Mosiah 11

(August 30, 2015)

                Two thoughts again with this chapter.  The first was once again seeing the unreliable narration – in this case, almost certainly corrected by Mormon in his switch to a third-person narrative).  The official record of Noah (and his official Court record) likely read very differently than what we have in this chapter – speaking of economic prosperity and difficulties brought about by religious dissidents deviating from the proper order before they were excommunicated and executed.

                The second thought was on the phrase delight in shedding blood.  I think, even though we rarely shed blood nowadays, that there is a common modern equivalent.  Sometimes, in our arguments, we delight when someone is stung by a clever retort or exposed by a vicious attack (especially if the one so hurt is our “enemy”).  I have seen this in myself, and frankly it is not something that I am particularly fond of seeing in myself.