The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

 

In the February 11th Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen discuss Book of Mormon lesson 10, “We Rejoice in Christ” covering 2 Nephi 20-25.

You can listen to or download the Book of Mormon in Context segment of the February 11 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 February 11 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-february-11-2024.

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.

 

Original air date: February 11, 2024. 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: Mormon’s overwhelmingly dominant rhetorical purpose is to testify of Christ, which he and his protagonists often directly do. But he also communicates his testimony more subtly through carefully crafted historical narratives. His use of frame narratives is especially artful. In the Book of Mosiah, Mormon frames the dispiriting account of Zeniff and Noah’s rule with the story of its aftermath: the suffering of Limhi and his people, which is recounted both before and after the central Zeniff/Noah narrative and which underscores the folly in the narrative it frames. The Limhi story is, in turn, framed by a Mosiah family narrative that features prophet kings Mosiah1, Benjamin, and Mosiah2 and that, likewise, underscores the folly in the Zeniff/Noah/Limhi story through pointed contrasts with Mosiah1/Benjamin/Mosiah2, the antitypes of the Zeniff-family kings. Benjamin’s great discourse on Christ, the most important component of the Mosiah narrative is also set within a frame narrative, a coronation account, which creates a political subtext in that great spiritual sermon and that, likewise, underscores the folly of the Zeniff family’s failure to follow the prophets God sent them. The article concludes by discussing the emergence of the Almas as the first family of Nephite history, the connecting thread that runs through Mormon’s account of the next ten generations of Nephite history.

In the Book of Mormon, Mormon uses narrative to illustrate important truths. One truth he copiously illustrates is that bad things happen, even to good people, if they choose to reject the counsel of God that comes to them through prophets. One way Mormon artfully teaches this truth is by recounting the parallel histories of two contemporary dynasties, the prophet-led Mantic dynasty of Mosiah1 in the land of [Page 368]Zarahemla and the contrasting Sophic dynasty of a good-man, Zeniff, in the land of Nephi.1

Things must be alike in important ways to form a clear contrast. We contrast apples with oranges, not with prepositions. Understanding this, Mormon illustrates his truth about the importance of prophets by recounting historical narratives that are similar on a large number of dimensions but that repeatedly prove to be type and antitype when the parallels are closely examined. To be specific, Mormon develops his theme that it is foolish to reject the guidance of God that comes to us through prophets by comparing and contrasting the lives of the similarly situated monarchs Mosiah1 and Zeniff, Benjamin and Noah, and Mosiah2 and Limhi.

Mormon develops these contrasts and marks the emergence of the Almas as the first family of the Nephite nation, as the connecting thread that will run through the succeeding ten generations of Nephite history, using a sophisticated literary technique, the frame narrative. (A frame narrative is a story that has another story embedded in it, with the main story both preceding and following the embedded story.2) In the Book of Mosiah, three comparatively short frame narratives comment on and add new dimensions of meaning to the longer, embedded main narratives that they frame.

Mosiah1/Zeniff

Let us begin with the contrast between the first Mosiah, Mosiah1 and his antitype, Zeniff.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen (emeritus) and Sister Marie K. Hafen gave the keynote address, “Adam, Eve, the Book of Moses, and the Temple: The Story of Receiving Christ’s Atonement” at the Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses Conference on Friday September 18, 2020.

All of the conference presentations were filmed, and both video and audio recordings of each presentation are available. Videos, audio recordings and transcripts are available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2020-book-of-moses-conference/papers/. The videos are also available on the Interpreter Foundation YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/theinterpreterfoundation. A YouTube playlist is also available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRMn4gyXMWLv7A618LA-cCvxMqWRk8kxI.

Presented at:

2020 Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses ConferenceKeynote Session, Friday September 18, 2020https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2020-book-of-moses-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses: Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities, Volumes I and II at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/ancient-threads-in-the-book-of-moses/

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In the February 4th Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Martin Tanner, Hales Swift, and Brent Schmidt discuss Book of Mormon lesson 9, “His Name Shall Be Called … The Prince of Peace” covering 2 Nephi 11-19.

You can listen to or download the Book of Mormon in Context segment of the February 4 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 February 4 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-february-4-2024.

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.

 

Original air date: February 4, 2024. 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.

 

 

In the February 11, 2024 episode of The Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts are Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen. They discuss Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon lesson 10, the importance of the sabbath day, and the pros and cons of Book of Mormon study editions. You can listen to or download the February 10th 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 the Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon lesson 10, will also be posted separately on Tuesday, February 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.

Original air date: February 11, 2024. These recordings have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The Book of Mormon in Context Lesson 10: “We Rejoice in Christ” covering 2 Nephi 20-25

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Discussion: The importance of the sabbath day and the pros and cons of Book of Mormon study editions

Podcast: Download

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.

 

For more information on the “Not by Bread Alone: Stories of the Saints in Africa” series, go to https://notbybreadalonefilm.com/en/For more information in French, go to https://notbybreadalonefilm.com/fr/To see all of our posts about The Church in Africa, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/africa/

At last, we have finished the first episode of the “Not by Bread Alone” film series. Among other things, it had to be updated in order to include yet another temple announced for the DR Congo at the last general conference. Although there is some overlap with the preview video on the home page of the Not by Bread Alone website, the episode contains additional stories and context specific to the DR Congo.

“Not by Bread Alone: Stories of the Saints in the DR Congo” is the first in the series “Not by Bread Alone: Episodes” and introduces the history and peoples of the people of this vast central African nation. The video gives a sneak preview of some of the upcoming episodes. These episodes and other video shorts will be posted as they become available over the next few years. A YouTube playlist for the series is available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRMn4gyXMWLvVVJ2xA4-zAV9KQeAWLfsO (English) and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRMn4gyXMWLsaEDHbf2aDrpZum-FyEs0q (French).

Abstract: Trees play real and metaphorical roles in the beliefs and holy scriptures of many world religions, and believers and non-believers throughout the world are uplifted spiritually by trees. In the Book of Mormon, a tree with delicious, sweet fruit appeared in two visions and one parable. Respectively, the tree represents the love of God as seen through the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ and symbolizes spiritual growth as one experimentally nourishes faith from a seed. Trees and fruit in the world around us can remind us of important lessons from these teachings and help keep us focused on the Lord because trees embody godly attributes and illustrate righteous principles. Trees and God’s love are universal, meant to be dispersed, beautiful, long-lasting or eternal, strong, gifts, providers of bounty, givers of joy, and sources of shelter and comfort. From trees, we learn to shun pride, have proper priorities, be patient and persevering, keep growing spiritually, be well-rooted, and pursue spirituality. Trees kindle awe, reverence, and love in us. Whenever we see a tree or eat fruit or nuts from a tree, we can be reminded of God’s love and to choose righteousness. Trees can inspire us to continue nurturing our spiritual growth; by doing so, our lives can be monumental like trees.

The prophet Lehi had a remarkable dream that is symbolic of people’s earthly journey: the allure of evil, struggles of life, love of family, and joy of the gospel (1 Nephi 8).1 He traveled and prayed in darkness and was led to a tree with sweet fruit “desirable to make one happy.” Eating the fruit filled his soul with happiness. Other events and objects materialized, but the tree was the preeminent symbol of his dream.

[Page 314]After learning of the dream, Lehi’s son Nephi desired to also experience the vision of this amazing tree and to understand its meaning (1 Nephi 11). His desires were fulfilled. Nephi said the tree was “exceeding of all beauty,” and was “precious above all.” After seeing a vision of the birth of Jesus Christ, Nephi understood that the tree symbolized “the love of God” manifested to his children. This love “is the most desirable above all things … and the most joyous to the soul.” A further vision of the ministry and death of Jesus Christ amplified that message.

Later in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma invited a group of potential converts to experiment with faith in God (Alma 32:26–43). Alma proposed that if spiritual values were true and a person simply allowed the possibility of belief and had a desire to know if the values were true, one’s faith would grow like a tree from a seed. A true seed planted in one’s heart will sprout and begin to swell. If nourished properly, one’s faith in true spiritual values will become a great tree and bear sweet fruit similar to the one in Lehi’s dream. If the spiritual values were not true, then the seed would not grow. Or, if a good seed did start to grow but was not nourished, then one’s faith would die like an unwatered tree scorched by the sun’s heat.

Previous analyses of the tree in Lehi’s dream and Nephi’s vision often have focused on ties with ancient cultures.2 For example, the tree was recognized by both Lehi and Nephi as a sacred symbol, apparently without them being told it was so. They recognized the sacred symbol because of their na...

Matthew Roper spoke on “Clothed with Glory: Sacred Vestments and the Restoration” at the fourth Temple on Mount Zion Conference, held on Saturday, November 10, 2018 in the Tanner Building at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.

The presentations were filmed, and both video and audio recordings of each presentation are available. The videos are currently available both at https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2018-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/2018-temple-on-mount-zion-conference-videos/and on the Interpreter Foundation YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/theinterpreterfoundation. A YouTube playlist is also available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRMn4gyXMWLsWt34zVNC5FmTqBtFfcnxl. The audio recordings are available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2018-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/2018-temple-on-mount-zion-conference-audio/.

Presented at:

2018 Temple on Mount Zion ConferenceSaturday, November 10, 2018https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2020-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

The Temple: Symbols, Sermons, and Settings at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-symbols-sermons-and-settings/ (available first quarter, 2024)

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