Christian Election Guide from Bible Study

Study of these passages from the Bible and other scriptures can give us a Christian Election Guide.

Old Testament

The Proverbs

Chapter 29:2, 12, 18

When the wicked rule, the people mourn—The righteous consider the cause of the poor—Where there is no vision, the people perish.

2 When the ^arighteous are in ^bauthority, the people ^crejoice: but when the ^dwicked beareth ^erule, the people ^fmourn.
12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked. 
18 Where there is no ^avision, the people ^bperish: but he that ^ckeepeth the ^dlaw, ^ehappy is he.

The First Book of Samuel

Chapter 8:4-19

Samuel’s sons take bribes and pervert judgment—The Israelites seek for a king to rule over them—Samuel rehearses the nature and evils of kingly rule—The Lord consents to give them a king.

4-6Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons ^awalk not in thy ways: now make us a ^bking to judge us like all the nations.¶But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.

7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the ^avoice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have ^brejected me9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet ^aprotest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the ^bking that shall ^creign over them.

 10 ¶And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.

 11-17 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you:

·         He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.

·         And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ^aear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

·         And he will take your daughters to be ^aconfectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

·         And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

·         And he will take the ^atenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

·         And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, …

·         He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.

 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your ^aking which ye shall have ^bchosen you; and the Lord will not ^chear you in that day.

 19 ¶Nevertheless the people refused to ^aobey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;

20 That we also may be like all the ^anations;

[Who is making our nation like the socialist nations of Europe?]

The Book of Mormon:

Another Testament of Jesus Christ

The Book of Mosiah

Chapter 29:6-7, 16-17, 21-27, 35-38

6 Now I declare unto you that he to whom the kingdom doth rightly belong has declined, and will not take upon him the kingdom.

 7 And now if there should be another appointed in his stead, behold I fear there would rise ^acontentions among you. And who knoweth but what my son, to whom the kingdom doth belong, should turn to be angry and ^bdraw away a part of this people after him, which would cause wars and contentions among you, which would be the cause of shedding much blood and perverting the way of the Lord, yea, and destroy the souls of many people.

16-17 Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a ^aking or kings to rule over you. For behold, how much ^ainiquity doth one ^bwicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

21-23 And behold, now I say unto you, ye cannot dethrone an iniquitous ^aking save it be through much contention, and the shedding of much blood.

·          For behold, he has his ^afriends in iniquity, and he keepeth his guards about him; and he teareth up the laws of those who have reigned in righteousness before him; and he trampleth under his feet the commandments of God;

·         And he enacteth laws, and sendeth them forth among his people, yea, laws after the manner of his own wickedness; and whosoever doth not obey his laws he ^acauseth to be destroyed; and whosoever doth rebel against him he will send his armies against them to war, and if he can he will destroy them; and thus an unrighteous ^bking doth pervert the ways of all righteousness.

24-25 And now behold I say unto you, it is not expedient that such abominations should come upon you. Therefore, choose you by the ^avoice of this people, judges, that ye may be ^bjudged according to the ^claws which have been given you by our fathers, which are correct, and which were given them by the hand of the Lord.

26 Now it is not common that the ^avoice of the people desireth anything ^bcontrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the ^cpeople to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.

 27 And ^aif the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.

35 And he also unfolded unto them all the disadvantages they labored under, by having an unrighteous ^aking to rule over them;

 36 Yea, all ^ahis iniquities and abominations, and all the wars, and contentions, and bloodshed, and the stealing, and the plundering, and the committing of whoredoms, and all manner of iniquities which cannot be enumerated—telling them that these things ought not to be, that they were expressly repugnant to the commandments of God.

37 And now it came to pass, after king Mosiah had sent these things forth among the people they were ^aconvinced of the truth of his words.

 38 Therefore they relinquished their desires for a king, and became exceedingly anxious that every man should have an equal ^achance throughout all the land; yea, and every man expressed a willingness to answer for his own sins.

The Doctrine and Covenants

Section 98

5 And that ^alaw of the land which is ^bconstitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.

 6 Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the ^aconstitutional law of the land;

 7 And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.

 8 I, the Lord God, make you ^afree, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free.

 9 Nevertheless, when the ^awicked ^brule the people mourn.

10 Wherefore, ^ahonest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil.

Dinner Talk

Christian Election Guide from Bible and Scripture Study

1. What does Doctrine and Covenants 98:5-10 teach us about the Constitution of the United States? What kind of leaders should we support?

2. Edmund Burke said, “Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” How does this usually apply to kings?

Biblical Guide to the Book of Mormon: Learn how the Book of Mormon verifies the Bible. Easy, Dinner- topic style. Non-doctrinal, understandable for all ages. 

A regrettable number of young people are losing their faith during their high school and college education. They are taught that the epic stories from the Bible are myths. Use this Biblical Guide to the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, to prove the Bible is true and bring your children to Christ.

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Columbus, Holy Spirit, and Prophecy

Christopher Columbus: Part 2, Book of Prophecies

by Shirley R. Heater

Dinner Topics for Tuesday

 

In His Own Words
Columbus's title for what is called his Book of Prophecies, conveys the essence of his vision: Notebook of authorities, statements, opinions and prophecies on the subject of the recovery of God's holy city and mountain of Zion, and on the discovery and evangelization of the islands of the Indies and of all other peoples and nations. To Ferdinand and Isabella, our hispanic rulers (West and Kling 1991:2,101).

The book is a personal collection of letters, scriptures (from both the Old and New Testaments, as well as the Apocrypha) and quotations from Biblical commentators such as St. Isidore, Rabbi Samuel and St. Augustine, and other sources. It was prepared for the benefit of the King and Queen of Spain to assure them that his mission, and their support, had been a fulfillment of prophecy. Columbus divided his material into four parts. The first is introductory, followed by three sections entitled: "Concerning the Past," "Concerning the Present and Future" and "Concerning the Future. In the Last Days."

Columbus compiled this work in 1501-1502 between his third and fourth voyages to the New World, using many handwritten notes as well as marginal notes he had made in books in his personal library. These notes lead West and Kling to conclude that there can be little doubt that Columbus's systematic study of Bible history and prophecies began at least as early as 1481, concurrently to forming his great plan" (1991:91). Columbus's Book of Prophecies culminated a lifetime of deep religious conviction and intense scriptural study and interpretation.

Today the original manuscript resides in Spain in the Biblioteca Colombina at the Cathedral of Seville. In 1894-four hundred years after Columbus's first voyage to the New World-it was finally published in Spanish. Two translations of Columbus's Book of Prophecies are now available in English for the first time (Brigham 1991; West and Kling 1991).

Kay Brigham presents a reproduction of the original Latin and Spanish manuscript followed by the English translation; a companion biography is published separately (Brigham 1990). Delno West and August Kling place a transcription of the original text with the English translation on facing pages, introduced by historical/biographical information and commentary. Other writings by Columbus include logs he kept of each of his voyages. His logs have been published many times and are well studied. They reveal a fascinating picture of a man skilled in the "mariner's arts," astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, in drafting spherical maps, and drawing "the cities, rivers, mountains, islands and ports"--a man learned in "geographies, histories, chronologies, philosophies and other subjects" (West and Kling 1991:105). Many biographers and historians have focused on his numerous accomplishments in these areas.

However, more significant is his deep spiritual life, knowledge and interpretation of scripture, especially his fervent conviction that he had been chosen by God to fulfill one of the most significant missions in history, a "holy enterprise"-taking the message of Christ to the nations, which would then usher in the return of the Savior.

The spiritual side of Columbus has been treated as at odds and in conflict with "scientific rationale." The content of the Book of Prophecies with its emphasis on the spiritual has been virtually ignored or dismissed as "mad ravings," "delusions," "bizarre," an "accute embarrassment "temporary 'dark and sordid stuper' ... or a clever ploy ... to convince the gullible queen that he was 'the chosen man of destiny to conquer an Other World"' (Sale 1990:188-189).

This unbalanced treatment of Columbus is now changing with the English translation of his Book of Prohecies. Restoration Christians, as well as non-Restoration Christians, will find it significant, because "[t]he discovery of America was a triumph of Christianity" (Slater and Adams 1992:2). Many Christians believe that this nation is God's instrument for taking the gospel to the world, a vision also shared by Columbus.

Led by the Holy Spirit
Nephi's vision in the Book of Mormon clearly shows that "a man among the Gentiles"-Columbus was led by the Holy Spirit to make his voyage of discovery.

And I looked and beheld a man
    among the Gentiles which were
    separated from the seed of my
    brethren by the many waters;
And I beheld the Spirit of God, that it
    came down and wrought upon
    the man;
And he went forth upon the many
    waters, even unto the seed of my
    brethren which were in the
    promised land.     1 Nephi 3:147

Columbus's own testimony that he was led by the Holy Spirit was made available in English when Peter Marshall and David Manuel published in their book, The Light and the Glory (1977:17), excerpts from an earlier private translation of the Book of Prophecies by Kling (see also West and Kling 1991:105). Brigham's recently published translation reads: 

... our Lord opened to my understanding (I could sense his hand upon me), so that it became clear to me that it was feasible to navigate from here to the Indies; and he unlocked within me the determination to execute the idea.... Who doubts that this illumination was from the Holy Spirit? I attest that he [the Spirit], with marvelous rays of light, consoled me through the holy and sacred Scriptures.... encouraging me to proceed, and, continually, without ceasing for a moment, they inflame me with a sense of great urgency (Brigham 1991:179).

Columbus's "sense of great urgency" is embodied by West and Kling as "his vision." They characterize him as a "seer" who saw himself as gifted with "spiritual intelligence." They point out in their introduction that "few know the story of [Columbus's] vision." This has led some to propose that because advances in reasoning and technology made the timing ripe, had Columbus not made the voyage someone else would have. 

 However, West and Kling emphatically disagree with the latter supposition, believing that "one important ingredient was missing: a vision so strong that nothing could deter its holder from the attempt" (West and Kling 1991:3, 22). The timing was ripe for the discovery of the New World however, it was God's timing. And He selected the man to do the job. Columbus's vision grew as he gathered numerous scriptural passages, seeing the role of his discovery in their prophetic fulfillment. The vision permeates the most predominant themes of his selections: islands of the sea, hidden lands, ends of the earth, the scattering and gathering of Israel, Zion and Jerusalem. And as we realize that Columbus was moved upon to fulfill his vision in God's timing, the Book of Mormon also reveals that God's timing was involved in keeping knowledge of the New World from other nations.

Hidden Lands
In the Book of Mormon, Lehi explains God's wisdom in keeping their lands hidden:

And behold, it is wisdom that this
    land should be kept as yet from
    the knowledge of other nations;
For behold, many nations would
    overrun this land, that there
    would be no place for an inheritance.
Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a
    promise,
That inasmuch as they which the
    Lord God shall bring out of the
    land of Jerusalem shall keep his
    commandments,
They shall prosper upon the face of
    this land;
And they shall be kept from all other
    nations, that they may possess
    this land unto themselves.
And if it so be that they shall keep his
    commandments, they shall be
    blessed upon the face of this land,
And there shall be none to molest
    them, nor to take away the land of
    their inheritance;
And they shall dwell safely for ever.       2 Nephi 1:16-21

Lehi goes on to say, that when the time comes that "they shall dwindle in unbelief," i.e., "reject the Holy One of Israel" (vv. 22-23), the Lord would bring judgment upon them and "bring other nations unto them" (vv. 23-24). This calls to mind a particular reference which Columbus included in his Book of Prophecies: "Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,... a nation meted out and trodden down..." (Isaiah 18:1-2). The "land shadowing with wings" in this Isaiah reference has long been equated by Book of Mormon believers (and others) with the New World because the shape of the North, Central and South American continents resembles a bird with its wings spread. Besides fitting the description, the location of the New World is "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia."

Columbus believed that God had kept knowledge of these lands hidden until he--Columbus-was led to make their discovery. He cites such scriptures as Matthew 11:27 [251: "0 Lord ... because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them to the little ones" [babes; innocent; i.e., Columbus] (West and Kling 1991:107), and comments, "This I offer on my own behalf, together with the results that one has discovered by personal experience" (West and Kling 1991:109).

Brigham points out that Columbus also saw himself in a poem by a first-century Spanish-Roman writer who prophetically described, "An age will come after many years, when the Ocean will loose the chains of things, and a great land will lie revealed; and a mariner... will discover anew world." Columbus's son, Ferdinand, made a marginal note beside Columbus's copy of the poem which reads, "This prophecy was fulfilled by my father... the Admiral in the year 1492" (Brigham 1990:116).

Lehi prophesied "that there shall be none come into this land save they should be brought by the hand of the Lord" (2 Nephi 1:10). In addition to Columbus, Nephi saw that others would also be brought to the New World.

 

And it came to pass that I beheld the
    Spirit of God, that it wrought
    upon other Gentiles;
And they went forth out of captivity
    upon the many waters;
And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles
    which had gone out of captivity
    were delivered by the power of
    God out of the hands of other
    nations.         I Nephi 3:148,155

The other Gentiles which Nephi saw in his vision were most likely the Puritans and Pilgrims who fled their homelands in Europe to find governmental and economic control. God had decreed that this land would be a land of liberty for those who served Jesus Christ (Ether 1:29-35).

Bible Study

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REFERENCES CITED
Brigham, Kay
1990   Christopher Columbus: His Life
      and Discovery in the Light of His
      Prophecies. CLIE Publishers, Terrassa, Barcelona.

1991   Christopher Columbus's Book of
      Prophecies: Reproduction of the Original Manuscript With English
      Translation. Quincentenary Edition.
      CLIE Publishers, Terrassa, Barcelona.

Judge, Joseph
1986   Where Columbus Found the
      New World. National Geographic,
      Nov. 1986, pp. 566-599.

Marshall, Peter and David Manual
1977   The Light and the Glory. Revell,
      old Tappan, New Jersey.

Sale, Kirkpatrick
1990   The Conquest of Paradise:
      Christopher Columbus and the
      Columbian Legacy. Alfred A. Knopf,
      New York.

Slater, Rosalie J., and Carole G. Adams, eds.
1992   Principly Speaking, Vol. 2, No. 2.
      foundation for American Christian
      Education, San Francisco.

West, Delno C. and August Kling
1991  The Libro de las profecias of
      Christopher Columbus: An en face
      edition. Vol. 2, Columbus
      Quincentenary Series, University of
      Florida Press, Gainesville.

This article taken from the Zarahemla Record, issue 63 Sept/Oct 1992