‘Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.’ Colossians 2:8
August 16 — Stalking Snakes in Book of Mormon. Ether 9:31-33 “And there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks began to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land southward, which was called by the Nephites Zarahemla. 32 And it came to pass that there were many of them which did perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some which fled into the land southward. 33 And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the serpents that they should pursue them no more, but that they should hedge up the way that the people could not pass, that whoso should attempt to pass might fall by the poisonous serpents.”
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2 Peter 2:1-2 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”
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Okay there are a couple of things needing some serious attention.
Since when did snakes herd people or animals?
According to the website of American Family Physician more than 8,000 people per year are bitten by snakes. Before the invention of antivenom in 1895 the death rate was basically 100%. Since that time roughly 6-8 people in the US die each year from snake bites.
From the non-essential stats of snakebite deaths, we now have an impartial understanding of how common this phenomenon is. And for the record, snakes are exothermic which means they rely upon their surroundings to control their body temps.
The further north you go, the fewer snakes you’ll encounter as snakes don’t adapt well to cold weather climates. The average snake can slither along at about 3-5 mph.
With all the useless Jeopardy info floating around in your head let’s think about this scenario with the Jaredites.
Does it sound reasonable the land would be so filled with snakes that people and animals were fleeing to escape? Snakes can only slither at 5 mph at top speed. And what about all those swords they had, couldn’t they kill the snakes and get rid of the problem?
How does this scenario glorify God? If God doesn’t want people to do these things why do these people (Nephites and Jaredites) get into large scale wars and kill each other off or go through these off the wall experiences?
How can someone like my mother spiritually apply this story into her personal life? She’s getting older, is a life-long active member of the Church and never questions anything her superiors at church feed her. How does this story bring her closer to Him?
Does it point to Christ Jesus and Him crucified?
And what purpose does this story serve if they all died off anyway?
Where’s the archaeological evidence these people existed?
Once again, please pray for these dear people to stop and think about what they’re reading and turn to the Lord!
With Love in Christ —
Michelle ✟
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