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The Lord makes things pretty easy for us. In the Ten Commandments it simply states, ‘don’t steal’. It’s a straightforward commandment, but the meaning is broad enough to cover everything. If it’s not your stuff, don’t take it.
Today we’re looking at an ‘inspired’ message from the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi who’s sharing a story about an experience his father, Lehi, supposedly had in Jerusalem His ‘story’ is so similar to what we read in the Bible, it’s hard to ignore!. First, let’s look at the biblical text we’re referencing, and then we have questions you can share with a Mormon –
Daniel 2:3 “And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.”
It’s odd this Jewish family who was living in Israel c. BC 600 was speaking ‘Reformed Egyptian’, yet they just so happened to use the identical words and phrases to describe an event that took place in BC 605 we read about in Daniel 2:3.
What are the odds?
Why wasn’t Daniel, or other inhabitants of that region, speaking Reformed Egyptian? King Nebuchadnezzar was a ruthless ruler and wouldn’t allow anything to happen unless he approved of it. People weren’t roaming around because they had no money, nor did they have time to do such things.
Furthermore, how did Nephi ‘borrow’ this phrase from the plates they stole from the treasury after he killed Laban? The historical narrative wouldn’t have been written into scripture at that point!
Remember, when you’re sharing these things with a Mormon they’ll probably be on the defense, so watching the tense and mood of your voice will make all the difference when witnessing, and don’t forget to be patient! Now let’s take a look at the text from 1st Nephi.
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1 Nephi 3:2 “And it came to pass that he spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem”.