To open, we need some big picture structural discussion.
Mosiah 1 is not Mosiah 1. In fact, it is Mosiah 3, and the first two chapters are missing. How do we know this? Continue reading
Come Follow Me: Jacob 5-7
The previous lesson covered Jacob 1-4, and this one the lengthy allegory of the olive tree and its interpretation in chapters 5-6. This is understandable from a how-much-material-can-I-really-cover perspective, but there’s a way in which this division obscures important things. Continue reading
Come Follow Me: Jacob 1-4
A candle inside Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher
Jacob marks a distinct and important break of sorts in the Book of Mormon. Why? Unlike Nephi, Jacob did not grow up in Jerusalem. Born in a wilderness, the first eight or so years of his life were spent… we don’t know. Maybe in captivity, maybe in the desert, definitely under duress and hardship. Point is, everything Jacob knows about and his attitudes towards Jerusalem, Jews, Hebrew, etc. he has learned directly from his family (and whatever peoples they have encountered along the way); he hasn’t seen any of it first hand. It’s a socio-cultural-linguistic founder effect.
Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 6-10
Joseph Spencer’s book on typology and the Book of Mormon appears to be back in print (and free, here). Good stuff, and relevant to today’s material as well as Nephi’s interpretive Isaiah material.
In this section, Jacob is speaking by assignment on a topic from Nephi, (2Ne 6:4), and the topic is Isaiah.
When Bishop Nephi asked me to speak on Isaiah…
Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 3-5
First, if you haven’t read my post on 2Ne 1-2, you need to; it establishes that the implicit background of these chapters is covenantal and Mosaic, which is key to understanding what happens in these chapters. Continue reading
Come Follow Me: 2 Nephi 1-2
Today we enter into 2 Nephi, which immediately raises the question, why is there a second Nephi? Continue reading
Joseph Fielding Smith, 2 Nephi 2:22, and “Death Before the Fall” in Church History
As many of my readers may know, President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) considered evolution not just incorrect, but devilish; he believed scripture taught a young earth, with no death of any kind anywhere before the fall of Adam c. 4000 BC. His key scriptural evidence was 2 Nephi 2:22-25, which he cited dozens of times in books, articles, and private letters. I want to explore and document a few related questions here.
- Does Smith’s understanding of this passage represent a clear and historically consistent Church position?
- Does Smith, in essence, overclaim?
Come Follow Me: 1 Nephi 13-14
For those of you who are new to the blog (and the stats suggest there are a few), check out my suggested reading list on the Book of Mormon.
Nephi’s vision seems at times to border on the genre called apocalyptic [link to all my posts and podcasts talking about genre]. Apocalypses came up recently in my first post on Revelation. The genre is important to recognize, because understanding the genre determines how we understand the information presented. Continue reading
Two MORE new videos: Dinosaurs, Babel, and more!
Two more! These also will be added to my media page, when I have time.
The New “Answering Gospel Questions,” Part 2: Historical Background
To understand why some of us see these new guidelines as so significant, we need to cover some intellectual and religious history which will allow you to “read between the lines” more. And please note, I’m under time constraints and very much in stark “historian mode” here; I have not taken the time to render this more devotional; suffice to say, one can— as I do— believe fully in biblical and LDS prophets while rejecting the fundamentalist constructs often attached to them.
Almost from the beginning, Latter-day Saints have operated on two loose competing paradigms of knowledge and “the world.” (I wrote a well-received paper on this for a conference in 2017; see here for more details, including the unrevised draft.)
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