Powerful Good

Words are powerful things. No wonder the words The pen is mightier than the sword, written by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, are found quoted in so many places, including on a wall in the Library of Congress. But long before this truth was penned in that memorable phrase, Mormon carefully included in his abridged account of Alma's ministry:

And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just--yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened to them--therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virture of the word of God. (Alma 31:5)

I've written before about the Book of Mormon, and how I have come to treasure the way this remarkable book helps clear up misunderstandings or corrupt teachings about God and his plan for us. (See My "How To" Book) I am particularly grateful for that gift as I study the Old Testament, which as I said before is full of words I found difficult to understand. In recent years I have had fun researching the origin of scriptural words in their original language- a challenge which makes me extremely grateful to others who have taken the time to actually learn Hebrew and Greek. Over and over again I find myself realizing that any misunderstanding between how we now use a word and the original meaning has already been explained- mainly in the Book of Mormon. In short, we don't need to research the origin of the words to come to an understanding of the fullness of the gospel. The Lord goes to great effort to ensure that His children can learn in their own language and culture. (Doctrine & Covenants 29:33) However, this search has certainly helped me let down some of my biases, see past cultural differences, and realize how much more there is given in the scriptures than I ever thought possible. Here is a short abridgement of some of the word studies I think are key and that I wish I had had when I first approached the Old Testament- maybe they'll be of use to you, too.

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Good is one of the first, and most often repeated words, in the Bible. The first literal translation I saw used the terms "whole, complete finished." Which seemed remarkably like the Greek definition of the word "perfect," and fits perfectly with the Christ saying there is none good but God.(Mark 19:18) And indeed, God is the epitome of all that is good, the highest form of good, but before the earth was even finished, the Lord pronounced it "good." So it helped when I found an article (since lost-so sorry) that used an illustration to try help a mind, like mine, trained in thinking in abstract concepts, to understand the concrete, active language used by the writers of the Bible:
Imagine a perfectly ripe piece of your favorite fruit. Delicious, packed with nutrients- as a creation of God it is good. Now we get to choose whether to use this resource in a good way. To eat the fruit, so it nourishes would be a good choice. To process the fruit so that it could be enjoyed later is also a good choice. To give it to another so it nourishes them is also good. But, lets say you decide to waste it- just let it sit and rot, and rot, and decay and the rot spreads and it stinks and corrupts other good food- well that gives you a visual of and evil choice. The earth was created for the purpose of giving us the opportunity for eternal life. The gifts the Lord has given us, from the earth itself, to the gift of agency, to the very breath we breathe, to his spiritually nourishing words, are all designed to function perfectly to help us to that goal of eternal life. But we can choose to use them in a dysfunctional way. Those words "functional" and "dysfunctional are on spot direct translations of the words used for good and evil:

The word tov would best be translated with the word "functional". When God looked at his handiwork he did not see that it was "good", he saw that it was functional, kind of like a well oiled and tuned machine. In contrast to this word is the Hebrew word "ra". These two words, tov and ra are used for the tree of the knowledge of "good" and "evil". While "ra" is often translated as evil it is best translated as "dysfunctional". http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/27_good.html
There were two additional metaphors that have helped me relate what I learned about good and evil to include related words. They came together for me during my last pass through Moroni 7:

Perhaps a building metaphor will help illustrate. Imagine your house. Now imagine the raw materials that went into your house. Those raw materials in and of themselves do not provide shelter, warmth, safety and comfort. They only become what they have the potential to become when they are put together by a master builder. To ignore the builder help and instruction is to sit unsheltered surrounded by raw material, and, as nothing stays the same, it will be wasted or misused. Hence, Moroni tells us there is a two component test to discern good from evil. 1) it persuades to do good and 2)it persuadeth to believe in Christ.(Moroni 7:16-17)


That second criteria is critical because Christ is the master carpenter. The purpose for which this earth was pronounced good is to bring about the "immortality and eternal life of man" and the only way that can occur is through the atoning power of Christ.(John 14:6, 2 Nephi 20:25) So anything that persuadeth people to not believe in Christ, even if it has other temporary temporal benefits is not good. Another visual illustrates. Note the maze on the left. It is a true maze withonly one correct path to the center. The second maze pictured below shows the correct route through the maze in purple. The brown and green lines illustrate possible dead end trails. Only the one route gets you to the desired goals. Many other paths look similar, but they won't get you there. In mortality, Christ blazed the trail and marked the path for us.

Loved this metaphor because it brought together good and evil with what the word's "righteous," "wicked," and "sin" literally mean. When the Old Testament speaks of following the Lord's "way," it uses the same word as is used for path, and often it is translated path. The word most often used for "wicked" (rasha), means to walk away from the path. And righteousness means literally straightness, or to follow the path uprightly. "Sin" means to "miss the mark."

My first thought on seeing the meaning of "sin" had to do with archery, but one of the messages the Lord repeats through prophet after prophet is the great lengths he has gone to mark the path and make His path known. The word usually translated as "commandment" comes from the same root as the word meaning "to direct or give directions on a path." In fact, those who do walk his path uprightly, as Enoch's people did, become "Zion-THE PURE IN HEART;" and the word "tsyion" literally means "landmark." So, those who strive to walk the path uprightly become a landmark (functional instrument) in the hands of the Lord in helping others find and stay on the path.

Fascinating isn't it? But not so surprising when you think of the words of Christ:

I am the way, the truth and the light (John 14:6)

I have taught the in the way of wisdom, I have led thee in the right paths….Enter not into the path of the wicked…avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it….But the path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:11,14,18)

For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism…and then are ye in the trait and narrow path which leas to eternal life…and now…after ye have gotten into this…path…is all done? Nay, for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ…wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ…and endure to the end. (2 Nephi 31:17-20)

Which leads me to what I found to be a very powerful set of words, summarizing for our day and time, lessons that we will explore through the words recorded in the Old Testament:

No institution, plan, program, or system ever conceived by men has access to the redeeming and transforming power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, while the Lord’s invitation to follow Him is the highest of all, it is also achievable by everyone, not because we are able, but because He is, and because He can make us able too. “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind [everyone, living and dead] may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”(Article of Faith 3)

The Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. “There is an opposition in all things,”(2 Nephi 2:11) everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices.(2 Nephi 2:27) We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?

He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; … and ye shall find rest unto your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29)


Life is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don’t quit, and you will make it. (Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge Of the Seventy)