The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

Review of Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates: A Cultural History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023). 264 pages, $34.95 (hardback).

Abstract: The gold plates were only a physically present artifact for a brief time and only for a select few people. Then they were gone, but the effect of their original presence echoes and reverberates through the history of how people have reacted to the reports of the plates. Bushman’s cultural history examines a wide range of responses, covering not just the familiar apologetic and critical responses, but also the way literature and art have represented them.

When you drop a rock straight down into still water, the rock disappears in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a brief but visible splash. Then, after the rock is no longer part of the picture, the aftermath is a series of ripples that move away from the now-missing center event in ever-expanding rings. Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates: A Cultural History is a description of the ripples the plates generated in the greater community. Where previous discussions of the gold plates might be easily categorized as apologetic or critical, neither term fits comfortably with what Bushman has done. This book stands apart from such concerns.

Of course, the claim that there were gold plates has led to both apologetic and critical responses. That is part of the purview of Bushman’s project. However, he isn’t interested in supporting or denying either position (though he stakes out his own claim to faithfulness), but rather the fact that the original plates dropping into the religious scene in early nineteenth-century America caused reactions. In their absence, they [Page 300]were yet emotionally present. Both apologetic and critical responses to the plates are simply ripples that continue to emanate from that original portentous event.

The early chapters of this book are close to what one might expect of an historian. They deal with the events in time, beginning with Joseph Smith’s family and extending to the descriptions of the translation and on to the witnesses. However, those stories are told from a slightly different perspective than usual. For example, the discussion of translation in Chapter 2 (pp. 8–26) focuses on stories about the translation rather than speculation on how the translation was accomplished. That particular issue (how the translation was accomplished) is treated in an appendix (pp. 175–82) because, while important, it is tangential to the discussion of the effects of the translation on the community. Thus, one of the topics treated as part of the chapter on translation is the issue of treasure digging and the use of seer stones. Treasure digging is one of the ripples that appeared as part of the external explanation for the existence of the gold plates. Seer stones played their own role in the translation and Bushman takes the time to deal with the way in which “Urim and Thummim” came to be the more accepted label for a seer stone (pp. 24–25).

As Bushman moves from translation to publication, he examines how the presence of the book (as perhaps the daughter of the plates) worked to make scripture. Continuing the new perspective on old discussions, Bushman tosses in the Documentary Hypothesis (pp. 31–33) in order to place the Book of Mormon as a transitional text that combined the sacralization of a text with its human creation. The Documentary Hypothesis returned the Bible to the processes of history. The Book of Mormon may have arrived in a sacred context, but internally it adamantly describes itself as the project of human hands, so much so that Moroni warns that any mistakes would be due to those men who had produced the text (and this prior to translation).

The chapter entitled “Rationalism: Apologists, Critics, and Imitators, 1832–1860” (pp. 59–80) continues the unexpected grouping of topics.

Review of Joshua Gehly, Witnessing Miracles: Historical Evidence for the Resurrection and the Book of Mormon (Monongahela, PA: The Church of Jesus Christ, 2022). 172 pages. $14.95 (paperback).

Abstract: Joshua Gehly, an ordained Evangelist of the Church of Jesus Christ, offers a compelling case for the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Gehly uses the historical methods used by William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, and Michael Licona to demonstrate the historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and applies them to the Book of Mormon, concluding there to be greater evidence for the Book of Mormon using these methods than the Resurrection. He likewise concludes that the Book of Mormon serves to strengthen the reality of the Resurrection, bearing testimony of a historical people’s interactions with a historical and risen Jesus. While Gehly comes from a faith tradition outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his is a tradition that believes the Book of Mormon to be the word of God, and he shows his deep appreciation and love for both Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon throughout this book. Ultimately, it is a book that I can recommend to those interested in the line of historical analysis presented by many Christian apologists and the Book of Mormon.

As Joseph Smith taught, “The fundamental principles of our religion [are] the testimony of the apostles and prophets concerning Jesus Christ, ‘that he died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended up into heaven’; and all other things are only appendages to these, which pertain to our religion.”1 The Atonement, Crucifixion, and [Page 294]Resurrection of Jesus Christ have always been the foundation for the Church. “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Latter-day Saints are blessed with an additional witness to the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ than that found in the Bible, showing that our faith is not in vain. The Book of Mormon is a foundational text for the Church and all others who believe that the Gospel has been restored after years of apostasy. The Book of Mormon is also foundational to Latter-day Saints, as Joseph Smith likewise taught, “Take away the book of Mormon, and the revelations, and where is our religion? We have none.”2 The Book of Mormon and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ thus offer the two foundational beliefs of the restored Church and any branch of the restoration that links itself to Joseph Smith’s prophetic career.

One such believer in the Book of Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, has offered a new and useful approach to determine the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.3 This approach is based on the historical analyses of prominent Christian apologists such as William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, and Michael Licona regarding the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, applied in a new way (p. ii).

Joshua Gehly is an ordained Evangelist in the Church of Jesus Christ (PA). However, while Gehly is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Abstract: While David is frequently held up as the standard for great kings in the Old Testament, examination of Nephi’s writings shows that he sought to imitate Moses the prophet rather than David the king. In fact, he never even mentions David. Relative to two major theological movements in Jerusalem in his day, “Zion theology,” in which David was the great hero, and “Deuteronomistic theology,” in which Moses was the hero, we see that Nephi was more aligned with Deuteronomistic theology, which was also more consistent with views in the Northern Kingdom, where Nephi’s ancestry originated.

David and Moses are the two most frequently named humans in the Old Testament. David (the most oft-named) was the great unifying king of Israel’s golden age, the political leader that successive generations of Israelites yearned to have lead Israel again, and the proto-typical messianic (anointed) ruler who subdues all foes while ushering in an era of peace. Moses (the second-most named) was the great law giver who, by the marvelous power of God, led the covenant people to salvation in the Promised Land.

If we ask the question “Which Old Testament character did Nephi most aspire to be like?” a strong argument could be made for Moses, while a tantalizing parallel argument could be made that Nephi did not want to be a king like David.

How did Nephi narrate his character like Moses? I’ll consider only a few examples.1

[Page 282]Nephi Wanted to Be a Prophet Like Moses

First, Nephi, just like Moses, regularly went into a high mountain to receive instructions for his people.

And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying: Arise, and get thee into the mountain. And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord. (1 Nephi 17:7)

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball. (1 Nephi 16:30)

For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot. (1 Nephi 11:1)

And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain. (Exodus 19:3)

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. … God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. (Exodus 3:1, 4)

And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. (Exodus 31:18)

Second, Nephi was like Moses because he, too, led the people safely through the waters to the Promised Land. Though not the most likely meaning of Nephi’s name, it is curious that one possible meaning in Egyptian is “sea captain.”

This paper will examine similarities between the account of the sacrifice and epiphany of the first parents in Moses 5:1-15 and analogous accounts found in apocryphal literature of the late antique and medieval periods. Apocryphal texts I will consider include primarily the Greek Life of Adam and Eve (also known as the Apocalypse of Moses) and secondarily the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan, the Cave of Treasures, the medieval Jewish Sefer Raziel, and Islamic collections of Qisas al-Anbiya’ (“Stories of the Prophets”). The focus will be not only on the content of the narratives, but also on structural elements such as voice and narrative flow. Based on this examination, I will argue that some of these texts have a common type of origin, being both revelatory and oriented to a ritual context, while others belong to different types associated with different historical contexts. I will show how this typological approach could inform dialogue between scholars of Restoration scripture and those researching the origins of other traditions’ sacred texts.

Presented at:

2020 Temple on Mount Zion ConferenceSaturday, November 7, 2020https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2020-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

The Temple: Past, Present and Future at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-past-present-and-future/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

 

Transcript

 

In the November 19th Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Bruce Webster and Robert Boylan discuss New Testament lesson 51, “They Overcame … by the Blood of the Lamb” covering Revelation 6–14.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the November 19 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-19-2023.

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 19, 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 Bruce Webster and Robert Boylan. They discuss Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 51, Church membership controversies, the recent article by Allen Wyatt in Interpreter, the growth of missionary work, and Book of Mormon study resources. You can listen to or download the November 19th 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 51 will also be posted separately on Tuesday, December 5.

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 19, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The New Testament in Context Lesson 51: “They Overcame … by the Blood of the Lamb” covering Revelation 6–14

Gospel Advocacy: Controversies about Church membership

Podcast: Download

Discussion: “Largely Shadow, Short of Reality,” by Allen Wyatt; the growth of missionary work; and Book of Mormon study resources

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.

 

Abstract: Some students of the Book of Mormon have claimed that chapter 36 of the book of Alma is structured as a chiasm. Some of the proposals depart from perfect symmetry, presenting elements of the suggested chiasm seemingly out of sequence. This has often been pointed to as a weakness in the proposed chiasm or as a problem arising from translation or editorial work, or even as evidence that no real chiasm exists over the text of the chapter. Perhaps, however, asymmetry may be a deliberate feature of ancient chiasmus. Understanding the presence and role of occasional asymmetry or skews, as they are called, may help us better appreciate the rhetorical tools employed in crafting chiastic texts anciently. In particular, we can see that the structure of Alma 36 may well be a beautifully crafted chiasmus featuring what may be an intentional skew similar to those that scholars have identified elsewhere in scripture. One such other chiastic text with a skew in it appears to be Deuteronomy 8. Indeed, one skew proposed in Alma 36, together with conceptual and other structural characteristics of the text, including the proposed chiasm of the text, perhaps suggests that some of the message and structure of Deuteronomy 8 may have served as a model for part of the message and structure of Alma 36.

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The idea of names as “keywords” has been associated with temples since very early times. In a temple context, the meaning of the term “keyword” can be taken quite literally: the use of the appropriate keyword or keywords by a qualified worshipper “unlocks” each one of a successive series of gates, thus providing access to specific, secured areas of the sacred space. In this presentation, we will explore how a series of names and titles purportedly given to Moses at various points in his life might relate to accounts of his ascents to heaven.

Presented at:

2020 Temple on Mount Zion ConferenceSaturday, November 7, 2020https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2020-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

The Temple: Past, Present and Future at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-past-present-and-future/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

 

Transcript