The Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon

Authors

Mack C. Stirling, Munson Medical Center, Traverse City, Michigan

Keywords

Book of Mormon, Teaching

Abstract

The Book of Mormon describes a great division in mankind between the few who walk in the way of life and the many who walk in the way of death. This division results from the response of each individual to Christ or to the voice of God during probation. Men either hearken to the voice of Christ and progressively acquire spiritual life or they hearken to the voice of the devil and progressively descend into spiritual death. Nine Book of Mormon texts reveal detailed teachings on life and death. A diagram illustrates the ideas of each text. The conception and portrayal of spiritual reality in terms of two mutually exclusive, progressively diverging, and correspondingly opposite ways of life and death are clearly demonstrated. This dualistic conception of reality underlies the entire Book of Mormon. An understanding of this paradigm is critical, in order both to assimilate the essential message of the Book of Mormon on life and death and to understand its theological relationship to the Doctrine and Covenants.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Stirling, Mack C. (1997) "The Way of Life and the Way of Death in the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 6: No. 2, Article 8.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol6/iss2/8