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So a friend today mentioned that last weekend at church someone gave a talk, in the course of which the speaker said that those who were “clinging” to the iron rod lost their way because they were only “clinging” instead of “holding fast.” My friend said “To me, this makes no sense. Cling, as I’ve always understood it, means to hold on tight, not to hold on loosely. The speaker was using cling to mean the opposite of what I’ve always understood it to mean.”

I also had never heard this take on the passage before and immediately agreed with my friend’s reaction. But I was curious as to whether the speaker came up with this idea on his own or whether it had a wider existence in the Church. A google search suggests the latter, that this notion seems to be a quickly spreading idea, apparently having its genesis in several talks given by Elder Bednar beginning about a decade ago, and flowering in a number of online essays with such titles as “The Danger of Clinging to the Iron Rod,” “The Difference Between Clinging and Holding Fast,” “Catch Hold or Cling” [that one courtesy of Denver Snuffer], and “Clinging is Not Enough.”[1] The people who cling to the rod are dismissively referred to as “cling-ons” in this article

The original rationale for denigrating “clinging” from Elder Bednar is as follows:

Even with faith, commitment, and the word of God, this [second] group eventually was lost—perhaps because they only periodically read or studied or searched the scriptures. Clinging to the rod of iron suggests to me only occasional “bursts” of study or irregular dipping rather than consistent, ongoing immersion in the word of God. . . . What, then, is the difference between clinging and holding fast to the rod of iron? Let me suggest that holding fast to the iron rod entails, in large measure, the prayerful, consistent, and earnest use of the holy scriptures as a sure source of revealed truth and as a reliable guide for the journey along the strait and narrow path to the tree of life—even to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’m not buying it. To me it seems apparent that cling and hold fast to are simply synonymous in the scriptural account. Cling derives from Old English clingan, meaning “hold fast to, adhere closely.” The 1828 Webster’s defines it as follow

CLING, verb intransitive 1. To adhere closely; to stick to; to hold fast upon, especially by winding round or embracing; as, the tendril of a vine clings to its support. Two babes of love close clinging to her waist. 2. To adhere closely; to stick to; as a viscous substance. 3. To adhere closely and firmly, in interest or affection; as, men of a party cling to their leader.

Again, cling itself means “to hold fast upon.”

The verb cling does not appear in the KJV, which uses the archaic cleave “to stick, cling, adhere,” but where the KJV has cleave many other translations will have cling and still others will have hold fast to. They are thoroughly synonymous expressions.

I suspect that the impetus to find a negative connotation to “clinging to” in Lehi’s dream has to do with the fact that the second group after arriving at the tree fell away, so we must read their whole experience negatively. But the rod did what it was meant to do in that instance–it got that group successfully to the tree. That group became ashamed and fell away only after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree.

A group of us were discussing this and the women pointed out that in contemporary English the adjective “clingy” has taken on a negative connotation of annoying female behavior, and therefore something to be avoided. I have to admit, that didn’t occur to me originally, but after having it pointed out it made sense to me that the negative connotation of the term in contemporary English may have colored how we perceive it in the Book of Mormon passage. (For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of being “clingy,” see the overly attached girlfriend memes at this.)

So what do you all think about this? Do you see a subtle negative shading to the word “clinging,” or do you see it as a straightforward synonym for “hold fast to”?[2]

[1] Humorously, my “clinging to the rod” search also picked up a newspaper article about Patti Blagojevich clinging to hope of presidential help for [her husband] Rod [the disgraced former governor of Illinois now serving a lengthy prison term].

[2] One of those discussing this suggested a possible rationale for making a distinction here: “The idea [would be] that “cling” implies a certain level of desperation and insecurity while “holding fast” implies steadiness and self confidence. The Buddhists make this same distinction constantly — to “cling” is a negative trait.” I can see reading it that way, but I don’t know that those who are pushing the negative reading of cling are actually making that particular argument.