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Pharaoh's Belief and Abraham's Lie

Do you know the story of how Abraham saved himself and his wife?

12:11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt,
that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a
fair woman to look upon: 12:12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when
the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife:
and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with
me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

12:14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the
Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

12:15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before
Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

12:16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and
oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses,
and camels.

12:17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues
because of Sarai Abram's wife.

12:18 And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast
done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?  12:19
Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to
wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

12:20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him
away, and his wife, and all that he had.

Now, first off Pharaoh believed to be with another man's wife was an abomination, but at the same time it was okay to kill another man for his wife? :

Was Abraham just in telling a 'small' lie in order to save himself and his family?

Maybe not related, but it is interesting to note that this story is just before the parting of Abraham and Lot.

Lie Abrahams Belief Pharaohs

If I may comment.  Many people have stated that it was wrong for a Prophet to lie.  However, they fail to realize that Abraham did not lie, as we read in Gen. 20; Abraham and sarah did the same thing with the King of Gerar, called Abimelech, and the Lord protected Sarah again.  But look at what Abraham says when the King asked him why he said Sarah was his sister.  Gen. 20; 2-12 (And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.)  So there you have it.  Sarah really was Abraham's sister, and his wife.  He did not lie on either occassion.  Hope this helps.

Pharaoh's Belief and Abraham's Lie Studies Doctrine Mormon

Thanks for your analysis Whew, this brings up another question for the sake of discussion... is witholding information also considered a lie? When does truth become a lie, etc. For instance, I am sure Abraham knew that the king was interested in his wife in such a way as to commit adultery, giving the king only part of the information can be seen as a form of deception. Since saying she is my sister and also my wife would withold the king from goiing any further, in fact her being the sister of Abraham is irrelevant to the king's interest in Sarah. Abraham chose to give the king that part of the information that he knew would infact protect him, but not his wife.

Another example of this is... you are a witness to a crime, when the police ask you for a description you say... he is tall and white and that is all you know. That is just part of the truth because you may know that the man also has blue eyes, brown hair, etc.

The only sum of this I can think is that the Lord beforehand spoke to him that he should talk in that manner, maybe the Lord promised him that such and such would occur if any king should touch Sarah. Who knows?

Again it is difficult to understand the ways of the Lord, but this is up for friendly discussion.

Lie Abrahams Belief Pharaohs

[quote]is witholding information also considered a lie?[/quote]

I do think it is....but there are exceptional circumsntances.

[quote]The only sum of this I can think is that the Lord beforehand spoke to him that he should talk in that manner, maybe the Lord promised him that such and such would occur if any king should touch Sarah. Who knows?

Again it is difficult to understand the ways of the Lord, but this is up for friendly discussion. [/quote]

I think Abraham and other Prophets in the old times knew exactly what they were doing and the Lord stood by them. Look at example of Nephi when he killed Laban for instance, didn't he after killing Laban putted Laban's clothes and fooled Laban's servant to make him believe it was really Laban?. Isn't that a lie too?.
I think God is a extremely wise and smart person. He knows what to do and what to say in different circumnstances. What I'm trying to say is in the case of Abraham as in the case of Nephi very difficult circumnstances could arise if they didn't do it. I do not know what God thinks about it but I do know he's not angry because the scriptures does not mention about Abraham being rebuked about it, same with Nephi.

Lie Abrahams Belief Pharaohs

[quote]is witholding information also considered a lie? When does truth become a lie, etc.[/quote]

It could be considered a lie of omission. A half truth is still a half lie...

My question now is, Is lying a sin? Yes or No and Why or When?

We know that Lucifer is called the "Father" of the Lie...

[quote]Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.[/quote]

And while we are counseled in Scripture to let our "Yea be Yea and our Nay be Nay"... However I am not aware of specific laws against it... as a matter of fact the most quoted scripture from Exodus 20:

[quote]Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.[/quote]

... actually refers to a sin worse than lying... Basically lying about your neighbor... giving false testimony... An exampe would be like when JB was describing the Crime, if instead of just saying nothing, you were to say oh yeah it was "so and so" the slimeball, when in fact you knew it wasn't him...

According to Jewish tradition, it was unacceptable to tell a lie to anyone except the tax collector, then it was acceptable and encouraged...

So the question is... Is it a sin to lie?

Pharaoh's Belief and Abraham's Lie

[quote]So the question is... Is it a sin to lie? [/quote]

Of course it is!!!! The word of wisdom does not mention we should not smoke marijuana either...now....is smoking marijuana a sin?

Pharaoh's Belief Abraham's Lie

[quote]

Of course it is!!!! The word of wisdom does not mention we should not smoke marijuana either...now....is smoking marijuana a sin? [/quote]

Perhaps motive and the condition of the heart have more bearing than the actual lie...

Is it for instance a sin to spare someones feelings? Or to protect the innocent? (any married men will know this one) ie. "Does this dress make me look fat?"

Or is it a sin to turn soldiers on a wild goose chase if they hunt our brethren, as many did during the 2nd World War when Hiding Jews, or during the time of the underground railroad when "liars" assisted the escape of many slaves?

If a lie is a sin now then it is always a sin... no exceptions... if the intentions are the sin then a lie is not a sin... Does that make sense?

As for smoking Marijuanna well the body is a temple, defile it at your own risk!  ;)

Pharaoh's Belief Abraham's Lie Mormon Doctrine Studies

LDS_forever[quote] I think Abraham and other Prophets in the old times knew exactly what they were doing and the Lord stood by them. Look at example of Nephi when he killed Laban for instance, didn't he after killing Laban putted Laban's clothes and fooled Laban's servant to make him believe it was really Laban?. Isn't that a lie too?[/quote]
Well I believe we have to look at the point of who gave the law in the first place.

Wanlorn [quote]Perhaps motive and the condition of the heart have more bearing than the actual lie[/quote]
Of course, it is the difference between the Spirit of the Law and the Letter of the Law.