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Christmas And A Condescending God, Daniel C. Peterson

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

As religious holidays go, Christmas has been domesticated unusually well — and effectively commercialized — among people and even whole cultures that don’t accept (or even care about) the central theological claim that Christmas asserts. After all, who doesn’t like cute little babies, at least when they’re not crying? But that theological claim is stunning. Radical. It’s radical in the strictest sense of that word, because it goes down deep, to the very root (Latin radix). Beyond the pleasant and comfortable sentimentality of favorite holiday foods, scenes of carolers in snowy villages, and warm family gatherings, Christmas dramatically distinguishes Christianity …

Vast Prairies And Trackless Wilds Of Snow: A Good Test Of Sincerity, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Embarking roughly six months after the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 1830–1831 “mission to the Lamanites” faced challenges that we pampered moderns can scarcely imagine. Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer Jr., Parley P. Pratt, Ziba Peterson, and, eventually, Frederick G. Williams demonstrated beyond reasonable dispute the depth of their commitment to the Restoration and to the promises extended by the Book of Mormon to the surviving children of Lehi. Given that Cowdery and Whitmer were witnesses of the golden plates, this demonstration of their genuine belief seems significant.

“All Can Partake, Freely”, Daniel C. Peterson

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

The Interpreter Foundation welcomes faithful ideas, insights, and manuscripts from people of all backgrounds. In this brief essay, I share some that were recently shared with me regarding Lehi’s vision of the tree of life, as recorded in 1 Nephi 8. Among other things, Lehi seems to have been shown that the divine offer of salvation extends far beyond a small elite. As Peter exclaims in the King James rendering of Acts 10:34, “God is no respecter of persons.” Other translations render the same words as saying that he doesn’t “play favorites” or “show partiality.” The passage in James 1:5 …

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

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Better Kingdom-Building Through Triage, Daniel C. Peterson

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

We are called to take the Gospel to the entire world, but our numbers are few and our time and resources are limited. This is where cold calculation can help. A field-surgical technique pioneered during the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century and refined in the butchery of World War I a century later offers a useful model for making our missionary efforts more efficient and more effective.

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

No abstract provided.

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

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Celebrating Exactitude, When It’S Appropriate, Daniel C. Peterson

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

It’s almost always better to be right than to be wrong, to be exact than to be sloppy. In scholarship generally and serious scriptural study specifically, it’s important to work toward precision in both interpretation and explanation. However, the Lord is fully capable of reaching us where we are, despite our imperfect languages and our limited capacities. “These commandments are of me,” he says at D&C 1:24, “and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.”

Oh, That I Were An Angel!, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Alma’s conversion experience was both unusual and unusually powerful, and yet he fervently wished that he could provide others with the same experience. So much so, in fact, that he actually feared that he might be sinning in his wish by seeming to oppose the will of God. Increasingly, though, I find myself sharing that wish. My involvement with the Interpreter Foundation can correctly be regarded as one manifestation of that fact. I invite others to join us.

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

No abstract provided.

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

No abstract provided.

The End From The Beginning, Daniel C. Peterson

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

We are often at the dubious mercy of people, forces, and events that are beyond our control. But a trust in Providence — a word that is used relatively seldom these days for power that transcends even those people, forces, and events and that can, in the end, overrule them for our good — can nonetheless give us serene confidence. That such providential power exists, that it is personal and caring, is one of the fundamental messages of the scriptures and the prophets.

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, …

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

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Temples All The Way Down: Some Notes On The Mi‘Raj Of Muhammad, Daniel C. Peterson

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

In this article, Daniel C. Peterson describes the famous “night” journey that Muhammad allegedly made from Arabia to Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem through the heavens and into the presence of God. His ascension through various gates of heaven, passing by the gatekeepers, is compared with biblical and Latter-day Saint teachings. Elements of the dream strongly resemble the biblical description of the Garden of Eden with its two special trees.

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

No abstract provided.

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

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Two Essays On Sustaining And Enlarging The Doctrine, Daniel C. Peterson

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

In a pair of recent books, Patrick Mason and Terryl and Fiona Givens seek to revitalize, reinvigorate, and deepen our understanding of basic terms and concepts of the Restoration. I welcome such efforts, convinced (even where I sometimes quibble) that the conversations they will engender among faithful and committed believers can be very healthy. Now that “the times of refreshing [have] come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:18), it is imperative, both for ourselves and for a world that needs to hear the news, that we not lose sight of the radical freshness of the divine gift and …

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

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Light Began Once More To Grow, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Readers are surely aware that the birth of the Christ child is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Members of the Church may be less aware, though, of the notable birth of a child, millennia later, of distant secondary importance.

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

No abstract provided.

A Democratic Salvation, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Over the centuries, many religious thinkers — precisely because they are religious thinkers — have put a premium on intellectual attainment as a prerequisite for salvation. This has sometimes yielded an elitism or snobbishness that is utterly foreign to the teachings of the Savior. The Gospel as taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints values education and knowledge, certainly. But not unduly. Intellectuals, while heartily welcome among the Saints and, when faithful, much appreciated for their potential contributions to the Church, have no claim on any special status in the Kingdom simply because of their (real or …

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

No abstract provided.

It Came From Beyond, Daniel C. Peterson

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

The early Latter-day Saints viewed the Book of Mormon not only as a symbol of Joseph Smith’s prophetic calling but also as the most powerful evidence for that calling. However, perhaps because they were ardent believers in the Bible who had been formed in a distinctly Bible-drenched culture and perhaps also because many of them had come to the Book of Mormon relatively late in their lives, they tended to quote from the Nephite record only rarely. Surprisingly, this was the case even for Joseph Smith himself — which can be taken as a sign that he didn’t write the …

Reckoning With The Mortally Inevitable, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Every human enterprise — even the best, including science and scholarship — is marred by human weakness, by our inescapable biases, incapacities, limitations, preconceptions, and sometimes, yes, sins. It is a legacy of the Fall. With this in mind, we should approach even the greatest scientific, cultural, and academic achievements with both grateful appreciation and humility. J. B. Phillips’s rendition of Paul’s words at 1 Corinthians 13:12 captures the thought nicely: “At present we are men looking at puzzling reflections in a mirror. The time will come when we shall see reality whole and face to face! At present all …

A Note In Favor Of Rereading Great Works, Including The Scriptures, Daniel C. Peterson

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

When I was young, I learned an important lesson that has stayed with me through my life. This lesson has led me, on many occasions, to reread great works by great authors. The scriptures are no exceptions, and rereading them can be beneficial to any reader.

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

No abstract provided.

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

No abstract provided.

Research And More Research, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Young members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have grown up with a plethora of information available to answer the questions they may have about the Gospel. This, in turn, has allowed discordant information to cause concern in many members, ultimately drawing some away from the Gospel. In a recent address to young, married members of the Church in Chicago, President Dallin H. Oaks advised that more research is often not the way to approach these concerns, but rather that members should rely on their faith in Jesus Christ. While many may not agree with this advice, …

Compassion As The Heart Of The Gospel, Daniel C. Peterson

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

The Greek philosopher Aristotle, clearly one of the world’s great geniuses, created the concept of the “unmoved mover,” which moves “other things, but is, itself, unmoved by anything else.” This label became the standard Jewish, Christian, and Muslim description of an impersonal God — a God without body, parts or passions — a concept that has, for nearly 20 centuries, dominated western theology, philosophy, and science. The problem for thinkers in these religious traditions is that the God depicted in the Bible and the Qur’an is plainly personal. A careful review of the Bible and modern scripture reveals a “compassionate, …

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

No abstract provided.