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Articles 301 - 326 of 326
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Is Decrypting The Genetic Legacy Of America’S Indigenous Populations Key To The Historicity Of The Book Of Mormon?, Ugo A. Perego, Jayne E. Ekins
Is Decrypting The Genetic Legacy Of America’S Indigenous Populations Key To The Historicity Of The Book Of Mormon?, Ugo A. Perego, Jayne E. Ekins
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The Book of Mormon claims to be an ancient record containing a summary of a now-disappeared civilization that once lived in the American continent but originated in the Middle East. DNA studies focusing on the ancient migration of world populations support a North-East Asian origin of modern Native American populations arriving through the now-submerged land bridge that once connected Siberia to Alaska during the last Ice Age, approximately 15,000 years ago. The apparent discrepancy between the Book of Mormon narrative and the published genetic data must be addressed in lieu of generally accepted population genetic principles that are efficient in …
Sorting Out The Sources In Scripture, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw
Sorting Out The Sources In Scripture, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
To date, LDS scholars have largely ignored the important but rather complex questions about how primary sources may have been authored and combined to form the Bible as we have it today. David Bokovoy’s book, one of a projected series of volumes on the authorship of the Old Testament, is intended to rectify this deficiency, bringing the results of scholarship in Higher Criticism into greater visibility within the LDS community. Though readers may not agree in every respect with the book’s analysis and results, particularly with its characterization of the Books of Moses and Abraham as “inspired pseudepigrapha,” Bokovoy has …
A Nickname And A Slam Dunk: Notes On The Book Of Mormon Names Zeezrom And Jershon, Stephen D. Ricks
A Nickname And A Slam Dunk: Notes On The Book Of Mormon Names Zeezrom And Jershon, Stephen D. Ricks
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Nicknames and Dysphemisms in the Bible and Ancient Mediterranean Even in the Bible, nicknames and dysphemisms— expressions whose connotations may be offensive to the hearer—are not rare and were equally so in other parts of the ancient and early medieval world. In 1 Samuel the ungenerous husband of Abigail rudely refused hospitality to the men of David, greatly angering them. David and his men were so incensed at his offense against the laws of hospitality that they intended to punish him for his boorish behavior before they were dissuaded from their plan by Abigail (1 Samuel 25:1-35). Shortly thereafter the …
A Plea For Narrative Theology: Living In And By Stories, Louis C. Midgley
A Plea For Narrative Theology: Living In And By Stories, Louis C. Midgley
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The following are reflections on some of the complicated history, including the abuses, of what is commonly known as theology. The Saints do not “do theology.” Even when we are tempted, we do not reduce the contents or grounds of faith to something conforming to traditional theology. Instead, we tell stories of how and why we came to faith, which are then linked to a network of other stories found in our scriptures, and to a master narrative. We live in and by stories and not by either dogmatic or philosophically grounded systematic theology. Instead, we tend to engage in …
Getting Into The Meat Of The Word Of Wisdom, A. Jane Birch
Getting Into The Meat Of The Word Of Wisdom, A. Jane Birch
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In verse 13 of the Word of Wisdom, the Lord tells us, “it is pleasing unto me that they [flesh of beasts and fowls of the air] should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine” (D&C 89:13). Judging from the variety of interpretations this single verse has inspired, it would appear to be deeply enigmatic. Interestingly, most interpretations have been put forward with little supporting evidence. This article is the first comprehensive analysis of the diverse explanations for D&C 89:13 that have been suggested since 1833. In this article, I attempt to analyze these …
Literacy And Orality In The Book Of Mormon, Brant A. Gardner
Literacy And Orality In The Book Of Mormon, Brant A. Gardner
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The Book of Mormon is a literate product of a literate culture. It references written texts. Nevertheless, behind the obvious literacy, there are clues to a primary orality in Nephite culture. The instances of text creation and most instances of reading texts suggest that documents were written by and for an elite class who were able to read and write. Even among the elite, reading and writing are best seen as a secondary method of communication to be called upon to archive information, to communicate with future readers (who would have been assumed to be elite and therefore able to …
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Whither Mormon Studies?, John Gee
Whither Mormon Studies?, John Gee
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The proliferation of Mormon Studies is surprising, considering that many of the basic questions about the field have never been answered. This paper looks at a number of basic questions about Mormon Studies that are of either academic concern or concern for members of the Church of Jesus Christ. They include such questions as whether Mormon Studies is a discipline, whether those who do Mormon Studies necessarily know what is going on in the Church, or if they interpret their findings correctly, whether there is any core knowledge that those who do Mormon Studies can or should have, what sort …
Ancient Affinities Within The Lds Book Of Enoch Part One, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, David J. Larsen
Ancient Affinities Within The Lds Book Of Enoch Part One, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, David J. Larsen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In this article, we will examine affinities between ancient extracanonical sources and a collection of modern revelations that Joseph Smith termed “extracts from the Prophecy of Enoch.” We build on the work of previous scholars, revisiting their findings with the benefit of subsequent scholarship. Following a perspective on the LDS canon and an introduction to the LDS Enoch revelations, we will focus on relevant passages in pseudepigrapha and LDS scripture within three episodes in the Mormon Enoch narrative: Enoch’s prophetic commission, Enoch’s encounters with the “gibborim,” and the weeping and exaltation of Enoch and his people.
New Light And Old Shadows: John G. Turner’S Attempt To Understand Brigham Young, Craig L. Foster
New Light And Old Shadows: John G. Turner’S Attempt To Understand Brigham Young, Craig L. Foster
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Brigham Young has repeatedly been described as larger than life and most people, critics and supporters, would agree. Brigham Young (1801–1877), second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, led the Saints like a modern- day Moses from the turmoil of Nauvoo to the Great Basin. He then oversaw the settlement of over three hundred communities in the intermountain west. He directed the growth and development of the LDS Church and left an indelible mark on both Mormonism and the western United States. Brigham Young was, indeed, larger than life.
Passing Up The Heavenly Gift (Part One Of Two), Gregory L. Smith
Passing Up The Heavenly Gift (Part One Of Two), Gregory L. Smith
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The Basic Thesis …the Latter-day Saint church was predicted to fail, and in all likelihood has failed to secure the fullness of the priesthood (Denver Snuffer1). Denver C. Snuffer, Jr. claims to have had a vision of the resurrected Jesus Christ.2 A convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he is the author of eight books (509). The thesis of the most recent—Passing the Heavenly Gift—is summarized by his book’s cover photo: a snuffed out candle, smoke curling upward, with a dim ember persisting at the tip of the wick.
Introduction, Daniel C. Peterson
Introduction, Daniel C. Peterson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In the spring or early summer of 1820, “some few days” after his epochal vision of the Father and the Son, the young Joseph Smith gave an account of the experience to a Methodist minister with whom he “happened to be in company.” The minister had been active in the “excitement” about religion that inspired Joseph’s fateful decision to go alone into the woods near his house to pray. Naïvely, the boy expected his story of a Bible-like divine manifestation to be well received. It was not.
“In The Mount Of The Lord It Shall Be Seen” And “Provided”: Theophany And Sacrifice As The Etiological Foundation Of The Temple In Israelite And Latter-Day Saint Tradition, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
For ancient Israelites, the temple was a place where sacrifice and theophany (i.e., seeing God or other heavenly beings) converged. The account of Abraham’s “arrested” sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22) and the account of the arrested slaughter of Jerusalem following David’s unauthorized census of Israel (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21) served as etiological narratives— explanations of “cause” or “origin”—for the location of the Jerusalem temple and its sacrifices. Wordplay on the verb rāʾâ (to “see”) in these narratives creates an etiological link between the place-names “Jehovah-jireh,” “Moriah” and the threshing floor of Araunah/Ornan, pointing to the future location of …
Written To The Lamanites: Understanding The Book Of Mormon Through Native Culture And Religion, Gary P. Gillum
Written To The Lamanites: Understanding The Book Of Mormon Through Native Culture And Religion, Gary P. Gillum
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Latter-day Saints have always been encouraged to seek the truth wherever it can be found. With the Book of Mormon being written especially to the Lamanites, we can assume that the more we know about Lamanite and Native American culture, the more we can understand, appreciate and gain insights as we read that inspired scripture. In this article the writer has compared examples from Native American culture and history to what we read in the Book of Mormon and experience as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most importantly, as we read through the eyes of …
Stretching To Find The Negative: Gary Bergera’S Review Of Joseph Smith’S Polygamy: History And Theology, Brian C. Hales
Stretching To Find The Negative: Gary Bergera’S Review Of Joseph Smith’S Polygamy: History And Theology, Brian C. Hales
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
At an author-meets-critic Sunstone Symposium on August 2, 2013, Gary Bergera devoted over 90% of his fifteenminute review to criticize my 1500+ page, three-volume, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: History and Theology. This article responds to several of the disagreements outlined by Bergera that on closer inspection appear as straw men. Also addressed are the tired arguments buoyed by carefully selected documentation he advanced supporting that (1) John C. Bennett learned of polygamy from Joseph Smith, (2) the Fanny Alger-Joseph Smith relationship was adultery, and (3) the Prophet practiced sexual polyandry. This article attempts to provide greater balance by including new evidences …
Sophic Box And Mantic Vista: A Review Of Deconstructing Mormonism, Kevin Christensen
Sophic Box And Mantic Vista: A Review Of Deconstructing Mormonism, Kevin Christensen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Riskas’s Desconstructing Mormonism claims that believers are trapped in a box for which the instructions for how to get out are written on the outside of the box. He challenges believers to submit to an outsider test for faith. But how well does Riskas describe the insider test? And is his outsider test, which turns out to be positivism, just a different box with the instructions for how to get out written on its outside? Ian Barbour’s Myths Models and Paradigms provides instructions on how to get out of the positivistic box that Riskas offers, and at the same time …
Passing Up The Heavenly Gift (Part Two Of Two), Gregory L. Smith
Passing Up The Heavenly Gift (Part Two Of Two), Gregory L. Smith
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Claims #4 and #5: The Source of the Authority of Brigham Young and the Apostles After Joseph’s Death
Evangelical Controversy: A Deeply Fragmented Movement, Louis C. Midgley
Evangelical Controversy: A Deeply Fragmented Movement, Louis C. Midgley
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism should be helpful to Latter-day Saints (and others) seeking to understand some of the theological controversies lurking behind contemporary fundamentalist/evangelical religiosity. Four theologians spread along a spectrum speak for different competing factions of conservative Protestants: Kevin Bauder 1 for what turns out to be his own somewhat moderate version of Protestant fundamentalism; Al Mohler 2 for conservative/confessional 3 evangelicalism; John Stackhouse 4 for generic evangelicalism; and Roger Olson 5 for postconservative evangelicalism. Each author introduces his own position and then is critiqued in turn by the others, after which there is a rejoinder. …
Trusting Joseph, Neal Rappleye
Trusting Joseph, Neal Rappleye
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The “first steps” of Mormon history are vital to the faith claims of the Latter-day Saints. The new volume Exploring the First Vision, edited by Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper, compiles research into the historical veracity of Joseph Smith’s First Vision narrative which shows the Prophet to have been a reliable and trustworthy witness. Ultimately, historical investigation can neither prove nor disprove that Joseph had a theophany in the woods in 1820. Individuals must therefore reach their conclusions by some other means.
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
The Apocryphal Acts Of Jesus, John Gee
The Apocryphal Acts Of Jesus, John Gee
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Numerous noncanonical accounts of Jesus’s deeds exist. While some Latter-day Saints would like to find plain and precious things in the apocryphal accounts, few are to be found. Three types of accounts deal with Jesus as a child, his mortal ministry, or after his resurrection. The Jesus of the infancy gospels does not act like the Jesus of the real gospels. The apocryphal accounts of Jesus’s ministry usually push a particular theological agenda. The accounts of Jesus’s post-resurrection teaching often contain intriguing but bizarre information. On the whole, apocryphal accounts of Jesus’s ministry probably contain less useful information for Latter-day …
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
The Role Of Apologetics In Mormon Studies, Daniel C. Peterson
The Role Of Apologetics In Mormon Studies, Daniel C. Peterson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
T he following essay was presented on 3 August 2012 as “Of ‘Mormon Studies’ and Apologetics” at the conclusion of the an nual conference of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) in Sandy, Utah. It represents the first pub lic announcement and appearance of Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, which had been founded only slightly more than a week earlier, on 26 July. In my view, that rapid launch was the near-miraculous product of selfless collaboration and devotion to a cause on the part of several people—notable among them David E. Bokovoy, Alison V. P. Coutts, William …
Shaken Faith Syndrome And The Case For Faith, Stephen O. Smoot
Shaken Faith Syndrome And The Case For Faith, Stephen O. Smoot
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Michael R. Ash is a Mormon apologist who has writ ten two thoughtful books and a number of insightful articles ex ploring a wide range of controversial issues within Mormonism. His recent book Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt is an outstanding apologetic resource for individuals searching for faith-promoting answers that directly confront anti-Mormon allegations and criticisms. Ash does an excellent job in both succinctly explain ing many of the criticisms leveled against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and articulating compelling answers to these criticisms.
Atheist Piety: A Religion Of Dogmatic Dubiety, Louis C. Midgley
Atheist Piety: A Religion Of Dogmatic Dubiety, Louis C. Midgley
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The “Special Feature” of this mass-market secular humanist magazine consists of an introduction to “America’s Peculiar Piety” followed by a miscellany of brief, nonscholarly essays critical of The Church of Jesus Christ. The questions posed in the introduction to this flagship atheist magazine go unad dressed in the essays. Some of the essays are personal exit stories by former Latter-day Saints. One is an effort by Robert M. Price to explain away the Book of Mormon without confronting its contents. This is done by ignoring the details of Joseph Smith’s career in order to picture him as the equivalent of …
Revisiting The Forgotten Voices Of Weeping In Moses 7: A Comparison With Ancient Texts, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Jacob Rennaker, David J. Larsen
Revisiting The Forgotten Voices Of Weeping In Moses 7: A Comparison With Ancient Texts, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Jacob Rennaker, David J. Larsen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The LDS Book of Moses is remarkable in its depiction of the suffering of the wicked at the time of the Flood. According to this text, there are three parties directly involved in the weep ing: God (Moses 7:28; cf. v. 29), the heavens (Moses 7:28, 37), and Enoch (Moses 7:41, 49). In addition, a fourth party, the earth, mourns—though does not weep—for her children (Moses 7:48–49). The passages that speak of the weeping God and the mourning earth have received the greatest share of attention by scholars. The purpose of this article is to round out the previous discussion …