Recently at the Nauvoo Times, I discussed the theme of dust in the Book of Mormon and
pointed to scholarship from Walter Brueggemann who found that in the Bible, dust is often
loaded with rich associations (Walter Brueggemann, "From Dust to Kingship," Zeitschrift für
die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, vol. 84, no. 1, 1972).
Dust is a symbol of God's creative work (we are made from the dust). To rise from the dust is to
keep God's covenant, to come out of darkness and obscurity, to gain life, to become enthroned, to
be resurrected, to be exalted, and to enter into the presence of God. To return to the dust or fall
to the dust is to die, to be destroyed, to break the covenant, and to be cast out of the presence of
God.
There is a rich complex of motifs associated with dust that we can gleam from Brueggemann's
work and related scholarship, and these motifs can add much insight to the Book of Mormon,
which describes itself as a voice that whispers to us "out of the dust" (2 Nephi 26:16, cf. Moroni
10:27).
Recognizing the relationship between dust and kingship or enthronement helps us better
understand several passages of scripture, such as Lehi's speech in 2 Nephi 1 and its relationship
to Nephi's rightful role as Lehi's successor and king over his people, as I previously discussed. It
adds further meaning to King Benjamin's farewell speech, where he names Mosiah as the new
king.
In Mosiah 2:25-26, he invokes the theme of dust to humbly remind his people that he is no better
than they are, and that he is about to return to the dust himself:
25. And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that
ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth;
but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.
26. And I, even I, whom ye call your king, am no better than ye yourselves are; for I am
also of the dust. And ye behold that I am old, and am about to yield up this mortal frame
to its mother earth.
After his speech, his people express willingness to enter into a covenant with God in Mosiah 4:1-2 as they make a reference to dust, apparently both in the sense of humility and with a reference
to God's creative work. This occurs after they fall to the earth:
1. And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the
words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes
round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the
Lord had come upon them.
2. And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of
the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the
atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may
be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth,
and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.
They fall to the earth and view themselves as less than the dust, but through the covenant and the
power of the Atonement they will arise and receive mercy and purification, thus rising from the
dust and finding joy. This is juxtaposed with Christ's creative work and His condescension to the
earth.
At the end of the Book of Mormon, Moroni quotes the dust-laden passage of Isaiah 52:1-2 ("arise
from the dust") that is used by Lehi in his speech in 2 Nephi 1, a fitting closure in light of Lehi's
early words. Here is Moroni 10:30-31:
And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ and lay hold upon every
good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.
And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments,
O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou
mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath
made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.
This is a call to enter into a covenant relationship with the Redeemer, to acquire every gift that he
offers, reminding us of Lehi's plea to his children to "arise from the dust" and, in parallel to
putting on the armor of righteousness that Lehi spoke off (contrasted with the chains Satan
offers), Moroni asks us to put on our beautiful garments, garments that are a symbol of our
covenants with the Father. These garments may well refer to the robes and garments of the
Temple, where we lay hold of every good gift and learn to cast out Satan and reject his evil gifts.
Satan's gifts, like his chains, are those of darkness, or rather, the "obscurity" that Lehi urged his
wayward sons to flea. Moroni calls us to come forth out of obscurity and arise from the dust as
we keep our covenants with God and receive the grace and gifts God offers those who some unto
Christ.
Moroni's closing call to "awake and arise from the dust" is preceded by what appears to be a
Hebraic word pair, the pairing of "dead" and "dust." In Moroni 10:27, Moroni describes what
will happen at the bar of God, when the Lord will refer to the witness of the Book of Mormon:
…and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were
written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of
the dust?
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust ('aphar):
for thy dew is as the dew of herbs,
and the earth shall cast out the dead (repha'im). (Isaiah 26: 19)
Comment
The Hebrew repha'im, though always translated "dead" or "deceased" in the King James
Version. properly refers to the shades or ghosts (manes) living in Sheol who, though
devoid of blood and therefore weak, continue to possess powers of mind (such as
memory). The parallelism of Isaiah 26: 19 suggests that the word dead in Moroni 10:27
may answer to the Hebrew repha'im; this is interesting in light of the representation of the
"dead" of Moroni 10:27 as crying out and speaking from the dust, which is consistent
with a proper understanding of repha'im.
Moroni's use of the dust/dead word pair from the Hebrew scriptures is consistent with the ancient
Near Eastern complex of dust-related themes and sets the stage for his dust-related appeal in vs.
31 and his closing sentence in vs. 34 that refers to the time when his spirit and body will reunite
and be brought forth to meet us before God on at the time of judgment.
Christ's use of Isaiah 52:1-2 in 3 Nephi 20 strengthens the dust-related themes in the Book of
Mormon. Christ cites Is. 52:1-3, with verse 3 extending the "arise from the dust" passage with a
reference to redemption "without money" for those who have sold themselves "for naught," and
then skips forward to vv. 6-7 of Is. 52, using covenant language from verse 6 ("my people shall
know my name" and "shall know that I am he that doth speak," where "know" probably is related
to the Hebrew word yada with covenant implications). Verse 7 (3 Nephi 20:40) reminds us of
Abinadi's discourse on the message of salvation and the beauty of the feet upon the mountains of
those who proclaim the Gospel, ending the message of Messianic triumph: "Thy God reigneth!"
This is done as Christ stands at the temple in Bountiful, the symbol of Mount Zion and the
cosmic mountain, after He has had His divine feet touched and undoubtedly washed by the tears
of His people as they witnessed the marks in His hands and feet. He has risen from the dust,
bringing triumph over dust, death, and the chains of hell. How beautiful upon the mountains, too,
were His feet at Bountiful.
The relationship between dust and enthronement also adds poignancy to the scene in which
Christ washes the dust from the feet of His disciples. The King of Heaven kneeling to wash the
dust off the feet of His disciples is a remarkable incident highlighting the depths of Christ's
humility and condescension, and the ultimate goal of His loving, compassionate, self-sacrificing
work: to help us arise from the dust that we might stand in His presence, washed, cleansed by His
Atonement, adorned in robes of righteousness, that we might have endless joy as we serve and
praise God in His kingdom.
There is much more to explore on this topic. Next time we may take up the theme of Abinadi's
somewhat puzzling speech given in response to an even more puzzling question from Noah's
wicked priests, and show how an understanding of dust-related motifs among the Nephites helps
us better appreciate what was happening.
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.