There seems to be a general assumption among Book of Mormon readers that when the Lehites’ ship landed, the Promised land was a desolate vista void of any civilizations or indigenous people. A more careful reading of the Book of Mormon gives several clues and indications that this was not the case.

The first recorded instance of Lehites interacting with external people is found in Jacob chapter 7, where we meet Sherem. Sherem is numbered among the villains and anti-Christs of the Book of Mormon, but if we carefully analyze the details of his story, we learn much more about him and his circumstances than we might initially expect.

We often hear of the great journey of the Lehites through the wilderness before they set sail on the ocean. But seldom do we explore the travels of the Jaredites with the same level of depth. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the Lehites departed from a very well known place (Jerusalem) and during a period of time that can be examined with a plenitude of historical and cultural context, and the Jaredites did not.

The Jaredite saga begins at the Tower of Babel, a place of ambiguous historicity, in an era so far in the past that there are extremely limited external clues that might give us bearings regarding their precise whereabouts, or their place in the time’s historical schema. A few interesting points can be gleaned from the account of the Jaredite travels when we focus on the mentioning of barges.

I have been noticing lately an increasing impatience with the less than fair attitudes of the teenagers with whom I work. I run the Teen Center at the local YWCA Family Center, a shelter for families experiencing a homeless situation because of housing or job crisis. Invariably the teens that come in the TC are frustrated with the situation in which they find themselves. Let’s just say that sometimes their arguments and contentions are ridiculously supported by illogical tenets that don’t hold water. Yet, these stubborn teens insist upon sticking to their position at the point of conflicts erupting daily in the classroom. It drives me crazy! Honestly it is such a regular occurrence lately (some of the teens have been experiencing an especially challenging turn of events in their situations) that I have felt it my duty to show them the errors in their thinking by pointing out the flaws in their contentious attitudes… and only get myself dragged into an argument.

Other times I’ll spend hours and hours preparing some project (in my mind there is usually a vision of them getting really in to it, having a great time, having their lives impacted somehow, and maybe even being grateful for what I did), only to have them complain or refuse to participate. Sometimes I get so frustrated with the negativism and the bad attitudes… I just want to take certain individuals by the shoulders and shake em and say “It’s not all about you!”. However, this frustration is really only affecting me. It does not help the situation and I begin to wonder if these teens know that I love them. Do I show it? Or do I just seem like the drill sergeant of rules in the TC?

One of the most common scriptures used by antagonists to support the idea of a closed scriptural cannon is from the final chapter of the New Testament, Revelation 22, where in verse 18, John the Revelator warns that “if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.”

This argument has proven to hold no verifiable ground, and even the staunchest informed evangelists will concede that “these things” and “this book” refer to the Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation) specifically, not the entire Bible as a whole.

That said, it should be noted that this warning is indeed valid within the scope of Apocalypse. The conclusion of our account of Nephi’s vision explains that Nephi sees John the Revelator, presumably exiled on the island of Patmos, and then sees John’s entire vision. It is interesting to see that the instructions that Nephi subsequently receives regarding what he sees are notably harmonious with John’s warning not to add to his account of it.

In my latest reading of Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life, I found something I’d never seen before. We often talk about the symbolism of the iron rod, the great and spacious building, the tree, and the fountain of living waters. We tend to skim over the first part, though.

Lehi says in 1 Nephi 8:4 that at the beginning of his dream, Lehi saw a “dark and dreary wilderness.” After some time, Lehi encountered an angelic being who led him on the journey that eventually culminated in the Tree of Life. Note, though, that as Lehi follows the angel, he sees that he is now in a “dark and dreary waste,” through which waste he travelled for many hours in darkness.

Today commemorates the life, mission and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The latter half of the 20th century saw some tremendously significant changes in terms of attitudes and outlooks about people and society. Dr. King was certainly at the forefront of the movement, and was instrumental in advocating liberty and a level playing field for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, culture, or skin color.

The Book of Mormon’s references to race and skin color are a matter of great controversy. There are in fact passages that are quite jarring when considered in an educated and politically correct arena, most notably the reference to the Lamanites’ “sore cursing” in the same breath as their “skin of blackness” in 2 Nephi 5:21, and the infamous “[white/pure] and delightsome” passage in 2 Nephi 30:6. These difficult verses have been the root of many heated debates, but my purpose in writing this is not to provide apologetics for these, but rather to look beyond them and examine what else the Book of Mormon has to say about race. The truth is, all things considered, the message of the Book of Mormon is actually strikingly congruent with the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.