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Articles 91 - 120 of 326
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An Elegant Book On Gifts, Gifting, And Remembering, Louis Midgley
An Elegant Book On Gifts, Gifting, And Remembering, Louis Midgley
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
David Holland, the youngest son of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, is the John Bartlett Professor of New England Church History at Harvard Divinity School. Consistent with his training and focus, Holland has approached Moroni as an historian. Hence, despite the subtitle to this series about books in the Book of Mormon, Holland has done neither systematic nor dogmatic theology in his contribution.
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
“Can You Suppose That The Lord Will Spare You?”: Moroni’S Charged Rhetoric In Alma 60:30–32, Matthew L. Bowen
“Can You Suppose That The Lord Will Spare You?”: Moroni’S Charged Rhetoric In Alma 60:30–32, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Under the duress of a lengthy war, and prompted by recent Lamanite military successes, as well as incensed at the government’s failure to resupply Helaman’s armies with provisions and to send men to reinforce the city Nephihah, Moroni sent a second scathing letter to the leaders of the Nephite nation in the Nephite capital city Zarahemla. As other scholars have noted, the name Zarahemla likely denotes “seed of compassion” or “seed of sparing.” In this article, I propose that Moroni’s rhetoric in the letter includes an acerbic word-irony involving the meaning of Zarahemla perhaps achieved in terms of the Hebrew …
Lehi, Joseph, And The Kingdom Of Israel, Richley Crapo
Lehi, Joseph, And The Kingdom Of Israel, Richley Crapo
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
I present evidence of two priesthoods in the Jewish Bible: an Aaronite priesthood, held by Aaron and passed down through his descendants; and a higher Mushite priesthood, held not only by Moses and his descendants but also by other worthy individuals, such as Joshua, an Ephraimite. The Mushite priests were centered in Shiloh, where Joshua settled the Ark of the Covenant, while the Aaronites became dominant in the Jerusalem temple. Like Joshua, the prophet Lehi, a descendant of the northern tribe of Manasseh, held the higher priesthood. His ministry, as recounted in the Book of Mormon, demonstrates four characteristics that …
The Joseph Smith Papers Project Stumbles, John Gee
The Joseph Smith Papers Project Stumbles, John Gee
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Volume 4 of the Revelations and Translations series of the Joseph Smith Papers does not live up to the standards set in previous volumes. While the production values are still top notch, the actual content is substandard. Problems fill the volume, including misplaced photographs and numerous questionable transcriptions beyond the more than two hundred places where the editors admitted they could not read the documents. For this particular volume, producing it incorrectly is arguably worse than not producing it at all.
Overwriting Ether: Moroni’S Transfiguration Of Jaredite Scripture, David J. Larsen
Overwriting Ether: Moroni’S Transfiguration Of Jaredite Scripture, David J. Larsen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The Book of Ether is a sometimes-overlooked gem of a text within the Book of Mormon, a history within a history that deserves careful and innovative investigation. Rosalynde Frandsen Welch offers such with a novel perspective in her entry in the Maxwell Institute’s series of “brief theological introductions” to the books within the Book of Mormon. The principal focus of Welch’s analysis is on issues concerning Moroni’s editorial purposes, how he interacts with his source text, and the ethics of his agenda for his abridgment of the Jaredite record. She critiques what she sees as Moroni’s lack of interest in …
Lehi’S Dream, Nephi’S Blueprint: How Nephi Uses The Vision Of The Tree Of Life As An Outline For 1 And 2 Nephi, Noel Reynolds
Lehi’S Dream, Nephi’S Blueprint: How Nephi Uses The Vision Of The Tree Of Life As An Outline For 1 And 2 Nephi, Noel Reynolds
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This essay harnesses the late twentieth-century discovery of Hebrew rhetoric by Bible scholars to identify Lehi’s dream as the foundation of the carefully constructed unity in Nephi’s writings and to identify previously unrecognized elements of that dream which are distributed throughout his final work. The teachings and prophecies in 1 and 2 Nephi are shown to derive from their shared dream/vision. Further, the entirety of Nephi’s writings in the Small Plates is shown to be a tightly designed rhetorical production that establishes the centrality of Christ’s identity, mission, and teachings for current and future generations of Lehi’s descendants and ultimately …
Putting Down The Priests: A Note On Royal Evaluations, (Wĕ)Hišbît, And Priestly Purges In 2 Kings 23:5 And Mosiah 11:5, Matthew L. Bowen
Putting Down The Priests: A Note On Royal Evaluations, (Wĕ)Hišbît, And Priestly Purges In 2 Kings 23:5 And Mosiah 11:5, Matthew L. Bowen
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The historian who wrote 2 Kings 23:5 and Mormon, who wrote Mosiah 11:5, used identical expressions to describe King Josiah’s and King Noah’s purges of the priests previously ordained and installed by their fathers. These purges came to define their respective kingships. The biblical writer used this language to positively evaluate Josiah’s kingship (“And he put down [wĕhišbît] the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained”), whereas Mormon levies a negative evaluation against Noah (“For he put down [cf. Hebrew (wĕ)hišbît] all the priests that had been consecrated by his father”). Mormon employs additional “Deuteronomistic” language in evaluating …
A Comparison Of The Book Of Mormon’S Subordinate That Usage, Stanford Carmack
A Comparison Of The Book Of Mormon’S Subordinate That Usage, Stanford Carmack
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This paper compares the Book of Mormon’s subordinate that usage with what is found in the King James Bible, pseudo-archaic writings, and the greater textual record. In this linguistic domain, the Book of Mormon manifests as thoroughly archaic, and it surpasses all known pseudo-archaic writings in breadth and depth of archaism. The implications of this set of linguistic data indicate that the translation as originally dictated by Joseph Smith cannot plausibly be explained as the result of Joseph’s own word choices, but it is consistent with the hypothesis that the wording was somehow provided to him.
“The Wind And The Fire To Be My Chariot”: The Anachronism That Wasn’T, John Gee
“The Wind And The Fire To Be My Chariot”: The Anachronism That Wasn’T, John Gee
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In the Book of Abraham, God tells Abraham in Haran, “I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot” (Abraham 2:7). While this initially might appear to be an anachronism, as the chariot is normally thought to have been introduced later, archaeological finds of chariots at the site of Harran predate Abraham by hundreds of years.
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
“Wherefore, For This Cause”: The Book Of Mormon As Anti-Type Of The Brass Serpent, Scott Stenson
“Wherefore, For This Cause”: The Book Of Mormon As Anti-Type Of The Brass Serpent, Scott Stenson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Nephi1 represents the sacred record that becomes the Book of Mormon as a new brass serpent to heal the nations. Nephi’s typological project is reasonable given that he self-identifies with Moses, his family’s scriptures and compass are made of brass, and he consistently describes reading as an act of seeing, looking, or believing. Nephi understands from Isaiah that the book he (Nephi) prepares — and that he has so much to say about — will become an ensign, or sign, that will be lifted up and heal the nations that have stumbled in blindness. Nephi’s project emerges most fully in …
“Strong Like Unto Moses”: The Case For Ancient Roots In The Book Of Moses Based On Book Of Mormon Usage Of Related Content Apparently From The Brass Plates, Jeff Lindsay, Noel B. Reynolds
“Strong Like Unto Moses”: The Case For Ancient Roots In The Book Of Moses Based On Book Of Mormon Usage Of Related Content Apparently From The Brass Plates, Jeff Lindsay, Noel B. Reynolds
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Over 30 years ago, Noel Reynolds compared matching non- Biblical phrases in the Book of Moses and Book of Mormon. Based on this analysis, Reynolds proposed a possible connection between the Book of Moses and hypothetical material on the brass plates that may have influenced some Book of Mormon authors. Reynolds’s work, “The Brass Plates Version of Genesis,” provided potentially plausible explanations for additional relationships between the Book of Moses and Book of Mormon that arose in two later Jeff Lindsay studies: one on the Book of Mormon account of Lehi1’s trail and another on the Book of Mormon’s intriguing …
Full Issue
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Variety And Complexity In The Witnesses To The Book Of Mormon, Daniel C. Peterson
Variety And Complexity In The Witnesses To The Book Of Mormon, Daniel C. Peterson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This paper examines the testimonies of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon— not only the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses, but many others who experienced and testified of the reality of the Book of Mormon plates. Together, these testimonies offer impressive support for the claims of Joseph Smith regarding the Book of Mormon and, thus, the Restoration. The variety and complexity of their collective testimony makes finding a single, alternative, non-divine explanation for the witness experiences challenging, indeed.
That Which You Have Translated, Which You Have Retained, Clifford P. Jones
That Which You Have Translated, Which You Have Retained, Clifford P. Jones
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
I propose that our current Words of Mormon in the Book of Mormon was originally a second chapter of the book of Mosiah following an initial chapter that was part of the lost 116 pages. When Joseph Smith gave the first 116 pages to Martin Harris, he may have retained a segment of the original manuscript that contained our Words of Mormon, consistent with the Lord’s reference “that which you have translated, which you have retained” (D&C 10:41). A comprehensive review of contextual information indicates that the chapter we call Words of Mormon may actually be the first part of …
The Ark And The Tent: Temple Symbolism In The Story Of Noah, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw
The Ark And The Tent: Temple Symbolism In The Story Of Noah, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Jeffrey M. Bradshaw compares Moses’ tabernacle and Noah’s ark, and then identifies the story of Noah as a temple related drama, drawing of temple mysticism and symbols. After examining structural similarities between ark and tabernacle and bringing into the discussion further information about the Mesopotamian flood story, he shows how Noah’s ark is a beginning of a new creation, pointing out the central point of Day One in the Noah story. When Noah leaves the ark, they find themselves in a garden, not unlike the Garden of Eden in the way the Bible speaks about it. A covenant is established …
Understanding Covenants Anew: Using Ancient Thought To Enrich Modern Faith, Jeffrey Thayne
Understanding Covenants Anew: Using Ancient Thought To Enrich Modern Faith, Jeffrey Thayne
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In the first half of her book, Lane takes us on a tour of ancient worlds by introducing us to ancient words, such as bĕrît (covenant), gā’al (redemption), pānîm (presence of the Lord), and so forth, while deftly weaving linguistic and historical insights with personal narratives that ground these insights in the practical affairs of day-to-day living. In the second half of the book, Lane takes us on a tour of medieval art and images, centering on how art has been used to portray the Savior and His mission. Throughout the entire book, Lane centers the attention of the reader …
Vast Prairies And Trackless Wilds Of Snow: A Good Test Of Sincerity, Daniel C. Peterson
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.
Poesy And Prosody In The Book Of Mormon, Robert F. Smith
Poesy And Prosody In The Book Of Mormon, Robert F. Smith
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Robert Smith makes the case that “poetic art in the Book of Mormon is highly developed” — you just need to have the eye to recognize it. Though many readers are aware of the stunning examples of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, thanks to the pioneering work by John W. Welch, fewer are acquainted with the other important forms of parallelism that pervade the text, often placed strategically to highlight the importance of a particular passage. Smith also shows why apocalpytic texts, sometimes thought to originate at a later period, can be found, for example, in the first chapter …
Honoring Hugh Nibley — Again, Louis Midgley
Honoring Hugh Nibley — Again, Louis Midgley
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Hugh Nibley Observed is the third assembly of essays honoring Nibley by his friends and admirers. It differs from the other two in many ways. It is packed with photographs, observations by his children about their father, and many other similar and related items that are often deeply personal reflections on Nibley as well as the influence he has had on Latter- day Saint intellectual life and also the faith of the Saints. Its contents are far more accessible than the strictly scholarly works written by the academic friends and colleagues of Nibley. There is some of that in this …
Glad Tidings From Cumorah: Interpreting The Book Of Mormon Through The Eyes Of Someone In Hell, Steve Fotheringham
Glad Tidings From Cumorah: Interpreting The Book Of Mormon Through The Eyes Of Someone In Hell, Steve Fotheringham
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
This article offers evidence that at least some Book of Mormon authors may have understood the potential for post-mortal preaching of the gospel. Indeed, they may have recognized that the future Book of Mormon would be a tool to spread the gospel not only among the living but also among those in the spirit world. Prophecies about the message of the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel being for all mankind may have broader scope than previously recognized, with application on both sides of the veil.
The Origin And Purpose Of The Book Of Mormon Phrase “If Ye Keep My Commandments Ye Shall Prosper In The Land”, Taylor Halverson
The Origin And Purpose Of The Book Of Mormon Phrase “If Ye Keep My Commandments Ye Shall Prosper In The Land”, Taylor Halverson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
We are told in the Title Page of the Book of Mormon that the Book of Mormon was revealed in our day “to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.” Hence, the covenantal context, structure, and logic of the Book of Mormon demand further consideration, exploration, and elucidation. A prosperous starting point is the phrase “If ye keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land.” This covenantal phrase is used …
Book Of Abraham Polemics: Dan Vogel’S Broad Critique Of The Defense Of The Book Of Abraham, Jeff Lindsay
Book Of Abraham Polemics: Dan Vogel’S Broad Critique Of The Defense Of The Book Of Abraham, Jeff Lindsay
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Dan Vogel’s latest book claims to offer clear-cut evidence showing what, when, and how Joseph Smith fraudulently translated the Book of Abraham. While he claims to use an objective approach, he instead weaves a polemical agenda that ignores some of the most important scholarship in favor of the Book of Abraham. He ignores crucial evidence and relies on assumptions and hypotheses as if they were established facts. The arguments of apologists, which he claims to be reviewing and critiquing, are often overlooked or, when treated, attacked without letting readers know the substance of the apologetic argument. He neglects key arguments …
Prolegomena To A Study Of The Egyptian Alphabet Documents In The Joseph Smith Papers, John Gee
Prolegomena To A Study Of The Egyptian Alphabet Documents In The Joseph Smith Papers, John Gee
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
For many theories about the Book of Abraham, the Egyptian Alphabet documents are seen as the key to understanding the translation process. While the original publication of those documents allows many researchers access to the documents for the first time, careful attention to the Joseph Smith Papers as a whole and the practices of Joseph Smith’s scribes in particular allows for improvements in the date, labeling, and understanding of the historical context of the Egyptian Alphabet documents. This essay supports the understanding of these documents found in the other volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers that the Egyptian Alphabet documents …
Record-Keeping Technology Among God’S People In Ancient And Modern Times, Richard E. Turley Jr., Stephen O. Smoot
Record-Keeping Technology Among God’S People In Ancient And Modern Times, Richard E. Turley Jr., Stephen O. Smoot
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
In a fascinating survey of the efforts of ancient and modern Saints to honor the Lord’s commandment to keep reliable records of their doings, the authors take us on a colorful tour of the past, present, and future of technology for records preservation. These efforts are not only aweinspiring, but have had and will have important consequences for the faith and memory of the goodness of God and the fulfillment of His purposes in history.
The Inclusive, Anti-Discrimination Message Of The Book Of Mormon, David M. Belnap
The Inclusive, Anti-Discrimination Message Of The Book Of Mormon, David M. Belnap
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Attitudes of superiority lead to societal conflict. The racial interpretation of a few Book of Mormon verses has contributed to these attitudes and conflicts, yet hundreds of inclusive messages are found in more than half of the book’s verses. God’s message, love, mercy, and justice are for all people. Righteous people did not think themselves above others, nor did they persecute others or start wars. War is tragic and is caused by wickedness. Conspiracies are a great evil. Righteous people were kind in their attitudes and actions, regardless of others’ social status or ethnicity. Some Book of Mormon people even …
Matthew Black And Mircea Eliade Meet Hugh Nibley, Gordon C. Thomasson
Matthew Black And Mircea Eliade Meet Hugh Nibley, Gordon C. Thomasson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
As a graduate student, Gordon Thomasson had the opportunity to introduce two internationally renowned scholars to the publications and scholarship of Hugh Nibley: Matthew Black, an eminent scholar of ancient Enoch writings; and Mircea Eliade, famed chair of the History of Religions program at the University of Chicago. Upon hearing of Nibley’s Enoch discoveries, Black made an immediate, impromptu visit to BYU to meet him. Upon reading one of Nibley’s studies, Eliade proposed hiring him on the spot, exclaiming, “He knows my field better than I do, and his translations are elegant!”
The Brass Plates: Can Modern Scholarship Help Identify Their Contents?, A. Keith Thompson
The Brass Plates: Can Modern Scholarship Help Identify Their Contents?, A. Keith Thompson
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The Book of Mormon contains little information about what the Brass Plates contain. Nephi said it was a larger record than the Hebrew Bible brought to America by the Gentiles. But it could not have contained the records of Old Testament prophets who wrote after Lehi’s party left Jerusalem or the New Testament. We know it contained some writings from Zenos, Zenock, Neum, and Ezias, but what else could it have contained? Though the proposal from modern biblical source criticism that the Christian Bible is the product of redactors sometimes working with multiple sources is distasteful to many Christians, this …
Seeking A Global Context For The First Vision, Brian C. Hales
Seeking A Global Context For The First Vision, Brian C. Hales
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
Richard E. Bennett’s latest volume, 1820: Dawning of the Restoration, is not a book about the First Vision. Instead, it describes the world in 1820 through thirteen biographies that provide useful context to the seminal event. Included are Napoleon Bonaparte, Jean Francois Champollion, Alexander I, Ludwig van Beethoven, Theodore Gericault, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, George IV/Queen Caroline, John Wesley/William Wilberforce/ Hannah More, Simon Bolivar, John Williams, Henry Clay, Alexander Von Humboldt, and Joseph Smith. Topics of military conquest, music, science, literature, art, linguistics, religion, politics, and the industrial revolution receive extensive coverage for 1820 and the surrounding decades. Even if readers …