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<p style="text-align: justify;">The names Mary and Mormon most plausibly derive from the Egyptian word mr(i), &ldquo;love, desire, [or] wish.&rdquo; Mary denotes &ldquo;beloved [i.e., of deity]&rdquo; and is thus conceptually connected with divine love, while Mormon evidently denotes &ldquo;desire/love is enduring.&rdquo; The text of the Book of Mormon manifests authorial awareness of the meanings of both names, playing on them in multiple instances. Upon seeing Mary (&ldquo;the mother of God,&rdquo; 1 Nephi 11:18, critical text) bearing the infant Messiah in her arms in vision, Nephi, who already knew that God &ldquo;loveth his children,&rdquo; came to understand that the meaning of the fruit-bearing tree of life &ldquo;is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore it is the most desirable above all things&rdquo; (1 Nephi 11:17-25). Later, Alma the Elder and his people entered into a covenant and formed a church based on &ldquo;love&rdquo; and &ldquo;good desires&rdquo; (Mosiah 18:21, 28), a covenant directly tied to the waters of Mormon: Behold here are the waters of Mormon &hellip; and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God &hellip; if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized &hellip;?&rdquo;; &ldquo;they clapped their hands for joy and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts&rdquo; (Mosiah 18:8-11). Alma the Younger later recalled the &ldquo;song of redeeming love&rdquo; that his father and others had sung at the waters of Mormon (Alma 5:3-9, 26; see Mosiah 18:30). Our editor, Mormon, who was himself named after the land of Mormon and its waters (3 Nephi 5:12), repeatedly spoke of charity as &ldquo;everlasting love&rdquo; or the &ldquo;pure love of Christ [that] endureth forever&rdquo; (Moroni 7:47-48; 8:16-17; 26). All of this has implications for Latter-day Saints or &ldquo;Mormons&rdquo; who, as children of the covenant, must endure to the end in Christlike &ldquo;love&rdquo; as Mormon and Moroni did, particularly in days of diminishing faith, faithfulness, and love (see, e.g., Mormon 3:12; contrast Moroni 9:5).</p>


Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 13 (2015)

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"Most Desirable Above All Things": Onomastic Play on Mary and Mormon in the Book of Mormon

"Most Desirable Above All Things": Onomastic Play on Mary and Mormon in the Book of Mormon

Title

"Most Desirable Above All Things": Onomastic Play on Mary and Mormon in the Book of Mormon

Publication Type

Journal Collection

Year of Publication

2014

Authors

Bowen, Matthew L. (Primary)

Pagination

27-61

Volume

13

URL

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/most-desirable-above-all-things-onomastic-play-on-mary-and-mormon-in-the-book-of-mormon/

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