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==Answer== | ==Answer== | ||
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− | + | ===Apostate cities=== | |
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+ | ==="Better That One Man Should Perish"=== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Nephi's experience in which he is commanded to slay Laban ({{s|1|Nephi|4|1-19}}) closely parallels two other cases in which Jewish scripture permitted one person to be slain for the good of a group of people, and seems to approve of the decision.{{ref|fn1}} | ||
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+ | In {{s|2|Samuel|20||}}, we read of Sheba, an Israelite who rebelled against David, and led all the tribes away from him (except for Judah). He is eventually beheaded so that Joab, David's general, won't destroy the entire city in which he is hiding. | ||
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+ | In {{s|2|Kings|24||}} and {{s|2|Chronicles|36|5-8}}, we hear of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah who burned Jeremiah's prophecies.{{ref|fn2}} Jehoiakim started out as a puppet king of Egypt, and ruled from about 609–598 BC, when the Babylonians finally got frustrated with him. | ||
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+ | The following table compares Nephi's experience to these Biblical examples:{{ref|fn3}} | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===Justified homicide: Nephi vs. Laban=== | ||
+ | ===Robbers vs. thieves=== | ||
==Endnotes== | ==Endnotes== | ||
+ | <!--Apostate cities--> | ||
+ | <!--Better that one man should perish--> | ||
+ | #{{note|fn1}}{{Insights1|author=John W. Welch, and Heidi Harkness Parker|article=Better That One Man Perish|date=June 1998|start=2}} | ||
+ | #{{note|fn2}}{{s||Jeremiah|36||}} | ||
+ | #{{note|fn3}}Drawn heavily from {{ChartingBoM1|start=115}} | ||
+ | <!--Justified homicide Nephi v. Laban--> | ||
+ | <!--Robbers vs thieves--> | ||
+ | ==Further reading== | ||
+ | ===FAIR wiki articles=== | ||
{{Joseph Smith BoM against expectations}} | {{Joseph Smith BoM against expectations}} | ||
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===FAIR web site=== | ===FAIR web site=== | ||
− | * FAIR Topical Guide: | + | * FAIR Topical Guide: |
===External links=== | ===External links=== | ||
*{{JBMS-1-1-7}} | *{{JBMS-1-1-7}} | ||
===Printed material=== | ===Printed material=== | ||
+ | *{{reexploring|start=176|end=178|article=The Destruction of Ammonihah and the Law of Apostate Cities|author=John W. Welch}} | ||
*{{warfarebom|author=John W. Welch|article=Law and War in the Book of Mormon|start=46|end=102}} | *{{warfarebom|author=John W. Welch|article=Law and War in the Book of Mormon|start=46|end=102}} | ||
*John W. Welch, "Lehi's Last Will and Testament: A Legal Approach," in ''The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure'', ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1989), 61–82 | *John W. Welch, "Lehi's Last Will and Testament: A Legal Approach," in ''The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure'', ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1989), 61–82 |
This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.
Do the legal concepts in the Book of Mormon better match Joseph Smith's day, or the ancient world?
Nephi's experience in which he is commanded to slay Laban (1 Nephi 4꞉1-19) closely parallels two other cases in which Jewish scripture permitted one person to be slain for the good of a group of people, and seems to approve of the decision.[1]
In 2 Samuel 20, we read of Sheba, an Israelite who rebelled against David, and led all the tribes away from him (except for Judah). He is eventually beheaded so that Joab, David's general, won't destroy the entire city in which he is hiding.
In 2 Kings 24 and 2 Chronicles 36꞉5-8, we hear of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah who burned Jeremiah's prophecies.[2] Jehoiakim started out as a puppet king of Egypt, and ruled from about 609–598 BC, when the Babylonians finally got frustrated with him.
The following table compares Nephi's experience to these Biblical examples:[3]
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