LESSON 8 - Living Righteously in a Wicked World

THE REAL SIN OF SODOM

Although the sexual sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are well documented, the Lord tells Ezekiel that the root of their iniquity lay in pride, laziness, and a lack of charity.

49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

MELCHIZEDEK AND ABRAHAM

The person known as Melchizedek is one of the most enigmatic figures in all of scriptures. That most translations of Hebrews 7:3 appear to state that he was, “Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life…,” only serve to make him seem more mysterious. In fact, an early Christian Gnostic group called themselves Melchizedekites, and worshipped him as God, the Father incarnate.

Here are some of the things we do know about Melchizedek:

He worked miracles as a child (JST Gen. 14:26)
He received the priesthood through the lineage of his fathers (D&C 84:14)
He was a priest of the Most High God (Gen. 14:18; Heb. 7:1)
He was the king of Salem (Heb. 7:1)
He reigned under his father (Alma 13:18)
Abraham received the priesthood from him (D&C 84:14)
Abraham paid him tithes (Gen. 14:20; Heb. 7:4)
He offered bread and wine to Abraham and blessed him (Gen. 14:17-20)
Paul considered him greater than Abraham (Heb. 7:4-7)
Was called the Prince of peace, or King of peace (JST Gen. 14:33; 36)
Helped convert his people from great wickedness to righteousness (Alma 13:17-19)
His people were translated to the City of Enoch (JST Gen. 14:34)
The higher priesthood was named after him because he was such a “great High Priest” (D&C 107:1-4)

Many have attempted to identify him with Shem, of whom little is heard after exiting from the ark. This is strengthened by the statement in Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, where he recounts seeing, “Shem, the great high priest…,: (D&C 138:41). But others have pointed to D&C 84:14, where we read that Melichizedek received the priesthood , “through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah,” as evidence that there were multiple generations separating Noah and Melchizedek. However, this could also be read as a descending statement (Adam to Noah), as opposed to an ascending statement (Melchizedek to Noah).

Whatever the case, we do not know for certain who the man Melchizedek may have been, which makes the statement in Alma 13:19 especially puzzling:

Now, there were many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater; therefore of him they have more particularly made mention.

Obviously, this is not the case, at least in the scriptures that we currently have at our disposal. The thought crossed my mind once that perhaps at one time Melchizedek may have been widely known and revered, but perhaps when the determination was made to name the higher priesthood after him, the Lord made it known that details concerning the man Melchizedek would be hidden for a period of time, so as not to detract from the sacredness of the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God, now known as the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Just a thought.