Digital Commons Network^™

Burning Barns, Steven Fromm

Inscape

Even before Hall settled into his chair he looked out his window and saw that Mary Tyler Moore’s office was dark. He called me in. I didn’t feel any honor in that. I was just about the only one left.

Your Existence Is Impolite, Clarissa Walker

Inscape

have an extra tear duct. You can see the little hole in my face, like a pin prick, just below its working counterpart. Every time I show someone they ask if it works. I feel a little reluctant to tell them, “No. It doesn’t work.” I don’t know if it ever has. I believe it never did, but I know it doesn’t work now. They say “huh,” as if my extra nonfunctioning body part has just disappointed them. I don’t like to dwell on that.

Interview With Melanie Rae Thon, Whitnee Forest

Inscape

native of Montana, Melanie Rae Thon is an award-winning short story and novel author who lives in Salt Lake City and teaches at the University of Utah.

A Miracle Through An Ymage: Gautier De Coinci’S Retouched Legend Of Theophile, Isabella Williams

Quidditas

This article examines the use of the Old French word “ymage” in Gautier de Coinci’s early thirteenth-century Legend of Theophile. Gautier is the first author to write a version of the legend that includes an ymage, designating a material representation of the Virgin. Far from a subtle insertion, he mentions the term ten times, during every pivotal moment of the story, when terrestrial and celestial spheres collide. Critics acknowledge the centrality of Gautier in representing this revolutionary French period, during which time attitudes concerning ritualistic images were in a state of flux; yet, Gautier’s repetitive and groundbreaking use of …

The Words Of Gad The Seer: An Apparently Ancient Text With Intriguing Origins And Content, Jeff Lindsay

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

A long-overlooked Hebrew document from an ancient Jewish colony in Cochin, India, purports to contain the words of Gad the Seer. Professor Meir Bar-Ilan has translated the text into English and has stirred interest in the fascinating document. At least two other English translations are also now available. Here we examine the story of the coming forth of the text and some issues of possible interest to Latter-day Saints, including some of Bar-Ilan’s insights in evaluating the antiquity of disputed texts. Bar-Ilan’s translation of this intriguing document and his related publications may be valuable for anyone with an interest in …

Doctrine And Covenants 21: Metanarrative Of The Restoration, Steve L. Olsen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Joseph Smith dictated Doctrine and Covenants 21 at the inaugural meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ on April 6, 1830. The present study examines the literary craftsmanship of the revelation to plumb the depths of its role in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The analysis explores the meaning of patterns of usage in the text from the most specific (diction, syntax, figures of speech) to the most general (tone, rhetoric, and structural logic). The hypothesis of this study is that Doctrine and Covenants 21 provides a metanarrative of the Restoration — that is, a set of …

An Important New Study Of Freemasonry And The Latter-Day Saints: What's Good, What's Questionable, And What's Missing In Method Infinte, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

There is much to celebrate in this important new study of Freemasonry and the Latter-day Saints. To their credit, the authors have succeeded in creating a work that is richer than earlier studies of the subject, probing many previously unexplored hints of Masonic influence on Latter- day Saint life and thought from the beginning of the Restoration through the end of the nineteenth century. That said, the book’s dauntingly broad survey suffers from uneven quality on some of the many topics it ambitiously tackles. While recognizing the study’s considerable merits, its shortcomings must also be considered. For this reason, I’ve …

Nephi’S Eight Years In The “Wilderness”: Reconsidering Definitions And Details, Godfrey J. Ellis

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

A traditional reading of Nephi’s chronicle of the trek through Arabia relies heavily on two verses in 1 Nephi 17. In verse 4, Nephi states that they “did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.” In verse 5, he reports that “we did come to the land which we called Bountiful.” The almost universal interpretation of these verses is that of sequential events: eight years traversing the arid desert of Western Arabia following which the Lehites entered the lush Bountiful for an unspecified time to build the ship. A question with the traditional …

Full Issue

Quidditas

No abstract provided.

Glory To God In The Highest, Kent P. Jackson

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

What would it have been like to be among the shepherds who heard the angelic announcement of Jesus’s birth? Their story has special meaning for many of us because we feel a kinship with those shepherds through shared anonymity and shared hope and witness. By means of two favorite hymns, “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains,” Kent Jackson invites us to place ourselves in the role of those shepherds and join in singing: “Lord, with the angels we too would rejoice,” and “Come to Bethlehem and see.”

Pixelated Prophets: A History And Analysis Of Book-Of-Mormon-Themed Video Games, Geoffrey M. Draper

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Video games represent an innovative medium for entertainment and artistic expression with potential for fostering deeper engagement with religious texts such as the Book of Mormon. Over the past three decades, developers have produced dozens of video games based on the Book of Mormon. This paper provides a comprehensive history of these video games. We examine how these games use different genres, styles, and levels of scriptural fidelity to creative immersive and interactive experiences based on ancient stories and teachings. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities for developing and distributing Book-of-Mormon–themed video games in a competitive and changing market …

Unavailable Genetic Evidence, Multiple Simultaneous Promised Lands, And Lamanites By Location? Possible Ramifications Of The Book Of Mormon Limited Geography Theory, Brian C. Hales

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

This paper is composed of three parts connected consecutively because their conclusions build upon each other. The first part investigates the transportation methods used in the Book of Mormon, concluding that horse and river travel contributed little and that foot travel dominated all journeying. The second part uses that conclusion to estimate the overall dimensions of the Promised Land by examining Alma the Elder’s journey from Nephi to Zarahemla. This exercise reaffirms the 200-by-500-mile size promoted by John L. Sorenson decades ago. The third part looks at four ramifications of this 100,000 square-mile Promised Land footprint when stamped upon a …

“Signals Of Transcendence”1, Daniel C. Peterson

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Hints of a different and better world — sometimes dimly remembered, often intuited, and commonly hoped for — and of a glorious, mighty power behind the world in which we currently live, are all around us. They are not so powerful that they cannot be missed or even ignored, but they have been and remain present for those with eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to feel. As he always does, God has not left us without witnesses but he does not seek to compel. He loves us, but he also respects our agency

Witness Of The Covenant, Loren Blake Spendlove

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Although much has been taught about covenants in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, little attention has been given to the witnesses of those covenants. In this paper I focus on the importance of witnessing the covenants that we make with God — especially the gospel covenant — rather than on the process of making them. Instead of emphasizing the teachings of Latter-day Saint leaders and authors, I prioritize the standard works of the Church in my analysis of this topic. I begin with a discussion of covenants and witnesses in the Hebrew Bible, and then proceed with …

Degrees Of Glory: A Brief History Of Heaven And Graded Salvation, Jim Hansen

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

While references to heaven in the Old Testament are sparse, nonexplicit, and predominantly cosmological, the New Testament reveals a more complex concept of the afterlife that reflects a rapidly evolving understanding of Heaven. The Jewish apocalyptic literature of the late Second Temple period describes a heaven of multiple degrees that is populated with angels and the righteous dead of varying glories. Those glories also tangibly reflect astral qualities of light and glory comparable to the sun, moon, and stars. Within this worldview of Heaven, several of the Apostle Paul’s writings to Corinth can be read with added insight, including his …

Full Issue

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Function Of Sound Symbolism In The Japanese Language, Madison Buckles

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

his paper examines sound symbolism in the Japanese language, primarily its role in linguistic qualities of onomatopoeia, and why it occurs in relation to language theory. Several reasons for the occurrence of sound symbolism are discussed, namely vowel and consonant associations; context of a speaker’s language; and the development, significance, and necessity of these words. The paper concludes by arguing that the lack of research in the field of sound symbolism, despite its prominent role against the prevailing theory of language (which states that words are arbitrary in conjunction with their meaning), is another example of the Western world’s tendency …

Neuroimmune-Mediated Alteration Of Acute Alcohol Exposure In The Mesolimbic Dopamine System, William T. Harris, P. E. Williams, Scott C. Steffensen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2023

2nd place open house

Dopamine (DA) transmission is a key player in the rewarding aspects of ethanol (EtOH) as well as EtOH dependence.

The current dogma is that DA transmission is increased during acute EtOH exposure via the inhibition of ventral tegmental area (VTA) GABA neurons and that the excitation of VTA GABA neurons during withdrawal results in decreased DA transmission.

Much recent evidence indicates that neuroimmune interactions may mediate this process. •

Microglia, the major neuroimmune effector in the brain, may be a key mediator in this process by releasing cytokines following activation.

Macrophages, a major immune effector in …

Review: Spencer Fluhman And Philip Barlow, Eds. The Book Of Mormon: Brief Theological Introductions. Provo, Ut: Neal A. Maxwell Institute, Brigham Young University, 2021., Seth Perry

Mormon Studies Review

“Theology” is a complicated concept in Mormon discourse. It is routine to say that there is no tradition of formal Mormon theology, or even any Mormon theology at all. This is explained by observing that continuing revelation and the multiple genres of Mormon scripture resist systematization, or that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints eschews seminaries and professionalized clergy. Both the perceived need and the space for discussion of what other Christianities consider theological questions is thought to be constrained by institutional and cultural insistence on the prophetic authority of church leaders. Seminarians are not needed to work …

Review: Blaire Ostler. Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction. Newburgh, In: By Common Consent Press, 2021., Mees Tielens

Mormon Studies Review

In Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction, Blaire Ostler straddles the boundaries between scholar and memoirist, queer and woodcuts by the artist Brian Kershisnik, and inside they are evocatively illustrated, with vivid orange accents and creative layout. In Miller’s volume, the verses of Mormon 6:8–22 are sparsely printed in white, a few lines at a time, across sixteen otherwise black pages. It feels, indeed, like the end of a world.

Review: Michael L. Tate, Ed. The Great Medicine Road: Narratives Of The Oregon, California, And Mormon Trails, Part 4: 1856–1869. Edited With The Assistance Of Kerin Tate, Will Bagley, And Richard L. Rieck. Norman, Oklahoma: The Arthur H. Clark Company, An Imprint Of The University Of Oklahoma Press, 2020., Juliette Bourdin

Mormon Studies Review

The four-volume series The Great Medicine Road offers a collection of primary sources about the overland trails across the American West in the nineteenth century. Originally designed by Will Bagley, a leading expert on trails history, and Richard L. Rieck, a professor of geography, the project was carried out by Michael L. Tate, a professor of history emeritus at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. The first volume, published in 2014, included fifteen sources for the period 1840–1848, encompassing the early years of migration on the overland trails. The second volume Smith’s path, a woman with her man following her lead. …

On Gospel Methodology At Brigham Young University, Richard D, Osguthorpe, Justin Collings

BYU Studies

In recent years, both university and Church leaders have placed renewed and welcome emphasis on President Spencer W. Kimball’s “Second Century Address,” one of the central texts in the BYU canon. Of the many stirring ideas in that landmark address, one of the most evocative is President Kimball’s declaration that “gospel methodology, concepts, and insights can help us to do what the world cannot do in its own frame of reference.” Current BYU leaders have reflected on the concept of “gospel methodology,” and at the August 2022 university conference, Academic Vice President C. Shane Reese invited BYU faculty to explore …

Knit Together, Liz Busby

BYU Studies

The unusual thing about knit fabric is that it’s one continuous strand. Woven fabric consists of a warp and weft where individual strands arranged in a grid weave in and out, touching but ultimately separate. The knit fabric on everything from an ugly Christmas sweater to your favorite soft t-shirt looks like it’s made of hundreds of little “v” shapes, but it’s not. It loops in and through itself over and over and over, but it’s all connected. One long piece of yarn.

When Paul wrote to the Colossians that we should have our hearts knit together in love, did …

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Book Review: A Snake Falls To Earth, Heidi Stone

The Utah English Journal

Nina, a Lipan girl from Earth, and Oli, a Cottonmouth Snake from the Reflection World, are drawn together to save those who they love the most. Little Badger utilizes traditional Lipan Apache storytelling techniques to draw the reader into the stories of the animal people, monsters, and the importance of family.

Steadfast In Defense Of Faith, Shirley S. Ricks, Stephen D. Ricks, Louis C. Midgley

Interpreter Foundation Books

The title of this volume of essays in honor of Daniel C. Peterson, Steadfast in Defense of Faith, was not idly chosen. It reflects his most widely known public role as an apologist. Over the years, Dan has had not only to defend the faith but also frequently has been required to define and justify the legitimacy of apologetics as a scholarly endeavor. On one such occasion he wrote: The Greek word from which our English term apologetics derives means “defense.” The notion of saying that one is “sorry” is a much later linguistic development. (In Plato’s Apology, his hero …

Full Issue

Inscape

No abstract provided.

Joseph Smith’S Education And Intellect As Described In Documentary Sources, Brian C. Hales

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Although Joseph Smith has been credited with “approximately seven full school years” of district schooling, further research supports that his education consisted of basic instruction in “reading, writing and the ground rules of arithmetic” comprising “less than two years of formal schooling.” The actual number of terms he experienced in common schools in upstate New York is probably less critical since the curricula in district schools did not then teach creative writing, composition, or extemporaneous speaking. If Joseph Smith learned how to compose and dictate a book, extracurricular activities would likely have been the training source. Six of those can …

Full Issue

BYU Asian Studies Student Journal

No abstract provided.

“Life And Death, Blessing And Cursing” New Context For “Skin Of Blackness”: In The Book Of Mormon, T. J. Uriona

BYU Studies

For many readers of the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5 can prove rather challenging. Not only does this chapter contain the actualization of a curse and the apparent genesis of an outgroup, but it also states that “the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon” this group because of their iniquity (2 Ne. 5:21). Given the prevalence of racial thought in society today, this passage has been interpreted as a hurtful reference to a phenotypic change in skin color brought on by a divine curse, leading many researchers to propose alternatives to a purely racialized …