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Front Matter

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

No abstract provided.

Reflecting On The “Marks Of Jesus”, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Loss, pain, and suffering are too often, it seems, co-sojourners through our lives. To one degree or another, we all become familiar with these elements of a life lived in an imperfect world. It is inevitable — and virtually universal — that such companions foster questions about the meaning of life and whether there is a God who is the author, director, and finisher of that meaning. For those who conclude that God is real and has part in our lives, suffering can have or acquire eternal significance, enhanced by the personal realization that God, too, suffers and has suffered. …

Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dream Map: Part 2 Of 2, Jeff Lindsay

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

The Arabian Peninsula has provided a significant body of evidence related to the plausibility of Nephi’s account of the ancient journey made by Lehi’s family across Arabia. Relatively few critics have seriously considered the evidence, generally nitpicking at details and insisting that the evidences are insignificant. Recently more meaningful responses have been offered by well educated writers showing familiarity with the Arabian evidences and the Book of Mormon. They argue that Nephi’s account is not historical and any apparent evidence in its favor can be attributed to weak LDS apologetics coupled with Joseph’s use of modern sources such as a …

Dating Joseph Smith’S First Nauvoo Sealings, Brian C. Hales

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

In the October 2015 issue of The Journal of Mormon History, Gary Bergera presents a richly illustrated article, “Memory as Evidence: Dating Joseph Smith’s Plural Marriages to Louisa Beaman, Zina Jacobs, and Presendia Buell” (95–131). It focuses on a page from the “Historian’s Private Journal,” which Bergera dates to “specifically September or thereabouts” of 1866 (99). Wilford Woodruff’s handwriting on that page describes Joseph Smith’s plural marriage sealings and dates his marriage to Louisa Beaman to “May 1840,” to Zina Huntington on “October 27, 1840,” to Presendia Huntington on “December 11, 1840,” and also to Rhoda Richards on “June 12, …

“Idle And Slothful Strange Stories”: Book Of Mormon Origins And The Historical Record, Neal Rappleye

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

From the very beginning, Joseph’s story about the origins of the Book of Mormon seemed wild and unbelievable. Today, however, Joseph’s account enjoys a high degree of corroboration from (1) eyewitness accounts confirming Joseph’s possession of actual metal plates and other artifacts, with some even corroborating the involvement of an angel in providing access to the record; (2) eyewitness reports on the process of producing the text; and (3) evidence from the original manuscript. This evidence is reviewed here, and the implications it has for the Book of Mormon’s origin are considered.

Now That We Have The Words Of Joseph Smith, How Shall We Begin To Understand Them? Illustrations Of Selected Challenges Within The 21 May 1843 Discourse On 2 Peter 1, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

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

In this article, I explore some of the opportunities and challenges that lie before us as we try to reach a better understanding of the prophetic corpus that has come to us from Joseph Smith. I turn my attention to a specific instance of these opportunities and challenges: the 21 May 1843 discourse on the doctrine of election, which Joseph Smith discussed in conjunction with the “more sure word of prophecy” mentioned in 2 Peter 1:19.

The Ammonites Were Not Pacifists, Duane Boyce

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

Although it is common to believe that the Ammonites were pacifists, the report of their story demonstrates that this is a mistake. Appreciating the Ammonites’ non-pacifism helps us think more clearly about them, and it also explains several features of the text. These are textual elements that surprise us if we assume that the Ammonites were pacifists, but that make perfect sense once we understand that they were not. Moreover, in addition to telling us that the Ammonites were not pacifists, the text also gives us the actual reason the Ammonites came to eschew all conflict — and we learn …

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

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

No abstract provided.

Beauty Way More Than Skin Deep, Brant A. Gardner

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

All of the volumes in the Joseph Smith Papers series are beautifully presented, with important photographic and excellent typographic versions of the texts. This volume continues by providing this treatment for the Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon.

Beyond Agency As Idolatry, Ralph C. Hancock

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

Adam Miller has already established himself as the most venturesome and original of LDS thinkers exploring our complex inheritance of Mormon beliefs with the tools of contemporary academic philosophy. Richard Bushman, certainly the most highly honored living scholar of Mormonism, in a foreword to an earlier collection of Miller’s essays, Rube Goldberg Theology, praised the author as today’s “most original and provocative Latter-day Saint theologian.” This originality and provocation are all the more impressive given Miller’s institutional prominence in the LDS academic establishment as, practically, the leading philosopher/theologian of BYU’s Maxwell Institute, where he is a series co-editor as well …

Mormonism, Materialism, And Politics: Six Things We Must Understand In Order To Survive As Latter-Day Saints, Rick Anderson

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

We are called as Latter-day Saints to be a force for good in the world in every way possible, which necessarily includes active and positive engagement with political and social issues. At the same time, it is essential to our spiritual survival that we never allow ourselves to forget the radical difference between the philosophies of men — no matter how superficially harmonious some of these may seem with particular principles of the gospel or with some aspects of traditional Mormon culture — and the teachings of the prophets. In a world that constantly entices us with messages designed to …

“There’S The Boy I Can Trust”: Dennison Lott Harris’ First-Person Account Of The Conspiracy Of Nauvoo And Events Surrounding Joseph Smith’S “Last Charge” To The Twelve Apostles, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

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

A well-known account from early Church history describes how, in the spring of 1844, two young men, Dennison Lott Harris and Robert Scott, helped protect Joseph Smith from dissidents plotting against his life. Almost completely unknown, however, is Dennison’s account of his subsequent role as a firsthand witness to events that appear to have taken place on the morning of 26 March 1844, just prior to the meeting in which Joseph Smith gave his “Last Charge” to the Quorum of the Twelve and “roll[ed] the kingdom off [his] shoulders” onto theirs in the presence of the Council of Fifty. This …

Remembering And Honoring Māori Latter-Day Saints, Louis Midgley

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

Dr. Robert (Rob) Joseph’s essay on Māori matakite (seers) is described and assessed, along with the contents of a book, edited by Dr. Selwyn Kātene, consisting of essays on twelve nineteenth-century Māori Latter-day Saint “leaders.” All these essays are indications that Māori scholars are setting out and defending the Māori Latter-day Saint narrative. These essays also make available to future generations the stories of some of the Māori who subsequently helped set in place a Māori community of Latterday Saints in Aotearoa (now the official Māori name for all of New Zealand rather than merely the name for the North …

A Brighter Future For Mormon Theology: Adam S. Miller’S Future Mormon, Jeff Lindsay

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

Adam S. Miller’s Future Mormon, his collection of “Essays in Mormon Theology,” is one of the most intriguing reads I’ve encountered in LDS studies. It is a book intended to make students of Mormonism, especially those within the Church, challenge lazy assumptions in our theological thinking and rethink our approach to help us build a stronger faith. Some of Miller’s work here will be readily grasped and appreciated by LDS students, while other parts may be more radical or opaque. From my perspective, the gems should make the book a valued addition to any LDS library, in spite of my …

Three Degrees Of Gospel Understanding, Daniel C. Peterson

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

Few fireside talks outlive the week in which they are given. But Professor Stanley Kimball’s remarks, offered one evening long ago in southern California, have stayed with me for nearly three and a half decades. In my view, they offer a key to surviving challenges or even what have come to be called “faith crises” — and, indeed, a key not only to surviving them but to thriving spiritually by having overcome them.

Were We Foreordained To The Priesthood, Or Was The Standard Of Worthiness Foreordained? Alma 13 Reconsidered, A. Keith Thompson

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

Alma 13:3–4 is often interpreted as Book of Mormon confirmation of the doctrine that all those who are ordained to the Priesthood on the earth were foreordained to receive that Priesthood in the pre-existence as a result of their exceeding faith and good works. That interpretation is inconsistent with the 1978 revelation on Priesthood. A contextual reading of the account of Alma2’s ministry to the people of Ammonihah also suggests that Alma2 was not telling the men of Ammonihah that they (or anyone else) had been foreordained to receive the Priesthood. Rather, Alma2 was teaching that what we now call …

Front Matter

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

Revelation comes in various forms, some of them spectacular and some of them extremely subtle. The scriptures and the history of the Restoration offer numerous examples across the entire spectrum. Whatever its form, however, divine revelation remains divine revelation, and it is the avowed mission of the Interpreter Foundation to thoughtfully ponder such revelation, to try to explicate its meaning, and to illustrate its richness. In turn, such examination can itself provide an opportunity for personal revelation—both for the examiners and, we hope, for those who read or hear the results of their work.

Reading A Pentecostal Reads The Book Of Mormon, Stephen O. Smoot

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

In recent years the Book of Mormon has enjoyed increased attention from the scholarly world.1 This is entirely welcomed by the Latter-day Saints, especially when such attention comes from a place of fairness and open-mindedness. A praiseworthy example of how non-Mormon academics can fruitfully engage the Book of Mormon is John Cristopher Thomas’s new volume A Pentecostal Reads the Book of Mormon: A Literary and Theological Introduction.2 Thomas is well-equipped to approach the Book of Mormon on a literary and theological angle. He is, after all, an erudite biblical scholar whose work on New Testament text and theology has appeared …

Reclaiming Jacob, Duane Boyce

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

A chapter of Adam Miller’s Future Mormon concerns Jacob’s encounter with Sherem in Jacob 7. While novel, Miller’s treatment of Jacob and Sherem appears inadequate. He overlooks features of the text that seem to subvert his unconventional conclusions about them. This essay identifies a number of such matters, falling in four major categories, and shares thoughts on the need for perspective when discussing Jacob’s conduct — or the conduct of any prophet, for that matter. It also highlights the jeopardy we face of being the second group to fall for Sherem’s lies.

The Parable Of The Benevolent Father And Son, Matthew R. Linford

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

A discussion is presented on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, including the departure of the young man into a faraway land, his return, and the welcome he received from his father. To better understand the cultural significance of this story, a Middle Eastern scholar (Kenneth Bailey) is referenced. The prodigal son breaks his father’s heart when he leaves home, but at the same time his older brother fails in his duty to his family. The father in the parable represents Christ, who is seen to take upon himself the shame of his returning boy and later of his older …

Reading 1 Nephi With Wisdom, Taylor Halverson

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

Nephi is the prototypical wise son of the Wisdom tradition. As Proverbs advocates that a wise man cherishes the word of God, so Nephi cherishes the words of the wise. Nephi’s record begins with a declaration of his upbringing in the Wisdom tradition and his authenticity and reliability as a wise son and scribe (1 Nephi 1:1–3). His is a record of the learning of the Jews — a record of wisdom. If the Wisdom tradition is a foundation for Nephi’s scribal capabilities and outlook, perhaps the principles and literary skills represented by the scribal Wisdom tradition constitute the “learning …

The Small Voice, David C. Peterson

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

Revelation comes in various forms, some of them spectacular and some of them extremely subtle. The scriptures and the history of the Restoration offer numerous examples across the entire spectrum. Whatever its form, however, divine revelation remains divine revelation, and it is the avowed mission of the Interpreter Foundation to thoughtfully ponder such revelation, to try to explicate its meaning, and to illustrate its richness. In turn, such examination can itself provide an opportunity for personal revelation—both for the examiners and, we hope, for those who read or hear the results of their work.

On The Dating Of Moroni 8-9, Joseph M. Spencer

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

Students of the Book of Mormon who have attempted to establish a rough (internal) date for the composition of Mormon’s two letters in Moroni 8–9 have come to different and inconsistent conclusions. Nonetheless, there seems to be evidence enough from the text to arrive at reasonably certain conclusions as to when the letters are supposed to have originated. At the same time, the fact that the text never bothers to state the exact circumstances under which the letters were produced is theologically suggestive. What might be the interpretive and especially theological implications that follow from the establishment of rough dates …

“Arise From The Dust”: Insights From Dust-Related Themes In The Book Of Mormon Part 3: Dusting Off A Famous Chiasmus, Alma 36, Jeff Lindsay

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

In light of Noel Reynolds’ hypothesis that some material in the Book of Moses may have been present on the brass plates that Nephi used, exploration of concepts related to chains in the Book of Moses led to several insights involving a group of related motifs in the Book of Mormon where shaking off Satan’s chains and rising from the dust are linked, as discussed in Parts 1 and 2. Here we argue that an appeal to the Book of Mormon’s use of dust may fill in some gaps in the complex chiastic structure of Alma 36 and strengthen the …

Assessing The Joseph Smith Papyri: An Introduction To The Historiography Of Their Acquisitions, Translations, And Interpretations, Kerry Muhlestein

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

The Book of Abraham has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention since some of the papyri once owned by Joseph Smith were rediscovered. A focus of this attention has been the source of the Book of Abraham, with some contending that the extant fragments are the source, while others have argued that the source is either other papyri or something else altogether. New investigations suggest that, while the relationship between papyri and text is not clear, it is clear that the fragments are not the source and that the method of translation was not the Kirtland Egyptian Papers. Additionally, …

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

The Stromata Vol. 57, No. 1, Calvin Theological Seminary

Stromata (1956-2020)

Inside This Issue

4- The Relevance of Kuyper and Bavinck to the Creation-Evolution Debate by Thiago Silva

17- Hebrew Word Studies by Students of D301 – Hebrew Fundamentals

54- Jeremiah 23:1-8: The Righteous Branch by Emily Sajdak

74- Orienting Hope: Retaining Space for a Distinctively Christian Hope by Cody Hinkle

Kerux - Vol. 50, No. 4, Calvin Theological Seminary

Kerux

Inside This Issue

• Editor's Desk Page 2
• Billboards Page 3
• God's Work in My Seminary Life Page 3
• The Next Big Step 4
• In Review Page 7
• Deeper Still Page 8
• Words of My Father, Words of My Friend Page 12
• When It Hit Me Page 13
• The Holy Spirit & Community Page 15

From Bubble To Bridge: Educating Christians For A Multifaith World, Marion H. Larson, Sara L. H. Shady

Faculty Books

Summary: In a world of deep religious strife and increasing pluralism it can seem safer to remain inside the "bubble" of our faith community. Many Christians worry that engaging in interfaith dialogue will require watering down their faith and accepting other religions as equally true. Marion Larson and Sara Shady not only make the case that we can love our religious neighbors without diluting our commitment, but also offer practical wisdom and ideas for turning our faith bubbles into bridges of religious inclusion and interfaith engagement.

Contents: Why interfaith engagement? A civic imperative: The world is a really big place …