2020 Study Summary 48: May Christ Lift Thee Up

Moroni 7-9

“May Christ Lift Thee Up”

An invitation is given to enter into the rest of the Lord—Pray with real intent—The Spirit of Christ enables men to know good from evil—Satan persuades men to deny Christ and do evil—The prophets manifest the coming of Christ—By faith, miracles are wrought and angels minister—Men should hope for eternal life and cleave unto charity. [About A.D. 401–21].

The baptism of little children is an evil abomination—Little children are alive in Christ because of the Atonement—Faith, repentance, meekness and lowliness of heart, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end lead to salvation. [About A.D. 401–21].

Both the Nephites and the Lamanites are depraved and degenerate—They torture and murder each other—Mormon prays that grace and goodness may rest upon Moroni forever. [About A.D. 401].

What are the attributes of a God-fearing people?
The three qualities of God-fearing people are faith (emunah), hope (tikvah) and charity (zedakah) or (hesed). A Jewish look at these three words is illuminating. The word faith as discussed in the last lesson has the element of practice or work. Judaism has, however, evolved to the point that immun (practice or works) has become more important than belief.

What is the “Jewish dogma” in the Bible?
“In the Bible there are no articles of faith or dogmas in which the Jew is commanded to believe. Belief in God’s existence and infinite ability is taken for granted and is the basis of the Bible. This is the importance of the story of the Exodus from Egypt; the Children of Israel witnessed God’s wonders and passed on the record of their own personal experience to their descendants. The biblical word emunah (and its other forms) which is often translated as ‘belief’ really means ‘trust’ or ‘confidence,’ which is something quite different.” “There is no catechism (i.e., a creed of belief) even in the Talmud. Although the rabbis did enumerate those ideas which a person must believe in order to merit ‘a portion in the World to Come’ they did not compile a list of the fundamental dogmas of Judaism. In discussions throughout the Talmud and midrashic literature there is material on the subject and this material was the basis for later developments.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

How did the Jewish “Articles of Faith” come to be?
“As the Jews came into contact more and more with Muslim and Christian religious philosophy during the Middle Ages, the need was felt for a definitive statement of those beliefs that make a Jew a Jew. This need had not been felt before because a person’s Jewishness was natural and not exposed to external challenge. The medieval Jewish philosophers gave a great deal of thought to formulating articles of faith and disagreed among themselves as to how many there should be. Some even opposed any such formulation on the grounds that every mitzvah is an article of faith.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

What are the thirteen Jewish Articles of Faith?
“Perhaps the most famous of the various formulations of dogmas is the Thirteen Principles of Faith of Maimonides. Originally written in Arabic, this creed is the basis of the Yigdal hymn which is part of the daily service and is usually recited at the conclusion of the Friday evening synagogue service. The 13 fundamentals are: 1) The existence of God, which is perfect; 2) God is ‘one’ in every sense of the word; 3) God has no body or physical attributes; 4) God is eternal; 5) God alone must be worshipped. 6) The prophecy of the Bible is true; 7) Moses was greater than any other prophet; 8) The entire Torah was given to Moses; 9) The Torah will never be superseded or abrogated; 10) God knows the actions of men; 11) God rewards and punishes; 12) The Messiah will ultimately come; and 13) The dead will be resurrected.” “These principles have also been put in the form of a creed in which each begins with the words ‘I believe with perfect faith that . . .’ the creed is printed in most prayer books.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

How is the doctrine of Justice and Mercy administered?
“In addition to belief in God, one of the important articles of faith of the Jew is that God is good. Often human beings cannot appreciate God’s goodness, because no human being can see the whole course of events as God does. A unique aspect of the Jewish faith is that although God rules the world with absolute justice, He is also merciful and forgives sins against Him. The doctrine of repentance is based on this belief.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)

How can I know I have true faith?
True faith is more than belief. Having faith in the Lord and believing things that are true is followed by a spiritual confirmation and His verification and validation. You will know that your belief is true. True faith is somehow connected with Heaven and redemption.

How is hope connected to freedom?
“The ideal of freedom has always been cherished by the Jews, for their history has been one of slavery, exile and persecution — slavery in Egypt until the Exodus around the 13th century B.C.E., and exile and oppression since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. Throughout the exile, the hope of the return to Erez Israel was kept alive, developing into the Zionist movement in the 19th century, which found its fruition in the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. A fitting symbol of the Jews’ desire for their own land, government and defense is the national anthem Ha-Tikvah (‘The Hope’).” “The poem was first written by Naphtali Herz Imber, probably in 1878, as ‘Our Hope,’ to express the yearning of the Jews to live as a free people on their own land. In 1882, after Imber had read the poem to a group of settlers in Rishon le-Zion, Samuel Cohen, a recent immigrant from Moldavia, set it to a melody based on an old Moldavian-Rumanian folk song. The song achieved the status of a folk song almost overnight, and was sung in settlements throughout Erez Israel, as well as at Zionist congresses. The Seventh Zionist Congress (Basle, 1905) ended with an ‘enormously moving singing of Ha-Tikvah by all present,’ a moment which probably confirmed the song’s status. The 18th Zionist Congress in Prague, 1933, declared Ha-Tikvah the official Zionist anthem. In 1948, the Italian conductor Bernardino Molinari orchestrated the song for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, giving it its final version. At the Declaration of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, Ha-Tikvah was sung at the opening ceremony and played by the Palestine symphony orchestra at the conclusion; however, Ha-. Tikvah has never been given official status as a national anthem by a proclamation of the Knesset.” The lyrics are:

Hebrew Transliteration “Kol ‘od balevav penimah
Nefesh Yehudi homiyah,
Ulfa’ate mizrach kadimah,
‘Ayin leTziyon tzofiyah;

‘Od lo avdah tikvatenu,
Hatikvah bat shnot ’alpayim,
Lihyot ‘am chofshi be’artzenu,
’Eretz-Tziyon virushalayim.”

English Translation “As long as deep in the heart
the soul of a Jew yearns,
And towards the east –
An eye keeps watch upon Zion,

Your hope is not yet lost.
The hope of two millennia –
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

(Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.) An inspiring and powerful instrumental rendition of Ha-Tikva was played and recorded by the Jewish concert pianist, Marvin Goldstein, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

How is true hope defined?
In a second century disputation between Tryphon a Jew, and Justin Martyr a Christian, an illumination of the Jewish concept of hope can be seen — hope is connected with God. Tryphon, who does not have an understanding of the Godhead, is assuming that the Justin’s belief in Jesus is belief in a man. “Tryphon . . . argued, ‘. . . when you forsook God, and placed your hope in a man, what kind of salvation yet remains for you?’” “Although Judaism sees sin as a most serious matter, even the sinner is not without hope. One of the most important theological doctrines of both the Bible and the Talmud is that if a sinner repents his bad deeds, God will forgive him. “Children are considered a great blessing; they are the hope and the promise of continuing life.” “. . . it was the hope of redemption that sustained Jews through centuries of suffering and persecution.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)