Elder John Widtsoe expressed a very useful axiom about inspired writers.
Author: benspackman
Come Follow Me: Ether
A few general introductory notes about the Book of Ether.
First, unlike the other two Book of Mormon migratory peoples, the Jaredites (as we call them) are not under the Law of Moses. Abraham>Isaac>Jacob (Israel)>>>>Moses. They’re not Jewish nor even Israelite (also a late term) nor Canaanite, but Mesopotamian, probably. So they are operating under a different set of religious ideas, different language— Sumerian, Akkadian, something else? Hebrew isn’t an option— and different cultural background than the rest of the Book of Mormon. And indeed, Ether has a different feel to it than the rest. It’s largely political history, stories of wars between scheming royal families, imprisonment, regicide, etc. All very Game of Thrones-y. Continue reading
“And God answered out of the maelstrom”: Rethinking Revelation with Job, the Constitution, and President Eyring
One model of revelation we invoke often is “the still small voice,” which phrasing comes from Elijah in 1ki 19:12. But scripture and history often provide us with multiple models, and I think there’s another one we should consider.
Speaking announcements and also, why LDS unwittingly think like Protestants
First, as many wonder, I have successfully defended my dissertation. When and in what forms it will be available to the public, I can’t say yet, but I’m already in talks with academic presses to turn it into a book. The final title was “The Scientist is Wrong”: Joseph Fielding Smith, George McCready Price, and the Ascent of Creationist Thought among Latter-day Saints in the Twentieth Century.
Some other announcements of interest: Continue reading
Come Follow Me: 3 Nephi 8-10
Let’s begin with this observation about the power of art, by a BYU professor with training in both art and religion. Continue reading
Come Follow Me: 3 Nephi 1-7
First, it’s that time of year wherein I start thinking about January, which means D&C/Church History… but mostly D&C. I always get excited when we hit D&C, because it means we’re almost to the Old Testament again. In the meantime, I have to figure out how to handle D&C here. This is the book I have read and taught the least, and I have virtually no notes to build from. Yes, I’m a historian of American religious history, but D&C focuses almost entirely on the 1830-1845 period… but my specialization is pre-332 B.C. and post 1900 AD. As for today, I want to focus almost entirely on 3Ne 6:12 today. Continue reading
Logos sale!
Logos does a free book and some other sales every month. They’re launching a new version of the program sometime in September, so the sales right now are interesting. A few things I tend to recommend. These end in a week.
Come Follow Me: Alma 53-63 “The War Chapters” Part II
Today we continue the war chapters, and get to read some military correspondence. Let’s start with a rough chapter outline and then drill down into individual verses.
More news and speaking
Another round of news!
Come Follow Me: Alma 43-48 aka “The War Chapters” Part I
As I’ve pointed out previously, the Book of Mormon moves at different paces in different places. We’ve spent the last few weeks making a slow section even slower, and that means that with today’s chapters, we’ve likely forgotten some important history relevant to today’s readings. After six chapters of doctrinal exposition, we hit the famed “war chapters.” Continue reading
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