2 Nephi 13:17

[pam]

Reference Search: 2 Nephi 13:17

17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.

Quotes for Discussion

Scab/uncover their forehead—

These terms reflect the Lord’s judgment on Israel. Baldness is one of God’s judgments on the wicked (Jer. 47:4-5; 48:37; Ezek. 7:18), and it may refer to the “humiliating punishment known among the Babylonians” in which the hair of the forehead would be shaved off. In addition, since the Hebrew word for atonement means “covering,” an uncovered head may point to one who has lost some of the privileges of the Atonement.

Ibid, p. 43

Even though costly apparel was and is a physical manifestation, Mae Blanch rightly identifies it as a spiritual dilemma: “When money and possessions become the chief marks of distinction in society, then the pursuit of money becomes the only action worthwhile. And if this pursuit requires the sacrifice of honesty, integrity, compassion, and all other virtues, then so be it, for the love of money is indeed the root of all evil. Thus the wearing of costly apparel involves the soul as much as the body.”

Our society may well be as guilty as the wealthy Zoramites of using fashion as “the science of appearances, inspiring us with the desire to seem rather than to be.” In our day the costly apparel syndrome may be identified as one aspect of the modern-day term “conspicuous consumption.” The word conspicuous alludes to the visual side of vanity—the need to be seen, to be recognized. Consumption refers to that which we take in or that which we consume. Conspicuous consumption may be defined as that which we take to ourselves in order to be recognized and approved by others. By its very definition, the person trapped in conspicuous consumption, especially as it applies to “costly apparel,” must be focused on the opinions of others, because what is “in” today may be “out” tomorrow. Vanity then becomes its own punishment, because there is never time to be satisfied—the eyes and opinions of others can turn so quickly to embrace someone else.

For us, the disease that afflicted the Zoramites encompasses more than clothing. It can include cars, houses, boats, diplomas, and anything else that has a foundation where the need for the approval of man carries more weight than the need to be accepted by God. Elder Ezra Taft Benson referred to this problem in general conference more than three decades ago: “Are not may of us status-seekers—measuring the worth of a man by the size of his bank account, his house, his automobile?...This is a sad commentary on a civilization which has given to mankind the greatest achievements and progress ever known. But it is an even sadder commentary on those of us who call ourselves Christians, who thus betray the ideals given to us by the Son of God himself.”

K. Douglas Bassett, Four Faces of Pride in the Book of Mormon

On the subject of dress and appearance the same rule holds as for lunch—sufficient covering is necessary, but don’t go beyond that. If you cannot add a cubit to your stature, don’t try to add other splendors to your person that it does not possess: forget the obsession with an impressive appearance that goes with aspiring to the executive lunch (“dressing for success”); simply appear as what you are, and don’t fuss so much about it (Matthew 6:27-30). “Therefore,” he says again, “take not thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (Matthew 6:31). The Gentiles spend their time going after these things—but you are not Gentiles.

Now comes a most enlightening explanation of the economics of the gospel, the answer to the natural question, How shall we get on in the world if we don’t even think about such things? The injunction “take no thought” must be taken seriously, since it is one of the most oft-repeated in the scriptures, occurring in all the Gospels, in the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants. Here the formula “all these things” applies specifically to what we must eat, drink, and wear—food and covering (Matthew 6:32). It occurs three times as an objective clause, and the key word is seek. In the same breath we are told that the Gentiles seek after all these things, but we are definitely not to seek after them. We are to be busy seeking after something else, “the kingdom of God, and his [its] righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). But what about the other things, won’t we need food and clothing too? Of course, they are very important, and you can rest assured that “your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things” (Matthew 6:32), and he will provide them. If you have enough faith to trust him 9Matthew 6:30) and spend your days seeking what he wants you to seek, he will provide “all these things” as you need them (prostethesetai).

“But seek ye first (proton) the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added” (Matthew 6:33). It has become customary to interpret this as meaning that one should first go on a mission or get a testimony some other way, and then turn to the business of getting ahead in the world. But the word for first, proton, means first in every sense—first and foremost, before all else, in preference to all else, and so on. It usually refers to time, but not in this passage. We are not told to seek first the kingdom and then seek “all these things”; nothing whatever is said about seeking them except the explicit command not to seek them. There is no idea of a time sequence here: Does one ever stop seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness in this life, or was there ever a time before, during, or after a mission when one did not need food and clothing? We are not to seek them ever, for God supplies them ever.

Hugh Nibley, Approaching Zion, p. 323-233