The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

 

In the July 2 Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Steve Densley, Mark Johnson, and John Thompson discuss New Testament lesson 31, “The Lord Had Called Us for to Preach the Gospel,” covering Acts 16–21.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the July 2 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 June 25 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-july-2-2023.

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: July 2, 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.

 

Review of Spencer W. McBride, Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021). 269 pages, $29.95 (hardcover).

Abstract: Spencer McBride’s book is the deepest look yet into Joseph Smith’s 1844 campaign for president of the United States. In smooth-paced and readable detail, McBride’s work expertly demonstrates the unique Latter-day Saint genesis for the campaign and how it fit into the wider American social-political environment. Its message regarding religious liberty is as applicable today as it was nearly two centuries ago.

[Editor’s Note: This review first appeared in The Civil War Book Review 24, no. 1 (2022). It is reprinted here with permission. Slight editorial changes have been made.]

On July 4, 1844, Americans celebrated sixty-eight years of independence with feasts, parades, and fireworks. Over three million enslaved Black people, however, were not celebrating. As Frederick Douglass would declare eight years later, “What to the slave is the Fourth of July?” Amongst other mechanisms, the southern Slave Power continued to enthrone states’ rights as a “political strategy … to maintain a carefully constructed — and deeply unjust — economic and social hierarchy” (209).

In the North, Independence Day passed with an uneasy calm in Philadelphia. Tragically, however, the next three days saw nativist mobs reignite anti-Catholic violence begun two months earlier. One thousand miles west in Nauvoo, Illinois, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were mourning. A week earlier their prophet and presidential candidate Joseph Smith had been assassinated while in Illinois State custody. Hundreds of electioneer missionaries canvassing [Page 220]the nation for Smith were just learning of his murder and would dejectedly begin returning to Nauvoo. Sustained anti-Mormon violence would expel them from the nation only eighteen months later.

This treatment of Catholics and Latter-day Saints demonstrated that in antebellum America, religious freedom was not universal. But why? Spencer W. McBride, an associate managing historian of the Joseph Smith Papers, argues in his book Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom1 “that the states’ rights strategy was as effective at impeding efforts to establish full citizenship rights of religious minorities as it was at blocking efforts to establish the personhood of men and women of African descent enslaved in the American South” (209). In this important work, McBride employs the causes and outcomes of Smith’s sincere but quixotic campaign as a lens to effectively evaluate antebellum religious inequality and the systems that perpetuated it.

Joseph Smith’s new religion, with its community building and its anti-slavery and pro-American-Indian beliefs, engendered staunch opposition from Missourians who feared Latter-day Saints’ growing economic and political power. When tension turned to conflict, the governor of Missouri ordered the infamous “Extermination Order.” While Smith languished in jail, militia-mobs forced his people into Illinois — victims of theft, violence, and even rape.

After gaining his freedom, Smith traveled to Washington, DC, seeking federal assistance for protection and redress. Here McBride excels, meticulously immersing Smith and the reader in the larger context of American political life and realities. When the president and Congress offer no assistance behind the guise of states’ rights and electoral politics, Smith lost confidence in the American political system and even democracy itself.

No longer politically naive,

Science and Mormonism have nearly always been on very friendly terms, with Church members sharing the deep conviction that, as expressed by former scientist and apostle Elder James E. Talmage, “within the gospel of Jesus Christ there is room and place for every truth thus far learned by man, or yet to be made known.” Subsequent Presidents and General Authorities of the Church have advanced similar views about the ultimate compatibility of religious and scientific truths and, with notably few exceptions, have maintained markedly positive attitudes toward both the methods and conclusions of mainstream science and the advance of modern technology.

Presented at:

2016 Second Interpreter Science & Mormonism Symposium: Body, Brain, Mind, and SpiritSaturday, March 12, 2016https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2016-second-interpreter-science-mormonism-symposium-body-brain-mind-and-spirit/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

 

In the June 25 Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Steve Densley, Mark Johnson, and John Thompson discuss New Testament lesson 30, “The Word of God Grew and Multiplied,” covering Acts 10–15.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the June 18 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 June 25 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-june-25-2023.

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: June 25, 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, John Gee, and Kevin Christensen. They discuss Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 32, Jeremy Runnells and John Dehlin‘s claim that “second sight” means “imagination”, and the article this week by John Gee. They are then joined by Ron Esplin to discuss his new Brigham Young Papers Project and the first volume, which will be published in August. You can listen to or download the July 9th 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 32, “A Minister and a Witness,” covering Acts 22–28, will also be posted separately on Tuesday, July 25.

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: July 9, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The New Testament in Context Lesson 32: “A Minister and a Witness” covering Acts 22–28

Restoration Advocacy: Jeremy Runnells and John Dehlin claim BoM witnesses use of the phrase “second sight” means “imagination.” We explain why that cannot be true, and how important evidence contradicting the “imagination” idea is intentionally omitted by Dehlin and Runnells.

Podcast: Download

Discussion: John Gee’s July 7th Interpreter article on the importance of the word “nevertheless” in the BoM. Guest Ron Esplin, managing director of the Joseph Smith Papers project discusses his new Brigham Young Papers Project and the first volume, which will be published in August.

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: This work explores an alternative interpretation of the Exodus narrative as a metaphor for childbirth. Gleaning from Old Testament and Judaic sources, we find rich female birth and salvific imagery in the saga of the migration of the children of Israel and the Passover itself. This perspective of sacred childbirth, when coupled with traditional Christian interpretations of the first Passover, ultimately paints an enhanced picture of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The Exodus account of the birth of the Israelite nation is an allegorical masterpiece, inspiring scripture and sacred worship the world over. The narrative acquaints us with the personal journey of Moses, from his ignominious beginning in a slave dwelling to his triumphant delivery of thousands from bondage — a tale venerated by Judaism, Islam, and Christianity alike. Though many iterations of the Exodus story focus on Moses as the heroic protagonist in the miraculous military victory over Egypt, the story can also be explored from a different vantage point: Moses as figurative midwife, delivering the children of Israel from the confines of the womb.

Childbearing in the time of the Exodus, as in any pre-modern period, was a perilous endeavor. According to conservative estimates, around one in three infants and one in forty mothers did not survive the birth process anciently.1 Experienced midwives who could mitigate [Page 210]the dangers of childbirth held a prestigious place in early societies, as entire nations thrived or declined depending on their birth rates. The role of midwife is honored in several Old Testament texts where God is described as performing the duties of a midwife. God delivers a newborn (Job 10:18–19, 38:8; Isaiah 66:8–9), clothes it (Job 10:10–12, 38:8–9), and places it in its mother’s arms (Psalm 22:9–10).2

The concept of the Exodus as a birth metaphor has been cited by many contemporary Jewish scholars as well as medieval3 and renaissance-era4 Biblical commentators. Viewing the Exodus story from a childbirth perspective has the potential to illuminate many aspects of birth and motherhood that are perhaps underrepresented in traditional western religious thought. These sacred principles regarding birth nevertheless play an essential part in ultimate exaltation. The Exodus story resolutely champions the divine commission of women through the actions of its female cast. The story also entwines sacred motherhood with the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ through the symbolism of the migration of the children of Israel and the...

Abstract: One example of verbal punctuation that has a very clear pattern of usage in the Book of Mormon is the term nevertheless. It is used to draw a marked contrast between what the previous text would lead one to expect and what follows it. It is not clear what the ancient antecedent to the term might be and the English term and usage might be an artefact of the translation process. The frequency and usage of nevertheless in the Book of Mormon contrasts with the way that Joseph Smith’s writings use it.

table {border: 1px solid #dddddd; margin: auto;} td, th {border: 1px solid #dddddd; padding: 5px !important; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;} th {background-color: #eeeeee; color: #373737 !important; font-size: 100% !important; text-transform: none !important; line-height: 1.5 !important} .centered td, .centered th {text-align: center !important;} .right td, .right th {text-align: right !important;} td.left, th.left {text-align: left !important;} td.centered, th.centered {text-align: center !important;} td.right, th.right {text-align: right !important;} table.noborder, table.noborder td{border: 0px solid #ffffff; padding: 0 5px !important} p.caption-text {text-align: center !important; margin-top: 1em !important; font-weight: 700;} .chiasm-b {padding-left: 2em;} .chiasm-c {padding-left: 4em;} .chiasm-d {padding-left: 6em;} .chiasm-e {padding-left: 8em;} .chiasm-f {padding-left: 10em;} .chiasm-g {padding-left: 12em;} p.caption {margin-top: 1em !important; text-align: center !important;}

Modern books use marks as punctuation to help structure the narrative. The Book of Mormon, being an ancient book, uses words as punctuation, rather than marks. Having established the existence of verbal punctuation in the Book of Mormon,1 other individual items of verbal punctuation remain to be explored. I will examine one whose function in the Book of Mormon is clear, but whose other features are more complicated.

A Note on Methodology

In looking at verbal punctuation in the Book of Mormon, the following general method is employed.

* The most important consideration is how a particular feature is used in the Book of Mormon text. All other considerations are secondary. Examples of usage are, whenever possible, drawn from every book in the Book of Mormon. This [Page 196]provides the reader with multiple illustrations that cover the whole gamut of the text as well as a check on whether there are chronological developments within the Book of Mormon. To avoid too lengthy of a list, generally only one or two examples from each book are cited.

* The Book of Mormon claims to be based on a language consisting of “the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2). Therefore both Hebrew and Egyptian are considered in providing antecedents to the expressions in the Book of Mormon. Where possible, if the expressions occur in the Isaiah portions of the Book of Mormon, the corresponding Hebrew text serves as a guide to finding Hebrew equivalents. These can then be examined in the parts of the Hebrew Bible that claim to be pre-exilic to see if the Book of Mormon has Hebrew parallels. Proposed Egyptian parallels are less secure.

* Because many claim that the Book of Mormon is not ancient; and that it came through the dictation of Joseph Smith, Joseph Smith’s usage from around the time of the Book of Mormon is also compared. Finding examples of Joseph Smith’s early usage, however, is a complicated matter. For the purposes of these studies, Stanford Carmack’s collection of early Joseph Smith documents (available through WordC...

Science and Mormonism have nearly always been on very friendly terms, with Church members sharing the deep conviction that, as expressed by former scientist and apostle Elder James E. Talmage, “within the gospel of Jesus Christ there is room and place for every truth thus far learned by man, or yet to be made known.” Subsequent Presidents and General Authorities of the Church have advanced similar views about the ultimate compatibility of religious and scientific truths and, with notably few exceptions, have maintained markedly positive attitudes toward both the methods and conclusions of mainstream science and the advance of modern technology.

Presented at:

2016 Second Interpreter Science & Mormonism Symposium: Body, Brain, Mind, and SpiritSaturday, March 12, 2016https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2016-second-interpreter-science-mormonism-symposium-body-brain-mind-and-spirit/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording