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Kerux - Vol. 49, No. 5, Calvin Theological Seminary

Kerux

Inside This Issue

• Cover Cont'd Page 3
• North Philly Needs Something Page 5
• Book Review: Shades of White Flight Page 8
• Empathy: Grace to Change the World Page 9
• Space to Wonder Page 10
• Mid-Summer Nights in California Page 11
• Change the World? Page 12
• Book Review: Where the Cross Meets the Street Page 13
• My Experience with CPE Page 14
• The Daily Struggle of Formation Page 15

The New Testament Made Harder: Scripture Study Questions, James E. Faulconer

Maxwell Institute Publications

Latter-day Saint philosopher James E. Faulconer’s Made Harder series raises many more questions than it answers. And that is precisely the point. Faulconer wrote The New Testament Made Harder on the premise that scripture study is only as good as the questions we bring to the endeavor. While many scriptural guides provide useful chapter synopses, timelines, memorizable bullet-points, or shortcuts, this book consists almost entirely of challenging questions (with occasional commentary for clarity’s sake) because, in Faulconer’s experience, questions themselves are the key to reflective and deep scripture study. This book is intended to make reading harder—and therefore fresher—by …

Planted: Belief And Belonging In An Age Of Doubt, Patrick Q. Mason

Maxwell Institute Publications

For all its beneficial advances, our secular age has also weakened some people’s ties to religious belief and affiliation. Latter-day Saints have not been immune to this trend. In recent years, many faithful Church members have encountered challenging aspects of Church history, belief, or practice. Feeling isolated, alienated, or misled, some struggle to stay. Some simply leave. Many search for a reliable and faithful place to work through their questions.

You can find such a place in Patrick Q. Mason’s Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt. This book gives people who struggle with questions—and people who …

From The Editor, John W. Welch

BYU Studies

The motto on the title page in each issue of BYU Studies Quarterly reads: "Involving readers in the Latter-day Saint academic experience." As this issue goes to press and to you, our readers, all over the world, I am excited about all that our experienced authors bring to you. How do their articles and other materials involve you in an LDS academic experience?

Two Challenges Facing Brigham Young University As A Religiously Affiliated University, Kevin J. Worthen

BYU Studies

The following message is adapted from remarks given by BYU President Kevin J Worthen at the annual BYU Studies Academy Meeting on March 28, 2015.

A Narrative Approach To The Joseph Smith Translation Of The Synoptic Gospels, Jared W. Ludlow

BYU Studies

One of the first projects Joseph Smith undertook after the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April 1830 was a translation of the Bible. Although it was not a typical translation from original Greek or Hebrew manuscripts, the project was often called a “translation” nonetheless. The Joseph Smith Translation, or JST as it is often called, was referred to by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants as “the new translation of my holy word” (D&C 124:89). At the top of the manuscript of the revision of Matthew, it reads, “A translation of the New …

Speculative Grace: Bruno Latour And Object-Oriented Theology, Brent J. Schmidt

BYU Studies

Adam S. Miller. Speculative Grace: Bruno Latour and Object-Oriented Theology.

Perspectives in Continental Philosophy Series.

New York: Fordham University Press, 2013.

Discovering A Surgical First: Russell M. Nelson And Tricuspid Valve Annuloplasty, Austin A. Robinson, Curtis T. Hunter

BYU Studies

In an April 2003 general conference address, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recounted an experience of receiving sudden inspiration on how to perform surgery during his medical career. The epiphanic image that came to the young surgeon in 1960 led to the repair of a previously inoperable valve defect in the heart of E. L., a Latter-day Saint stake patriarch. As a novel surgical approach, the case is remarkable. However, Nelson did not publish a report of the experience in the medical literature at the time, and, as a result, its place in surgical …

Between Materialism And The Metaphysics Of Eternity: A Reply To Joseph M. Spencer's Review Of Responsibility Of Reason, Ralph C. Hancock

BYU Studies

BYU Studies strives to involve readers in the LDS academic experience. In that spirit, we offer this scholarly exchange between Ralph C. Hancock and Joseph M. Spencer based on Spencer’s “Goodness and Truth: An Essay on Ralph Hancock’s The Responsibility of Reason,” found in BYU Studies Quarterly 53, no. 4 (2014): 61–73.

John Milton, Joseph Smith, And The Book Of Mormon, Robert A. Rees

BYU Studies

In my Introduction to Mormonism class at Graduate Theological Union in 2013, among other topics we discussed the Book of Mormon and its possible provenances. The assignments for the class included my article “Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the American Renaissance,” in which I compare Joseph Smith with his illustrious contemporaries Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman in terms of their respective literary imagination, talent, authorial maturity, education, cultural milieu, knowledge base, and intellectual sophistication. In that article, I attempted to demonstrate that each of these authors enjoyed a much greater …

The Temple, A Holy School

BYU Studies

The Education in Zion Gallery in BYU’s Joseph F. Smith Building houses two murals, standing nearly twenty feet tall. One is of the Kirtland Temple and the other depicts Brigham Young Academy. It is not by accident that these murals face each other, for both represent houses of learning and the importance of the sacrifice involved in educating the whole soul.

Beholding The Tree Of Life: A Rabbinic Approach To The Book Of Mormon, Richard Dilworth Rust

BYU Studies

Bradley J. Kramer. Beholding the Tree of Life: A Rabbinic Approach to the Book of Mormon.

Draper, Utah: Greg Kofford Books, 2014.

The Journey Of A People: The Era Of Restoration, 1820 To 1844; The Journey Of A People: The Era Of Reorganization, 1844 To 1946, Alonzo L. Gaskill

BYU Studies

Mark A. Scherer. The Journey of a People: The Era of Restoration, 1820 to 1844.

Independence, Mo.: Community of Christ Seminary Press, 2013.

Mark A. Scherer. The Journey of a People: The Era of Reorganization, 1844 to 1946.

Independence, Mo.: Community of Christ Seminary Press, 2013.

Blue, Cindy Gritton

BYU Studies

Air—so tantalizingly close—remained painfully out of reach as I stared frantically up through the serene blueness of the swimming pool water. Such a beautiful color that blue was. Vivid and as permanently etched into my memory as thinking out what I would yell as soon as my head (hopefully) broke the surface of it one more time, because I knew I could only do it once more, knew it was a miracle I’d surfaced twice already, that after this next time, blue would turn to black and after that, I would not be walking home. “LET GO!” I screamed and …

The Prophets Have Spoken, But What Did They Say?: Examining The Differences Between George D. Watt's Original Shorthand Notes And The Sermons Published In The Journal Of Discourses, Gerrit Dirkmaat, Lajean Purcell Carruth

BYU Studies

On a summer day in August of 1867, Brigham Young delivered a powerful sermon to the residents of Tooele, Utah. He urged the assembled Saints to more faithfully live the principles of the Word of Wisdom and cease their attempts to parse out the words of the revelation, seeking a loophole. Young responded directly to such thinking, telling the congregation:

Many try to excuse themselves because tea and coffee are not mentioned, arguing that it refers to hot drinks only. What did we drink hot when that Word of Wisdom was given? Tea and coffee. It definitely refers to that …

Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness And The Concept Of Apostasy, Gerrit Van Dyk

BYU Studies

Standing Apart: Mormon Historical Consciousness and the Concept of Apostasy, edited by Miranda Wilcox and John D. Young (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

The Alexandrian Epitomes Of Galen, Volume 1: On The Medical Sects For Beginners; The Small Art Of Medicine; On The Elements According To The Opinion Of Hippocrates, Galen, John Walbridge, Translator

Maxwell Institute Publications

The second-century physician and philosopher Galen is not known for brevity. Although his writings on medicine are famously verbose and numerous, for centuries they constituted much of the standard syllabi for medical students. About fourteen hundred years ago, one or possibly several professors put together a series of epitomes of Galen’s work. In contrast to Galen’s rambling and argumentative style, these epitomes present the material dryly but clearly, offering systematic categorizations of concepts, symptoms, diseases, and organs. Originally written in Greek, The Alexandrian Epitomes of Galen can also be found in Arabic and Hebrew translations, and the epitomes have had …

Minerva Teichert's The Seduction Of Corianton, Herman Du Toit

BYU Studies

A previously unknown oil sketch by Minerva Teichert (1888–1976), the pioneering LDS woman artist, was recently acquired by an art collector when it came up for sale in Salt Lake City. This small painting depicts the temptation of Corianton, who was the son of Alma the Younger in the Book of Mormon; it captures the moment spoken of in Alma’s words to his wayward son: “Thou didst do that which was grievous unto me; for thou didst forsake the ministry, and did go over into the land of Siron among the borders of the Lamanites, after the harlot Isabel. Yea, …

Reaching The Nations: International Church Growth Almanac, Eric Eliason

BYU Studies

Reaching the Nations: International Church Growth Almanac, 2014 Edition, Volume I: The Americas, Oceana, and Europe and Reaching the Nations: International Church Growth Almanac, 2014 Edition, Volume II: Asia and Africa, by David G. Stewart Jr. and Matthew Martinich (Henderson, Nev.: Cumorah Foundation, 2013).

Mormon Women In Memoir, Angela Hallstrom, Jacqueline S. Thursby, Rosalyn Collings Eves, Amy A. Easton-Flake, Amy Isaksen Cartwright

BYU Studies

Heaven Is Here: An Incredible Story of Hope, Triumph, and Everyday Joy, by Stephanie Nielson (New York: Hyperion, 2012)

My Story, by Elizabeth Smart with Christopher Stewart (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2013)

Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor, by Jana Riess (Brewster, Mass: Paraclete Press, 2011)

The Place of Knowing: A Spiritual Autobiography, by Emma Lou Warner Thayne (Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, 2011)

The Book of Mormon Girl: A Memoir of an American Faith, by Joanna Brooks (New York: Free Press/Simon and Schuster, 2012)

Global Mom: Eight Countries, Sixteen Addresses, …

Toward A Mormon Systematic Theology: Essay On Wrestling The Angel By Terryl L. Givens, Stephen H. Webb

BYU Studies

Can Mormon theology be made systematic? That question presupposes, of course, that it is not systematic already, and this is where the skeptics of system building have an advantage. If Mormon theology appears to be a bit protracted, improvised, and even makeshift if not positively byzantine, then forcing it into a schematic form might be inappropriate. Organizing Mormon thought might even be a violent act, like cramming a lot of priceless pieces of glass art into a small, unpadded box for shipping. Under such conditions, how could any theologian guarantee that breakage won’t occur?

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Evolving Faith: Wanderings Of A Mormon Biologist, Steven L. Peck

Maxwell Institute Publications

Believers and scientists have long wrestled over the relationship between science and faith. Steven L. Peck, an acclaimed Latter-day Saint author and scientist, demonstrates in this new book that both science and faith are indispensable tools we can use to navigate God’s strange and beautiful creation. Evolving Faith is a collection of technical, personal, sometimes whimsical essays about Mormon theology, evolution, human consciousness, the environment, sacred spaces, and more.

With the mind of a scientist, the soul of a believer, and the heart of a wanderer, Peck provides welcome companionship for women and men engaged in the unceasing quest for …

Postponing Heaven: The Three Nephites, The Bodhisattva, And The Mahdi, Jad Hatem

Maxwell Institute Publications

Christianity, like other world religions, surprisingly acknowledges the existence of a plurality of human messiahs. In this comparative work, philosopher Jad Hatem examines Mormonism’s Three Nephites, Buddhism’s Bodhisattva, and Islam’s Mahdi—distinctive messianic figures who postpone Heaven, sacrificially prolonging their lives for the benefit of humankind.

Originally published in French, this translation includes two additional papers written by Jad Hatem dealing with aspects of Latter-day Saint belief and a new interview between Hatem and Latter-day Saint philosopher James E. Faulconer.

Front Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

"Taking A Different View Of The Translation": The Illumination Of Alternate Meanings In The Translation Of Bible Passages By Joseph Smith And Meister Eckhart, Tod R. Harris

BYU Studies

The opening act of Goethe’s epochal drama Faust is well known—the eponymous main character laments the effort he has spent seeking to uncover universal truth through science, philosophy, and even occult methods and their apparent failure. Less well known is a follow-up scene where Faust, declaring his “longing for revelation,” turns to another source for the transcendent knowledge he seeks, which, he declares, “nowhere . . . brighter burns than in the New Testament.” He also makes it clear that simply reading the book will not provide him the satisfaction he seeks, but instead he will exercise that most mystical …

Saying Goodbye, Josh Weed

BYU Studies

My mom was a beautiful, intelligent woman.

Art Exhibition Review: From My Brother's Perspective: Two Artists Painting Gospel Themes, Herman Du Toit

BYU Studies

Chiloba Chirwa and J. Kirk Richards. From My Brother’s Perspective: Two Artists Painting Gospel Themes.

An exhibition at the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, September 2014.

Elijah Abel: The Life And Times Of A Black Priesthood Holder, Matthew J. Harris

BYU Studies

W. Kesler Jackson. Elijah Abel: The Life and Times of a Black Priesthood Holder.

Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, 2013.