3 NEPHI 18:29 - THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS

[bill4long]

Decades ago I ran across this blunder in the Book of Mormon. I've never run across any other reference to it. So I thought I would post it here for comment.

The text in question is 3 Nephi 18:28-32:

28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it;

29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.

30 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name, then shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood.

31 But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered.

32 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your asynagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.

Compare that with 1 Corinthian 11:27-29:

27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.


Note, particularly the text in bold. It would seem that both sets of texts are conveying the same message, do they not? But they do not.

For centuries it has been a common misunderstanding of 1 Corinthian 11:27-29 made by people reading the King James Bible who did not consider the context of Paul's message, nor the actual Greek underlying the English translation. The context of Paul's statement pertains to the Corthinians coming together for, what should have been, a partaking of the Lord's Supper. Start at verse 11 and read through to the end of the chapter. There were "divisions", "heresies", those who were "hungry", those who were "drunken". Paul reminds them of the reason they are suppose to be coming together which is to "discern the Lord's body."

Now, the word "unworthily" is an abverb which modifies the act, not the actor. What Paul is saying here is that they are partaking of the body and blood of the Lord in an unworthy manner. (Greek ἀναξίως - see any modern translation.) Paul's complaint has absolutely nothing to do with personal worthiness. He is complaining about the manner in which they are partaking. The party-like behavior, with various cliques and divisions at the event is taking their focus off of "discerning the Lord's body" when they partake of the "body and blood of the Lord." Those who partake in such an unworthy manner are committing an insult to the body and blood of the Lord, and will suffer serious consequences.

Now back to 3 Nephi. Whoever is responsible for this bit of prose in 3 Nephi essentially lifted the core verbiage from the text of Paul's complaint to the Corinithians with the common misunderstanding about what Paul was actually saying, and then elaborated on the misunderstanding, making it about a man's personal worthiness.

"For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul;" is nearly identical to Paul's words in verse 29 of the King James Bible, including the use of the adverb "unworthily" which modifies the verbs "eateth" and "drinketh." Then in the very next clause, the adverb is jettisoned and the adjective "unworthy" is employed, which pertains to a man's personal worthiness. This is a material shift in intention, and reflects the common misunderstanding of the King James text. And the idea continues all the way to the end of the elaboration.

Oops!

What's even worse is that the writer of the Book of Mormon puts this in the mouth of "Jesus", who allegedly preaches this common misunderstanding to the Nephites some 20 or 30 years prior to Paul uttering the Greek words that the King James translators would render in 1611 into the English that caused the confusion.

[Shulem]

Let’s get some additional information on the quote from St. Paul from other biblical versions other than the KJV that express an alternative that is more close to what St. Paul originally said.

1 Corinthians 11:27-29

Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body.

This is why those who eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord inappropriately will be guilty of the Lord’s body and blood. Each individual should test himself or herself, and eat from the bread and drink from the cup in that way. Those who eat and drink without correctly understanding the body are eating and drinking their own judgment.

But if you eat the bread and drink the wine in a way that isn’t worthy of the Lord, you sin against his body and blood. That’s why you must examine the way you eat and drink. If you fail to understand that you are the body of the Lord, you will condemn yourselves by the way you eat and drink.

So if you eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in a way that does not fit its meaning, you are sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. Before you eat the bread and drink the cup, you should examine your own attitude. If you eat and drink without paying attention to those who are the Lord’s body, your eating and drinking will cause you to be judged guilty.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks from the Lord’s cup in an improper way will be held responsible for the Lord’s body and blood. With this in mind, individuals must determine whether what they are doing is proper when they eat the bread and drink from the cup. Anyone who eats and drinks is eating and drinking a judgment against himself when he doesn’t recognize the Lord’s body.

It follows that if one of you eats the Lord's bread or drinks from his cup in a way that dishonors him, you are guilty of sin against the Lord's body and blood. So then, you should each examine yourself first, and then eat the bread and drink from the cup. For if you do not recognize the meaning of the Lord's body when you eat the bread and drink from the cup, you bring judgment on yourself as you eat and drink

[bill4long]

Thanks

[drumdude]

Clearly Paul got it wrong! Who are you going to believe, Paul or the Christ himself?

[bill4long]

Amen and amen

[LittleNipper]

It would seem that this website is slowly dying. I'm rather sorry to see that. People don't like to debate if there is a strong chance they are going to have to make a change if proven wrong. Mormonism is all about families and friendship and their church. They are very comfortable with leaving doctrine and understanding to someone else to worry about. They think that makes them safe.

[JB4ever]

Thank you for this. When I was a teenager — and for context, I think I was a pretty goody-two-shoes kid — I got sent a note right after the sacrament had been administered. The deacon delivered it directly from the Bishop. The note was this quote from 3 Nephi 18:29. I was pretty freaked. Sure, I wasn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t have considered myself “unworthy,” per se. Evidently, my Bishop believed otherwise.

I carried this baggage for decades.

I can’t count the number of times that I denied myself the beauty and grace of communion with my God, because of my fear that I might inadvertently be “eating and drinking damnation” to my own soul.

Sacrament (and later, after leaving Mormonism but attempting to find my way in other Christian denominations, Eucharist, or Communion) was a brutal self-reckoning, often ending in devastated self-condemnation. Even though I now believe that the Book of Mormon is a sorry, racist, b.s.-filled combination of plagiarism and the crazed fever-dreams of a perverted pedophile, the scars of such deep brainwashing have remained.

What a gift you have given me! A theological explanation of the details of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the context of his missive, and the alternate translations and wording give my soul peace.

I truly appreciate it.

[Shulem]

3 Nephi 18

28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it;

29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.

I’m afraid that members of the Church today don’t have a choice but must defend Mormon Jesus’s plagiarism in using a futuristic English word dating to about 1290 AD whereafter centuries later it was unfortunately employed in the English 1611 AD version of the Bible. I’m afraid Mormons are stuck with the Book of Mormon error and cannot refer back to the original Greek or better translations than what’s given in the KJV which Smith copied into the Book of Mormon. It is proof that Joseph Smith did not know what he was doing when toying around with KJV scripture! In this case it really came back to bite the prophet!

The Latter-day Saints are stuck with the KJV:

First Presidency Statement on the King James Version of the Bible

The First Presidency has released the following letter regarding the King James Version of the Bible.

Since the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has used the King James Version of the Bible for English-speaking members.

The Bible, as it has been transmitted over the centuries, has suffered the loss of many plain and precious parts. ‘We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.’ (A of F 1:8.)

Many versions of the Bible are available today. Unfortunately, no original manuscripts of any portion of the Bible are available for comparison to determine the most accurate version. However, the Lord has revealed clearly the doctrines of the gospel in these latter-days. The most reliable way to measure the accuracy of any biblical passage is not by comparing different texts, but by comparison with the Book of Mormon and modern-day revelations.

While other Bible versions may be easier to read than the King James Version, in doctrinal matters latter-day revelation supports the King James Version in preference to other English translations. All of the Presidents of the Church, beginning with the Prophet Joseph Smith, have supported the King James Version by encouraging its continued use in the Church. In light of all the above, it is the English language Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The LDS edition of the Bible (1979) contains the King James Version supplemented and clarified by footnotes, study aids, and cross-references to the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. These four books are the standard works of the Church. We encourage all members to have their own copies of the complete standard works and to use them prayerfully in regular personal and family study, and in Church meetings and assignments.

Sincerely your brethren,

Ezra Taft Benson

Gordon B. Hinckley

Thomas S. Monson

I find it ironic how the Church is careful not to embrace the entire Bible as the “word of God” because there are mistranslations therein but one such mistranslation is found in the very covers of the Book of Mormon. Go figure. What is the Church to do about that?

[bill4long]

Thank you for this. When I was a teenager — and for context, I think I was a pretty goody-two-shoes kid — I got sent a note right after the sacrament had been administered. The deacon delivered it directly from the Bishop. The note was this quote from 3 Nephi 18:29. I was pretty freaked. Sure, I wasn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t have considered myself “unworthy,” per se. Evidently, my Bishop believed otherwise.

I carried this baggage for decades.

I can’t count the number of times that I denied myself the beauty and grace of communion with my God, because of my fear that I might inadvertently be “eating and drinking damnation” to my own soul.

Sacrament (and later, after leaving Mormonism but attempting to find my way in other Christian denominations, Eucharist, or Communion) was a brutal self-reckoning, often ending in devastated self-condemnation. Even though I now believe that the Book of Mormon is a sorry, racist, b.s.-filled combination of plagiarism and the crazed fever-dreams of a perverted pedophile, the scars of such deep brainwashing have remained.

What a gift you have given me! A theological explanation of the details of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the context of his missive, and the alternate translations and wording give my soul peace.

I truly appreciate it.

It can be difficult to detangle oneself from the web of Joe's deception. I'm truly glad I could help in a small way.