The Book of Mormon has some interesting language that I've often found lacking in the Bible. (Different eras, different writers, and somewhat different cultures as well as the translation make all the difference in the product we end up reading.)
One such phrase is "highly favored." A friend shared a scripture about Mary, the mother of Jesus, in connection with this phrase. As I was reading this week, I came across it again the book of Alma, referring to the people of Ammon. So who is highly favored? I did a search on the exact phrase, and this is what I discovered. The only people specifically mentioned are...
Mary, the mother of Jesus
Nephi (the first, my Book of Mormon hero)
in conjunction with "people of the Lord": King Benjamin's people, the people of Ammon (as already mentioned), and all who live in the promised land
the brother of Jared
That's a very short list of people. The scriptures mention several qualities that these people had:
blessed
zealous
beloved
all things made known unto them
humble
mighty
free from wars and contentions
great knowledge of the goodness of God
goodly parents
preserved by the hand of the Lord
In contrast, the phrase "well favored" appears in the Bible. Joseph, the son of Israel, is the only singular person referred to as "well favored" (well, so is Rachel, but it just means she's good-looking). Groups include Daniel and his friends and the 7 healthy kine that would represent 7 years of plenty for Egypt. "Well favored" means something a little different than "highly favored", but they overlap a little in definition:
fat (healthy)
beautiful
goodly
no blemish
skillful
cunning in knowledge and wisdom
We find favor with the Lord when we obey His commandments. In return, He continues to bless us with all of these things. Sounds pretty good to me! Who wouldn't want to be up there with some of the greatest people in the scriptures?
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