Joshua Madsen is a PhD student in religions of western antiquity at Florida State University and a teacher at the Tallahassee Institute of Religion. Josh received his bachelor's degree in Ancient Near Eastern studies with university honors from Brigham Young University in 2013. In 2015 he received his master's degree in biblical studies from Trinity Western University, where he assisted in authoring publications facilitated by the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute.

His research interests, presentations, and publications center on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the formation of scriptural canons, the Hebrew Bible minor prophets, the use of extra-canonical texts in Jewish and Christian communities, the interaction between physical space and religion, and new religious movements based upon ancient traditions and texts.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Josh currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Student Advisory Board for the Society of Biblical Literature. While Josh loves his research and work in the academy, his favorite activities involve his wife and twin two-year-old daughters.

In this episodes, he visits with Laura Harris Hales about the Dead Sea Scrolls and what they can and cannot tell us.

This podcast is cross-posted with permission of LDS Perspectives Podcast.

Abstract: The toponym Shilom likely derives from the Semitic/Hebrew root š-l-m, whence also the similar-sounding word šālôm, “peace,” derives. The first mention of the toponym Shilom in Zeniff’s record — an older account than the surrounding material and an autobiography … Continue reading →

You can listen to or download the January 28 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (http://interpreterfoundation.org/feed/podcast). The host is Martin Tanner with guests Dan Peterson, Bruce Webster and Mike Parker, discussing Bible translations and the Book of Abraham, with additional topics from those calling in.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 8 PM (MST) 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: 28 January 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 February 4 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (http://interpreterfoundation.org/feed/podcast). The host is Martin Tanner with guests Dan Peterson and Kris Frederiksen, discussing Mayan ruin discoveries, Jesus’ treatment of women, Interpreter Foundation projects and various topics introduced by callers.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 8 PM (MST) 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: February 4, 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.

Review of Ann Taves, Revelatory Events: Three Case Studies in the Emergence of New Spiritual Paths Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2016, 366 pages with notes and index $29.93 (paperback). Abstract: Ann Taves’s book offers a comparative look at the origins … Continue reading →

In this episode, Brian Hales interviews Don Bradley about his decades-long research into missing parts of Book of Mormon narrative. Ever since he was a youngster, Don’s wondered about the content of the 116 pages of the Book of Lehi transcript that Martin Harris lost in 1828. Most Primary children know the story of how the Lord said “no” three times, but then relented and someone subsequently stole the pages from Martin. God told Joseph not to retranslate that portion of the golden plates so the stories and teachings scribed onto those pages remain lost forever . . . or are they?

Martin Harris initially thought that his wife, Lucy, had taken the manuscript, but unlike a popular rumor, he didn’t think she burned or destroyed it. Then on her deathbed in 1836, she absolutely denied having anything to do with the manuscript theft. She was a devout Quaker— who are supposed to be absolutely honest. It appears Lucy Harris’s deathbed testimony convinced Martin that she had nothing to do with the robbery.

When asked, “Do you think the lost pages might be rediscovered? Don replied: “I sure hope so.” But then he cautioned: “I would think that after 189 years, if it were still out there, it would have surfaced.” Don speculates: “It would be the biggest find ever in Mormon history and one of the biggest finds ever in religious history if that turned up, so I definitely hold out hope that it’s out there.”

One person who believed that it would surface was the Prophet’s father, Joseph Smith Sr. He gave an interview in 1830 in which he said to the interviewer that that manuscript would someday come forth. Don isn’t sure if that was just his opinion or if he was quoting his son Joseph Jr.

Don believes that the number 116 might be far less than the actual total of pages that disappeared. Scholars have known for some time that 116 is the number of pages of the printer’s manuscript that covers the period of the small plates, which is the same span of time as the lost pages. Joseph may have simply borrowed that number rather than having actually counted the pages before releasing them to Martin.

The lost manuscript chronologically covered a full half of Mormon’s total abridgment that started 600 years from Lehi to Christ and ended in 320 AD. The remaining pages starting with Mosiah represent the second half of Mormon’s abridgment and are much greater than 116. Don asks: “Why would the first half be so short?”

Over the past decades, Don sought to discover the missing meanings and narratives of the 116 pages through research. But how does one go about discovering lost words, lost pages, and lost content? He explains there are a couple of ways. There are “internal evidences” like how the “small plates” of 1 Nephi through Omni or Words of Mormon cover the same period as the lost pages. Even though these small plates are rather light on history, they give us at least a thumbnail sketch of what was in the lost 116 pages.

Another internal evidence is comprised of echoes or flashbacks where later Book of Mormon accounts refer back to an earlier narrative that we don’t have. One example of this would be in Mosiah 11 that mentions King Noah building a tower on this hill that was north of the land Shilom, “which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land.” The current Book of Mormon does not mention any details about this “resort” or the time they “fled out of the land,” but it assumes that we already know about this story, indicating that it had been in the part of the Book of Mormon that is now lost.

Don also speaks of “external evidences” like statements or other sources outside of the available text of the Book of Mormon, like Joseph Smith’s earliest revelations. The most obvious of those is in section 10 of the Doctrine and Covenants where it actually says to Jose...

You can listen to or download this broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (http://interpreterfoundation.org/feed/podcast). The host is Martin Tanner with guests Neal Rappleye and S. Hales Swift.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 8 PM (MST) 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: 21 January 2018. This recording has been edited to remove commercial breaks. The first several minutes of the broadcast are missing from the recording.

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: In early 1830 Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon, a 269,938-word volume that discusses religious themes intermingled with a history of ancient American peoples.1 Claiming it was scripture like the Bible,2 in 1841 he declared it to be … Continue reading →

You can listen to or download the inaugural broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (http://interpreterfoundation.org/feed/podcast). This broadcast features Martin Tanner as host, with Steve Densley and Allen Wyatt as guests, discussing The Interpreter Foundation and answering questions from callers.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 8 PM (MST) 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: 14 January 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.

A review of Paul Y. Hoskisson & Daniel C. Peterson, eds., To Seek the Law of the Lord: Essays in Honor of John W. Welch, The Interpreter Foundation, 2017, 543 pages. $24.95 (paperback). Abstract: In this collection of articles gathered … Continue reading →