What is ignominious death, priestcraft meaning? Mormon meaning of Priestcraft is preaching and setting yourself up as a light to the world in order to get gain and praise of the world, rather than seeking the welfare of Zion.
In the Book of Mormon, used by Mormons as a companion to the Bible, an ancient prophet named Nephi defined priestcraft: 2 Nephi 26:29.
“He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion” (2 Nephi 26:29).
See also Alma 1:26, where priestcraft is defined as preaching false doctrines for riches and honor.
Priestcraft meaning – Book of Mormon
In Mormonism, priestcraft is a sign of the church of the devil. Priests are not supposed to be supported financially by the people. This message is repeated throughout the Book of Mormon.
According to LDSblogs Terrie Lynn Bittner:
We know, of course, that Jesus Christ is the light of the world, but some ministers and teachers of religion seem to put the focus on themselves when they teach, acting out of pride, rather than humility.
They become very famous, and a lot of glitz and glamour accompanies their preaching. They become celebrities, living a rock star sort of life.
While sometimes fame is inevitable, whether or not it is priestcraft depends on the way the ministry is carried out—the motive behind the actions.
When the speaker spends more time talking about himself and how wonderful he is than about God and God’s plan, that can be priestcraft.
If he prepares his sermons with the primary goal of entertaining, demonstrating his own talents as a speaker, or giving people what they want instead of what God wants them to have, that can be priestcraft as well.
What is ignominious death – Ignominious death meaning – Book of Mormon
An ignominious death means a very shameful, reproachful, dishonorable death.
According to KnowWhy:
See Alma 1:15:
And it came to pass that they took him; and his name was Nehor; and they carried him upon the top of the hill Manti . . . and there he suffered an ignominious death.”
Nehor was put to death for murdering Gideon.
The act of killing Gideon caused Nehor to stand before the chief judge Alma, to plead his defense (v. 11).
Nehor’s defense failed, and Alma condemned him to die, as he was “not only guilty of priestcraft,” but had “endeavored to enforce it by the sword.”
The scriptures say “he suffered an ignominious death” (Alma 1:15), which means “very shameful; reproachful; dishonorable” (Noah Webster’s First Edition of an American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 [1967]).