Let me set the scene
for you.
Poor Homer, looking
for a way to boost his self-esteem, wanders into an adult education facility
and gets roped into teaching a class on marriage:
MANAGER: Mr. Simpson…we may have a job for you after all. We need someone
to teach a course on how to build a successful marriage.
HOMER: I'll do it! Anything to get me out of that house, away from all that
nagging, and noise... uh, of a family of love. Tra-la-la-la!
After a shaky start
to the first class, Homer realizes he can keep the attention of his students by
spilling family secrets, and reveals that he and Marge fight about money, and
that she dyes her hair. When Marge finds out, she is furious and forbids him
from discussing family matters in class.
So in the second
class, Homer does his darndest to not reveal any personal details, but the
class quickly loses intererst and starts to head towards the door…
HOMER: No wait! Uh, wait, yes! I do have a story about two other young
married's.
The class sit back
down.
HOMER: Now the wife of this couple has an interesting quirk in the bedroom.
It seems she goes wild with desire if her husband nibbles on her elbow.
MRS. KREBAPPEL: We need names!
HOMER: Well, let's just call them... uh, 'Mr. X' and 'Mrs. Y'. So anyway,
Mr. X would say, "Marge, if this doesn't get your motor running, my name
isn't Homer J. Simpson!"
(The Simpsons 5:22,
Secrets of a successful marriage. Greg Daniels.)
Such silliness can only happen in carton sitcoms and
to someone as buffoonish as Homer J, right?
Now let set you another
scene, one from the Book of Mormon.
Book of Mormon caricature
King Noah is ruling during a period of prosperity. As there is nothing to keep
him or his people humble, they have descended into abominations, wickedness,
and whoredoms (Mosiah 11: 20). So the Lord sends Abinadi to call them all to repentance,
lest they be visited by His anger, and conquered by their enemies.
As one might imagine,
King Noah does not take kindly to Abinadi’s words of warning:
…Who is Abinadi, that I
and my people should be judged of him, or who is the Lord, that shall bring
upon my people such great affliction? I command you to bring Abinadi hither,
that I may slay him, for he has said these things that he might stir up my
people to anger one with another, and to raise contentions among my people;
therefore I will slay him.” (Mosiah 11: 27, 28)
So fearing for his
life, Abinadi goes into hiding for two years, after which he is ready to cry
repentance to the people once more. But there’s a problem. King Noah wants him
dead, so as soon as he starts preaching, he is going to be arrested. That is, unless
he has a cunning plan. If he were to put on a disguise, he’d be able to speak
to the people without anybody realizing that he is in fact Abinadi. Let’s see
how that worked out for him…
And it came to pass that
after the space of two years that Abinadi came among them in disguise, that
they knew him not, and began to prophesy among them, saying: Thus has the Lord
commanded me, saying—Abinadi… (Mosiah
12: 1)
In my head, when I
read that, someone shouts out “Hey! It’s Abinadi! Get him!” and Abinadi mumbles
“D’oh!”
I do not believe that
the Book of Mormon is true. I don’t think that it is historical, I do not even
accept that it could be inspired fiction. One reason is that there are clumsy
amateurish episodes like the one above scattered throughout the Book.
Very good analogy!
ReplyDelete