The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

 

You can listen to or download the January 30th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). This episode is hosted by Terry Hutchinson and Martin Tanner. In this episode, our hosts interviewed Ben Spackman, discussing understanding the background of the Old Testament and improving individual scripture study. The second portion of the show is a roundtable discussing the upcoming Come Follow Me lesson #11 (Genesis 37–41). 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: January 30, 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.

 

 

You can listen to or download the January 23rd broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). This episode is hosted by Steve Densley, Matthew Bowen and Mark Johnson. In this episode, our hosts discussed Matt Bowen’s recent Interpreter article on Nephi’s wordplay describing the Abrahamic covenant. The second portion of the show is a roundtable discussing the upcoming Come Follow Me lesson #10 (Genesis 28–33). 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: January 23, 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.

 

 

You can listen to or download the January 16th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). This episode is hosted by Bruce Webster and Mike Parker. In this episode, our hosts discussed Book of Mormon geography. The second portion of the show is a roundtable discussing the upcoming Come Follow Me lesson #9 (Genesis 24–27). 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: January 16, 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.

 

During the Winter Semester of 1986 at Brigham Young University, Dr. Hugh W. Nibley, professor emeritus of ancient scriptures, presented a series of 26 lectures to an Honors class on The Pearl of Great Price. This class was videotaped in the Maeser Building and made available by FARMS as both video and audio recordings. The text was then transcribed and included in Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price, published by Deseret Book.

All 26 lectures are available immediately as follows:

* Links to both the video and audio recordings: The Complete Bibliography for Hugh Nibley (CBHN) at https://interpreterfoundation.org/bibliographies/hugh-w-nibley/lectures/

* Video recordings: Maxwell Institute playlist on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehBxXyk-Ots&list=PLOrN0FV73AsIeKPG48pi390UWWdOVyIgi

* Transcripts (ePub format): Deseret Books at https://deseretbook.com/p/ancient-documents-pearl-great-price-hugh-nibley-78458?variant_id=20055-ebook

* Transcripts (Kindle format): Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Documents-Pearl-Great-Price-ebook/dp/B004FN1QRE

This week we have one audio recording relevant to the seventh Come, Follow Me Old Testament lesson on Abraham 1 and 2. Where available, we’ve also included links to the video recordings. Over the following weeks, we will post the remaining lectures relevant to the Come, Follow Me lessons that include sections of The Pearl of Great Price.

 

Lecture 23—Abraham

Video: View on YouTube

Podcast: Download (Duration: 52:09 — 48.9MB)

This is an Interpreter Radio Roundtable for Come, Follow Me Old Testament Lesson 7, “To Be a Greater Follower of Righteousness” on Genesis 12–17; Abraham 1–2. The panelists for this roundtable were Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye and Hales Swift with Martin Tanner. This roundtable was extracted from the January 3rd broadcast of Interpreter Radio. The complete show may be heard at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-January-3-2022/. 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 Kerry Muhlestein, God Will Prevail: Ancient Covenants, Modern Blessings, and the Gathering of Israel (American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, 2021). 177 pages. $14.99 (hardcover).

Abstract: Covenants are central in the Latter-day Saint temple liturgy, our scriptural canon is infused with them, and General Authorities have increasingly drawn attention to their importance in the last half-century. Yet many Latter-day Saints are still unfamiliar with the form and function of covenants and the role they play in God’s plan of salvation. Kerry Muhlestein, well-informed by his academic training in ancient history and scripture, provides a lucid introduction to covenants for Latter-day Saints.

Latter-day Saint theology is, at its core, a covenant theology. Latter-day Saints believe that God first covenanted with man in the Garden of Eden. That covenant was perpetuated through Abraham, Moses, David, the Nephites and Lamanites, Jesus Christ, and finally through Joseph Smith in the restoration of the gospel. By entering into this new and everlasting covenant, Latter-day Saints promise to love and obey God and to love and serve others. In return, God promises exaltation and eternal life. This essentially describes God’s plan of salvation, yet many Latter-day Saints struggle to understand the importance of covenants and the brethren’s recent emphasis on “the covenant path.”1

[Page 80]Kerry Muhlestein provides an approachable introduction to and exploration of this covenant theology. His explanation of these ancient and sometimes esoteric concepts is easy to understand. Because of his rigorous academic background in ancient Near Eastern studies and Egyptology, he helps Latter-day Saints view covenants through the rich lens of antiquity, while keeping the concepts relevant to our day. Muhlestein’s book is comprised of eight chapters with three appendices. He first defines the new and everlasting covenant that encompasses God’s great plan of happiness, covering how it operated in the Old Testament, and focusing particularly on its implementation with Abraham. After a brief excursus to explain this covenant’s inclusivity, he details both its blessings and stipulations. The rest of the book largely deals with the covenant’s implementation in our lives — how to be a covenant people, how to gather Israel in the latter days, and how to rely on the grace of Jesus Christ for our shortcomings.

The Many Covenants in Israel’s History

One of the important contributions of this book is Muhlestein’s ability to simplify what at first appears to be a confusing assortment of different covenants with different people. Latter-day Saints are likely familiar with covenants made in the temple and thus familiar with the idea that God covenanted with Adam and Eve. However, God also made a formal covenant with Abraham, called the Abrahamic Covenant. Then God covenanted with the Israelites on Mt. Sinai to form the Mosaic Covenant and the Law of Moses. God forged a covenant with King David and his line. Jesus’s teachings in the four gospels are sometimes referred to as the “new” covenant, which supersedes the Mosaic law. Then finally, in the latter days, God established a “new and everlasting covenant,” often thought to refer to celestial marriages.

While these may all seem like disparate covenants, Muhlestein argues that they are one and the same (pp. 4–6), so the New and Everlasting Covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant.

Review of Alexander L. Baugh, Steven C. Harper, Brent M. Rogers, and Benjamin C. Pykles, eds. Joseph Smith and his First Vision: Context, Place, and Meaning (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021). 289 pages. $27.99 (hardcover).

Abstract: In the year 2020, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrated the 200th anniversary of the First Vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith. As a part of honoring that seminal moment in the Church’s history, the Church History Symposium focused on the context, place, and meaning of the First Vision. Selected papers from the conference have been published in Joseph Smith and his First Vision: Context, Place, and Meaning, edited by Alexander L. Baugh, Steven C. Harper, Brent M. Rogers, and Benjamin C. Pykles, offering new insights and research into Joseph Smith’s theophany in the Sacred Grove that has inspired millions worldwide to ask of God as Joseph did. The papers selected for publication are well-written and provide a great deal of new scholarship relating to the dramatic theophany that Joseph Smith experienced, and, as such, it is a great addition to any Latter-day Saint’s library.

For Latter-day Saints, the year 2020 was especially a noteworthy year, marking the 200th anniversary of what is appropriately described as the founding event of the Restoration of the Gospel in modern times:

Two hundred years ago, on a beautiful spring morning in 1820, young Joseph Smith, seeking to know which church to join, went into the woods to pray near his home in upstate New York, USA. He had questions regarding the salvation of his soul and trusted that God would direct him.

[Page 72]In humility, we declare that in answer to his prayer, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph and inaugurated the “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21) as foretold in the Bible.1

As a part of the efforts by Latter-day Saints to follow President Nelson’s urge to remember the First Vision,2 the biannual Church History Symposium hosted a range of scholars, professors, and other Latter-day Saints to delve into the beginning of our shared history, memory, and origins as Latter-day Saints. The symposium — miraculously held just before the Church made efforts to limit in-person meetings to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus — hosted multiple papers dealing with the context, place, or meaning of the First Vision for Joseph Smith and for Latter-day Saints in general. The insights shared in the published papers in this volume are a great addition to any Latter-day Saint’s library.

The fourteen papers selected are divided into four categories. The first category combines the three keynote addresses, given at the beginning and closing of the symposium. The next section deals with the historical context in which the First Vision should be understood, followed by a section relating to the Sacred Grove, the place where God the Father and God the Son appeared to the boy prophet. The fourth and final section deals with various theological or analytical lessons that can be drawn from the First Vision, and modern efforts to portray and teach the First Vision to a growing Church.

The first keynote paper is from President Dallin H. Oaks,

 

You can listen to or download the January 9th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). This episode is hosted by Terry Hutchinson, John Gee and Kevin Christensen. In this episode, our hosts interviewed Casey Paul Griffiths, author of the acclaimed biography of LDS Apostle Joseph F. Merrill. The second portion of the show is a roundtable discussing the upcoming Come Follow Me lesson #8 (Genesis 18–23). 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: January 9, 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.

 

 

You can listen to or download the January 2nd broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). This episode is hosted by Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye and Hales Swift with Martin Tanner. In this episode, our hosts talked about President Nelson’s counsel on setting spiritual resolutions as well as notes on understanding the Old Testament. The second portion of the show is a roundtable discussing the upcoming Come Follow Me lesson #7 (Genesis 12–17; Abraham 1–2). 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: January 2, 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.

 

During the Winter Semester of 1986 at Brigham Young University, Dr. Hugh W. Nibley, professor emeritus of ancient scriptures, presented a series of 26 lectures to an Honors class on The Pearl of Great Price. This class was videotaped in the Maeser Building and made available by FARMS as both video and audio recordings. The text was then transcribed and included in Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price, published by Deseret Book.

All 26 lectures are available immediately as follows:

* Links to both the video and audio recordings: The Complete Bibliography for Hugh Nibley (CBHN) at https://interpreterfoundation.org/bibliographies/hugh-w-nibley/lectures/

* Video recordings: Maxwell Institute playlist on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehBxXyk-Ots&list=PLOrN0FV73AsIeKPG48pi390UWWdOVyIgi

* Transcripts (ePub format): Deseret Books at https://deseretbook.com/p/ancient-documents-pearl-great-price-hugh-nibley-78458?variant_id=20055-ebook

* Transcripts (Kindle format): Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Documents-Pearl-Great-Price-ebook/dp/B004FN1QRE

This week we have one audio recording relevant to the sixth Come, Follow Me Old Testament lesson on Genesis 6–11 and Moses 8. Where available, we’ve also included links to the video recordings. Over the following weeks, we will post the remaining lectures relevant to the Come, Follow Me lessons that include sections of The Pearl of Great Price.

 

Lecture 24—The Destruction

Podcast: Download (Duration: 47:40 — 44.7MB)