The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

Review of Nate Oman, “A Welding Link of Some Kind,” Thoughts from a Tamed Cynic (Substack, September 27, 2022).

Abstract: Nate Oman claims to demonstrate a theological path that allows for same-sex sealings within existing Latter-day Saint doctrine. In fact, he claims that such an adjustment would be not only compatible with most Church doctrine but more scripturally sound than current teachings and policies regarding same-sex relationships. However, he falls short of his declared objective. His essay sets up an exaggerated pattern of dramatic theological overhauls in Latter-day Saint theology, downplays existing revelation on the subject of sealings and exaltation, and proposes a new theology to justify his policy conclusions. In the end, his essay completely ignores the root cause of the contention surrounding the issue: the nature of doctrine and the truth claims of the restored Church.

In the summer of 2021, the Washington Post published an article highlighting (and celebrating) the increasing acceptance of and advocacy for social progressivism within the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The article briefly nods at various issues from vaccinations to Heavenly Mother to Donald Trump, but the bulk of the article centers on the growing desire among some members for the Church to reverse its teachings on same-sex marriage. The author concludes her article by quoting Patrick Mason, a prominent progressive advocate within the Church:

I can see multiple futures for Mormonism … People have already started to do the work to sketch out a theological rationale that would allow for the kind of revelation that [Page 208]allows for women’s ordination, for same-sex marriage, all kinds of things … What was once possible then becomes probable.1

Few members have accepted Mason’s invitation to pave a theological path to Church-sanctioned same-sex marriage, but Nate Oman, a previous contributor to the Interpreter Foundation’s journal, has taken up this charge. Exactly one year after the Washington Post article, Oman published an essay2 describing a “theological possibility of same-sex marriage sealings in a way that requires minimal theological change and maintains maximum continuity with Church practices” (p. 1).

This audacious claim quickly gained attention among Church critics and adherents alike. Within the first few days of its release, the essay was featured prominently in publications ranging from By Common Consent3 to Public Square Magazine4 to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Geology professor Bart J. Kowallis takes readers to the realm of “deep time,” referring to that vast length of time it took for the earth and heavens to reach their current form and station. On the way, he discusses three myths about time and creation:

* Myth 1. Scientific theories are just speculation; since they are not facts, I don’t need to believe or worry about them;

* Myth 2. Official Church doctrine is that the earth is only a few thousand years old;

* Myth 3. The earth is old because it was made from pieces of older planets.

Presented at:

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

Article Reprint:

From All Eternity to All Eternity: Deep Time and the Gospel, The Interpreter Foundation, January 6, 2020https://interpreterfoundation.org/reprint-sm1-11-from-all-eternity-to-all-eternity-deep-time-and-the-gospel/

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 PDF

  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 lectures is a discussion of how prophets are essential to a True Church.

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

 

 

In the December 4 Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot discuss New Testament lesson 3 on Matthew 2 and Luke 2.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the December 4th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). The other segments of the December 4 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-december-4-2022.

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.

 

Original air date: December 4, 2022. This recording has been edited to remove commercial breaks.

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 author proposes a novel ideal for understanding the stained swords of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies that involves repetition, parallelism, and metaphoric Hebrew wordplay.

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A favorite story in the Book of Mormon recounts the miraculous conversion of many of the Lamanites from the preaching of the sons of Mosiah. Although many were converted, we are told that those “which had not been converted and had not taken upon them the name of Anti-Nephi-Lehi were stirred up by the Amlicites and by the Amulonites to anger against their brethren” (Alma 24:1).1 Within the framework of this looming threat, Mormon added an eloquent and moving speech by the king of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, who himself had been renamed Anti-Nephi-Lehi. Part of his speech reads:

Now my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren. Behold, I say unto you: Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren. For perhaps if we should stain our swords again, they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins. (Alma 24:12–13)

In this speech, the king admonished his people that “since God hath taken away our stains and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.” William Hamblin and Brent Merrill noted, “Two separate metaphors are used [Page 196]here: first, that the swords had been stained with blood, and second, that they had been made bright again by God.”2 Observing that metal swords could be difficult to stain with blood, Hamblin and Merrill proposed an idea for the construction of these swords:

From the Mesoamerican perspective, the most likely candidate for the Book of Mormon sword is the weapon known in Nahuatl (Aztec) as the macuahuitl or macana. The macuahuitl was constructed from a long staff or large paddle-shaped piece of wood. Sharp obsidian flakes were fixed into the edges of the wooden blade, giving it a deadly cutting edge. There are numerous representations of the macuahuitl in Mesoamerican art, the earliest dating back to the Pre-Classic era…. [A]lthough not impossible, the metaphor of staining metal swords with blood is somewhat unusual. However, if the Nephite sword were the Mesoamerican macuahuitl with a wooden shaft, blood would naturally stain and discolor the wood when an enemy was wounded. Furthermore,

In this article, planetary scientist Jani Radebaugh explores the creative side of our Creator with a breathtaking photographic tour of the unusual planets and moons in the outer solar system. Emerging discoveries have helped open our minds to the possibilities of other worlds with life in our galaxy.

Presented at:

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

Article Reprint:

The Outer Solar System: A Window to the Creative Breadth of Divinity, The Interpreter Foundation, December 30, 2019https://interpreterfoundation.org/reprint-sm1-10-the-outer-solar-system-a-window-to-the-creative-breadth-of-divinity/

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 PDF

  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 lectures suggests that religion is not practical for this life but is essential for the next.

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

 

 

In the November 27 Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Steve Densley, Mark Johnson, and Matt Bowen discuss New Testament lesson 2 on Matthew 1 and Luke 1.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the November 27th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). The other segments of the November 27 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-november-27-2022.

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.

 

Original air date: November 27, 2022. This recording has been edited to remove commercial breaks.

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: Early American campaigns against Christmas illustrate both the irrepressibility of the impulse to celebrate Christ and what is lost when we reject the good that comes from suspect sources. Both lessons point us toward the Savior’s gracious acceptance of our own imperfect offerings.

Christmas in rural New England is a mood. Snow falls softly on colonial-era farmhouses. Candles sit in the gabled windows that line little village streets. Townsfolk gather on the common to trim and light a tree. As the song suggests, it is nearly “like a picture print by Currier and Ives” — a land of pumpkin pies and Longfellow poems and Alcott’s literary visions of the March girls taking their Christmas feast to the needy.1 When we suggested to our college-student children that, instead of bringing them home, we might travel to them for the holidays this year, there was near rebellion. New England, we were told, is Christmas.

Now, I enjoy all this yuletide sentimentality and its carefully curated aesthetic as much as anyone. I am a sucker for the spice-scented ambiance that settles upon our communities as Christmas approaches. It is indeed lovely. But I am also a historian who knows something about the religious values of New England’s past, and I cannot help but be somewhat amused by the fact that this effusion of holiday nostalgia would make the region’s Puritan progenitors sick. Maybe furious. Definitely disappointed. They had actually done their darndest to kill Christmas.

As early modern Britons, Puritans knew Christmas to be an annual excuse for too much drinking, too much ribaldry, too much irreverence and unrest. Worse still, as radical Protestants, they saw Christmas as [Page 190]a reflection of Catholicism’s paganizing influence in Christendom. Just as they rejected the Catholic mass as a jumble of sensory rituals that benumbed the soul with alluring sights, smells, and sounds, they suppressed “Christ mass” as a celebration unfit for their Savior. The observance of Christmas was not something that — by their reading — the scriptures sanctioned, and its extravagant imposition could only lead the gullible away from the spiritual demands of discipleship.2

They were serious about this. Boston made celebration of the holiday a finable offense for decades. Even after the lifting of such official punishments, stalwart Puritans sought to suppress the practice. In a December 25th diary entry, the prominent Boston judge Samuel Sewall exulted in the fact that most of the town’s inhabitants still refused to acknowledge the day, going about their business as usual. Sewall spent a typical morning reading Psalms with his family and then took occasion “to ‘dehort [them] from Christmas-keeping, and charged them to forbear.’”3 Puritans like Sewall carefully observed their community to make sure it did not observe the holiday.

The story of how New England went from a region radically dedicated to the eradication of Christmas to a region identified by its iconic observance of the holiday is long and complicated. It has to do with demographic change, and economic development,

 

In this episode, our hosts are Bruce Webster and Kris Frederickson. You can listen to or download the December 18th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These audio tracks are also included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast).

The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 5, covering Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3, will be posted on Tuesday, January 17.

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: December 18, 2022. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

Restoration Advocacy, Part 1: Protecting Ourselves against Pornography

Restoration Advocacy, Part 2: Book of Mormon Place Names

General Discussion: Steven L. Clark’s article in Interpreter: “We Live in the Olden Days”

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.