A Plurality of Gods and the Teachings of Zenos and Zenock
Book of Mormon Notes - Tuesday, September 26, 2023, Alma 33
It is fascinating that one of the first questions that the penitent and formerly apostate Zoramites posed to Alma is whether they should believe in one God. Perhaps polytheism and idolatry had so confused these people that the plainest teachings regarding God and His character had been lost. Nephi plainly taught:
And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. (2 Nephi 31:21)
Abinadi plainly taught:
And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that aGod himself shall bcome down among the children of men, and shall credeem his people.
And because he adwelleth in bflesh he shall be called the cSon of God, and having subjected the flesh to the dwill of the eFather, being the Father and the Son—
The Father, abecause he was bconceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—
And they are aone God, yea, the very bEternal cFather of heaven and of earth. (Mosiah 15:1-4)
Nephi and Abinadi built upon the teachings of Moses:
aHear, O Israel: The Lord our God is bone Lord:
And thou shalt alove the Lord thy God with all thine bheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy cmight. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
Before his conversion, Zeezrom had a concern that was similar to the Zoramites’ concern, or at least he was as confused as the formerly apostate Zoramites:
Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God?
And he answered, No.
Now Zeezrom said unto him again: How knowest thou these things?
And he said: An angel hath made them known unto me.
And Zeezrom said again: Who is he that shall come? Is it the Son of God?
And he said unto him, Yea.
And Zeezrom said again: Shall he save his people in their sins? And Amulek answered and said unto him: I say unto you he shall not, for it is impossible for him to deny his word.
Now Zeezrom said unto the people: See that ye remember these things; for he said there is but one God; yet he saith that the Son of God shall come, but he shall not save his people—as though he had authority to command God. (Alma 11:28-35)
The Apostle Paul plainly taught:
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:5)
And,
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. (Romans 3:28-31)
It is doubly interesting therefore that Joseph Smith received and recorded these words by revelation while a prisoner in Liberty Jail:
God shall give unto you aknowledge by his bHoly Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable cgift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been drevealed since the world was until now;
Which our forefathers have awaited with aanxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fulness of their glory;
A time to come in the which anothing shall be withheld, whether there be bone God or many cgods, they shall be manifest.
All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be arevealed and set forth upon all who have endured bvaliantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ. (D&C 121:26-29)
Whether there be one God or many gods? Wait, what? Aren’t we monotheists like the Jews and the Muslims and the other Christians? What on earth did the Lord reveal to Joseph Smith concerning “many gods”? The cross reference verses listed for “gods” are interesting to consider:
I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. (Psalms 82:6)
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? (John 10:34)
For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)
Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God— (D&C 76:58)
Then read all of Abraham chapters four and five. It was the Gods that went down at the beginning and formed the heavens and the earth. Joseph Smith shed light on this fact:
John was one of the men, and the Apostles declare they were made Kings and Priests unto God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; it reads just so in the Revelations; hence the doctrine of a plurality of Gods is as prominent in the Bible as any other doctrine; it is all over the face of the Bible— it stands beyond the power of controversy— ‘a wayfaring man though a fool needs not err therein’. Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many— I want to set it forth in a plain and simple manner— but to us there is but one God— that is, pertaining to us— and He is in all and through all. But if Joseph Smith says there are Gods many and Lords many, they cry, ‘away with him— crucify him— crucify him’.
“Mankind verily say that the scriptures are with them— search the scriptures; for they testify of things that these apostates would gravely pronounce blasphemy. Paul, if Joseph Smith is a blasphemer, you are. I say there are Gods many and Lords many, but to us only one; and we are to be in subjection to that one; and no man can limit the bounds, or the eternal existence of eternal time. Hath he beheld the eternal world, and is he authorized to say that there is only one God? he makes himself a fool if he thinks or says so, and there is an end of his [HC 6:474] career or progress in knowledge— he cannot obtain all knowledge, for he has sealed up the gate to it. Some say I do not interpret the scriptures the same as they do— they say it means the heathens gods. Paul says there are Gods many and Lords many, and that makes a plurality of Gods in spite of the whims of all men. Without a revelation I am not going to give them the Knowledge of the God of Heaven. You know and I testify that Paul had no allusion to the heathen gods; I have it from God, and get over it if you can. I have a witness of the Holy Ghost, and a testimony that Paul had no allusion to the heathen gods in the text. I will shew from the Hebrew Bible that I am correct; and the first word shews a plurality of Gods; and I want the apostates and learned men to come here and prove to the contrary, if they can. An unlearned boy must give you a little Hebrew: Berosheit baurau Eloheim ait aushamayeem vehau auraits— rendered by King James’s translators,— ‘In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.’ I want to analyze the word Berosheit. Rosh the head; Sheit a grammatical termination; the Baith was not originally put there when the inspired man wrote it, but it has been since added by an old Jew. Baurau signifies to bring forth; Eloheim is from the word Eloi— God, in the singular number; and by adding the word heim it renders it Gods. It read first, ‘In the beginning the head of the Gods brought forth the Gods’, or as others have
rendered the translation,<translated it> — the head of the Gods called the Gods together.’ I want to shew a little learning as well as other fools.“‘Drink deep or taste not the Pierian spring,
Shallow draughts intoxicate the brain;
But drinking deep will sober us again.’
“All this confusion among professed translators is for want of drinking another draught. The head God organized the heavens and the earth; I defy all the learning in the world to refute me. ‘In the beginning the heads of the Gods organized the heavens and the earth.’ Now the learned priest and the people rage, and the heathen imagine a vain thing. If we pursue the Hebrew text further it reads:— ‘Berosheit baurau Eloheim ait aushamayeem vehau auraits’— ‘The head one of the Gods said, let us make man in our image’. I once asked a learned Jew ‘if the Hebrew language compels us to render all words ending in heim in the plural, why not render the first Eloheim plural?’ He replied, ‘that is the rule with few exceptions, but in this case it would ruin the bible.’ He acknowledged I was right.
The doctrine of the plurality of Gods is not polytheism. The head of the Gods rules the gods. God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ rule over the sons of God. It’s that simple.
The penitent Zoramites also wanted to know how to obtain the fruit, how plant the seed, and how to begin to exercise faith. These are very good questions. Alma was ready with an answer, and he drew from the scriptures, probably from the Brass Plates. Alma gently but firmly rebuked the penitent Zoramites for supposing that they could not worship God just because they had been cast out of their synagogues. But his rebuke was a reminder for them to go to the Source for answers, namely, to search the scriptures. The reason for the formerly apostate Zoramites’ confusion was their lack of knowledge and understanding because of their failure to search the scriptures. Jesus often gentle but firmly rebuked His disciples and others with a simple question “Have ye not read?”
The penitent Zoramites had not read, and therefore Alma began to help them to renew their study of the scriptures. Alma began with direct quotations of scriptures to which we currently lack direct access, namely, the book of Zenos. Zenos was a prophet in Israel during the time of the Old Testament whose prophecies of Christ’s mission are currently found only in the Book of Mormon. But Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, Alma, and other Book of Mormon prophets knew of and understood Zenos’ prophesies because the Brass Plates contained even more writings than the Bible as we have it in its current form. What are the prophecies of Zenos? Until we have access to the full book of Zenos, perhaps from the Brass Plates, we have a selection of Zenos’ prophesies in the Book of Mormon:
And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel.
And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers. (1 Nephi 19:10-12)
And,
Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.
And,
And in Jacob’s commentary on Zenos’ prophesies,
And now, behold, my brethren, as I said unto you that I would prophesy, behold, this is my prophecy—that the things which this prophet Zenos spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he likened them unto a tame olive tree, must surely come to pass.
And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh.
And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard; and how cursed are they who shall be cast out into their own place! And the world shall be burned with fire.
And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.
Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?
For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?
Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?
Know ye not that if ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection, which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God?
And according to the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment. (Jacob 6:1-10)
And, in Alma’s teachings to the penitent, formerly apostate Zoramites:
Do ye remember to have read what Zenos, the prophet of old, has said concerning prayer or worship?
For he said: Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me.
Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst hear me.
And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer.
And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me.
Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.
Yea, O God, thou hast been merciful unto me, and heard my cries in the midst of thy congregations.
Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries, and wast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst visit them in thine anger with speedy destruction.
And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, because of thy Son. (Alma 33:3-11)
And in Amulek’s follow up teachings to the same penitent and formerly apostate Zoramites:
My brother has called upon the words of Zenos, that redemption cometh through the Son of God, and also upon the words of Zenock; and also he has appealed unto Moses, to prove that these things are true. (Alma 34:7)
And soon we will learn of another prophet named Nephi who also drew from the teachings of Zenos and from whom we discover that Zenos was a Christian martyr:
And now I would that ye should know, that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet aZenos did testify boldly; for the which he was slain.
And we will also learn that Samuel the Lamanite used the teachings of Zenos to testify of the restoration of the Lamanites:
Yea, even if they should dwindle in unbelief the Lord shall prolong their days, until the time shall come which hath been spoken of by our fathers, and also by the prophet Zenos, and many other prophets, concerning the restoration of our brethren, the Lamanites, again to the knowledge of the truth—
Mormon also referenced Zenos in his commentary on the fulfillment of prophecies concerning Christ’s first coming among the Nephites:
Behold, I say unto you, Yea, many have testified of these things at the coming of Christ, and were slain because they testified of these things.
Yea, the prophet Zenos did testify of these things, and also Zenock spake concerning these things, because they testified particularly concerning us, who are the remnant of their seed. (3 Nephi 10:15-16)
Perhaps more of Zenos’ teachings were recorded in the 116 lost pages. Whatever the case, Zenos was an important prophet for the ancient people of America, and perhaps some day we will be able to read the Book of Zenos and understand how all of his prophesies, like those of the Prophet Isaiah, have been, are, and will be fulfilled.
In response to the penitent Zoramites questions and concerns regarding worship, Alma the Younger taught them that, in essence, we can worship God at all times and in all places. They should have known this because Zenos had clearly taught that prayer or worship cannot be confined to synagogues. God heard Zenos’ prayers in the wilderness, in his field, in his house, in his closet, in the midst of the Lord’s congregations, and even when he was cast out and despised. Mormon, through Alma, through Zenos, gives us several keys for effective prayer: remember that the Lord is merciful, pray always and everywhere, pray for and about enemies, pray at home, at work, in private, and in public, pray sincerely, pray to be heard of God and not of men, pray in afflictions, and recognize that it is because of Jesus Christ that Heavenly Father answers prayers, shows mercy, and turns away judgments.
Alma’s follow up question is another firm, but gentle rebuke to the penitent Zoramites:
Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye adisbelieve on the Son of God? (Alma 33:14)
And Alma the Younger was just getting warmed up. He also drew inspiration from another prophet whose writings are currently lost to us, namely Zenock. (And just as a side note, can you imagine that a young farm-boy could have invented names like this among hundreds of other names… Zenos and Zenock? The answer is simple: these were real people, and Joseph Smith did not invent their names.) Who was Zenock? He was also a prophet in Old Testament times who is only mentioned in the Book of Mormon. He was also a Christian martyr. What did Zenock teach?
And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel. (1 Nephi 19:10)
And,
For it is not written that Zenos alone spake of these things, but Zenock also spake of these things—
For behold, he said: Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they awill not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son.
And now, my brethren, ye see that a second prophet of old has testified of the Son of God, and because the people would not understand his words they astoned him to death. (Alma 33:15-17)
And,
And behold, also Zenock, and also Ezias, and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the destruction of Jerusalem) and now we know that Jerusalem was destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come, according to his prophecy? (Helaman 8:20)
And still Alma the Younger was just getting warmed up. He was familiar with all of the prophesies of all of the prophets who had preceded him. Moses was another one of these prophets who had prophesied concerning Jesus Christ:
But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God.
Behold, he was spoken of by aMoses; yea, and behold a btype was craised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.
But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would aheal them.
O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in aunbelief, and be bslothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?
If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and abegin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to batone for their sins; and that he shall crise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the dresurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be ejudged at the last and judgment day, according to their fworks. (Alma 33:18-22)
All of this is the testimony of Jesus Christ and the word that Alma desired for the penitent Zoramites to plant and to nourish in their hearts. It is my testimony too:
And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall aplant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, bspringing up in you unto ceverlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your dburdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye ewill. Amen. (Alma 33:23)