Mormon Dilemma 908 Voice from the Dust

Marvelous Word and a Wonder, p 67; “…(Isaiah 29:1-4.) Isaiah saw the downfall of Ariel, or Jerusalem, at a time far in the future, “add ye year to year.” Then he seems to have been carried away in vision to witness a similar destruction of the cities of Joseph, “and it shall be unto me as Ariel.” He describes how they would be besieged and forts would be raised against them. They would be brought down and would speak out of the ground. Their speech would be “low out of the dust”; their voice would be as one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground; and their speech would whisper out of the dust. Now, obviously, the only way a dead people could speak “out of the ground” or “low out of the dust” would be by the written word, and this the people did through the Book of Mormon. Truly it has a familiar spirit, for it contains the words of the prophets of the God of Israel.” – LeGrand Richards

Isaiah 29:1-4; “Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. 2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. 3 And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. 4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust”.

This is about witchcraft and necromancy.

If Mr. Richards had taken the time to read the entire passage in Isaiah along with a Hebrew concordance he would’ve known this prophecy of Isaiah was a pronouncement against Israel for listening to witches and necromancers! Isaiah was telling the Israelites they were in trouble because they had traipsed over to the fortune-tellers who sought messages from the dead to give them a feel good story about their dead relatives. 

The familiar spirits in this passage is ‘ob’ in the Hebrew. It means prattling from a necromancer, as one speaking as a ventriloquist. We’ve brought these false teachings to light before, but it’s always a good thing to remind people of these dangers! 

Richards’ book, written in 1950, is still used in many of the Church’s lesson books and teachings. Both his father and grandfather were LDS apostles so he’s not in the dark when it comes to the teachings of the Church. 

I would imagine if you admit necromantic behavior isn’t of God that’d mean you have to denounce the activities in the temple. If they did that then what are they left with? Nothing. 

Think about this. If the stories in the BoM are familiar spirits because the people who wrote them are now dead, what does that say about the Bible? Did you notice Mr. Richards didn’t refer to the Bible in the same manner and that God condemned this behavior in the Bible?