Why did God encourage Abraham and Sarah to lie in Abraham 2:24? Isn’t lying a sin according to the ten commandments? Why did God tell Abraham and Sarah to lie when 2 Nephi 9:34 condemns liars to hell?
3 Responses to “Why did God encourage Abraham and Sarah to lie in Abraham 2:…”
Luciano Delgado
2008-08-11 04:03:19
In both the book of Genesis and the Book of Abraham (Genesis 12:10-13, Abraham 2:22-25), Abraham tells the princes of Egypt that Sarah is his sister, withholding the fact that she is his wife. While not technically a lie (Sarah was Abraham's half sister, see Genesis 20:12), by intentionally withholding relevant information, Abraham in essence does tell a lie. Lying is condemned in both the Book of Mormon and the Bible (Exodus 20:16, 2 Nephi 9:34). How do we reconcile the apparent contradiction?
To sin is to knowingly act in ways that are contrary to God's will. The scriptures are an excellent way to learn God's will; they teach us that God generally wants us to tell the truth. God can be quite pragmatic, however. In some rare cases, He may authorize exceptions to the general rules He's established. Prophets like Abraham, who communicate with God and learn His will first hand, are especially well suited for identifying these rare and unavoidable exceptions. In the case of Abraham, for example, explaining that Sarah was his wife would have led to his execution, the destruction of the house of Israel, and the end of the Abrahamic Covenant. Clearly God was wise in authorizing an exception to the general rule in this case.
Christ Himself taught this same principle. The savior honored and respected the divinely appointed Sabbath day. However, He knew that God could authorize exceptions in extreme cases. See Matthew 12:10-11 and Mark 2:24-26.
Anonymous
2008-08-18 06:35:06
Well, first of all, you are ill-informed. He commanded him to say that Sarah was his sister. And since Sarah is in fact his half-sister, it was not a lie. In Abraham 2:23 the Lord states that had Abraham told the Egyptians she was his wife, they would have killed Abraham and implicity raped Sarah.
Anonymous
2010-07-27 23:14:01
When someone kills another, it is murder. When one person tries to kill another in self defense, it is not murder. It is the same principle. When you lie to protect your life, or others' lives it is not a lie, it is an un-truth. Just as murder in self-defense is not murder, though you did kill. An example, you are hiding Jews in your house and Nazi'z come and ask where they are... Would you be bound to tell them where they are? Of course not! You would tell them that you have no idea what they are talking about. That is not a lie, it is an un-truth, because you did it to save their lives.
To sin is to knowingly act in ways that are contrary to God's will. The scriptures are an excellent way to learn God's will; they teach us that God generally wants us to tell the truth. God can be quite pragmatic, however. In some rare cases, He may authorize exceptions to the general rules He's established. Prophets like Abraham, who communicate with God and learn His will first hand, are especially well suited for identifying these rare and unavoidable exceptions. In the case of Abraham, for example, explaining that Sarah was his wife would have led to his execution, the destruction of the house of Israel, and the end of the Abrahamic Covenant. Clearly God was wise in authorizing an exception to the general rule in this case.
Christ Himself taught this same principle. The savior honored and respected the divinely appointed Sabbath day. However, He knew that God could authorize exceptions in extreme cases. See Matthew 12:10-11 and Mark 2:24-26.