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Articles 211 - 240 of 326
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Too Little Or Too Much Like The Bible? A Novel Critique Of The Book Of Mormon Involving David And The Psalms, Jeff Lindsay
Too Little Or Too Much Like The Bible? A Novel Critique Of The Book Of Mormon Involving David And The Psalms, Jeff Lindsay
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
A recent graduate thesis proposes an intriguing new means for discerning if the Book of Mormon is historic or not. By looking at Book of Mormon references to David and the Psalms, the author concludes that it cannot be the product of an ancient Jewish people and that it is, instead, the result of Joseph Smith’s “plagiarism” from the Bible and other sources. This paper examines the author’s claims, how they are applied to the Book of Mormon, and proposes points the author does not take into consideration. While the author is to be congratulated for taking a fresh perspective …
Missourian Efforts To Extradite Joseph Smith And The Ethics Of Governor Thomas Reynolds Of Missouri, A. Keith Thompson
Missourian Efforts To Extradite Joseph Smith And The Ethics Of Governor Thomas Reynolds Of Missouri, A. Keith Thompson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This is the second of two articles discussing Missouri’s requisitions to extradite Joseph Smith to face criminal charges and the Prophet’s recourse to English habeas corpus practice to defend himself. In the first article, the author discussed the English nature of pre-Civil War habeas corpus practice in America and the anachronistic modern idea that the Nauvoo Municipal Court did not have jurisdiction to consider interstate habeas corpus matters. In this article, he analyzes the conduct of Governor T homas Reynolds in the matter of Missouri’s requisitions for the extradition of Joseph Smith in light of 1840s legal ethics in America. …
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
The Word Baptize In The Book Of Mormon, John Hilton Iii
The Word Baptize In The Book Of Mormon, John Hilton Iii
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The word baptize appears 119 times in the Book of Mormon; three speakers (Jesus Christ, Mormon, and Nephi) account for 87% of all of these usages. Each of these individuals have distinctive patterns in how they use the word baptize, indicating that each speaker has his own unique voice. When one accounts for the fact that Christ says relatively fewer words than Mormon, it is evident that per 1,000 words spoken, Jesus Christ uses the word baptize more than any other speaker in the Book of Mormon. This finding holds true for Christ’s words both in and outside of 3 …
Peace In The Holy Land, Shirley S. Ricks
Peace In The Holy Land, Shirley S. Ricks
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Living in the Holy Land as a Palestinian Latter-day Saint has created unique challenges and perspective for Sahar Qumsiyeh. In order to attend church meetings in Jerusalem from her home near Bethlehem, Sahar was required to travel under unsafe and stressful circumstances for hours through military checkpoints to cover the few miles’ distance (as the crow f lies). Sahar’s story, Peace for a Palestinian, varies dramatically from our own and reminds us that true discipleship requires sacrifice, which in turn brings blessings.
On Being The Sons Of Moses And Aaron: Another Look At Interpreting The Oath And Covenant Of The Priesthood, Mark Hamstead
On Being The Sons Of Moses And Aaron: Another Look At Interpreting The Oath And Covenant Of The Priesthood, Mark Hamstead
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants contains what is commonly known by Latter-day Saints as the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. Priesthood leaders in the church are expected to teach and explain this Oath and Covenant to prospective Melchizedek Priesthood holders. However, the meanings of phrases within the Oath and Covenant are not well understood. For example: What does it mean to become the sons of Moses and Aaron? In what sense are bodies renewed? Are the promised blessings just for holders of the priesthood or for others as well? This paper discusses several ways that phrases in …
The Case Of The Missing Commentary, Brian C. Hales
The Case Of The Missing Commentary, Brian C. Hales
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The first published commentary on Doctrine and Covenants Section 132 is a lengthy volume with much material that deals directly with the revelation as well as extended discussions that go well beyond Joseph Smith’s dictated text. Much of the included material has been previously published, although several new historical items are presented, including a detailed examination of the provenance of the revelation. An apparent weakness of the book involves key themes mentioned in the revelation but minimized or otherwise ignored in this extended commentary. Examples include the possible meanings of the “law” (v. 6), importance of sealing authority (vv. 7‒20), …
The Interpreter Foundation And An Apostolic Charge, Daniel C. Peterson
The Interpreter Foundation And An Apostolic Charge, Daniel C. Peterson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In April 2006, Dallin H. Oaks, in unpublished remarks at the naming of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship (as the successor to FARMS), reminded listeners that “this institute belongs to God.” On November 10, 2018, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (also in unpublished remarks, titled “The Maxwell Legacy of the 21st Century”) renewed that commitment: the Institute should be “as faithful as eternal truth, and as bright as the light of truth that is in us.” This is, likewise, the vision of T he Interpreter Foundation, in contrast to Latter-day Saint “academic ventures” at some universities. It should …
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
“By Small Means”: Rethinking The Liahona, Timothy Gervais, John L. Joyce
“By Small Means”: Rethinking The Liahona, Timothy Gervais, John L. Joyce
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The Liahona’s faith-based functionality and miraculous appearance have often been viewed as incongruous with natural law. This paper attempts to reconcile the Liahona to scientific law by displaying similarities between its apparent mechanisms and ancient navigation instruments called astrolabes. It further suggests the Liahona may have been a wedding dowry Ishmael provided to Lehi’s family. The paper displays the integral connection Nephi had to the Liahona’s functionality and how this connection more clearly explains the lack of faith displayed by Nephi’s band during the journey than traditional conceptions of its faith-based functionality.
Playing To An Audience: A Review Of Revelatory Events, Kevin Christensen
Playing To An Audience: A Review Of Revelatory Events, Kevin Christensen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Ann Taves’s book offers a comparative look at the origins of three groups, among them Mormonism. While she does not address the issue of competing explanations by each group about their origins or how to best navigate among them in terms that are not self-referential, that crucial circumstance is modeled by Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. So I, too, have a pattern that applies to my arguments just as much it does to those offered by Professor Taves. Where her book attempts to solve the puzzle of Joseph Smith, my review offers a test of her rules …
“Swearing By Their Everlasting Maker”: Some Notes On Paanchi And Giddianhi, Matthew L. Bowen
“Swearing By Their Everlasting Maker”: Some Notes On Paanchi And Giddianhi, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This brief article explores Paanchi and Giddianhi as names evidencing the Egyptian onomastic element –anchi/anhi/ʿnḫ(i) and the potential literary significance of these two names in the context of Mormon’s narrative detailing the formation of the oath-bound secret combinations sworn with oath-formulae upon one’s “life” (cf. Egyptian ʿnḫ, “life”; “live”; “swear an oath [by one’s life]”). It also explores the implications for Mormon’s telling of Nephite history during his own time.
Pushing Through Life’S Pilgrimage Together, Mauro Properzi
Pushing Through Life’S Pilgrimage Together, Mauro Properzi
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Walking for 500 miles in a foreign country through heat, arduous terrain, and many inconveniences is difficult enough. Add to the equation a man in a wheelchair, and the task appears impossible. The solution? Determination, humility, humor, faith, love, and someone, or many, who give you a push. I’ll Push You is a true story and parable for life that will give readers hope and encouragement.
Approaching Abinadi, Stephen O. Smoot
Approaching Abinadi, Stephen O. Smoot
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The recently released Abinadi: He Came Among Them in Disguise, a new book from Brigham Young University’s Book of Mormon Academy, offers readers multidisciplinary approaches to Mosiah 11–17 that highlight the literary, historical, and doctrinal richness of the story of Abinadi. Students and scholars of the Book of Mormon are sure to benefit greatly from this new volume.
A Valuable Book For The Increasingly International Church, Jeff Lindsay
A Valuable Book For The Increasingly International Church, Jeff Lindsay
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
As the Church expands among the many nations, peoples, and tongues of the earth, new challenges arise that require the organization and the members of the Church to better meet the needs of the peoples in various nations and to cope with the specific challenges that may exist there. In this article I review a valuable book that can help in that expanding effort.
Abinadi: A Minor Prophet, A Major Contributor, Andrew C. Smith
Abinadi: A Minor Prophet, A Major Contributor, Andrew C. Smith
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The new edited volume Abinadi: He Came Among Them in Disguise, from the Book of Mormon Academy, is a valuable contribution to Book of Mormon studies. It should find a wide audience and stimulate greater and deeper thinking about the pivotal contributions of Abinadi to the Book of Mormon. It should, however, not be considered the end of the conversation. This review discusses the volume’s importance within Book of Mormon scholarship generally. It also highlights certain valuable contributions from each of the authors, and points out places where more can be said and deeper analysis is needed.
“And The Meek Also Shall Increase”: The Verb Yāsap In Isaiah 29 And Nephi’S Prophetic Allusions To The Name Joseph In 2 Nephi 25–30, Matthew L. Bowen
“And The Meek Also Shall Increase”: The Verb Yāsap In Isaiah 29 And Nephi’S Prophetic Allusions To The Name Joseph In 2 Nephi 25–30, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Beyond his autobiographic use of Joseph’s name and biography, Nephi also considered the name Joseph to have long-term prophetic value. As a Semitic/Hebrew name, Joseph derives from the verb yāsap (to “add,” “increase,” “proceed to do something,” “do something again,” and to “do something more”), thus meaning “may he [God] add,” “may he increase,” or “may he do more/ again.” Several of the prophecies of Isaiah, in which Nephi’s soul delighted and for which he offers extensive interpretation, prominently employ forms of yāsap in describing iterative and restorative divine action (e.g., Isaiah 11:11; 26:15; 29:14; cf. 52:1). The prophecy of …
To Be Learned Is Good, If One Stays On The Rails, Paul C. Peterson
To Be Learned Is Good, If One Stays On The Rails, Paul C. Peterson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This review essay looks at certain problematical issues in the recently published collection of essays honoring Latter-day Saint historian Richard Lyman Bushman. Problems emerge from the title itself, “To Be Learned is Good,” as a result of the failure to note that the Book of Mormon passage “To be learned is good” is a conditional statement. In addition, since these essays are billed as “Essays on Faith and Scholarship,” it is odd most of them do not touch on this subject at all. I examine four essays in depth, including Adam Miller’s “Christo-Fiction, Mormon Philosophy, and the Virtual Body of …
“They Shall No More Be Confounded”: Moroni’S Wordplay On Joseph In Ether 13:1-13 And Moroni 10:31, Matthew L. Bowen
“They Shall No More Be Confounded”: Moroni’S Wordplay On Joseph In Ether 13:1-13 And Moroni 10:31, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In two related prophecies, Moroni employs an apparent wordplay on the name Joseph in terms of the Hebrew idiom (lōʾ) yôsîp … ʿôd (+ verbal component), as preserved in the phrases “they shall no more be confounded” (Ether 13:8) and “that thou mayest no more be confounded” (Moroni 10:31). That phraseology enjoyed a long currency within Nephite prophecy (e.g., 1 Nephi 14:2, 15:20), ultimately having its source in Isaiah’s prophecies regarding Jerusalem/Zion (see, for example, Isaiah 51:22; 52:1– 2; 54:2–4). Ether and Moroni’s prophecy in Ether 13 that the Old Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem would “no more be confounded” …
Marjorie Newton’S Account Of The Faith Of The Māori Saints: A Critical Appraisal, Louis Midgley
Marjorie Newton’S Account Of The Faith Of The Māori Saints: A Critical Appraisal, Louis Midgley
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Marjorie Newton’s Mormon and Maori is a version of her 1998 thesis in which she rejects key elements of the Māori Latter day Saint historical narrative. This contrasts with her earlier, faith affirming Tiki and Temple. In Mormon and Maori Newton targets what she sees as Māori/missionary mythology. She has written for different audiences; one was for secular religious studies scholars, while the other was for faithful Saints. Midgley rejects Newton’s claim that a Mormon American cultural imperialism requires Māori to abandon noble elements of their culture. Faithful Saints are liberated from the soul-destroying behavior that results from the loss …
Et Incarnatus Est: The Imperative For Book Of Mormon Historicity, Stephen O. Smoot
Et Incarnatus Est: The Imperative For Book Of Mormon Historicity, Stephen O. Smoot
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Some have come to insist that the Book of Mormon should be read as inspired fiction, which is to say that readers, including Latter-day Saints, should abandon any belief in the Book of Mormon as an authentic ancient text and instead should see it as an inspired frontier novel written by Joseph Smith that may act as scripture for those who follow his teachings. T his paper provides reasoning to reject this proposition as not only logically incoherent but also theologically impotent.1 It raises the objection that this position fundamentally undercuts the credibility of Joseph Smith. The Prophet’s direct claims …
Pressing Forward With The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot
Pressing Forward With The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The Book of Abraham continues to attract scholarly attention. New findings in the fields of Egyptology, Near Eastern archaeology, and Mormon history have highlighted the complexity surrounding the origins of the Book of Abraham and its relationship to the Egyptian papyri that came into the possession of Joseph Smith in 1835. A new introductory volume on the Book of Abraham by John Gee, An Introduction to the Book of Abraham, is an excellent resource that may help laypersons and scholars alike navigate this rapidly developing area of study
What Is Mormon Transhumanism? And Is It Mormon?, Gregory L. Smith
What Is Mormon Transhumanism? And Is It Mormon?, Gregory L. Smith
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Some sources have described Mormonism as the faith most friendly to the intellectual movement known as Transhumanism. This paper reviews an introductory paper by the past President of the Mormon Transhumanist Association. A syllogism that purports to show that Mormonism is compatible with — or even requires — Transhumanism is analyzed. The syllogism’s premises are shown to misunderstand or misrepresent LDS scripture and doctrine. The proffered Transhumanist conception of “human nature” and the perspective offered by LDS scripture are compared and found to be incompatible. Additional discrepancies between the Transhumanist article’s representation of LDS doctrine and the actual teachings of …
Orson Scott Card’S “Artifact Or Artifice”: Where It Stands After Twenty-Five Years, Jeff Lindsay
Orson Scott Card’S “Artifact Or Artifice”: Where It Stands After Twenty-Five Years, Jeff Lindsay
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
When Orson Scott Card wrote “The Book of Mormon: Artifact or Artifice?” in 1993, he applied keen skills as an author of fiction to help readers understand how to detect the many hidden assumptions an author brings into a text. Subtle details such as the choice of what to explain or what not to explain to readers can quickly reveal the era and environment of the author. The value of Card’s analysis is reconsidered in light of extensive Book of Mormon studies since 1993 and has been found, for the most part, to have withstood the test of time well, …
“If I Pray Not Amiss”, David L. Clark
“If I Pray Not Amiss”, David L. Clark
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In 2nd Nephi, it is suggested that the Lord answers prayers but that requests made in prayer should not violate some kind of standard that would make them “amiss.” This undefined standard most likely excludes many prayers requesting immunity from those conditions of mortality which all mortals accepted and embraced with great enthusiasm in the great Council in Heaven. However, except for limited latter-day explanations of that great conference, our eager acceptance of all details of the conditions of mortality did not carry over into mortal memory. Consequently, when we request exemption from those conditions joyfully endorsed in premortal time, …
The Title Of Liberty And Ancient Prophecy, Roseann Benson
The Title Of Liberty And Ancient Prophecy, Roseann Benson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Captain Moroni cites a prophecy regarding Joseph of Egypt and his posterity that is not recorded in the Bible. He accompanies the prophecy with a symbolic action to motivate his warriors to covenant to be faithful to their prophet Helaman and to keep the commandments lest God would not preserve them as he had Joseph.
Improvisation And Extemporaneous Change In The Book Of Mormon Part 1: Evidence Of An Imperfect, Authentic, Ancient Work Of Scripture, Gerald E. Smith
Improvisation And Extemporaneous Change In The Book Of Mormon Part 1: Evidence Of An Imperfect, Authentic, Ancient Work Of Scripture, Gerald E. Smith
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Joseph Smith made various refining changes to the Book of Mormon text, most of them minor and grammatical in nature. However, one type of textual change has been virtually unstudied in Book of Mormon scholarship: extemporaneous change that was present the moment Smith dictated the original text to his scribes. This type of change appears to have been improvisational, a fix or repair made in the middle of a thought or expression. I study these improvisations in depth — where they might appear historically, their purpose, and their authorship — in two articles. The evidence points to ancient authors and …
Looking Back, Almost Five Years On, Daniel C. Peterson
Looking Back, Almost Five Years On, Daniel C. Peterson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
As the axiom states, hindsight is 20/20. As Volume 24 of Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture nears the press, it seems relevant to look back to a tumultuous time nearly five years ago when the Interpreter Foundation was visualized and launched. If history has any value at all (particularly recent history), it provides a context for understanding the course on which we find ourselves. For the Interpreter Foundation, that course continues to be full of surprises and promise.
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Looking Deeper Into Joseph Smith’S First Vision: Imagery, Cognitive Neuroscience, And The Construction Of Memory, Robert A. Rees
Looking Deeper Into Joseph Smith’S First Vision: Imagery, Cognitive Neuroscience, And The Construction Of Memory, Robert A. Rees
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Critics of Joseph Smith assert that he invented or imagined the First Vision and then deliberately altered the details in his subsequent f irst-person accounts of the event (also reflected in accounts recorded or related by others) to mislead his followers. That the details of the narrative changed so dramatically between the first version (1832) and the last authorized version (1842) is considered prima facie evidence that Joseph was deliberately inventing and embellishing his narrative to make it more credible. The only thing, say critics, that could possibly explain such divergent, and in some cases, radically different versions of the …