Exploring Mormon Thought, Culture, and Texts
A while ago, I wrote a post in which I speculated on how we rank the authority of our various sources of scripture. Serenity Valley’s recent post on Mormon Theology at By Common Consent reminded me of that post and, so, I wanted to re-post it so as to invite more comments. Please follow the link and comment on the original post. Thank you.
The two principal authors of the Book of Mormon, Nephi and Mormon, for the most part share a particular world-view. Both subscribe to the idea that the wicked are punished and the righteous prosper. This idea is so ingrained in the thinking of these two authors, that it forms the entire narrative framework of the Book of Mormon. Nephi’s description of the responsibilities his people bear in the Promised Land stand as a prophetic announcement, while Mormon chronicles the history of his people as the explicit fulfillment of Nephi’s warning.
The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews also approaches the reason for Christ in terms of his superiority to the law. The nature of this superiority, however, is radically different from that of the Fourth Gospel.
The question of “why Christ” is neither obvious nor uninteresting. The lack of an answer that withstands the passage of time suggests that this information is not really a practical necessity. On the other hand, it is a good exercise in the importance of context, and particularly historical context, in theology and biblical studies. To the NT authors who wrote on this subject, the issue was usually framed against the requirements of their own age. Put bluntly, the law was given by God. So why Christ?
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