another Liahona observation

Ever since blogging twice about the Liahona and Jacques Ellul’s technique six months ago(!), I’ve been thinking a lot about this story in the Book of Mormon as a possible starting point for a Book of Mormon-based theology of technology. As I first wrote then, I think this story is particularly interesting for the implicit tension in the story: Why would an all-powerful God need a mechanical(?) device in order to communicate their divine will to their followers?

Reading through I Nephi 5 today (in the Community of Christ Revised Authorized Version), I came across a short passage (verses 31-33) that really drives this point home:

And the voice of the Lord came to my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow. The voice of the Lord said to him, “Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written!” And when my father beheld the things which were written upon the ball, he feared and trembled exceedingly; and also my brethren, and the sons of Ishmael, and our wives.

The middle sentence here is kind of wild if you start to think about it. God is already talking to Lehi, so why does God need to tell Lehi to look at the message on the Liahona? This is wildly inefficient and seemingly nonsensical; however, from an Ellulian perspective, the rejection of efficiency is itself theologically interesting. If God embraces technology, God does not seem to embrace Ellul’s all-consuming technique, and that’s worth digging into.

• Liahona
• Jacques Ellul
• technique
• Book of Mormon