We begin interpreting scripture before we even crack open the cover, through the assumptions and premises that we bring to scripture.
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Tales from the Archive: Joseph Fielding Smith, James Fletcher, and the Moon
It is somewhat well-known that Joseph Fielding Smith did not like the idea of astronauts; scripture, in his view, was clear that humans were limited to this planet, and attempts to get off it, at all, would fail. It even made the Ensign, in 2015.
Tales from the Archives: Cleon Skousen, George Hansen, and Geology
My last post talked about Cleon Skousen’s book, The First 2000 Years. Today I came across an interview with BYU professor Bertrand Harrison, a biology and botany professor. If you’ve ever been to the garden or duck pond on the south end of BYU campus, on 800 North, that’s the Bertrand F. Harrison Arboretum, pictured above
Harrison had written one of the most pro-evolution articles ever published in a Church magazine, and it was specifically read and approved by President McKay to appear in the magazine. That article was part of a controversial pro-science series in Church magazines in 1965, which I detailed here.
I came across this interview with Harrison, wherein he relates an anecdote about George Hansen and Cleon Skousen. Continue reading
Two notes on Cleon Skousen’s Thousand Years series
Cleon Skousen, via Wikipedia
Cleon Skousen‘s opening book in his Old Testament series came off the Bookcraft press in 1953, The First 2000 Years. Skousen had worked on the series for 15 years, to “try and bring together in one volume everything the Church has received thus far concerning the first 2000 years of human history— from Adam to Abraham.”1Preface
Accessible Greek, Hebrew, and cultural backgrounds, on sale
A quick note: some resources I’ve suggested in the past are on sale in Logos format, which I use extensively.1Logos itself is free, though you can buy more advanced functionality Continue reading
Reading and Teaching the Bible as Latter-day Saints- Video
This is video from a Stake class I was teaching… Continue reading
How I Work: The Archives
Off to the document mines! (Public domain screenshot of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.)
“Well, I’m off to the archives.” “Well, off to the document mines.”
I’ve said that enough in public and to family members over the last five years that a number of them finally started asking, “what are ‘the archives’ and how do you ‘work’ in them?”
James E. Talmage, the Articles of Faith, and Progression between Kingdoms: New Light
A young and pugnacious James E. Talmage, per the picture in the BYU Geology Dept.
The idea of progression between kingdoms in the afterlife has long been debated, with Church leaders taking differing positions. One interesting and well-known point in this debate is textual differences between the first and later editions of Talmage’s The Articles of Faith.1See Dialogue 15:1 (Spring 1982) “Is there Progression Among the Eternal Kingdoms?” p. 181ff However, no one has ever explained why Talmage apparently changed his mind.
How to Pick BYU Religion Classes and Enjoy Them: A Guide for Seniors in Seminary
I have both taken and taught courses in BYU’s College of Religious Education (RelEd).1Please note: “Religious Education,” not “Religion.” BYU does not teach “religious studies.” And from my own experience and talking to lots of people, it seems many people did not like their RelEd courses.
So let me pull back the curtain a little, as there’s a key to having a good experience. The most important thing to know for a good experience with Religion courses?
Reading the Scriptures Jesus Read: An Old Testament Intro for HS Students who didn’t Get It
Having messed up the audio recording of this fireside the first time, I repeated it over Zoom for some Seminary teachers.
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