Mosiah 11:2

[pam]

Mosiah 11:1Â*

2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness.

Quotes for Discussion

“Selfishness strikes a deadly blow at the root of true character. Failure in the eternal sense of the word is almost always associated with selfishness. If the youth of the Church are to fulfill their mission properly, they must be taught to overcome selfishness.”

Spencer W. Kimball (Charge to Religious Educators, 1982, pp. 43-47)

“The distance between constant self-pleasing and self-worship is shorter than we think. Stubborn selfishness is actually rebellion against God, because warned Samuel, ‘stubbornness is as . . . idolatry’ (1 Samuel 15:23). Selfishness is much more than an ordinary problem because it activates all the cardinal sins! . . . The selfish individual has a passion for the vertical pronoun I. Significantly, the vertical pronoun I has no knees to bend, while the first letter in the pronoun we does.”

Neal A. Maxwell (Conference Report, Oct. 1990, pp. 15-16)

What are Concubines and Whoredoms?

In the case of King Noah these two terms are closely related. Concubines in the Old Testament were “considered to be secondary wives, that is, wives who did not have the same standing in the caste system then prevailing as did those wives who were not called concubines.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 154.) They had full protection as wives and did not violate the law of chastity when the marriages were approved by the Lord. (See D&C 132:34-43.) However, in the time of King Noah the word concubine refers to the wicked practice of a man living with more than one woman in or out of marriage without God’s approval. Whoredoms refer to any perversion of the laws of chastity and virtue.

Book of Mormon Institute Manual, p.190