FREE ! Pearl of Great Price Study Edition by Stephen O. Smoot

 

Although diminutive in size, the Pearl of Great Price has had a profound impact on the faith of the Latter-day Saints. It is a book of scripture that spans dispensations. It reveals the grand scope of Creation as it unfolded under the direction of God and His Only Begotten; it reaches far back into the history of God’s interactions with His children, preserving heretofore unknown accounts from the lives of Adam, Eve, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses; it narrates the calling of Joseph Smith as prophet, seer, and revelator in modern times; it provides clear warnings about the signs and tribulations the Saints should expect as the world prepares to receive the Son of Man in His glory; and it provides a useful outline of the Saints’ fundamental principles of faith. It is a book that encompasses the beginning and the end, situating its readers in a worldview that predates humanity and extends well beyond the confines of this earth.

In harmony with the Lord’s commandment to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118), over the course of many decades Latter-day Saint scholars have probed the contents of the Pearl of Great Price with the tools of scholarship to see what light might be thrown thereon. Successive generations of committed disciple-scholars who have closely studied the Pearl of Great Price have reaped a bountiful harvest, offering many important insights that greatly enhance appreciation for this remarkable text. Readers of the Pearl of Great Price today stand atop a treasure trove of academic resources that make studying the text relatively easy and immensely rewarding.

To help facilitate awareness of these resources and to provide a sense of how they might be usefully synthesized to increase faith and understanding, we have created a study edition of the Pearl of Great Price. The offering presented here, The Pearl of Great Price: A Study Edition for Latter-day Saints, hopes to satisfy the counsel given in Doctrine and Covenants 88:118 and to help both new and longtime members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints magnify their study of this sacred text.

NOTE: This book publication is in-process. We currently have content for the book of Moses and the book of Abraham. More content will be added soon on Joseph Smith—Matthew, Joseph Smith—History, and the Articles of Faith.

https://biblecentral.info/library/book/pearl-of-great-price-study-edition/?fbclid=IwAR0jHvO_QECVf1h_nXdIFGNzFHMRX0i8bdz0_QPoR81wQziI2ZGp-F_SYzM

Eugene England book : an evening with author, Terryl Givens

 

Special ZOOM program :

Eugene England may be why the Church has a worldwide humanitarian outreach.  He was also an important gadfly during my early adult years.  His essays were always healing to me. 

Because of my own experience with cars on temple trips in the Midwest, I loved his essay, "Blessing the Chevrolet."

Here is a link to the essay: "Blessing the Chevrolet" 

AND, the followup essay, by his friend, Clifton Jolley, "Selling the Chevrolet."

Enjoy

https://www.eugeneengland.org/blessing-the-chevrolet

http://eugeneengland.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/1983_e_005.pdf

Evening with an Author (in-person/livestream) Terryl Givens Stretching the Heavens: The Life of Eugene England and the Crisis of Modern Mormonism Wednesday, August 25, 7 PM

EVENING WITH AN AUTHOR   We are very excited to announce that Terryl Givens, author of Stretching the Heavens: The Life of Eugene England and the Crisis of Modern Mormonism (published by University of North Carolina Press) will be here Wednesday, August 25 to speak about his book. He will be here from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., will speak at 6:00, and answer questions and sign books before and after that time. We hope you will be able to make it that night but, if not, we can mail a signed copy or hold one here at the store for pick-up. To RSVP on Facebook, click here. IMPORTANT NOTE: because of increased Covid infections in our state and area, MASKS ARE REQUIRED for this event, despite vaccination status—NO EXCEPTIONS! We are unable to social distance at this type of event in our store, and we expect a large crowd to come see and hear Terryl Givens, so it is important we take what precautions we can to try to ensure the safety of our customers and staff. Wearing facial coverings, used in the correct manner, will help us in that effort. If you have any symptoms of illness of any kind or you do not feel comfortable wearing a mask for the event, we invite you to stay home and watch the presentation via Zoom or later when it is available on our website, which you can do for any past author events. We very much appreciate your cooperation and understanding. We all long for the day when the pandemic will be behind us and we will be able to go about our normal lives again. For the first time, we will have a live stream in addition to the in-person option: When: Aug 25, 2021 06:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) Register in advance for this meeting: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwpf-CgrDMiE9P1dTbieTM1Sw4BJeaegm_V After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Meeting ID - 984 8982 8897 Passcode - 538790 The live stream will be limited to 100 people—first come, first served. The video will then be archived on our website for subsequent viewing.  Eugene England (1933–2001)—one of the most influential and controversial intellectuals in modern Mormonism—lived in the crossfire between religious tradition and reform. This first serious biography, by leading historian Terryl L. Givens, shimmers with the personal tensions felt deeply by England during the turmoil of the late twentieth century. Drawing on unprecedented access to England’s personal papers, Givens paints a multifaceted portrait of a devout Latter-day Saint whose precarious position on the edge of church hierarchy was instrumental to his ability to shape the study of modern Mormonism.  A professor of literature at Brigham Young University, England also taught in the Church Educational System. And yet from the sixties on, he set church leaders’ teeth on edge as he protested the Vietnam War, decried institutional racism and sexism, and supported Poland’s Solidarity movement—all at a time when Latter-day Saints were ultra-patriotic and banned Black ordination. England could also be intemperate, proud of his own rectitude, and neglectful of political realities and relationships, and he was eventually forced from his academic position. His last days, as he suffered from brain cancer, were marked by a spiritual agony that church leaders were unable to help him resolve. Stretching the Heavens: The Life of Eugene England and the Crisis of Modern Mormonism. University of North Carolina Press. Hardcover. 330pp. $34.95 Terryl L. Givens is a Neal A. Maxwell Senior Research Fellow. He formerly held the Jabez A. Bostwick Chair of English and was Professor of Literature and Religion at the University of Richmond. He is the author of many books about Latter-day Saint history and culture, including Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought, Feeding the Flock: The Foundations of Mormon Practice, and By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion, each with Oxford University Press. He is also co-author, with Fiona Givens, of The God Who Weeps, The Crucible of Doubt, and The Christ Who Heals.

Easter Every Sunday

One of my early morning seminary students posted this last week. It's notes from a talk I gave over 20 years ago, just after the 12 published "The Living Christ." Thanks, Jocelyn.

Easter can be celebrated EVERY SUNDAY 

when we, like Jesus and the 12 at the Last Supper, 

partake of the sacrament.

In partaking of the sacrament we need to do three things: 

Prepare, Pray, and Participate.

1. Preparation needs to begin before we ever enter the building.

As in the Old Testament, where priests had to keep themselves ritually clean in order to officiate in the sacrifice of the lamb, so the Priesthood today must prepare by staying clean - including in their activities with friends on Friday and Saturday night. As we members arrive at Church, we can take time for a parking lot interview- as if entering the Temple- and ask ourselves: ' Am I worthy today to partake? Can I enter the Lord’s house and be comfortable renewing my covenants alongside these ward members?' If necessary, pray, make peace with others in the foyer or a classroom or over the phone. But as you are judging your worthiness, Neal A. Maxwell said, “If you now feel or have ever felt the desire to partake of the Sacrament, to thank God for His goodness or remember Christ’s atonement then you should.”

Arrive early enough to watch the teachers prepare the Sacrament table, and consider: that they are laying out the Body and Blood of Christ which they cover with a clean shroud of linen. When the linen is removed, new life is offered to all.

2. Prayer- For Priests, saying the Sacrament prayer is a time to be perfect - just like Christ. Priests stand in for Jesus whose words they speak. They represent Christ as He pleads formercy from the Father- our Father and His- in our behalf and in His name. If possible, a priest should have thought about the word he is speaking and try to say them as if he means them : to make the words his own. We as members participate in the prayer not only through our AMEN, but also by offering heartfelt silent prayers of our own as we worship.

3. We all - member and priesthood officiators - participate by either feeding or feasting.  In blessing and passing the sacrament, the priesthood presents an interesting paradox : the greatest becomes the servant of all in a powerful contrast to our worldly culture. God’s plan has MEN standing, preparing, and serving food to seated women and children while waiting to eat LAST, just the opposite of mealtime in most cultures. One most memorable Sacrament occasion for me was at a family reunion in Zion’s Canyon. Grandpa presided and all serving were our sons or nephews. You have probably had a similar experience encircling a hospital bed, on a battlefield, or in a quiet hotel room far from home.

There is no power in merely OBSERVING the passing of the Sacrament anymore than the unclean woman was healed by WATCHING Jesus walk by: she had to reach out her hand and lay hold on the healing body of Christ. During the passing of the sacrament, we as members should be feasting, not just on the soft bread and cool water but also on the words of Christ. I love to watch young families helping children remember Jesus by looking at pictures of Christ. Reading scriptures or sacramental hymns can help us as adults

“Remember Him” for at least the first 10 minutes of our new life with Christ.

Choose today to take the Sacrament.

1- Change your heart and life by sincerely repenting. "God only asks us to give up those things which, if clung to, would destroy us.” (Maxwell)

2- Pay attention to the ordinance. “Our outward involvement in spiritual things can also be illusive. One can be present at Sacrament meeting but not really worship; the physical body can be there, while the mind and heart are elsewhere. One can accept a calling but still not magnify it, ending up by simply serving time. One can pay fast offerings unaccompanied by any personal service to needy neighbors or to the poor. We can open our checkbooks in the same way as some open their scriptures- more in mechanical than spiritual compliance. In Church, we can join in singing the hymns while being without a song in our hearts. We can take the sacrament with hand and mouth yet not be taken in mind, at least sometimes, to Gethsemane and Calvary. We can play artful doctrinal ping-pong in various Church classes but with minds and hearts that are less stretched than the ping-pong net.... (p. 56) Not everyone will be like Cain or Judas. Equally tragic are able men like Pilate and Agrippa who see themselves as sophisticated neutrals.” (Maxwell, p. 55)

3- Make the covenant today and keep it: “Already too many Church members have broken hearts and broken homes because of broken covenants and broken promises. Society’s increasing slide towards pleasure-seeking brings our so-called civilization comparatively closer to Sodom then to Eden.” (Maxwell, p.67)  “If you sense that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, why not do so now? For in the coming of that collective confession, it will mean much less to kneel down when it is not longer possible to stand up!” (Maxwell, p. 173)

4- Consecrate the rest of your life. “Consecration is the only surrender that is also a victory. It brings release from raucous, overpopulated cell block of selfishness and emancipation from the dark prison of pride.” (Maxwell, p. 62)

Choose today to live a life of holiness- may we stand as lights and guides to others around us, too. Only those who are different can make a difference in a darkening world.

[all quotations are taken from the Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book]

“He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice.  “ The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles, (2000)

{Documentary) History of the Church Referred to in the old D&C Section Headings

Each of the sections of the OLD hard copy Doctrine and Covenants (my hard copy gives a publication date of 1981/2005) begins with a new (at that time) section heading which gives the historical background, or context, of how, where, when, etc. that  revelation was received.  Each old section heading also references the History of the Church, meaning the Documentary History compiled from journals and letters of Joseph Smith, usually written down by one of his scribes or friends.  For example, the old heading of D&C section 4 says: 

"Revelation given through Joseph Smith, the Prophet, to his father, Joseph Smith, Sen., at Harmony, Pennsylvania, February 1829, HC 1:28"  

The NEW, digital versions of the headings LEAVE OUT  the references to the HC.  The new, digital version says, 

"SECTION 4

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to his father, Joseph Smith Sr., at Harmony, Pennsylvania, February 1829." 

So, don't get rid of your old, printed out hard copy scriptures: that version is very helpful for scripture study!

Of course, you can read MORE and more accurate background/context at the Joseph Smith Papers website. Especially helpful is the  Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers. 

But for 100 years, the History of the Church was the "go to" source for historical information. If you do not own a set of these volumes of the (Documentary) History of the Church, they are available FREE online at BYU Studies (again, thank you, John Welch).

https://byustudies.byu.edu/further-study/history-of-the-church/

Doctrine and Covenants 14-17 : CFM Lesson

 

Final of the three videos of me teaching this week's CFM lessons.  This final one covers the revelations sought by David, John and Peter Whitmer Jr and the calling of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon.

The still photo above comes from a trailer for a NEW movie about the 3 witnesses which will be released to theaters this summer, 2021.  You can view the trailer and learn more about the movie at https://witnessesfilm.com/

As usual, the links to videos, Ensign articles and podcasts that I refer to are in the comment section below the YouTube video of the lesson and here, below.

D&C 14- 15- 16- 17

1.            GREAT VIDEO : Sequel to Days of Harmony : A Day for the Eternities : Whitmer family Story :  translation of Book of Mormon, Org of Church, 3 witnesses, etc.  Link to this in digital CFM manual at LDS.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIqv3DI6PFg

2.            GREAT VIDEO : The Fourth Witness: The Mary Whitmer story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5v_j2JaPu4&t=11s

3.            Great article by Richard Lloyd Anderson on the Whitmer family : Ensign August 1979 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1979/08/the-whitmers-a-family-that-nourished-the-church?lang=eng

 

4.            Doctrine and Covenants Central : Tyler and Taylor 14-17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jxna2UJmbo&feature=emb_logo

5.            D&C 14-17 Scott Woodward video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjVk_K-VVc4&feature=emb_logo

6.            Good summary of the lives of the 3 and 8 witnesses video by Casey Paul Griffiths

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYB_ykilZUc&feature=emb_logo

7.            Casey Paul Griffiths podcast with John Bytheway and Hank Smith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Et4hMg-YY

8.            Ensign article about miracle of plowing, fertilizing on Whitmer farm.   Ensign; Feb 1989

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1989/02/true-to-the-book-of-mormon-the-whitmers?lang=eng

 

9.            3 witnesses movie    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NEiXWtijQw

Doctrine and Covenants 13 : CFM Lesson

This is the link to second video from the CFM lesson this week, covering the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.  You can find this video on my YouTube channel at  https://youtu.be/qvvaYTxsCR8

Listed below in the comments, and here in this blog post, are the URLs to the various videos and podcasts I refer to in the lesson.  Enjoy

Doctrine and Covenants 13; Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75

7.            D&C 13 video by Scott Woodward

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3P_I0Xs6HU

8.            Priesthood restoration site video : Daniel Smith, Messages of Christ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fSWRJ_GEX0&feature=emb_logo

9.            BYU Religious Education : Restoration of the Priesthood video (Dec 2020)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E71AB_fEcMc

10.          Book of Mormon Central / Doctrine and Covenants Central : video of Harmony: Hale home, Joseph Emma home; location of restoration of priesthood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4IkfktONsc

Doctrine and Covenants 12 : CFM

If you would like to know more about D&C 12, Joseph Knight and his family and their desires to assist in God's work, I have posted a lesson on my YouTube channel at ( https://youtu.be/FEwd7C6Qn5A )

The URLs that I mention in the lesson are in the comments below the video and also here.

1.            BYU Journeys tour of Knight home

http://www.byujourneys.org/knight-family-farm/#&panel1-2

2. .            D&C12 video by Scott Woodward https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl_ILTC9EAo&feature=emb_logo

3.            The Knight Home has recently been purchased and restored by Knight family descendants.  Family members volunteer as docents and take people on tours of the home. https://www.josephknightfamily.org/deepLinks/_2_FHE_Father_Knight_Friend_to_Joseph_smith.pdf

Pages 9, 10, 11 of this pdf - Make a craft: wagon of Knights used to transport the Book of Mormon

4.            Revelationsin Context : background of the Knight and Whitmer families https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/revelations-in-context/the-knight-and-whitmer-families?lang=eng

5.            Take a Knight family road trip PowerPoint : from England to Utah https://www.josephknightfamily.org/deepLinks/_5_Take_a_Knight_Road_Trip_pdf.pdf

6.            GREAT VIDEO : “Days of Harmony” : told by Oliver Cowdery : Links to this are in the digital version of the CFM D&C manual https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6CBPlazU-A

Jan 25-Feb 1 : Sharper than a Two-edged Sword (D&C 6)

This week, I decided to look in (a LOT of ) detail at the Hebrew background to one phrase in D&C 6: 'sharper than a two-edged sword.'

Doctrine and Covenants 6:2 Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words.

3 Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.

4 Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God.

Where does the metaphor of God’s word as “sharper than a two-edged sword” come from and what does it mean? 

The immediate sources for these words are two verses from the New Testament, which all of Joseph Smith’s friends and family would have recognized:

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Rev 1:16  And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

So why a TWO-EDGED sword?

If you say that something is a double-edged sword, you mean that it has positive effects as well as negative effects. 

A sword is a ROD of IRON, an expensive piece of metal which could be beaten into a sword in times of war, into plowshare or pruning hook (scythe) in time of peace. (see below for the PLOWSHARE].

[ see  Isa 11:3-4 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.]

But, both Paul, in Hebrews, and John, in Revelation, were using a well-known metaphor from the Old Testament.  See for example, Psalm 149:6, Proverbs 5:4, Job 1:15.  What you cannot tell from the English, is what the original metaphor was in Hebrew.  Most of the time, the word “edge” – when used of a sword – translates the Hebrew word,  פֶּה peh or MOUTH, probably from the image of TEETH, which are sharp and biting. So if you have a TOOTHED sword, it logically comes out of your mouth.

Interestingly, the Mayans/Aztecs in Central America – where IRON is scarce - used WOODEN swords with extremely sharp obsidian “teeth” embedded in both edges.

Let’s look more closely at the Hebrew of some of these OT verses.

Proverbs 5:4  חַדָּה כְּחֶרֶב פִּיּֽוֹת

Pro 5:4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged [פִּיּֽוֹת peyote  feminine plural] sword.

 

Job 1:15  לְפִי־חָרֶב

Job 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge [לְפִי l’pey] of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

Psalm 149 is particularly interesting because the English translation has both a word for MOUTH (for the HB גְרוֹנָם garonim which actually means “throat, gargle; to roar or shout) and ‘twoedged” for the HB ,  פֶּה peh or MOUTH)

Psalm 149:6 וֹמְמוֹת אֵל בִּגְרוֹנָם וְחֶרֶב פִּֽיפִיּוֹת בְּיָדָֽם׃

Psa 149:6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth   [גְרוֹנָם ], and a twoedged [פִּֽיפִיּוֹת : peypeyot : peh here is doubled and then made plural] sword in their hand;

Sometimes the word “twoedged” is not an adjective, but the MOUTH still gets referenced in describing God’s (or a prophet’s) sword. This is particularly true of poetic portions of the OT.

Isa 49:2  And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft (or arrow); in his quiver hath he hid me;

The psalmist (David?) in Psa 57:4  uses alliteration – ch repeated 4 times- (like Neal A Maxwell) in describing teeth as weapons, tongue as sword.

Psa 57:4  My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears  [חֲנִ֣ית  chaniyth ] and arrows [  חִצִּ֑ים chetsim] , and their tongue a sharp [  חַדָּֽה  chadah ] sword  [ חֶ֣רֶב  chereb].

Psa 64:3  Who whet (sharpen) their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

Psa 89:43 Thou hast also turned the edge [ צ֣וּר   tsuwr  rock, sharp, edge] of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle

Isa 1:20  But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured [תְּאֻכְּל֔וּ   אָכַל   'akal  to eat or devour]  with the sword [חֶ֣רֶב    חֶרֶב    chereb] : for the mouth [פִּ֥י     פֶּה   peh]    of the LORD hath spoken it.

SWORDS, PLOWSHARES AND PRUNING HOOKS

Statue : sword into plowshare : 1957 : Evgeniy Viktorovitch Vuchetich; United Nations north garden area; UN, NY, NY.

What is the connection between the SWORD and the PLOW?  Plowshare is an old-fashioned way of talking about the hard metal tip attached to a wooden plow allowing it to break earth more effectively.

Remember, a sword is made from a ROD of IRON, an expensive piece of metal which could be beaten into a sword in times of war, then back into a plowshare or pruning hook (scythe) in time of peace

Isa 2:2-5  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Or Joel’s opposite warning to the wicked:

Joel 3:10  Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks [אֵת ʼêth, ayth ] into spears: . . .

 אֵת ʼêth, ayth; of uncertain derivation; a hoe or other digging implement:—coulter (vertical blade ahead of the plow tip which cuts into the furrow), plowshare.

This is an interesting Hebrew word: it is spelled the same as את, or ote which means sign, ensign, miracle, plague.  It is spelled with two letters: aleph which is the FIRST letter of the HB alphabet, and tav, which is the LAST letter of the HB alphabet.  The first and the last, in GK alpha and omega.

MIRRORING GOD'S ACTIONS 

Doctrine and Covenants 6:2 Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words.

3 Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap, let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God.

4 Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God.

Notice that God is using a sharp, two edged sword to HARVEST souls.  ALL will be CUT, but the covenant-keeping wheat is brought into the storehouse and the disobedient tares will be CUT OFF and cast into the fire.

One of the purposes of D&C 6 is to say that whosoever wants to help God is welcome to step into the field which is white and use their own blade/tool/weapon to assist with the harvest.  Remember, the TEMPLE is the storehouse (literally, in the OT, foods - tithes and free-will offerings - were stored inside the temple walls to feed the people in times of FAMINE, PESTILENCE, or WAR).

CUTTING COVENANT WITH A TWO-EDGED SWORD

In Hebrew, the verb karat (כָּרַ֧ת )- meaning to make or seal a covenant - translates literally as "to cut".

2 NEPHI 4:4 For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

Covenants in biblical times were often sealed by killing and cutting up an animal, with the implication that the party who breaks the covenant will suffer a similar fate (see  Jer 16:4  They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.).

(See also Deu 28:20  The LORD shall send upon thee cursing . . .

21  The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee

22  The LORD shall smite thee  . . . the sword

23  And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. (FAMINE)

25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies:

26 And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away.)

When God offers His covenant, His words become like a two-edged sword, whose edges represent Blessings and Mercy to those who accept and live His commandments, or Cursings and Justice to those who choose iniquity.

In the Old Testament,  Isaiah uses powerful metaphors of this offered BLESSING / CURSING.   Objects can either bless or curse you, depending upon your choices. “[T]he rod of his mouth . . . (Isa 11:4)” becomes either a cursed sword, or a blessed plowshare. In ancient times, the same expensive metal rod was beaten into a sword in times of war, then into a plowshare or pruning hook (scythe) in time of peace

BLESSING / CURSING in ISAIAH

When my daughter, Heather, was a student at BYU, she studied Isaiah with Victor Ludlow, who required students to create a special project as the final exam.  Heather chose to make a book of verses from Isaiah, illustrating objects with interesting textured paper.  If you read the book from left to right – the English way – the verses depict curses upon the wicked.  If you read the book from right to left – the HEBREW way – the same objects become covenant blessings.  After the class ended, Heather gave me the book: I treasure it.

Here are some of the objects /verses she contrasts:

WATER

+  Isa 44:3  For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

-         Isa 28:2   as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

 LIGHT

+ Isa 60:20  . . . the LORD shall be thine everlasting light,

-         Isa 10:16-17 Therefore shall the Lord. . . kindle a burning like the burning of a fire . . .  and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour . . . in one day;

 

PEACE

+ Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born . . . and his name shall be called . . .The Prince of Peace.  Isa Isa 32:17  And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.

-         Isa 48:22  There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

 The title of the book, written in Hebrew, is בְּכָל־זֹאת לֹא־שָׁב אַפּוֹ וְעוֹד יָדוֹ נְטוּיָֽה  (. . . For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.  Isa 5:25)

In 2017, the Ensign had a 2-page spread about 2-edged swords.