“And they did worship the Lord”—that’s the conclusion to the whole row. I wonder at it. What was the change?
Year: 2018
Call for Papers: 2018 Book of Mormon Studies Conference
10 Questions with Grow and Smith
As part of our work with the 10 Questions team I’m proud to announce their interview with Matthew J. Grow and R. Eric Smith, editors of The Council of Fifty. The council of 50 is one of the more mysterious bodies Joseph Smith organized. Many people didn’t know of this government body in waiting that included non-Mormons. Those that have heard about it often have a lot of erroneous ideas. Check out both the interview and book.
Some Thoughts on WordPrint
Just a quick post on the current kerfuffle over wordprint studies. Wordprint studies are a type of stylometry that look at certain connective words that aren’t main words in a sentence. The claim is that they can determine the authorship of a text. Now I’ve always been skeptical of this, even back in its heyday in the 90’s. The main problem is of course that depending upon how you slice up the text you get very different answers. More significantly with the text from Mosiah through Mormon the author is primarily Mormon. It’s basically impossible to tell, even if a figure is speaking first hand, what is Mormon summarizing in his own words versus what the original speaker said. I’ve also always have in the back of my mind the worry you see in econometrics. There sometimes the data is sliced and resliced until a desired result appears with an appropriate p value. Of course this isn’t quite the same, but in the back of my mind that’s long been my worry. There’s a lot of subjectivity to most of these studies of the Book of Mormon.
Win the Battle, Lose the War – Reading Nephi – 17:48-55
The eternal cosmological drama in which we’re embedded demands that we work to reflect the divinity of our enemies back to them if we wish them to join with us in our Zionic alliance of apotheosis. And whether we do, that is what we ought to wish.
Hell Part 2: Lake of Fire and Brimstone
Back when I first was invited to join T&S I started doing a series on Hell in the Book of Mormon. This is the long delayed follow up. Last time I discussed the three broad categories of how hell has been viewed theologically. This time I want to start focusing on the metaphors and typology used to deal with hell in the Book of Mormon with a particular focus on the “lake of fire and brimstone.”[1]
Moral calculus in the gig economy
What will you do the next time your client drops you into a real-world instance of the prisoner’s dilemma?
The Children of Israel – Reading Nephi – 17:23-47 – Part II
This is a powerful ethic. I feel its pull deeply. But there is a second half, a dark side
Defiantly Turning the Other Cheek
On Twitter last week in the aftermath of the whole Porter situation someone mentioned the issue of turning the other cheek. Now first off I don’t think in any legitimate interpretation of turning the cheek it means submitting to abuse particularly spousal abuse. I know there is sadly a strong thread in the Jewish, Christian, & Islamic tradition that doesn’t see this as horrific as it is. That is men who justify running a home like a corrupt totalitarian government on the basis of a few scriptures. However that’s clearly not what Christ taught and certainly isn’t what turning the cheek means. Fortunately I got into an interesting discussion on the issue with Zina Peterson. She brought up an interpretation I’d honestly never seen before.[1]
Journalistic Malpractice and BYU-Idaho
First the journalistic malpractice, then BYU-Idaho.
Mythology, Apology, and Plausibility – Reading Nephi – 17:23-47 – Overview
In mythically promoting our history we risk undermining it—at least we do so in today’s information age. But this chapter with Laman and Nephi sparring makes me think that perhaps this is always the case.
10 Questions
We’re please to be working with Kurt Manwaring over at 10 Questions to bring you some really great interviews. The first one coming up in a little bit will be an April 10 interview with Spencer Fluhman. He’s the executive director of the Maxwell Institute at BYU and is the editor of To Be Learned is Good: Essays on Faith and Scholarship in Honor of Richard Bushman. On April 24th we’ll have an interview with Mark Ashurt-McGee and Sharalyn Howcroft on their new book Foundational Texts of Mormonism. Both these look to be very great books so we’re really excited.
Church History Symposium
The 2018 Church History Symposium will be held on March 1st & 2cd. They’re doing it in two locations. The first day will be at BYU while the second day will be at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. This is a pretty big conference with the focus on finance. Looking through the presentations there are a ton of fascinating topics.
Mormon Social Science Association Conference
The Mormon Social Science Association is having a conference at Utah Valley University on February 21st from 1:00 PM – 6:45 PM. This looks to be particularly interesting. The featured speakers are Marie Cornwall and Jana Riess. Marie Cornwall is speaking on “Lessons Learned from a Historical Perspective on Women’s Lives.” There’s been some amazing work on women in Mormon history the past few years. I think we’re getting some important attention on perspectives that have been unduly neglected in how people look at the past of Mormonism. Jana Riess is speaking on Mormon Millennials and generational change. I suspect this will in large part figure her recent survey and the associated data. There’s been a lot of recent statistical work, particularly from Pew, noting a pretty significant realignment both to a degree with Millennials but more particularly with the younger generation. Riess’ title for her presentation “From Institutional to Relational Authority” suggests the nature of that shift. There are several other presentations, many of which sound particularly interesting.
God’s Demand That We Suffer – Reading Nephi – 17:17-22
I don’t care what kind of faith you have, Nephi’s idea on the face of it is loony.
The Narrative of Divine Command – Reading Nephi – 17:13-15
Two remarkable items: the repetition of Nephi’s mantra concerning the need to keep the commandments of God in order to prosper and to see the hand of the Lord; the placement of this mantra immediately preceding Laman’s criticism.
Helaman 12:15 and Astronomy
Helaman 12:15 reads, “according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.” If you’re like me you’ve always just read that as Mormon (or possibly Nephi) just having a knowledge of heliocentric astronomy (everything orbits the sun rather than the earth). The author appears to be alluding to Joshua 10:12-13 where the moon and the sun stand still.[1] The last week I’ve been discussing the verse with some other people which have made me rethink the verse.
The two fundamentals of Mormon scripture reading
There are, I think, only two fundamental requirements that a Mormon reading of scripture must fulfill.
Rereading Rasband’s “By Divine Design”
I did not have a positive reaction to Elder Rasband’s talk in the most recent General Conference, and I wasn’t happy when our Elder’s Quorum teacher announced we would be basing our lesson on it last week, either. But I decided to try re-reading the talk with an open mind, and I’m glad I did. The main reason the talk, By Divine Design, rubbed me the wrong way when I first heard it, is that I associate people who see God’s hand in numerous, small, every-day coincidences with the same class of superstitious belief that finds meaning horoscopes. This is, more than anything else, a cultural prejudice. The secondary reason is that I find the idea of a micro-managing God theologically vexing. Let’s start with the simplest question: how do the mechanics of divine intervention work out? When you pray to get the job you’re interviewing for, what exactly are you hoping that God will do for you? Send the hiring manager a vision, or contact HR directly on your behalf? And what happens when you’ve got multiple people praying for the same thing. Does the greatest faith win? But the most noxious question is this: if we have to give credit to God for the good coincidences, then why aren’t we giving Him credit for the bad ones? Sometimes a one-in-a-million convolution of circumstance saves a life. Sometimes it takes a life. If we’re giving God credit for the former but…
2018 UVU Mormon Studies Conference: Heaven & Earth, Feb 22-23, 2018
Heaven & Earth Mormonism and the Challenges of Science, Revelation and Faith February 22nd – 23rd, 2018 Classroom Building, Room 511 Utah Valley University Program PDF here; conference website here. The relationship between science and religion has been among the most fiercely debated issues since the Copernican revolution displaced traditional wisdom regarding the nature of the cosmos. Some have argued for a sharp division of labor while others have sought to harmonize spiritual and empirical truths. From its beginnings, Mormonism has wrestled with the implications of modern science and has produced a variety of theological responses. This conference will explore the landscape of Mormon thought as it relates to the relationships between science, theology, scriptural narratives, and LDS authoritative discourse. It will also examine abiding questions of faith, reason, and doubt and the reactions against the intellectualizing forces that bear on the truth claims of Mormonism. Keynote speaker Molly Worthen, Assistant Professor of History at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, author of Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism and contributing writer for the New York Times, will speak on “Faith Seeking Understanding: The Evangelical Experience, and Mormon Connections.” Friday, 2/23 at 10:00 AM. The Eugene England Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Steven L. Peck, Associate Professor of Biology, Brigham Young University and author of Science the Key to Theology and Evolving Faith: Wanderings of a Mormon Biologist. Lecture titled “Mormonism, Evolution, and Science: A Cosmos of Unfolding Beauty and Novelty.” Thursday, 2/22 at…
Embodied Spirituality – Reading Nephi – 17:7-12
In passages like this one, Nephi strikes me as incredibly concrete and practical in nature—much more a Brigham Young than a Joseph Smith.
The Fleeting Joy of Bountiful – Reading Nephi – 17:4-6
Like the story of Moses (to which Nephi often refers) the story of Lehi’s & Saraiah’s exodus is epic and foundational, as well as typological.
Unwavering Commitment to God and the Dark Night of the Soul
A few years ago, President Rosemary Wixom of the Primary shared a story from the life of Mother Teresa in General Conference: In a 1953 letter, Mother Teresa wrote: “Please pray specially for me that I may not spoil His work and that Our Lord may show Himself—for there is such terrible darkness within me, as if everything was dead. It has been like this more or less from the time I started ‘the work.’ Ask Our Lord to give me courage.” Archbishop Périer responded: “God guides you, dear Mother; you are not so much in the dark as you think. The path to be followed may not always be clear at once. Pray for light; do not decide too quickly, listen to what others have to say, consider their reasons. You will always find something to help you. … Guided by faith, by prayer, and by reason with a right intention, you have enough.” This excerpt is from the book Mother Teresa: Come By My Light — The Private Writings of the “Saint of Calcutta,” edited by Brian Kolodiejchuk. It’s a wonderful book, telling the story of the founding of Mother Teresa’s order in her own words, through letters back and forth between her and her supervisors. The letters begin in 1928, just before her 18th birthday, with her application to become a nun, and extend to 1994, in the last years of her life. Kolodiejchuk complements this correspondence with…
Trump Approval 2018 Mormon Edition
So many were shocked by today’s Gallup poll breaking down Trump’s job approval rating by religion. More Mormons approved of Trump’s Job performance than any of the other religious groups. A staggering 61% of Mormons approved of his performance. Like many people I was shocked it was that high. I suspect the poll seemed worse given it came out on a day when Trump was once again enmeshed in controversy over racist comments.
Satan’s Plan Part 1
This week in Sunday School and Primary the lesson is on Abr 3 and Moses 4 with a focus on the plan of salvation. I wanted to go in a somewhat different direction than the lesson would go. You might call this my scribbling on the margins of the lesson.
Reminder: SMPT Submissions Due Jan. 15
Submissions are due this coming Monday for the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology’s upcoming conference at Utah State University, March 15-17. The conference theme is “The Exaltation Revelations,” D&C sections 76, 84, 88, and 93. For full details see the Call for Papers (PDF).
Thoughts on Monson’s NYT Obituary
The NYT’s framing of the life of President Monson was, to say the least, interesting. The obituary begins: Thomas S. Monson, who as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 2008 enlarged the ranks of female missionaries, but rebuffed demands to ordain women as priests and refused to alter church opposition to same-sex marriage, died on Tuesday at his home in Salt Lake City. He was 90. It’s just as illuminating to contrast the way the NYT approached President Monson’s death with that of other leaders. Here’s their tweet for President Monson. Thomas Monson, the president of the Mormon church who rebuffed demands to ordain women as priests and refused to alter church opposition to same-sex marriage, died Tuesday at 90 https://t.co/NKEHpAXzb1 — The New York Times (@nytimes) January 3, 2018 By contrast, here’s what they tweeted when Fidel Castro died. Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary who defied the U.S., died Friday. He was 90. https://t.co/2j6LKmaoz7 pic.twitter.com/fX8JlDCVCT — The New York Times (@nytimes) November 26, 2016 The comparison with Castro is particularly interesting because of Castro’s history with the Cuban LGBT community. As unwelcome and controversial as the Church’s continued position on sexual morality is, President Monson never presided over a repressive regime that literally rounded up homosexuals and sent them to forced-labor camps. (It is worth noting that although the Castro regime repressed the Cuban LGBT community for decades, Castro eventually had a change of…
Eight Years to Eternity in the Wilderness – Reading Nephi – 17:1-4
Sandwiched in between the Daughter’s of Ishmael’s complaints about their afflictions and Laman’s complaints about the women’s afflictions (16:35-36 and 17:20-21), Nephi acknowledges that they were indeed afflicted.
Hurlbut’s Story of the Bibles
Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, a Methodist minister, first published the Hurlbut’s Story of the Bible in 1904. In the book, he retells 168 Bible stories in simplified modern English prose. The author’s purpose was to provide a version of key scripture passages that young readers would find accessible. The numerous republished editions that have appeared throughout the years witness to the popularity of the volume. The author is a distant cousin in my family tree, but because of the similarity between his name and mine, I have always perceived a personal connection to his life’s work. In honor of his project, I would like to apply my training and scholarship in medieval literature and culture in order to describe a handful of late medieval versions of the Bible that likewise sought to make the understanding of the sacred text more widely accessible. The earliest copies of these texts predate the popular use of the printing press and were originally reproduced by hand. The number of surviving copies confirms the popularity and the appreciation of these precious objects. In what follows, I propose a story of several Bibles. The Glossa Ordinaria The Glossa Ordinaria (Ordinary Gloss) does not summarize or rephrase the biblical text but appends lexical and interpretive commentary to the full canonical transcription of Jerome’s Latin Bible (the Vulgate). The biblical text proper was presented in a block in the center of each page in a large, bold hand. Short…
Mourning Brother Monson
One of the clearest signals of being one of the Mormon people is our unique experience of the passing of the head of our church.