The Value of the Book of Mormon

For me the value is more spiritual — when I read this headline. Could be a separate thread for its spiritual value.

My problem is that the owner apparently was ripping out and selling individual pages – at least, according to the initial stories I read.

Now, if the OP and title was meant to he humorous, good job. That was my first reaction.

Is this thread about the value of an original edition? The owner of my first company, a SP and later a 70, bought one and showed it to me… He paid about $6000 in 1982, iirc. It was in pretty good shape, and without any missing pages. So…apparently an investment in an original is a good investment.

But if we’re talking about the value of the text:

I like ammon’s missionary approach: serve without teaching, teach in the language and mythology of those you are teaching.

I like the story of nephi and laban: it creates a wonderful tableau to investigate the difficulty of choice between inspiration and law

I like king benjamin’s speech: “Are we not all beggars”

I like alma’s talk to helaman about the Liahona.

I like 2 nephi 29, which indicates that scripture is given by god to all the nations, and not just the jews or even the nephites and lost tribes.

I’m entertained by the stripling warriors stories

I find nuggets of gold throughout: “will you now come unto me, that I may heal you” “What manner of people ought ye to be, even as I AM”.

At the risk of throwing cold water on this…I never liked the “are we not all beggars” part of KB Discourse. I feel it’s used too much by leaders to get us to serve individual agendas or organizational interests. On a personal level, it’s a good principle lest we get too high and mighty on ourselves.

Interesting. I’ve never heard the phrase used in that way. The term ‘are we not all beggars’ was used in direct reference to those who would not give to a beggar when asked, judging the beggar to be unworthy of the donation. I can’t see how that serves individual agendas or organizational interests…but I can never underestimate the extent to which people misuse and misquote scripture.

Men of the world who value the Way all turn to books. But books are nothing more than words. Words have value; what is of value in words is meaning. Meaning has something it is pursuing, but the thing that it is pursuing cannot be put into words and handed down.

Chuang Tzu was the greatest daoist writer outside of Lao Tzu, except that there is actual evidence that Chuang Tzu existed. he was an amazing philosopher — note that the idea – the thing words are pursuing — cannot be fully put into words. When the writer has an idea, s/he has to translate it into words. And the words get edited into a book — and that’s what’s communicated. Once someone reads a book, they can put their own meaning onto the words, and deduce the idea that might have been behind the words — but most likely not. Ideas cannot be conveyed through books, except that they become filtered and translated. And in each translation/trasnformation, there is a change to that meaning.