The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

 

In the December 3rd Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Martin Tanner, Hales Swift, and Brent Schmidt discuss New Testament lesson 53, “He That Overcometh Shall Inherit All Things,” about Revelation 15–22.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the December 3 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 3 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-december-3-2023.

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: December 3, 2023. 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 this episode of The Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts are Martin Tanner, Hales Swift, and Brent Schmidt. They discuss Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 53, “When the prophet speaks, the talking is over,” and background of the Book of Revelation. You can listen to or download the December 3rd 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 New Testament lesson 53 will also be posted separately on Tuesday, December 19.

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: December 3, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The New Testament in Context Lesson 53: “He That Overcometh Shall Inherit All Things” on Revelation 15–22

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Gospel Advocacy: “When the prophet speaks, the talking is over”

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Discussion: Background of the Book of Revelation

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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: Video games represent an innovative medium for entertainment and artistic expression with potential for fostering deeper engagement with religious texts such as the Book of Mormon. Over the past three decades, developers have produced dozens of video games based on the Book of Mormon. This paper provides a comprehensive history of these video games. We examine how these games use different genres, styles, and levels of scriptural fidelity to creative immersive and interactive experiences based on ancient stories and teachings. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities for developing and distributing Book-of-Mormon–themed video games in a competitive and changing market and discuss the future potential of religious-themed video games in fostering unique spiritual experiences.

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For centuries, the scriptures have inspired artists and authors. Sacred texts provide the basis for countless paintings, sculptures, novels, songs, and films. Unsurprisingly, since the advent of computer games in the late twentieth century, the scriptures have also inspired many video game developers.

The first video games based on Christian scriptures trace their origin to the books Bible Basic1 and Computer Bible Games2 published in the early 1980s. These books contained several Bible-themed “type-in programs” that could run on popular home computers of the day, such [Page 304]as the TRS-80 or Commodore 64. Since then, developers worldwide have created an extensive collection of scripturally themed video games. The most common text is the Old Testament. But there are also games based on the New Testament and the Book of Mormon.

However, the development of Christian-themed video games frequently faces a lack of funding, partly because of a history of mediocre games and the relatively small size of the core gamer audience for such games.3 Despite the small size of this niche in the gaming industry, a historical examination of these efforts can help to shed light on the ways that video game development serves to provide marketable products as well as to act as an expression of the faith of game developers.

This paper focuses on video games based on the Book of Mormon. Indeed, some Latter-day Saint game developers may feel a special call to create and distribute games inspired by the Book of Mormon. In an October 1988 General Conference address, Ezra Taft Benson declared, “I have a vision of artists putting into film, drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and great characters from the Book of Mormon.”4 It is not unreasonable to imagine game developers being among the “artists” referred to by President Benson. In a review of literature related to the Book of Mormon, Paul Gutjahr hints at the existence of Book-of-Mormon–themed video games, but he does not cite any specific examples.5 Our paper is the first effort to collect, analyze, and categorize every commercial video game ever made about the Book of Mormon.

Video Game Genres

Although the term video game correctly refers to a variet...

The fourth “Temple on Mount Zion” Conference was 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)

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

 

Transcript

 

In the November 26th Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Steve Densley and Don Bradley discuss New Testament lesson 52 about Christmas.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the November 26 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 19 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-november-26-2023.

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: November 26, 2023. 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 this episode of The Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts are Steve Densley and Don Bradley, with special guest Nathan Arp. They discuss the recent article by Nathan in Interpreter, the Strengthening Church Members Committee, and Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 5. You can listen to or download the November 26th 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 New Testament lesson 52 will also be posted separately on Tuesday, December 12.

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: November 26, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

Discussion: “An Analysis of Mormon’s Narrative Strategies Employed on the Zeniffite Narrative and Their Effect on Limhi,” by Nathan Arp

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Gospel Advocacy: The Strengthening Church Members Committee

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The New Testament in Context Lesson 52: Christmas

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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/

 

“You Can Take Your Hand Off Africa Now”: A New Short Film aboutPresident Kimball, David M. Kennedy, and the Revelation on the Priesthood

As a young man, I remember vividly the thrill I felt when I first read the address that President Kimball gave at the April 1974 regional representatives seminar entitled, “When the World Will Be Converted.”[2] I was enthralled by the film version of his message, “Go Ye into the World,” that came out shortly thereafter.[3] Some months later I would begin serving in France and Belgium as a full-time missionary.

Most adult Church members born by the early 1960s can tell you when they heard the news about the revelation on the priesthood. In my own case, I was returning from an outing with some of my friends. As we pulled in the driveway, my mother noticed us and burst out of the front door on the upper story of our house to shout out the good news. Two years later, my parents would serve among the first group of full-time missionaries assigned to the Africa West mission.

The thrill of all these events has never left me. So, you can imagine how meaningful it was when, through the kind efforts of Derek Westra and Robert Stephenson of the Church Communications Department, Junior Banza and I were given permission to film scenes in the north board room of the Church Administration building, the very room where, almost fifty years earlier, President Kimball had called for a modern-day fulfillment of Jesus’ original apostolic commission.

 

Nearby, the remarkable Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square renovation was in full swing.

 

Sudden loud noises frequently interrupted our filming. Fortunately, the noise reduction on the microphone was very effective—in fact, so effective that some street noise had to be added back in behind Junior’s narration in post-production to achieve better realism.

 

This short video tells an inspiring, but little-known incident relating to the revelation on the priesthood. It took place privately between President Spencer W. Kimball and church ambassador David M. Kennedy. This and related stories will be treated more fully in the “Not by Bread Alone” episode entitled, "An Impossible Meeting with Mobutu.”

We hope the little-known anecdote told in this short film will rekindle in viewers the same feelings of joy and gratitude for a living prophet that we have experienced in making this little film.

 

References

Our thanks to the Brigham Young University David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies for allowing us to use some of the footage that appears during the portion of the film featuring Barbara Kennedy Law. The original film from which this was extracted, The Kennedy Way, can be found at https://kennedy.byu.edu/about or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJjo2xqka2M.

 

Endnotes

[1] Photo ID: President Kimball with hand on globe, Go Ye Unto All the World.png, 1974. Church History Library, AV 3923, https://catalog.churchofjesuschrist.