Fearful Reconciliation in Casualine Meyer's "Reflections on Hebrews 10:31"

The opening stanza in this poem caught my attention quickly. I read through the poem and decided I had to go read Hebrews 10:31. It is interesting that this poem made me want to open the bible and read the verse for myself. The verse in Hebrews reads,  
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

My interpretation before reading the verse and after was completely different. After reading the verse, the image in the first line, "Far more fearful to leap from them" was clearer in my mind. At first I asked myself, "Far more fearful to leap from what?" In my mind, the poet took me on a journey of what it feels like to leap from the safety of God's hands in to unknown and possibly sinful paths. I had to read the poem several times; each time receiving new light in to it's meaning. This interestingly has similarities to my personal study of scripture. I have found that many verses or chapters of scripture take on new meaning and feeling after reviewing them again.

Analyzing this poem, I could identify some formal qualities such as repetition, emotion, structure, and allusion. Hands are referred to five times and the emotion of fear is referred to four times.  To me, one of the more palpable images the author creates is at the end. 

       But faith, there is no sting or breaking in hitting the hands
       of the living God, no matter how artless our fall,
       for we always splash down in the center of either hand
       into a small pool, warm as blood.

As I read this, Christ's bloodied palms from the nails in the center of his hands at his crucifixion, painted a graphic and powerful image. In the Latter-day Saint culture, it is common to refer to the suffering (bloodshed) of Jesus, or Atonement, as a means to find comfort or support. I think the line, "...no matter how artless our fall" appeals to a core LDS doctrine of forgiveness and mercy to those who come to God, even if mistakes are made along the way.

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Interactive Narrating

We don’t see a lot of spoken word in its truest sense. Only in a few instances do we have literal communicated dialogue. 

Pg 554 We have Ammaron’s commission to Mormon as a young boy.

“I percieve that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe, therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto he Lord a ll the sacred engravings concerning this people. And behold, ye shall take the Plates of nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are and ye shall engrave on the Plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.”

Detailed Dialogue from Ammaron provides us with specific knowledge of what Mormons quest and purpose is to be. From here on though we don’t get great interaction from the characters to their peers. 

Other Dialogue mainly consists of words from God himself. As the people have become wicked God gives this instruction “Cry unto this people. Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be spared.”

Aside from these examples it is hard to draw a true sermon from Mormon. He spends much of his time as a very involved and detailed narrator as to the things that have happened. In a sense he is speaking to the future generations about avoiding the same downfall as his people. But again it isn’t true spoken word. Even his lamentation at the end gives the perception of being towards specific people but its recorded in more of a historical account rather then an actual speech.