"I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir."
2 Nephi 23:12
You know, I have no idea what the golden wedge of Ophir is, but I think that I get the idea of the scripture... God will make man more valuable than anything that has immense monetary value. This chapter is talking about the last days, the destructions, etc. at the second coming (comparing it to the fall of Babylon...), and what really got to me this morning as I was reading this verse is the fact that a man isn't more valuable than that already. I edited a paper the other day that was arguing that money is the most important thing, and if we want to get along in this world then we should just get used to it. Several of my students wrote about abortion in their final papers and I remember one in particular used financial reasons as one of his arguments to justify his pro-abortion stance. Another student wrote that we should outlaw panhandling, since the people are just con artists there to steal our money. In court people argue about what the specific monetary value of a life is, so that they can charge the tobacco companies or whoever else has contributed to a death... it gets mind-boggling when you think about this scripture and realize that money, to many, is more important than life. ... It becomes particularly upsetting when you realize how many people dedicate most of their lives to something they dislike, just to get money... but we won't go that far. :) The only point I wanted to make is at the very core of the issue here... are we valuing money over life in our walk through this world? When we have those opportunities to choose between the two, are we making the right choice? An interesting thing to think about... I know I will today.
2 Nephi 23:12
You know, I have no idea what the golden wedge of Ophir is, but I think that I get the idea of the scripture... God will make man more valuable than anything that has immense monetary value. This chapter is talking about the last days, the destructions, etc. at the second coming (comparing it to the fall of Babylon...), and what really got to me this morning as I was reading this verse is the fact that a man isn't more valuable than that already. I edited a paper the other day that was arguing that money is the most important thing, and if we want to get along in this world then we should just get used to it. Several of my students wrote about abortion in their final papers and I remember one in particular used financial reasons as one of his arguments to justify his pro-abortion stance. Another student wrote that we should outlaw panhandling, since the people are just con artists there to steal our money. In court people argue about what the specific monetary value of a life is, so that they can charge the tobacco companies or whoever else has contributed to a death... it gets mind-boggling when you think about this scripture and realize that money, to many, is more important than life. ... It becomes particularly upsetting when you realize how many people dedicate most of their lives to something they dislike, just to get money... but we won't go that far. :) The only point I wanted to make is at the very core of the issue here... are we valuing money over life in our walk through this world? When we have those opportunities to choose between the two, are we making the right choice? An interesting thing to think about... I know I will today.
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