Between March 7th and October 17th in 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of 30 weekly lectures on KSL Radio that were also published as pamphlets. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.

This lectures talks about Hebrews 6:4, 6. It suggests that it is possible for men to be gifted with everything only to later lose everything; then, it is not possible for them to regain those blessings by their own works.

All 32 recordings are available immediately in the Complete Bibliography for Hugh Nibley (CBHN) at https://interpreterfoundation.org/bibliographies/hugh-w-nibley/lectures/

 

This is an Interpreter Radio Roundtable for Come, Follow Me Old Testament Lesson 52, “We Have Waited for Him, and He Will Save Us” on Christmas. The panelists for this roundtable were Terry Hutchinson, John Gee and Kevin Christensen. This roundtable was extracted from the November 13th broadcast of Interpreter Radio. The complete show may be heard at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-November-13-2022/. The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

Review of Meir Bar-Ilan, Words of Gad the Seer (Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Publishing, 2016); Christian Israel, The Words of Gad the Seer: Bible Cross-Reference Edition (self-published, 2020); and Ken Johnson, Ancient Book of Gad the Seer: Referenced in 1 Chronicles 29:29 and Alluded to in 1 Corinthians 12:12 and Galatians 4:26 (self-published, 2016).

Abstract: A long-overlooked Hebrew document from an ancient Jewish colony in Cochin, India, purports to contain the words of Gad the Seer. Professor Meir Bar-Ilan has translated the text into English and has stirred interest in the fascinating document. At least two other English translations are also now available. Here we examine the story of the coming forth of the text and some issues of possible interest to Latter-day Saints, including some of Bar-Ilan’s insights in evaluating the antiquity of disputed texts. Bar-Ilan’s translation of this intriguing document and his related publications may be valuable for anyone with an interest in the Hebrew scriptures and ancient Judaism.

Meir Bar-Ilan, a prominent Jewish scholar at Israel’s Meir Bar-Ilan University, named after his grandfather,1 has published a translation of an ancient Hebrew manuscript found in India purporting to contain the words of Gad the Seer. Bar-Ilan’s Words of Gad the Seer, [Page 148]his translation of the document called “The Words of Gad the Seer,”2 is a work that might be of interest to many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Bar-Ilan believes the Hebrew document contains an authentic ancient text, but not one dating to the days of Gad the Seer as mentioned in the Old Testament. Rather, he believes it was composed around 2,000 years ago.

Gad was a prophet living at the time of David who seemed to have special status, based on 2 Samuel 24:11, which speaks of “Gad, David’s seer.” But like many prophets, Gad was not afraid to speak unpleasant things to his king (e.g., see 2 Samuel 12:1–13). One of the very few mentions of Gad occurs in 1 Chronicles 29:29, where we read that the acts of David the king were written “in the book of Gad the seer.” I have occasionally cited that verse in discussing the scriptures with others who accept the Bible to illustrate that the Bible we have might not contain all the scripture that has been written in the past. A common rejoinder is, “There may have been such a book, but if God didn’t preserve it for us in the Bible, it’s not scripture.” It would seem that there can be no such thing as lost scripture with that definition, and if it can’t be lost, it presumably can’t be found. In reply, I have asked others what they would do if a book that ancient Jews or Christians regarded and preserved as Biblical scripture became lost and then was found again?

My theoretical question perhaps became a little less theoretical with the fairly recent discovery, translation, and publication in 2016 of a long-lost manuscript that might have connections to the ancient lost book of Gad the Seer. The Hebrew document that Bar-Ilan translated has been through many human hands and may have some of the corruption common to non-canonical works such as the Apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, but Bar-Ilan, the scholar who has explored this text in the most detail and provided an important translation into English, believes it has ancient roots and is worthy of our attention.

The story of this unusual text may be relevant to our own and much more miraculous story of the finding, translation,

Almost all conceptions of human agency are rooted in libertarianism and grounded in a set of assumptions about the nature of the non-human world, the nature of causality, and the nature of determinism. The effect of this is that agency is always understood around two mutually exclusive positions, compatibilism and incompatibilism. Within this intellectual context, human agency is always impossible, trivial, or illusory. Human agency is drawn into discussions of science and religion because most traditional “scientific” notions of causality and determination are understood in ways that make agency impossible, and most religious positions try to reconcile themselves to the classical libertarian position, which is self-contradictory. The presentation proposed here argues for a new understanding of human agency which requires a rethinking of causality and determinism that is compatible with science. And a refutation of agency that most religious positions unwisely endorse. Agency turns out to be not so much a matter of free choice, but of a deeper matter of the nature of the human world, human ontology, and truth. The lack of clarity on issues of science, religion, and agency comes not from science or religion, but from a faulty dogmatic scientism and the naturalistic metaphysic it always imposes on intellectual discourse.

Presented at:

2013 Interpreter Symposium on Science & Mormonism: Cosmos, Earth & ManSaturday, November 9, 2013https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2013-symposium-science-mormonism-cosmos-earth-man/

Conference Proceedings:

Cosmos, Earth, and Man at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/science-and-mormonism-cosmos-earth-and-man/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

Between March 7th and October 17th in 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of 30 weekly lectures on KSL Radio that were also published as pamphlets. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.

This lecture is a radio talk on the Book of Mormon as a witness of continuing revelation and God’s dealings with mankind.

All 30 recordings are available immediately in the Complete Bibliography for Hugh Nibley (CBHN) at https://interpreterfoundation.org/bibliographies/hugh-w-nibley/lectures/

 

This is an Interpreter Radio Roundtable for Come, Follow Me Old Testament Lesson 51, “I Have Loved You, Saith the Lord” on Malachi. The panelists for this roundtable were Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye, Stephen O. Smoot, and Hales Swift. This roundtable was extracted from the November 6th broadcast of Interpreter Radio. The complete show may be heard at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-November-6-2022/. The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

Abstract: The seeming appearance of a lineal or generational curse in the Book of Abraham has been used erroneously to marginalize people and justify racist ideas in Latter-day Saint history. To avoid any further misinterpretation of scripture in ways that are hurtful to others, the following attempts to elucidate the meaning of lineal curses within the Book of Abraham’s claimed ancient provenance. “Cursed” often reflected a simple legalistic concept, applicable to any person regardless of race, that meant one was currently in a state of disinheritance. An individual might be in a state of disinheritance if they violated any requirement necessary to receive their inheritance, and any descendant who remained an heir of a person who no longer had an inheritance to give was also considered disinherited or “cursed,” even though they may have personally done nothing wrong. This ancient understanding of cursing as disinheritance provides better context and clarity to many of Joseph Smith’s revelations and translations, including the Book of Abraham. Arguably, the scriptures and revelations of the Latter-day Saint tradition, including the Bible, indicate that the eternal blessings of a kingdom (land) and priestly kingship/queenship (priesthood) originate from God but must be inherited through an unbroken ancestral chain forged via covenant. Indeed, the express purpose of sealing children to parents in modern Latter-day Saint temples is to make them “heirs.” Consequently, moving towards a better understanding of the roles inheritance and disinheritance play in receiving the divine blessings of the covenant might be beneficial generally and help readers avoid racist interpretations of the Book of Abraham and other scripture. This is especially the case when it is understood that being disinherited, in a gospel context, does not need to be a permanent status when one relies on the grace of the Holy Messiah and [Page 98]submits to those divine laws and covenant rites whereby one can literally inherit the promised blessings.

The Book of Abraham, which Joseph Smith started publishing in 1842 as a divinely revealed translation of a text “purporting to be the writings of Abraham … upon papyri,” gives a first-person account of two major events from the patriarch’s life: 1) his initial calling by God at an altar where he nearly experienced capital punishment at the hands of a “priest of Elkenah,” who “was also the priest of Pharaoh” (see Abraham 1:1–31) and 2) his later covenant with God that included divine temple-like instruction concerning pre-mortal spirits (whose organization and relationships are compared to various heavenly bodies) as well as the creation of the earth and mankind (see Abraham 2:1–5:21).1 Passages within the first event appear to suggest that some kind of generational curse prohibited the king of Egypt from having the right to priesthood. The reader is told that from the biblical Ham “sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land” and that Pharaoh, as a descendant of Ham, was “of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood,” though the pharaohs generally would “fain claim it from Noah, through Ham” (Abraham 1:21, 24, 27).

 

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Webster, Kris Frederickson and Martin Tanner introduce our new show format. Each show will be divided into a number of segments that may vary from week to week. One segment will provide information that will supplement the study of the Come, Follow Me lesson material for 2023 and will be called “The New Testament in Context.” Another segment will provide evidences in support of the Church, or responses to criticisms of the Church and will be called “Advocacy of the Restored Gospel.” As a starting point, this segment will use the new Institute manual entitled “Answering My Gospel Questions.” Finally, there will be a segment of general discussion that may include comments on recent Interpreter Foundation publications or activities.

You can listen to or download the non-Come, Follow Me portions of the November 20th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These three audio tracks will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast):

The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show will be posted on December 20, the week before the beginning of the first Come, Follow Me lesson for the 2023 year.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

 

Original air date: November 20, 2022. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

Restoration Advocacy, Part 1: How did King James Bible verses end up in the Book of Mormon?

Restoration Advocacy, Part 2: How do I find good information to answer my questions?

General Discussion: Kevin Christensen’s article about Margaret Barker in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

 

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Webster, Kris Frederickson and Martin Tanner introduce our new show format. Each show will be divided into a number of segments that may vary from week to week. One segment will provide information that will supplement the study of the Come, Follow Me lesson material for 2023 and will be called “The New Testament in Context.” Another segment will provide evidences in support of the Church, or responses to criticisms of the Church and will be called “Advocacy of the Restored Gospel.” As a starting point, this segment will use the new Institute manual entitled “Answering My Gospel Questions.” Finally, there will be a segment of general discussion that may include comments on recent Interpreter Foundation publications or activities.

You can listen to or download the non-Come, Follow Me portions of the November 20th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These three audio tracks will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast):

The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show will be posted on December 20, the week before the beginning of the first Come, Follow Me lesson for the 2023 year.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

 

Original air date: November 20, 2022. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

Restoration Advocacy, Part 1: How did King James Bible verses end up in the Book of Mormon?

Restoration Advocacy, Part 2: How do I find good information to answer my questions?

General Discussion: Kevin Christensen’s article about Margaret Barker in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

 

In this episode, our hosts Bruce Webster, Kris Frederickson and Martin Tanner introduce our new show format. Each show will be divided into a number of segments that may vary from week to week. One segment will provide information that will supplement the study of the Come, Follow Me lesson material for 2023 and will be called “The New Testament in Context.” Another segment will provide evidences in support of the Church, or responses to criticisms of the Church and will be called “Advocacy of the Restored Gospel.” As a starting point, this segment will use the new Institute manual entitled “Answering My Gospel Questions.” Finally, there will be a segment of general discussion that may include comments on recent Interpreter Foundation publications or activities.

You can listen to or download the non-Come, Follow Me portions of the November 20th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These three audio tracks will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast):

The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show will be posted on December 20, the week before the beginning of the first Come, Follow Me lesson for the 2023 year.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com. Call in to 801-254-1640 with your questions and comments during the live show.

 

Original air date: November 20, 2022. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

Restoration Advocacy, Part 1: How did King James Bible verses end up in the Book of Mormon?

Restoration Advocacy, Part 2: How do I find good information to answer my questions?

General Discussion: Kevin Christensen’s article about Margaret Barker in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.