The Missing Writings

8/3/2019 The Missing Writings

1/5

1

THINGS ASTHEY ARE,WERE

ARE TO COME

Te Missing

WritingsANTHONY E. LARSON


2/5

THINGS AS THEY ARE,WERE AND ARE TO COME

Te Missing WritingsCopyright 2011 Anthony E. Larson

A description of the ancient heavens or cosmology is fundamental to the

beliefs of all ancient cultures. Few modern students of scripture of any

religious tradition, however, perceive the importance of ancient writings

about cosmology.

he statements o the Lord to Nephi in the Book o Mormon pres-ent todays Latter-day Saints with a signicant conundrum. Letstake a close look to see what its all about.

We begin by quoting the germane passages rom 2nd Nephi, chapter29, in an order that claries and lends weight to the Lords vital mes-

sage:

Know ye not that . . . I bring forth my word unto the childreno men, yea, even upon all the nations o the earth? (2 Nephi 29:7)

Well, thats good news. And it seems only air that all the nations o

the earth should have the word o God. Tats the assignment o thechurch. Tats why we do missionary work. We go door-to-door with

our revealed scriptures and our sacred message o restoration.

Wherefore . . . neither need ye suppose that I have not caused

more to be written. (2 Nephi 29:10) What? More writings than whatcame out o the Restoration? Curious. Isnt what we have enough? Is

God telling us that there is much more out there than what we have

in our present canon?For I command all men . . . that they shall write the words which I

speak unto them; . . . (2 Nephi 29:11) Okay. Tat puts a bit o a difer-

ent spin on the previous verses. Tis verse seems to imply that God


3/5

3

has revealed his words to people everywhere, down through time.Again, that seems only right and air. So ar, so good.

. . . and I shall also speak unto all nations o the earth and they shall

write it. (2 Nephi 29:12) Repetition . . . just so we dont misunderstand.Got it. Tere are writings rom all nations o the earth, which weregiven to them by God. So, maybe this isnt just about missionary

work. Maybe its about revelation to all nations or cultures downthrough time.

O course, we have the Bible, the Book o Mormon, the Doctrine

and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. But these verses seem

to indicate that there is much more out there, given to all nations othe earth that qualies as the word o God.

With the clarity o the previous verses, we could hardly supposethat the ew scriptures or words that we have is all there is. But i

that conclusion is correct, where are these other writings? When we

look around for these so called writings or texts, we see nothing

like the messages we nd in our scripture. Terein lies our enigma.

Whereore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto an-other. (2 Nephi 29:8) Tat seems signicant. It implies that the mes-

sage to every nation has been the same. But i thats the case, why dont

we see a lot o other scripture out there like that which we now have?

Tis seems to be a contradiction. God told Nephi that there are

writings the world over that have the same story to tell as our writ-

ings or scripture. However, when we look around, we see nothing

else like our scriptures, seemingly.. . . I will judge the world, every man according to their works, ac-

cording to that which is written. (2 Nephi 29:11) Just to add weight

and immediacy to his proclamation to Nephi, the Lord tells us thateveryone will be judged by all that has been written. Since that includes

us, we might want to locate these other writings in order to study

and appreciate their message.

I we are to believe what the Lord says to Nephi, there is much moreout there than our present canon that qualies as scripture. Clearly,

we must be missing a lot. Given the many nations or cultures in theworld, the promised words should amount to a sizable body o text.


4/5

4

So, where are promised words from all nations of the earth?

Where is this considerable body of text? Is it truly missing, or are

we just unwilling to recognize them as writings inspired by God,

as scripture?Te truth is, theyre all around us. Tey are the sacred records o

ancient civilizations, unearthed by archeologists and salvaged by

scholars from obscurity. Tey are a voluminous corpus of writings

that all tell the same story. Tey are classied as creation stories, food

stories, ascension literature, dreams, visions, mythology and tradition.

Tere are texts that relate ancient temple rituals, sacred dramas, the

exploits o gods, goddesses, beasts and dragons. Tey all tell the samestory, but each is told rom the perspective o its own culture.

And heres where I lose most Latter-day Saints, sadly. But its the

truth. Te story is about the ancient heavenscosmology.

Te Joseph Smith papyri are an excellent example. Tats why heincluded them in our canon. As Nibley repeatedly and emphatically

pointed out, their message is cosmological. We just cant make any

sense of them because we dont understand the role of cosmologyin ancient cultures and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Tese ancient

texts are written with an eye to cosmology . . . the story o the ancient

heavens. And because most Mormons dont recognize cosmology asa valid part o the Gospel o Jesus Christ, they ignore it.

But the Egyptian papyri carry the same story as that told in modern

revelation o the very ancient books o Enoch, Abraham and Moses.

Its a pearl o great price, as Joseph valued it and so named it. Andits all about cosmology stars, planets, etc.

But that fabulous book is our least read and understood. While

we marvel at the scope and magnicence o the cosmic vision giventhose ancient prophets, we puzzle over their message or us and the

meaning o the papyri explanations Joseph included. We wonder at

the strange wordsKolob, Hakokaubeam, Oliblish, etc.but we miss

the underlying, cosmic message.

And heres another revelation: Its the same story conveyed in ourtemple symbolism and endowment rituals. But we dont understand

them either, or the very same reason.


5/5

5

As it turns out, cosmology is the common denominator of all ancient

belief systems, restored by our prophets in these latter days. Tats why

God told Nephi, Whereore, I speak the same words unto one nation

like unto another. (2 Nephi 29:8) But we ail to see what is plain andprecious, right beore our eyes because our gospel training has not

included cosmology.

Tats why whole books o our existing scripture, including some

revealed through Joseph Smith, are still sealed books or us. We have

neglected the concept o cosmology in our gospel study. As a result,Latter-day Saints have many scriptural blind spots that prevent

them rom understanding the very gospel they embrace. (For moreinormation, try reading Why Cosmology? in this series.)

For more essays rom this series:http://mormonprophecy.blogspot.com/

For online classes, videos, newsletters and published books exploring

this material in depth:http://www.mormonprophecy.com/prophecy,_ancient_history_and_the_restored_gospel_002.htm

Your questions or comments are welcome:[email protected]
http://mormonprophecy.blogspot.com/http://www.mormonprophecy.com/prophecy,_ancient_history_and_the_restored_gospel_002.htmhttp://www.mormonprophecy.com/prophecy,_ancient_history_and_the_restored_gospel_002.htmmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.mormonprophecy.com/prophecy,_ancient_history_and_the_restored_gospel_002.htmhttp://mormonprophecy.blogspot.com/

Documents

The Missing Writings