WEIGHING, MEASURING, AND JUDGMENT by Dianne E. Wirth

[Hemidakota]

[e-mail]

Alma 11:1-19 in the Book of Mormon, discusses amounts of gold and silver, and their respective measures; i.e., “A senum of silver was equal to a senine of gold, and either for a measure of barley, and also for a measure of every kind of grain” (11:7). This is similar to the method the ancient Hebrews weighed their grain, “So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel---.” (2 Kings 7:16).

In the interim between this major subject and the culminating theme of Alma chapter 11, Zeezrom (an evil man who was clever with words) questioned Amulek, tempting him to deny the Supreme Being. Zeezrom offered Amulek money, but Amulek refused Zeezrom’s enticement and proceeded to describe the nature of the Son of God, explaining that men cannot be saved in their sins, and that God will come into the world to redeem his people (11:37-40).

The subsequent lines, starting with verse 41 and going to the end of this chapter, contain the second principal subject under consideration. In these verses we are informed that “all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works--- we shall be brought to stand before God ---- and have a bright recollection of all our guilt--- and shall be brought and arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father ---to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.”

The monetary opening of Alma 11 is a key to the judgment scene at the end of the chapter that all men will encounter—it is the measuring and weighing of good works, or the lack thereof, of each individual. The scriptures speak of the Judgment in terms of measuring, weighing, and balancing. For example, Matthew 7:2 speaks of measuring: “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” The weighing equation is also important. “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed” (1 Samuel 2:3). Daniel reproves the son of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and tells him, “Thou are weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Daniel 5:27).

The Book of Mormon was written in a script described as “the learning of the Jews and the Language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2). John Tvedtnes suggested that Lehi and his sons were caravaneers, who as metalworkers took their wares to various locales, no doubt including Egypt.(1) In Mosiah 1:4 it is written that “he [Lehi] having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings----” Apparently the plates of brass, formerly housed by Laban in Jerusalem and now in the hands of the Nephites, were also engraved with this script. In that the descendants of Lehi knew the language of the Egyptians, they would have understood many practices of the Egyptian people. One of these traditions explains more fully our discussion of weighing, measuring and the judgment in a pictorial form.

There are many scenes found in Egyptian funeral papyri that depict Anubis weighing the deceased’s heart on a scale against the feather of truth. The feather, due to its airy composition, symbolized lightness to the Egyptians. Therefore, it expressed an “absence.”(2) In our illustration from the Papyrus of Ani, Anubis, the master of this particular ceremony, holds the symbol of life, the ankh, in his left hand. He is seen leading the deceased by his hand to the scales. At the top of the scale is Maat who wears a feather on her head standing for truth, order, and law. The motif of Anubis appears again between the scales, and to his right is the beast, Ammut, the destroyer of souls. The heart of the deceased is weighed in the balance against Maat’s feather of righteousness, with the owner of the heart watching the judgment.(3) If the deceased is unsuccessful, he is devoured by Ammut; but if he is successful and has a just heart, he is led into the presence of his god to live peacefully forever.

Redrawn by D. Wirth after Egyptian Papyrus of Ani

To the extreme right is Thoth, the chief scribe, who records all that took place with the scales of reckoning in the Hall of Judgment. In the scriptures it is the Lord who is the scribe. We read in Exodus 32:33, “And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” John the Revelator described his vision of the judgment and the opening of these books: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12).

(1) John A. Tvedtnes, The Most Correct Book (Cornerstone Publishing, Salt Lake City, 1999), 76-98.

2) Maria Carmela Betrb, Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt, translated by S. Amanda George (New York: Abbeville Press, 1995), 124.

(3) The heart was considered the seat of thought and emotion and even of life itself. Richard H. Wilkinson, Reading Egyptian Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Egyptian Painting and Sculpture (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1992), 77.

[Moksha]

There appears to be not only an ankh and a staff of Ra in her hand, but a ball of Green Jell-O on both the head pieces as well. Talk about symbolism!

[Justice]

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I've never placed exactly why the currency was detailed out in the Book of Mormon. It makes sense.

Edited July 22, 2008 by Justice