Letter of the Law / Spirit of the Law

Two thoughts that bear on a common Mormon dichotomy.  The first one is from 12th century Zen Master Yuan-wu commenting on a Zen Koan (or riddle) of T'ung-shan, a Zen master of the 9th century.

"As long as they are beguiled by words, they can never expect to penetrate into the heart of T'ung-Shan, even if they live in the time of the Maitreya Buddha.  Why?  Because words are merely a vehicle on which the truth is carried.  Not comprehending the meaning of the old master, they endeavor to find it in his words only, but they will find therein nothing to lay their hands on.  The truth itself is beyond all description, as is affirmed by an ancient sage, but it is by words that the truth is manifested.
     Let us, then, forget the words when we gain the truth itself.  This is done only when we have an insight through experience into that which is indicated by the words."

D. T. Suzuki
Zen Buddhism

"...it would be an utter misconception to believe that all forms of order are automatically manifestations of the 'order of death.'  The mere fact that something is structured is not the essential thing here, but rather why and how it is structured.  If the structure is an end in itself, or rather, if its only meaning is to be most consistently what it is, itself, which means endlessly augmenting and strengthening the type of order proper to it, then it is in fact [nothing] more than a phenomenal manifestation of the 'order of death.'  If, however, it is a  means, a visible face, a phase or an aspect of something else, something more, something beyond and above itself...then on the contrary, it is a manifestation of the 'order of life,' or rather the 'order of Being' itself."

Vaclav Havel
Letters to Olga

Jesus' various confrontations with the Pharisees over the proper meaning and observance of the Sabbath come to mind, as does Joseph's statement - "Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject.”

My brother once remarked to me that when Mormon's quote "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (2 Corinthians 3:6) they really mean that the spirit of the law is certainly superior to the letter of the law, but that is not what the scripture says.  It says the letter KILLS.  The choice of wording bears pondering.