You can listen to or download the November 18 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). Hosts were Bruce Webster and Mike Parker. Topics discussed include Thomas Wayment’s New Testament study bible and the FIRM Foundation’s annotated edition of the Book of Mormon.

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 18, 2018. 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 November 18 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). Hosts were Bruce Webster and Mike Parker. Topics discussed include Thomas Wayment’s New Testament study bible and the FIRM Foundation’s annotated edition of the Book of Mormon.

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 18, 2018. 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 Liahona’s faith-based functionality and miraculous appearance have often been viewed as incongruous with natural law. This paper attempts to reconcile the Liahona to scientific law by displaying similarities between its apparent mechanisms and ancient navigation instruments called astrolabes. It further suggests the Liahona may have been a wedding dowry Ishmael provided to Lehi’s family. The paper displays the integral connection Nephi had to the Liahona’s functionality and how this connection more clearly explains the lack of faith displayed by Nephi’s band during the journey than traditional conceptions of its faith-based functionality.

.wp-caption .wp-caption-text {padding-left: 0 !important;"}

“Yet I will say with regard to miracles, there is no such thing save to the ignorant — that is, there never was a result wrought out by God or by any of His creatures without there being a cause for it. There may be results, the causes of which we do not see or understand, and what we call miracles are no more than this — they are the results or effects of causes hidden from our understandings … [I]t is hard to get the people to believe that God is a scientific character, that He lives by science or strict law, that by this He is, and by law He was made what He is; and will remain to all eternity because of His faithful adherence to law. It is a most difficult thing to make the people believe that every art and science and all wisdom comes from Him, and that He is their Author.”— Brigham Young1

[Page 208]The Liahona, a navigational and revelatory instrument described in the Book of Mormon, is perhaps the greatest historical enigma of the ancient account. Its miraculous appearance and ostensibly spiritual operation have often been met with derision by individuals who are critical of the Book of Mormon’s historical plausibility. Indeed, as stated in the words of Hugh Nibley, “The Liahona has given rise to endless merriment and mockery among critics of the Book of Mormon; only the shining stones of the Jaredites can equal it as a laugh-getter.”2 Perhaps as a response to these criticisms, a surprising number of authors have attempted to correlate aspects of the Liahona’s functionality with known scientific principles.3 With minor variation, the majority of these previous apologetic works have suggested parallels between the Liahona’s navigatory features and geomagnetic navigation devices. While the present work also attempts to reconcile the Liahona’s functionality with historical navigation devices, it challenges traditional conceptions of both the Liahona’s magnetic and faith-based functionality. Textual and cultural evidence seem to suggest the Liahona may in fact have been a star-based navigation instrument, one similar in function to that of an astrolabe.

A Note on Magnetism

In the interest of establishing the need for the present work, a few critiques about the predominant theory of a geomagnetic Liahona are warranted. A chapter from the book Re-exploring the Book of Mormon, entitled “Lodestone and the Liahona,” written by Robert F. Smith provides a functional reference to the theory.4 Smith proposed that the navigational properties of the Liahona may have functioned on “geomagnetic principles,” while the revelatory aspects of the device were faith-based and wholly outside the realm of scientific discovery.5 Smith and other proponents of the theory have ...

Abstract: The Liahona's faith-based functionality and miraculous appearance have often been viewed as incongruous with natural law. This paper attempts to reconcile the Liahona to scientific law by displaying similarities between its apparent mechanisms and ancient navigation instruments called astrolabes. It further suggests the Liahona may have been a wedding dowry Ishmael provided to Lehi's family. The paper displays the integral connection Nephi had to the Liahona's functionality and how this connection more clearly explains the lack of faith displayed by Nephi's band during the journey than traditional conceptions of its faith-based functionality.

.wp-caption .wp-caption-text {padding-left: 0 !important;"}

"Yet I will say with regard to miracles, there is no such thing save to the ignorant — that is, there never was a result wrought out by God or by any of His creatures without there being a cause for it. There may be results, the causes of which we do not see or understand, and what we call miracles are no more than this — they are the results or effects of causes hidden from our understandings ... [I]t is hard to get the people to believe that God is a scientific character, that He lives by science or strict law, that by this He is, and by law He was made what He is; and will remain to all eternity because of His faithful adherence to law. It is a most difficult thing to make the people believe that every art and science and all wisdom comes from Him, and that He is their Author."
— Brigham Young1

[Page 208]The Liahona, a navigational and revelatory instrument described in the Book of Mormon, is perhaps the greatest historical enigma of the ancient account. Its miraculous appearance and ostensibly spiritual operation have often been met with derision by individuals who are critical of the Book of Mormon's historical plausibility. Indeed, as stated in the words of Hugh Nibley, "The Liahona has given rise to endless merriment and mockery among critics of the Book of Mormon; only the shining stones of the Jaredites can equal it as a laugh-getter."2 Perhaps as a response to these criticisms, a surprising number of authors have attempted to correlate aspects of the Liahona's functionality with known scientific principles.3 With minor variation, the majority of these previous apologetic works have suggested parallels between the Liahona's navigatory features and geomagnetic navigation devices. While the present work also attempts to reconcile the Liahona's functionality with historical navigation devices, it challenges traditional conceptions of both the Liahona's magnetic and faith-based functionality. Textual and cultural evidence seem to suggest the Liahona may in fact have been a star-based navigation instrument, one similar in function to that of an astrolabe.

A Note on Magnetism

In the interest of establishing the need for the present work, a few critiques about the predominant theory of a geomagnetic Liahona are warranted. A chapter from the book Re-exploring the Book of Mormon, entitled "Lodestone and the Liahona," written by Robert F. Smith provides a functional reference to the theory.4 Smith proposed that the navigational properties of the Liahona may have functioned on "geomagnetic principles," while the revelatory aspects of the device were faith-based and wholly outside the realm of scientific discovery.5 Smith and other proponents of the theory have thus articulated what might be termed a "hybrid model" wherein the navigatory and revelatory f...

Abstract: The Liahona’s faith-based functionality and miraculous appearance have often been viewed as incongruous with natural law. This paper attempts to reconcile the Liahona to scientific law by displaying similarities between its apparent mechanisms and ancient navigation instruments called astrolabes. … Continue reading →

You can listen to or download the November 11 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). Hosts were Martin Tanner, Terry Hutchinson and John Gee. Topics discussed include new books and the historicity of the Book of Abraham.

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 11, 2018. 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 November 11 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). Hosts were Martin Tanner, Terry Hutchinson and John Gee. Topics discussed include new books and the historicity of the Book of Abraham.

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 11, 2018. 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: Marjorie Newton’s Mormon and Maori is a version of her 1998 thesis in which she rejects key elements of the Māori Latter-day Saint historical narrative. This contrasts with her earlier, faith-affirming Tiki and Temple. In Mormon and Maori Newton targets what she sees as Māori/missionary mythology. She has written for different audiences; one was for secular religious studies scholars, while the other was for faithful Saints. Midgley rejects Newton’s claim that a Mormon American cultural imperialism requires Māori to abandon noble elements of their culture. Faithful Saints are liberated from the soul destroying behavior that results from the loss of traditional Māori moral restraints. Midgley insists that Newton has little understanding of the deeper structures of Māori culture.

Review of Marjorie Newton, Mormon and Maori (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2014). 248 pp. $24.95 (paperback).

After Marjorie Newton’s PhD was approved in February 1998, a potential publisher sent me a Xerox copy of her thesis.1 I gave it careful attention. It turned out that my Māori friends had been right. At the Pioneers in the Pacific Conference held at BYU-Hawaii on 7–11 October 1997, at least two of them indicated that they doubted that [Page 180]she would do justice to the grounds and content of their faith. She would, they thought, ignore, downplay, or explain away matters sacred to them, and she would also be too critical of the way LDS mission presidents responded to the difficult issues they faced. They did not, however, make known how they came to know about her agenda.

I was also invited to evaluate her first effort to turn the two introductory chapters of her PhD thesis (MNZ, 1–84) into a history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints2 in New Zealand. There were, however, serious flaws in what I call “Newton’s Unpublished Manuscript,”3 one of which I will address in this appraisal of Mormon and Maori.

I was pleased when Tiki and Temple was published in 2012.4 It is a  fine, faith-affirming narrative history of the Church of Jesus Christ in New Zealand. She begins her account in 1854, when the periodic visits by Latter-day Saint missionaries from Australia first began, and ends with the creation of stakes and the dedication of the Temple in Hamilton in 1958. Primarily, she tells the story of the conversion of Māori that began in 1882 and resulted in an essentially Māori community of Latter day Saints in New Zealand.

While I have praised Tiki and Temple,5 I have also demonstrated that Newton has little grasp of Māori tikanga (culture). However, she warns her readers: “as an Australian, I am vulnerable to errors of fact and interpretation in both New Zealand and American history, and especially in Maori culture” (T&T, xiv). She also expresses her “hope that one day a Maori historian will produce a scholarly history of Mormonism in New Zealand that will remedy any omissions and defects in both my works. I also hope to see additional work done with the hundreds of [Page 181]stories of New Zealand Saints, both Maori and Pakeha,6 that are still waiting to be told” (T&T, xiv). Some of this additional work is beginning to be published.7 In Tiki and Temple she says that she hoped she had been able to “convey a sense of the faith, courage,

Abstract: Marjorie Newton’s Mormon and Maori is a version of her 1998 thesis in which she rejects key elements of the Māori Latter-day Saint historical narrative. This contrasts with her earlier, faith-affirming Tiki and Temple. In Mormon and Maori Newton … Continue reading →

Abstract: Marjorie Newton's Mormon and Maori is a version of her 1998 thesis in which she rejects key elements of the Māori Latter-day Saint historical narrative. This contrasts with her earlier, faith-affirming Tiki and Temple. In Mormon and Maori Newton targets what she sees as Māori/missionary mythology. She has written for different audiences; one was for secular religious studies scholars, while the other was for faithful Saints. Midgley rejects Newton's claim that a Mormon American cultural imperialism requires Māori to abandon noble elements of their culture. Faithful Saints are liberated from the soul destroying behavior that results from the loss of traditional Māori moral restraints. Midgley insists that Newton has little understanding of the deeper structures of Māori culture.

Review of Marjorie Newton, Mormon and Maori (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2014). 248 pp. $24.95 (paperback).

After Marjorie Newton's PhD was approved in February 1998, a potential publisher sent me a Xerox copy of her thesis.1 I gave it careful attention. It turned out that my Māori friends had been right. At the Pioneers in the Pacific Conference held at BYU-Hawaii on 7–11 October 1997, at least two of them indicated that they doubted that [Page 180]she would do justice to the grounds and content of their faith. She would, they thought, ignore, downplay, or explain away matters sacred to them, and she would also be too critical of the way LDS mission presidents responded to the difficult issues they faced. They did not, however, make known how they came to know about her agenda.

I was also invited to evaluate her first effort to turn the two introductory chapters of her PhD thesis (MNZ, 1–84) into a history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints2 in New Zealand. There were, however, serious flaws in what I call "Newton's Unpublished Manuscript,"3 one of which I will address in this appraisal of Mormon and Maori.

I was pleased when Tiki and Temple was published in 2012.4 It is a  fine, faith-affirming narrative history of the Church of Jesus Christ in New Zealand. She begins her account in 1854, when the periodic visits by Latter-day Saint missionaries from Australia first began, and ends with the creation of stakes and the dedication of the Temple in Hamilton in 1958. Primarily, she tells the story of the conversion of Māori that began in 1882 and resulted in an essentially Māori community of Latter day Saints in New Zealand.

While I have praised Tiki and Temple,5 I have also demonstrated that Newton has little grasp of Māori tikanga (culture). However, she warns her readers: "as an Australian, I am vulnerable to errors of fact and interpretation in both New Zealand and American history, and especially in Maori culture" (T&T, xiv). She also expresses her "hope that one day a Maori historian will produce a scholarly history of Mormonism in New Zealand that will remedy any omissions and defects in both my works. I also hope to see additional work done with the hundreds of [Page 181]stories of New Zealand Saints, both Maori and Pakeha,6 that are still waiting to be told" (T&T, xiv). Some of this additional work is beginning to be published.7 In Tiki and Temple she says that she hoped she had been able to "convey a sense of the faith, courage, and dedication of the North American missionaries, and the corresponding faith,