The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

 

In this episode of The Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts are Terry Hutchinson, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen. They discuss Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 41, Brigham Young, and the Mountain Meadows Massacre. You can listen to or download the September 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 New Testament lesson 41, “For the Perfecting of the Saints” covering Ephesians, will also be posted separately on Tuesday, September 26.

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: September 10, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The New Testament in Context Lesson 41: “For the Perfecting of the Saints” covering Ephesians

Gospel Advocacy: Edited Brigham Young words from “wife” to “wives”

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Discussion: Vengeance is Mine about the Mountain Meadows Massacre with authors Rick Turley and Barbara Brown

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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: Although much has been taught about covenants in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, little attention has been given to the witnesses of those covenants. In this paper I focus on the importance of witnessing the covenants that we make with God — especially the gospel covenant — rather than on the process of making them. Instead of emphasizing the teachings of Latter-day Saint leaders and authors, I prioritize the standard works of the Church in my analysis of this topic. I begin with a discussion of covenants and witnesses in the Hebrew Bible, and then proceed with an examination of the same from the Book of Mormon. I identify the ordinances of baptism and the sacrament as witnesses of the gospel covenant and clarify that it is through the blood of Christ that we are cleansed from sin rather than through the waters of baptism. I conclude by observing the importance of faithfully witnessing the gospel covenant to serve God and keep his commandments.

From the earliest of times, God has established a pattern of covenant making with his people. Some Jewish scholars have even postulated that the first use of the word covenant in the Bible occurs in the very first word of the book of Genesis, בראשית (bereshit), translated as “In the beginning” in most English Bibles.1 Following this theory, the word אש (esh), or fire, is sandwiched between the four letters of the word for covenant ברית (brit). The result is בר-אש-ית (br-esh-it), which when rendered ברית אש (brit esh) means covenant of fire.

In antiquity, witnesses and testimonies (עדים, edim) or signs and tokens (אתת, otot) always accompanied and served as public evidences [Page 128]of these divine covenants. In fact, it is interesting that in the Book of Mormon only the secret combinations had secret signs:

And it came to pass that they did have their signs, yea, their secret signs and their secret words — and this that they might distinguish a brother who had entered into the covenant, that whatsoever wickedness his brother should do, he should not be injured by his brother, nor by those who did belong to his band who had taken this covenant. (Helaman 6:22)2

For the sake of simplicity, throughout this paper I refer to עדים (edim, witnesses or testimonies) and אתת (otot, signs or tokens) using the collective term witnesses of the covenant. These witnesses often served as reminders or as warnings to the people to be faithful to the covenantal agreement. In this paper, I discuss the principal covenants in the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon, correlated with their associated witnesses.

While Latter-day Saint authors and Church leaders have written and spoken much about covenants, covenant-making, and covenant-keeping, the topic of covenantal witnesses has been largely overlooked. Hence, this paper will focus mainly on the witnesses of the covenant and will primarily rely on scriptural sources rather than on the sermons or writings of Latter-day Saint Church leaders or authors.

Old Testament Covenants and Witnesses

The Old Testament contains accounts of many covenants and witnesses to those covenants. These include Noah, Abraham, Sinai, Moab, the Transjordan witness, Shechem, and Nehemiah. Each of these are discussed in the following sections.

Noah

The first time that the word covenant (ברית, brit) is used explicitly in the Bible is when God, speaking to Noah prior to the flood, said,

Presented at:

2016 Temple on Mount Zion ConferenceSaturday, November 5, 2016https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2016-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

Sacred Time, Sacred Space, & Sacred Meaning at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/sacred-time-sacred-space-sacred-meaning/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

 

In this episode of The Interpreter Radio Show, the moderator is Terry Hutchinson and our hosts are Spencer Kraus, Brent Schmidt, and Hales Swift with special guest Don Bradley. They discuss Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 40, Zina Huntington and polygamy, and the upcoming FAIR Conference. You can listen to or download the September 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 40, “Walk in the Spirit” covering Galatians, will also be posted separately on Tuesday, September 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: September 3, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The New Testament in Context Lesson 40: “Walk in the Spirit” covering Galatians

Gospel Advocacy: Zina Huntington and polygamy, with special guest Don Bradley, an independent historian specializing in the beginnings of the Restoration

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Discussion: The upcoming FAIR 2023 Defending the Book of Mormon Conference

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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.

 

 

In the August 27 Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our host Martin Tanner discusses New Testament lesson 39, “God Loveth a Cheerful Giver” covering 2 Corinthians 8-13.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the August 27 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 August 27 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-august-27-2023.

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: August 27, 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.