\u2019a\u0161r?y <\/em>(\u201chappy, fortunate, blessed\u201d e.g. Psa 1:1) \u201c[W]hen barak is used the initiative comes from God. God can bestow his blessing even when man doesn&#8217;t deserve it. On the other hand, to be blessed (\u2019ashr\u00ea), man has to do something.\u201d (TWOT)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For Israelites, at least, the heart was the center of conscious thought and intention as well as emotion.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One must logically know in the sense of \u201cbe acquainted with\u201d the word before believing it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>17<\/sup><\/strong> Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know <em>of a surety<\/em>; then we shall believe.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>17<\/sup><\/strong> But lots of people say, \u201cif you show us a heavenly sign, then we\u2019ll be really convinced; then we\u2019ll believe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">Alma gives voice to a hypothetical opponent who equates three things: seeing a sign, knowing for certain, belief. On the other hand, Korihor had recently said, \u201cye do not know that there is a God; and except ye show me a sign, I will not believe.\u201d Alm 30:48<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cof a surety\u201d translates <em>\u2019umnam<\/em> in G 18:13.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>18<\/sup><\/strong> <em>Now<\/em> I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to <em>believe<\/em>, for he knoweth it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>18 <\/sup><\/strong>Now is that really faith? Look, I don\u2019t think so. If someone knows something, they have no reason to believe, because they know it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">\u201cNow\u201d appears 25x in this chapter. It begins every verse between 18 and 24. <a href=\"http:\/\/webstersdictionary1828.com\/Dictionary\/now\">Webster<\/a>, \u201c<strong>4.<\/strong> now sometimes expresses or implies a connection between the subsequent and preceding proposition; often it introduces an inference or an explanation of what precedes.<strong> 5.<\/strong> After this; things being so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Faith and belief seem to be interchangeable for Alma. 17 \u201cbelieve\u201d, 18 \u201cfaith\u201d \u201cbelieve.\u201d Faith is the noun, believe is the verb. \u201cBelief\u201d does appear elsewhere (14x), sometimes synonymous with \u201cfaith\u201d (Mos 25:18), sometimes<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cause<\/strong>&#8211; Webster&#8217;s 1828 \u201c<strong>2.<\/strong> That which produces an effect; that which impels into existence, or by its agency or operation produces what did not before exist; that by virtue of which any thing is done; that from which any thing proceeds, and without which it would not exist\u2026<strong>3.<\/strong> The reason or motive that urges, moves, or impels the mind to act or decide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mos 16:2, Alm 4:3, 8:15 cause= \u201creason, motive\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The idea is that knowing supersedes believing, because the cause is removed. Knowing has no cause?<\/p>\n<p>Hel 9:2-5, where they see then believe.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>19<\/sup><\/strong> And now, how much more cursed is he that knoweth the will of God and doeth it not, than he that only believeth, <em>or only hath cause to believe<\/em>, and falleth into transgression?<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>19<\/sup><\/strong> Isn\u2019t the person far more in trouble who knows God\u2019s will and doesn\u2019t do it, than someone who only believes or has reason to believe and comes up short?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">\u201cCursed\u201d is the natural pair to \u201cblessed\u201d in 16, with a similar variety of shades.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Is \u201chave cause to believe\u201d a restate, a parallel of \u201cto believe\u201d? Or does it indicate that you progress from having \u201ccause to believe\u201d to \u201cbelieving\u201d (by accepting the evidence of that cause?), to knowing?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>20<\/sup><\/strong> Now of this thing ye must judge. Behold, I say unto you, that it is on the one hand even as it is on the other; and it shall be unto every man according to his work.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>20 <\/sup><\/strong>It\u2019s on you to decide that. But look, I say the same rule applies everywhere, and everything will be fair.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>21<\/sup><\/strong> And now as I said concerning faith&#8211; faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>21<\/sup><\/strong> Now, as I was saying about faith\u2014faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; so if you have faith, you hope for things you have not seen, things which are true.<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">Alma gets off track twice, here and five verses later in 26, and must repeat the phrase \u201cNow as I said concerning faith\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Strong echoes of Heb 11:1 KJV. \u201cNow faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>22<\/sup><\/strong> And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who <em>believe on<\/em> his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on <em>his word<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>22<\/sup><\/strong> So, look, I\u2019m telling you, and I want you to remember, God is merciful to all who believe in him; so <em>a priori<\/em>, he wants you to believe, and in what? His word.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">Is there a difference between believing \u201cin\u201d and believing \u201con\u201d something here? \u201cBelieve in the word of god\u201d (v. 16) vs. \u201cbelieve on\u2026 his name\u201d (v.22)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cword\u201d is always singular in connection with God in Alma 32. Does it mean something concrete, like \u201cscripture\u201d? Or more intangible?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>23<\/sup><\/strong> And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>23<\/sup><\/strong> Fortunately, he gives his word through angels to men, but not just men; women too! He does not stop there. Small children often have words given to them that boggle the wise and educated.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>24<\/sup><\/strong> And now, my beloved brethren, as ye have desired to know of me what ye shall do because ye are afflicted <em>and cast out<\/em>&#8212; now I do not desire that ye should suppose that I mean <em>to judge you only according to that which is true<\/em> &#8212;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>24<\/sup><\/strong> And now, dear friends, since you\u2019ve wanted to know my views on what you should do because you\u2019re in bad shape and excommunicated from the synagogue (don\u2019t think I intend to judge you by anything other than the truth)<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">Brant Gardner thinks Mormon has misinterpreted the historical record here. See <em>Second Witness<\/em>, 445-6.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Royal Skousen, <em>Analysis of Textual Variants<\/em>, \u201cthere is a need here in the standard text for a comma before <em>only<\/em> in order to get the right meaning of \u2018except.\u2019 In this passage, none of the printed editions have ever had a comma before <em>only<\/em>.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>25<\/sup><\/strong> For I do not mean that ye all of you have been compelled to humble yourselves; <em>for<\/em> I verily believe that there are some among you who would humble themselves, let them be in whatsoever circumstances they might.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>25<\/sup><\/strong> For I certainly don\u2019t mean that all of you have been humbled through circumstance; indeed, I actually believe some among you would be humble regardless of circumstance.<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>26<\/sup><\/strong> Now, as I said concerning faith&#8211; that it was not a perfect knowledge&#8211; even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>26<\/sup><\/strong> Anyway, I had said that faith is not a perfect knowledge, and that\u2019s just how it is with my words. You can\u2019t verify them completely at first, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>27<\/sup><\/strong> But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a <em>particle<\/em> of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>27<\/sup><\/strong> But look, if you can get yourselves out of your mental rut so far as to put my words to the test, trusting (me?) a tiny bit, even if you just barely <em>want<\/em> to believe, cultivate that vague want so you can believe enough to make mental space for some of my words.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">Neither \u201carouse\u201d nor \u201cfaculties\u201d appear in the KJV. However, awake\/arise are a poetic pair (Jdg 5:12, Psa 7:6, 44:23, others). Webster\u2019s 1828 says of arouse, \u201cTo excite into action, that which is at rest; to stir, or put in motion or exertion that which is languid; as, to arouse one from sleep; to arouse the dormant faculties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cParticle\u201d does not appear in the KJV, and is a hapax legomenon in the BoM. \u201cExercise\u201d never appears with \u201cfaith\u201d in the KJV, rather \u201cauthority\u201d (3x), \u201clordship\u201d (2x), \u201cmyself\u201d (2x), \u201cdominion\u201d (1x). Google\u2019s Ngram Viewer shows that the phrase \u201cexercise faith\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/ngrams\/graph?content=exercise+faith&amp;year_start=1500&amp;year_end=2008&amp;corpus=15&amp;smoothing=3&amp;share=&amp;direct_url=t1%3B%2Cexercise%20faith%3B%2Cc0\">first appears in the late 1600s and peaks strongly around 1831.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>28<\/sup><\/strong> Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted <em>in your heart<\/em>, behold, if it be a <em>true seed<\/em>, or a <em>good seed<\/em>, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves&#8211; <em>It must needs be <\/em>that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>28<\/sup><\/strong> OK, let\u2019s say the word is a seed. \u00a0 If you make room to plant the seed in your heart and provided it really is a seed and it\u2019s still good, and you don\u2019t throw it out because of distrustfulness (i.e. resisting God\u2019s spirit), it will start to swell up within you. When you feel that, you\u2019ll start saying, \u201cwell, it must <em>ipso facto<\/em> still be a good seed, because it\u2019s starting to grow my soul, to increase my understanding, and I\u2019m starting to really like it!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here I assume a \u201ctrue seed\u201d means \u201ctruly a seed\u201d and a \u201cgood seed\u201d (in connection with 32) as \u201ca seed capable of growing,\u201d not too old or too dried out or whatnot.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeeds\u201d in \u201cit must needs be\u201d is adverbial, i.e. \u201cnecessarily.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>29<\/sup><\/strong> Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\">So, really, wouldn\u2019t that increase your faith? It really would! Sure. But! It hasn\u2019t yet grown into a complete knowledge.<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">Faith is a stepping stone to perfect knowledge.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>30<\/sup><\/strong> But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>30<\/sup><\/strong> But look! While the seed germinates, and sprouts, and starts to grow, you have to admit that it\u2019s a good seed, <em>because<\/em> it\u2019s germinating, sprouting, and growing. Won\u2019t that confirm your trust? It will indeed. You\u2019ll say, \u201cI can tell this is a good seed, because it\u2019s sprouting and growing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>31<\/sup><\/strong> And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed <em>bringeth forth<\/em> unto its own likeness.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\">Now are you certain the seed is good? I say yes, because every seed grows into its own kind.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">\u201cBring forth\u201d in the KJV often relates to production and reproduction, e.g. Gen 1:11, 20, 24, 3:16, 18, 9:7.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t understand the relevance of this phrase, something like\u2026 You are now certain that this is a viable seed, because you\u2019ve seen it sprout. Presumably it\u2019s sprouted enough that you can recognize that what is growing is the same kind of thing as the seed you\u2019ve planted.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>32<\/sup><\/strong> Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>32<\/sup><\/strong> So, if a seed grows, it\u2019s good. If it doesn\u2019t grow, then it\u2019s not good, and thrown away.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">This verse elaborates on the previous phrase, as to what it means to be a good seed.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>33<\/sup><\/strong> And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>33<\/sup><\/strong> So then, since you\u2019ve put my words to the test, planted the seed, and it\u2019s germinating, and sprouting, and growing, it follows that you now know the seed to be good.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">As rendered in v. 27, where the identical phrase appears.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>34<\/sup><\/strong> And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect <em>in that thing<\/em>, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that <em>the word hath swelled your souls<\/em>, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>34<\/sup><\/strong> So\u2026 is your knowledge perfect? Indeed, your knowledge is perfect, (at least) in that thing, and your faith sleeps, because you know; you know that the word has swelled your souls. You also know that it has sprouted, that your understanding starts to be enlightened, and your mind is starting to expand.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">Elsewhere, it\u2019s said to \u201cenlarge\u201d souls.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Your knowledge is complete within that limited domain. \u00a0 What is it you now know? Your observations of what the seed has done.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>35<\/sup><\/strong> <em>O then<\/em>, is not this <em>real<\/em>? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>35<\/sup><\/strong> Therefore, isn\u2019t this real? Yes, because it is light, and whatever is light is good, because it is perceptible. It follows, then, that you <em>know<\/em> it is good. Now, after you have tasted this light, is your knowledge perfect?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">In the BoM, \u201cO\u201d is most often a vocative, followed by \u201cLord\u201d (55x), \u201cye\u201d (31x), \u201chouse\u201d (29x, mostly \u201chouse of Israel\u201d but also \u201chouse of Jacob\u201d and \u201chouse of David\u201d). \u201cO then\u201d appears 11x, and seems to be an elevated or rhetorical equivalent of \u201ctherefore,\u201d often preceding a rhetorical question. (1Ne 17:46, 2Ne 4:26, 9:41, Jac 4:9, 6:11-12, Mos 4:21, Hel 8:20, Mor 9:6, 27.)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cReal\u201d appears once in JS-H (1:6 \u201cconverts\u2026 more pretended than real\u201d) and 2x in D&amp;C (123:2 \u201creal property\u201d and 124:70 \u201creal value\u201d ). Webster- \u201c<strong>1.<\/strong> Actually being or existing; not fictitious or imaginary; as a description of real life\u2026 <strong>2.<\/strong> True; genuine; not artificial, counterfeit or factitious;\u2026 <strong>3.<\/strong> True; genuine; not affected; not assumed.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>36<\/sup><\/strong> Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>36<\/sup><\/strong> Listen, no, it\u2019s not. And you also can\u2019t set aside your trust, because you\u2019ve only trusted so far as to plant the seed, to determine if it was good.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>37<\/sup><\/strong> And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>37<\/sup><\/strong> When the tree starts to grow, you\u2019ll say, \u201cLet\u2019s nourish it carefully, so it will grow up and produce fruit for us.\u201d And if you do that, it will take root, and grow up, and produce fruit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>38<\/sup><\/strong> But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>38<\/sup><\/strong> But if you neglect the tree, and aren\u2019t proactive about its care, it just won\u2019t take root. When heat of the sun comes and scorches it, it will wither because it\u2019s rootless, and you\u2019ll rip it out and throw it away.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>39<\/sup><\/strong> Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>39<\/sup><\/strong> But that doesn\u2019t happen because it wasn\u2019t a good seed, or because its fruit isn\u2019t really good; rather, it\u2019s because your ground isn\u2019t fertile, you won\u2019t care for the tree, so, you can\u2019t have its fruit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>40<\/sup><\/strong> And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>40<\/sup><\/strong> Therefore, if you won\u2019t nourish the word, anticipating its fruit based on trust, you can never harvest the fruit of the tree of life.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>41<\/sup><\/strong> But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree <em>springing up<\/em> unto everlasting life.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>41<\/sup><\/strong> But! If you will nourish the word, (by which I mean the tree), as it starts to grow, by your faith, with great diligence, and patience, anticipating its fruit, the tree will take root and become a tree springing up with everlasting life as the result.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">\u201cSpringing up\u201d is also used in connection with the tree in 33:23 and then again, independently in Helaman 3:9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>42<\/sup><\/strong> And because of your diligence and your faith and <em>your patience with the word <\/em>in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, <em>by and by<\/em> ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, <em>that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst<\/em>.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>42<\/sup><\/strong> Because of your persistence, your faith\/trust, and your patience with the word in nourishing it to it can put down roots in you, eventually you will harvest its fruit, which is invaluable, sweetest of all, whitest of all, and purest of all. You can feast on this fruit until full, without hunger or thirst.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\">Is the implication that because it doesn\u2019t reward you immediately, you must patiently<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Although \u201cby and by\u201d in both the KJV (Mat 13:21, Mar 6:25, Luke 17:7, 21:9.) and <a href=\"http:\/\/webstersdictionary1828.com\/Dictionary\/by\"><em>Webster\u2019s 1828<\/em><\/a> means \u201cimmediately,\u201d it\u2019s clear in the Book of Mormon that the phrase means \u201ceventually, in due time\u201d (Alm 55:11, 14; 3Ne 27:11; Eth 5:1.)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Is this eschatological? Evocative of Isaiah 29:18, 49:10?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>43 <\/sup><\/strong>Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.<\/td>\n<td width=\"184\"><strong><sup>43<\/sup><\/strong> And then, my friends, you will receive the payoff of your trust, hard work, patience, and endurance, in waiting for the tree to produce fruit for you.<\/td>\n<td width=\"327\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Thoughts?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m presenting this Saturday at the conference in Provo. I&#8217;ve kicked some of these ideas around for a while, but only started work on them in earnest recently. I&#8217;m addressing conceptions\u00a0of faith and knowledge in Alma 32 through close reading. For me, that process entails creating a bibliography to see what&#8217;s been done, and working through\u00a0the chapter closely and slowly, looking for patters and connections, textual issues, and logical flow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":34104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/soil-type.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34103"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34114,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34103\/revisions\/34114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}