588-Page Book of Mormon in Alphabetics

READ: Section 5

Words 1198 - 1212 on Page 133 Gesenius; Page 132 and Polygamy

[Discovered Aug. 2, 2003]

Seeing how fitting the words around the insertion point of "Dewey" were in Greek, I was curious what the corresponding numbers might mean in the Old Testament Hebrew.

I opened Gesenius and I could immediately see that there was a lot there.  First, numbers 1205 through 1210 (actually 1197b - 1212a) fall on page 133.  D&C 133 is designated the "appendix" revelation of the Doctrine and Covenants -- basically the last section with a revelation from Joseph Smith.

Verse two of D&C 133 begins: "The Lord ... shall suddenly come to his temple; the Lord ... shall come down upon the world with a curse to judgment...." 

Compare the wording in that verse to the following definitions (reverse sequence) that are found on page 133 of Gesenius. (A word for "Lord," Baal is found in the prefix of several words on the previous page.)

1205 be'athah  terror

1204 ba'ath  (2) suddenly to come upon any one

1203 Be'eshterah  "temple ..."

1202 Ba'aseyah  "work of Jehovah"

1200 be'erah  burning

1200 is the sum of the numeric values of the letters that spell "Mormon" in Greek.

M/m [micron] = 40 (x 2), w [omega] = 800, r [rho] = 100, o [omicron]= 70 (x 2), n [nu] = 50

The word before it is

1199 Ba'ara  "foolish"

"Foolish" is the definition of word number 801 in the New Testament lexicon.  801 is the telephone area code of the headquarters of the Mormon Church today -- Wasatch Front Utah [i.e. parable of wise and foolish virgins].  "Foolish" is also the meaning of the two words before (3471, 3472) and two words following (3473, 3474) the alphabetic insertion point of "Mormon" spelled in Greek. (ref.)

Other definitions on page 133 of Gesenius suggest that the destruction prophesied in D&C 133 actually was fulfilled in the destructions that came upon the Saints in Nauvoo.  Sudden destruction came upon them, as they were forced to flee with virtually no preparations, in the most unfavorable of circumstances; and their temple was burned, struck by lightning -- and finally toppled by a tornado.

Word definition 1206 on page 133 means "mud, mire," and definition 1207 means "marsh."  These words have at least triple application.  First, it describes the state of Nauvoo when the Saints arrived.  It was a mosquito-infested marsh, and many saints died from Malaria before they drained the swamp.  Second, it describes the quagmire the Saints were in at Nauvoo as Joseph was secretly introducing polygamy while adamantly denying it publicly -- an imbroglio that ultimately lead to his murder in Carthage by disenchanted Saints.   Third, it describes the mud through which the Saints were forced to trod as they made their untimely exodus from Nauvoo in the dead of winter, with unrelenting snow and rain storms, claiming the life of hundreds.

The very first phrases on page 133 are: "(3) to take away, to remove, to exterminate," and in the same definition, Gesenius cites Isaiah 4:4 "when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion...with the spirit of judgment and with the spirit of extermination."

True to karma, it seems the kick-ass God that the Mormons worshipped kicked their ass.  I would argue that such a corporeal God was appropriate in Old Testament times because the world was much less spiritually advanced -- akin to a child -- for whom corporeal punishment is often the only method of steering them in the proper way.   However, today, we are much closer to adulthood in our spiritual progress, and our view of God needs to mature to match a view of God that is much closer to that of a peer, rather than a ruthless overlord.

As at least a fourth generation Mormon with root in Nauvoo, I was always told early Mormon history as if the Mormons were in the right and were unfortunate victims of the enemies of God.  But page 133 of Gesenius paints a different picture.  God was the one doing the punishment, and polygamy was the reason, among other things.

On the facing page, page 132, is word 1172 baalah whose definition is "mistress."  D&C 132 is the "revelation" given to Joseph Smith on polygamy.  According to the chronologically listed at the beginning of the LDS Doctrine and Covenants it is the last revelation given to Joseph Smith that is recorded in the D&C.  He received no more after that -- at least none that were recorded in the D&C.

It is the last definition on that page that spills onto page 133, which means "to take away, to remove, to exterminate."  But the word has other meanings as well, which comment on both the carnal nature of polygamy (though it was promoted as if it was godly -- and exalted institution that would redeem the world), the burning lust that drove it, as well as the destructions that came upon the saints for practicing it.

1197 ba'ar  (1) to consume; (2) specially to consume with fire, to be kindled; (3) to be brutish, fierce.

The Mormons were an extremely obnoxious bunch in their early days, claiming manifest destiny that they lorded over their gentile neighbors every place they moved, looking down with disgust upon them, calling them "enemies" in their nascent scripture.

Word 1210 on page 133 seems a fit description: "inaccessible, high," as well as word 1211: "onions."  Word 1212 depicts their boastful attitude, which boasting disqualified them from the very thing they claimed: "in the shadow, i.e. protection, of God."

The first full word definition (1198) on the page sums it: "Stupid, brutish, like cattle; used of men."

The word Gesenius lists just before the word for "mistress" on page 132 is word 1169, Baal, which stands for "Lord" and "husband;" and is the name used in the Bible for a Phoenician deity who laid with beasts (ref) -- obviously not an ambassador of enlightened sexual conduct.

Back in the NT lexicon, word 1203 despotes includes the meaning of "Lord."  The "despot" that polygamy fostered in the men who practiced it, led to deep oppression of the women, and denigration of their worth.  It's curious that all seven words prior to word 1203 have to do with bondage and servitude.  Word 1200 (remember that 1200 is the sum of the numeric value of the letters that spell "Mormon" in Greek) means "a prison-keeper."

Definition 1201 (by Gesenius) leaves little wiggle room to avoid this unflattering application:

1201 desmoterion  A prison.  The prison in Jerusalem was controlled by the priests and probably attached to the high priest's palace or the temple.

In talking about prison and Nauvoo, one might also think of Joseph and Carthage.  Dewey thinks that if Joseph had proceeded on to the Rocky Mountains and not given into the taunting of his friends, returning "as a lamb to the slaughter," that he might have been able to set things straight then, and usher in the kingdom of heaven on earth much sooner.

It seems, though, that the course was too deeply set, and a reboot would be necessary.

This time around, when it comes to "bonds," Dewey is seeking for what he calls a molecular relationship, which is not a sexual union between involved parties, but is a union of soul to the point that the joined group takes on a life of its own, inviting an overshadowing of the Christ.

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