These words say a lot without a lot of letters. And they are meant to draw our attention in a hurry--just like a billboard--and usually there is a message just after them that we were intended to focus on. Look for "Wo"(especially double or triple Wos), "O," "Thus," "And Thus we see," "Behold," "Nevertheless," "Therefore," "Yea"," "Now," "Likewise," "Let us," "Finally," etc.
Today, we use superlatives such as: "good, better, best" to relate the growing superiority of things. Anciently to transmit the same idea, authors would use repeated words to show the varying degrees.
Look For: Look for the words listed above. See if what follows has a lesson for modern application. Also Look for words that are often repeated like "wo" or "Verily". To same them once was to draw the readers attention to them. Repeating it twice meant that this information is better than the information just shared (as in the Sermon on the Mount). And repeating something 3 times was the strongest a prophetic author would get. In terms of "wos," it would be like saying: 1 wo = destruction is coming but if you repent you can avoid the destruction; 2 wos = destruction is coming and you can repent but you there will still be consequences; and 3 wos = destruction is coming and you are too hard to repent or not likely to have everyone repent to subside the destruction.
Example: There are only 4 times the triple wo {"wo, wo, wo . . .") is used. Those places are Revelation 8:13, D&C 38:6, 2 Nephi 28:15, and 3 Nephi 9:2. Obviously these are things we should avoid like the plague!
2 Nephi 9 Look for all the statements that include "O's," "Wo," and "Remember."
The Book of Mormon is especially replete with examples, especially from Mormon, but they can be found elsewhere. A good example is Alma 30:60 where after telling the story of the rise and downfall of the antichrist Korihor, Mormon tells us that "thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell." What a message for us to day! Why would we follow any temptation or worldly allurement if we realized that no matter how much power, fame, enjoyment, pleasure, etc we are promised and may enjoy in the beginning, the end will prophetically result in our downfall and the devil dragging us to hell.
(Adapted from Panning for Gold: Various Methods to Understand and Apply the Scriptures to Ourselves by Eric Bacon, Northwest Area Seminaries)
Great for: Helping students find meaning in the scriptures, Lesson preparation
Class size: Any class size
Helps Students: SEARCH the scriptures or text
Prep Time:
Student Age: Any age
Equipment needed:
