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Neal Rappleye

“Idle and Slothful Strange Stories”: Book of Mormon Origins and the Historical Record

May 23, 2016 by Neal Rappleye

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This post was originally published by Interpreter and is cross posted by permission. For the original, see http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/idle-and-slothful-strange-stories-book-of-mormon-origins-and-the-historical-record/

Abstract: From the very beginning, Joseph’s story about the origins of the Book of Mormon seemed wild and unbelievable. Today, however, Joseph’s account enjoys a high degree of corroboration from (1) eyewitness accounts confirming Joseph’s possession of actual metal plates and other artifacts, with some even corroborating the involvement of an angel in providing access to the record; (2) eyewitness reports on the process of producing the text; and (3) evidence from the original manuscript. This evidence is reviewed here, and the implications it has for the Book of Mormon’s origin are considered.

The stories Joseph Smith told about the origins of the Book of Mormon are quite fantastic. He said that in 1823 one of the ancient authors, Moroni, came to him as an angel and told him where the record was hidden. After four years under Moroni’s annual tutelage, Joseph was permitted to recover the record engraved on a set of gold plates from its resting place in a stone box in a hill. Joseph was empowered by God to translate the record, through the medium of “interpreters,” or seer stones. Thus empowered, he dictated to scribes such as his wife Emma, Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and others. This is the origin of the Book of Mormon, per Joseph Smith.1

Naturally, this narrative was greeted with skepticism by those outside Joseph’s inner circle and continues to be doubted by many today. In January 1830, newspaper editor Abner Cole wrote a biting satire about Joseph Smith and his stories about angels, gold plates, and divine translation. Cole lumped these tall tales in with “Idle and Slothful strange stories of hidden treasures and of the spirit who had the custody thereof.”2 The story continues to be lumped in with tales of Captain Kidd and other money-diggers lore today3 and forms part of the rationale for why even some professed Latter-day Saints would have us abandon any kind of defense of the book’s origins, opting instead for some sort of vague “inspired-fiction” view of the Book of Mormon.4

Though this story may seem wild and unbelievable to the modern skeptic, its elements actually fit ancient patterns for the discovery of lost books.5 The account also enjoys a high degree of corroboration from (1) eyewitness accounts confirming Joseph’s possession of actual metal plates and other artifacts, with some even corroborating the involvement of an angel in providing access to the record; (2) eyewitness reports on the process of producing the text; and (3) evidence from the original manuscript. These three items are addressed in this paper.

Artifacts and Angels

Anthony Sweat, assistant professor of Church History at BYU, talks about how remarkably physical the Book of Mormon’s origins are.

Joseph said the Book of Mormon came forth from a nearby hill, by removing dirt, using a lever to lift a large stone, and removing actual engraved plates and sacred interpreters for the translation of its inscriptions. The Book of Mormon text didn’t just pass through Joseph’s trance-induced revelatory mind; its palpable relics passed through a clothing frock, hollowed log, cooper’s shop, linen napkin, wooden chest, fireplace hearth, and barrel of beans.6

The physicality of these artifacts was experienced by a wide variety of men and women in a wide variety of ways. As Richard Lloyd Anderson explained decades ago,

The plates figured in the regular life of Joseph Smith for over a year and a half. … He worried about obtaining them, [and] guarded them carefully during this period. … This meant that those nearest him shared in his strategies for preserving and using them. So a larger circle than the official witnesses had some contact with the ancient record in their daily affairs.7

To start, there are the official eleven witnesses. Just prior to publishing the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith showed the plates to two separate groups of people. The first consisted of Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and Cowdery’s brother-in-law David Whitmer. These three all testified that after praying with Joseph Smith, an angel showed them the plates on which the Book of Mormon was written.8 Another set of witnesses, consisting of David’s brothers Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr., John Whitmer, their brother-in-law Hiram Page, and Joseph’s father and brothers, Joseph Smith Sr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel Smith were shown the record under ordinary circumstances and allowed to handle the plates.9

Both sets of witnesses had group testimonies drafted and published within the covers of the Book of Mormon. Many of the individuals also made frequent statements throughout their lives as they were questioned about the experience by believers and skeptics alike. The earliest of these on record comes from Oliver Cowdery a few months after the experience. In response to a newspaper editor inquiring about the Book of Mormon, Oliver wrote, “It was a clear, open beautiful day, far from any inhabitants, in a remote field, at the time we saw the record, of which it has been spoken, brought and laid before us, by an angel, arrayed in glorious light, [who] ascend [descended I suppose] out of the midst of heaven.”10

Oliver later left the Church, yet there is no indication that he ever denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon.11 After returning to the Church in 1848 at a Conference held in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Oliver delivered a stirring address. Included in that address was the declaration, “I beheld with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which [the Book of Mormon] was translated. I also saw with my eyes and handled with my hands the Holy Interpreters. That book is true.”12

In a letter written in 1870, Martin Harris testified: “I do say that the angel did show me the plates containing the Book of Mormon.”13 In 1887, after all the other witnesses had passed away, David Whitmer, though no longer a member of the Church, continued to fulfill the charge they had received in 1830. “I will say once more to all mankind,” he wrote, “that I have never at any time denied that testimony or any part thereof. I also testify to the world, that neither Oliver Cowdery or Martin Harris ever at any time denied their testimony.”14

Similar individual statements can be found among the eight witnesses. The Prophet’s brother Hyrum Smith said, “[H]e had but two hands and two eyes” and that “he had seen the plates with his eyes and handled them with his hands.”15 In 1839, after enduring the bleakness of Liberty Jail, Hyrum Smith wrote, “I thank God that I felt a determination to die, rather than deny the things which my eyes had seen, which my hands had handled.”16 In 1847, after leaving the Church, Hiram Page said, speaking of the Book of Mormon, it would be “doing injustice to myself and to the work of God of the last days, to say … my mind was so treacherous that I had forgotten what I saw.”17

John Whitmer, like his brother David, is one of the witnesses who left the Church and never returned. Once, after leaving the Church, he stood before some of his anti-Mormon friends and was questioned about his witness of the Book of Mormon by Theodore Turley. With all the peer pressure in the world telling him to deny his testimony, John declared, “I now say I handled those plates. There was fine engravings on both sides. I handled them.”18 Decades later, after most of the other witnesses had passed away, John responded by letter to someone asking about his testimony in the Book of Mormon. “I have never heard,” he wrote, “that any one of the three or eight witnesses ever denied the testimony that they have borne to the Book as published in the first edition of the Book of Mormon.”19

The two sets of witnesses are complemented by the additional experiences and informal interactions with the plates that others had. These include Alvah Beaman, Josiah Stowell, and Joseph Knight Sr. along with other members of Joseph Smith’s family, such as his wife Emma, his mother Lucy, and his brother and sister, William and Katharine.20 Although most of these people never actually saw the plates, they can attest that Joseph Smith really did have a tangible object. They felt, lifted, and moved this object around (while covered). They could feel the weight, contours, and shape of the object well enough to discern that it was not blocks of wood or stones.21 They could lift the individual pages (or plates), hear them make a metallic rustling sound as they moved,22 and feel that they were bound by three rings.23

Their experiences are so straightforward they cannot be easily dismissed. Both Emma and Katharine moved the covered plates around the house as they did daily chores,24 Josiah Stowell caught a glimpse of their corner as the covering slipped off when Joseph handed them to him,25 Alvah Beaman heard the metallic clinking of the plates as he helped move them around in the wooden chest,26 and Martin Harris let them sit, covered, on his knee for some time as he talked with Joseph in the woods while they were preparing to hide the plates from a mob.27 Others reported finding the stone box in the hill after it had been emptied of its contents.28 These are mundane, ordinary, even day-to-day experiences. Experiences like these bring a certain tangibility and physicality to the plates that makes them hard to remove from historical reality.

There is also the experience of Mary Whitmer, who saw both the plates and the angel. Her experience is interesting because, even though it includes the divine messenger, even he is portrayed in rather ordinary terms. He shows up as a man while she is out milking cows, he shows her the record, and then he is gone.29

This is only a small sampling of the many accounts that exist from the various witnesses.30 While it is easy to scrutinize and dismiss these testimonies now, for those living in the vicinity of Palmyra at the time, it was much harder to ignore. As a pair of historians who work for the The Joseph Smith Papers Project explain, “Joseph’s initial problems with enemies in 1827 were precisely because they were certain that he had in fact obtained some golden treasure from the hill.”31

All of this makes notions of co-conspirators or easily duped followers very difficult to square with the historical record. There are too many people with too many stories about interactions with the plates and other artifacts. Several left the Church while continuing to bear their witness of the plates. As Richard Lloyd Anderson noted, several were strong-willed individuals who “tended to compete rather than cooperate with [Joseph Smith’s] leadership.”32 Given such circumstances, it would be impossible to keep a conspiracy under wraps, and their tendency to compete with Joseph’s leadership indicates they are not likely to be easily duped.

The different types of experiences of the various witnesses provide what Terryl Givens called “an evidentiary spectrum, satisfying a range of criteria for belief.” He elaborates:

The reality of the plates was now confirmed by both proclamation from heaven and by empirical observation, through a supernatural vision and by simple, tactical experience, by the testimony of passive witnesses to a divine demonstration and by the testimony of a group of men actively engaging in their own unhampered examination of the evidence.33

While Givens was only speaking of the official witnesses, the experiences of others who interacted with these objects further expands the evidentiary spectrum. For these participants, the plates and other objects were an omnipresent reality, sometimes out of sight but never really out of mind. They helped protect them from mobs trying to take the plates, either to get rich, expose the fraud, or both. They moved them around while doing daily chores. Homes were ransacked, marriages were severed, and family ties strained to the limit — all over whatever Joseph had hidden under that linen cloth or secured in his wooden chest. “From Nephi to Joseph and Emma,” Brant A. Gardner notes, “the Book of Mormon was intensely physical, intensely tangible.”34

Steven C. Harper of the Church Historical Department feels that the witnesses’ testimonies “are some of the most compelling evidence in favor of its miraculous revelation and translation.” Indeed, Harper notes that, “[f]or believers,” such testimony “approaches proof of Joseph Smith’s miraculous claims.”35 But what of doubters and skeptics?

“The witnesses’ statements were an effective demonstration of authenticity for a skeptical age,” according to Richard Lyman Bushman, a highly respected early American historian and former Howard W. Hunter chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate School. “Secular historians have never come to grips with the fact that none of the eleven who saw the plates (in addition to Joseph Smith) ever recanted.”36

All told, these accounts corroborate Joseph Smith’s claim to having a set of metal plates and other objects within his possession. Some support his assertions of having retrieved them from a stone box in the Hill Cumorah. Additionally, several eyewitnesses were also introduced to the angel who was involved in revealing the plates. This creates a large body of historical evidence consistent with Joseph Smith’s claims.

Translation Process

There is an abundance of documentation on the process by which the English text was produced.37 Using that documentation, researchers have determined that the bulk of the translation occurred between April and June 1829, in a period only a little longer than two months — a rate of about eight pages per day.38 This was accomplished amidst a variety of other activities that had to be done, such as the dictation of twelve additional revelations (now in the Doctrine and Covenants), application for copyright, and hostile interactions with neighbors, which eventually mandated a relocation of the translation from Harmony, Pennsylvania, to Fayette, New York, a distance of a hundred miles.39 “Besides translating,” Bushman writes, “Joseph received revelations for his brother Hyrum and the helpful Joseph Knight, and was instructed by the Lord to translate the small plates of Nephi rather than go back again to Lehi’s longer record. But through all of the ambient events, the main project ground on, the words coming relentlessly from Joseph’s mouth and going onto paper under Cowdery’s pen.”40

Witnesses to the process have insisted that Joseph Smith had no other book or manuscript with him from which to draw material.41 Using a hat to shield out the light as he focused on his seer stone, Joseph could not have read from a manuscript because, as he once told Martin Harris (who had switched out the seer stone with a different rock), it was “dark as Egypt” in the hat.42 Despite that, however, Joseph seemed to be reading from something because he would have his scribe recite back what was written to verify its accuracy.43 After countless interruptions, Joseph always started back right where he left off, without ever checking with his scribe to see what was last dictated.44 Sometimes Joseph had trouble pronouncing the names of the various characters in the narrative, including that of the name Sariah, Nephi’s mother.45 On at least one occasion, the content of the text seemed to surprise Joseph. For example, on one occasion when Emma was acting as his scribe, she remembered,

[O]ne time while he was translating he stopped suddenly, pale as a sheet, and said, “Emma, did Jerusalem have walls around it?” When I answered “Yes,” he replied “Oh! I was afraid I had been deceived.” He had such limited knowledge of history at that time that he did not even know that Jerusalem was surrounded by walls.46

In the words of Martin Harris, “Joseph knew not the contents of the Book of Mormon until it was translated.”47

Evidence from the remaining portions of the original manuscript corroborates much of the witnesses’ testimony. Royal Skousen, a linguist who has led the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project for over a quarter century,48 has observed that the kind of errors found in the original manuscript reflect the mishearing, rather than the misreading, of the words, indicating that the original text was dictated to scribes. His analysis leads him to conclude that Joseph could only read twenty to thirty words at a time. Names are often misspelled and then corrected, supporting the witnesses’ testimony that Joseph would sometimes spell out the proper names. There are immediate changes to errors, consistent with the scribes reading back the text to Joseph to have it verified. Consistent with Joseph’s being unfamiliar with the text, the manuscript shows that Joseph did not always know when a break in the text was the beginning of a new chapter or a whole new book, specifically evidenced in the manuscript at the division between 1 and 2 Nephi.49

To summarize, both the eyewitness and manuscript evidence suggest that Joseph was reading a text, but not from any manuscript or book. He only had access to limited portions of the text at a time, and did not have personal control over the text. There is no long, drawn out composition process — over five hundred pages were rattled off into a complex, coherent narrative in just over two months’ time, a miraculous feat in its own right. After breaks, he did not go back to do extensive revisions, nor did he need to review what had already been written, as an author normally would. He could not pronounce some of the names, and the information in the text was often as new to him as it was to his scribes and those observing the process. Overall, this evidence suggests that the text was not his own.

It is impossible to prove that something is miraculous or divine, but all of the above evidence is consistent with the story told by Joseph himself — that he dictated a text given to him by revelation, through the medium of an “interpreter,” or a seer stone.50 Taken together, Joseph Smith’s basic account, from the angel delivering the record on metal plates to the translation provided by “the gift and power of God,” is supported, to the extent possible, by the best primary sources on the coming forth of the text.

The Implications for Origins

In his study on authorship attribution, Harold Love explained that an important class of evidence includes “[c]ontemporary attributions contained in … titles, and from documents purporting to impart information about the circumstances of composition — especially diaries, correspondence, publishers’ records, and records of legal proceedings.”51 While the Book of Mormon title page listed Joseph Smith as the “author and proprietor” of the text in 1830, this was clearly done for copyright reasons.52 Therefore, the historical evidence, summarized here, coming from the people most familiar with “the circumstances of composition,” must be dealt with in any attempt to explain the origins and authorship of the Book of Mormon.

Such evidence makes it difficult to dismiss these narratives as “idle and slothful strange stories,” or otherwise explain them. Despite continued efforts by some critics to posit some other author, such as Sidney Rigdon or Solomon Spaulding,53 the evidence really allows only for Joseph Smith as a potential author in 1830. Too many people saw and described the process of Joseph, head in hat, dictating the text for it to be any other way.54 Yet Joseph as author also quickly runs into problems.

Joseph was unfamiliar with the content (Jerusalem’s walls) and structural divisions (mislabeled division between 1 and 2 Nephi), and could not pronounce at least some of the names (like Sariah). Why would this be if the text was Joseph’s own creation? Add to that the questions of where the plates and other artifacts in his possession came from, which are also corroborated by eyewitness testimony. Despite these problems, Joseph Smith and several of the other nineteenth century persons have been proposed as the author(s) of the text. Such proposals fail the test of historical evidence. Overall, the external evidence is consistent with Joseph Smith’s own explanation of events — including the angel and the plates — more than any other.

A great deal of creativity has been expended trying to account for all this in some other way. Some have argued,55 for example, that Joseph Smith manufactured a fake set of plates, even appealing to known forgeries such as the Voree and Kinderhook plates, as analogs. Such arguments suffer from a number of difficulties:

  1. This is an ad hoc explanation, necessitated by the witnesses’ testimonies but not actually supported by them or any other historical evidence.
  2. The Voree and Kinderhook plates are small and crude and were obviously made of easily available materials. The Book of Mormon plates, on the other hand, are a different story entirely. Reconstructions of them based on witness descriptions prove extremely difficult.56 These plates were a well-crafted artifact far beyond the skills of Joseph Smith.57
  3. Lastly, witnesses attested to several other artifacts, such as the Liahona, Sword of Laban, the breastplate, and Interpreters.58 If the plates alone were beyond Joseph’s skill set to manufacture, then these added props certainly complicate the matter. It seems difficult to maintain that Joseph Smith created these artifacts himself (or with others). There is no evidence to support such an argument.

Others, then, turn to conspiracy theories, as already discussed. All the eyewitnesses to both the plates and the translation are from Joseph Smith’s “inner circle,” and thus they colluded with him on a major hoax. This theory breaks down quickly, however. Too many of these persons were later estranged from Joseph Smith and the Church, and yet not one backed away from his testimony nor exposed a conspiracy. Added to that is the fact that most of the eyewitness accounts are made after their estrangement from Joseph, independently and spontaneously upon questioning and cross-examination (sometimes from skeptical interviewers), during a time when these witnesses were scattered and isolated from each other, when no collusion was possible.59

Richard Lloyd Anderson is both a historian and an attorney. His legal background is evident in the way he examines historical sources. While some regard such approaches as problematic, it has its merits as well. When trying to discern potential conspirators, for instance, Anderson’s interrogative approach is quite valuable. With the acumen of a seasoned trial attorney accustomed to discerning when witnesses are covering something up, he examined both the public and private statements left behind by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery from the period of translation. He found no deception but instead sincerity.

Profound faith and reverence characterize Joseph and Oliver in the early years of the Church. … The early Joseph and Oliver are men with missions, servants of Christ devoted to his work. This is supremely relevant in judging their Book of Mormon translation. They are the kind of men that God would use in such a great work. Their lives and thoughts are in harmony with what they claimed to do. … Their intense prayerfulness is consistent with communion with God. Not only is their translation story credible by numerous practical tests — the translators themselves emerge as spiritually credible.

… Did Oliver and Joseph translate by revelation and receive testimony and authority from angels? One must judge their credibility and discern the product of their work. Their activities are verified and their lifetime testimonies unwavering. The translators’ minds harmonize with their prophetic call. Moreover, their claims are phrased with the confident simplicity of men who expect to be believed. What they said is important, but so also is how they said it; lack of overstatement in their first testimonies underlines depth of conviction.60

Such sincerity is problematic for theories of fraud or conspiracy. Richard Lyman Bushman, widely regarded as the leading expert on the life of Joseph Smith, reached a similar conclusion after reviewing the primary sources for the recovery and translation period. Speaking of Joseph Smith’s unpublished 1832 history, for example, Bushman observes:

The passage has an endearing candor to it. Joseph admits his teenage transgressions and his hope for forgiveness. He comes across as a learner trying to understand what he is to do. He is baffled when he cannot get the plates and wonders for an instant if he had just dreamed the vision. He is terrified that he has done something wrong. The angel at times frightens him. When he is rebuked, Joseph recognizes that he had been thinking of gold and riches, not of the glory of God. He is relieved to record the assurance that by repentance he could be forgiven and get the plates eventually. … The passage captivates a reader, making it hard to doubt Joseph’s sincerity. Inserting too much of language like this into a secular account would diffuse the search for Book of Mormon sources and turn attention to Joseph’s desire to comply with the will of heaven.

This is why, Bushman explains, “believing historians are more inclined to be true to the basic sources than unbelieving ones.”61

Counter-explanations ultimately fall flat of accounting for all the historical evidence, and they needlessly multiply hypotheses. They are particularly inadequate to account for the sincerity and honesty that both Anderson and Bushman discern in the most reliable primary sources. The most parsimonious explanation remains that given by Joseph Smith himself: an angel showed him where to find a record engraved on metal plates. This record was translated by means of revelation, through the medium of seer stones (called “interpreters” by the record itself), and published as the Book of Mormon.

Neal Rappleye is a research project manager for Book of Mormon Central. He blogs about Latter-day Saint topics at http://www.studioetquoquefide.com/

 

References

1. The most accessible primary source for all of this is Joseph Smith’s own history written in 1838–1839, included in the LDS standard works as Joseph Smith — History. For additional treatments of the topic that cite the relevant primary sources, see Richard E. Turley Jr. and William W. Slaughter, How We Got the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2011), 1–23; Matthew B. Brown, Plates of Gold: The Book of Mormon Comes Forth (American Fork, UT: Covenant Communications, 2003), 3–97; Brant A. Gardner, The Gift and Power: Translating the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2011), 3–134; Paul C. Gutjahr, The Book of Mormon: A Biography (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012), 11–37; Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit J. Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light: Joseph Smith’s Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: BYU Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book, 2015), 3–134.

2. Obadiah Dogberry [Abner Cole], “The Book of Pukei,” Palmyra Reflector (June 12, 1830), 36.

3. See Ronald V. Huggins, “From Captain Kidd’s Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: ChangingDramatis Personae in Mormonism,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 36/4 (2003): 17–42. For evaluation of such arguments from a faithful LDS perspective, see Larry E. Morris, “‘I Should Have an Eye Single to the Glory of God’: Joseph Smith’s Account of the Angel and the Plates,” FARMS Review 17/1 (2005): 11–81; Mark Ashurst-McGee, “Moroni as Angel and as Treasure Guardian,” FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 34–100.

4. See for example, Anthony A. Hutchinson, “The Word of God Is Enough: The Book of Mormon as Nineteenth-Century Scripture,” in New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, ed. Brent Lee Metcalfe (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1993), 1–19; Robert M. Price, “Joseph Smith: Inspired Author of the Book of Mormon,” inAmerican Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon, ed. Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002), 321–366.

5. See John A. Tvedtnes, The Book of Mormon and Other Hidden Books: “Out of Darkness Unto Light” (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2000).

6. Anthony Sweat, “Hefted and Handled: Tangible Interactions with Book of Mormon Objects,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon: A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, ed. Dennis Largey, Andrew H. Hedges, John Hilton III, and Kerry Hull (Provo/Salt Lake: BYU Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book, 2015), 44.

7. Richard Lloyd Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1981), 21, brackets mine, capitalization altered.

8. See “The Testimony of Three Witnesses,” in the front of contemporary editions of the Book of Mormon.

9. See “The Testimony of Eight Witnesses,” in the front of contemporary editions of the Book of Mormon.

10. Oliver H.P. Cowdery to Cornelius C. Blatchly, November 9, 1829, printed in Cornelius C. Blatchly, “The New Bible,” Gospel Luminary 2/49 (December 10, 1829): 194. Brackets represent the commentary of Blatchly. An image of this source is available online athttp://www.juvenileinstructor.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/1829-12-10-v2n49-copy.jpg (accessed July 26, 2014).

11. See Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, 37–47.

12. Reuben Miller Journal, cited in Richard Lloyd Anderson, “Reuben Miller, Recorder of Oliver Cowdery’s Reaffirmations,” in Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness, ed. John W. Welch and Larry E. Morris (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2006), 402.

13. Martin Harris to Hannah Emerson, November 23, 1870, printed in “Correspondence,” inTrue Latter Day Saints’ Herold 22/20 (Plano, IL; October 15, 1875), 630.

14. David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ (Richmond, MO: David Whitmer, 1887), 8.

15. Sally Bradford Parker to John Kempton, August 26, 1838; transcribed in Janiece L. Johnson, “‘The Scriptures Is a Fulfilling’: Sally Parker’s Weave,” BYU Studies 44/2 (2005): 115, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization standardized. Original reads: “he said he had but too hands and too eyes he said he had seene the plates with his eyes and handeled them with his hands”.

16. Hyrum Smith to the Saints, December 1829, printed at “Communications,” Times and Seasons 1/2 (December 1839): 23.

17. Hiram Page to William E. McLellin, May 30, 1847; cited by Steven C. Harper, “The Eleven Witnesses,” in The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, 122.

18. Memorandum of Theodore Turley, April 4, 1839; cited by Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, 131.

19. John Whitmer to Mark H. Forest [Forscutt], March 5, 1876; cited by Harper, “The Eleven Witnesses,” 123.

20. For summaries of the experiences of these individuals, see Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, 21–34; Brown, Plates of Gold, 48, 78 n. 83; MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 13, 15–16. For Alvah Beaman, see William J. Hamblin, “An Apologist for the Critics: Brent Lee Metcalf’s Assumptions and Methodologies,” Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 6/1 (1994): 519.

21. William Smith, “Sermon in the Saints Chapel,” The Saints’ Herald 31 (1884): 643–644.

22. Emma Smith, Interview between February 4–10, 1879, The Saints’ Herald 26 (1879): 290; William Smith, “Sermon in the Saints Chapel,” 643–644; Joel Tiffany, “Mormonism — No. II,”Tiffany’s Monthly 5 (August 1859): 167; MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 15; Michael R. Ash, Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith(Springville, UT: Cedar Fort, 2008), 14.

23. Interview of William Smith by E.C. Briggs and J. W. Peterson, Zion’s Ensign (January 13, 1894): 6; Lucy Mack Smith, reported in Henry Caswall, The City of the Mormons; or, Three Days at Nauvoo, in 1842, 2nd ed., revised and enlarged, (London: J. G. F. & J. Rivington, 1843), 26.

24. Emma Smith, The Saints’ Herald 26:290; MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 15.

25. See “Mormonism,” New England Christian Herald 4/6 (Boston, MA; November 7, 1832); reprinted in Morning Star 8/29 (Limerick, ME; November 16, 1832); transcripts online athttp://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/NE/miscne01.htm#110732 andhttp://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/NE/miscMe01.htm#111632 respectively (accessed August 2, 2015).

26. Tiffany, “Mormonism — No. II,” 167.

27. “Testimonies of Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris,” Millennial Star 21 (August 20, 1859): 545.

28. See MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 9–10.

29. Three different accounts are all transcribed in Royal Skousen, “Another Account of Mary Whitmer’s Viewing of the Golden Plates,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 10 (2014): 35–44.

30. Unfortunately, there is no complete collection of these accounts. Preston Nibley, comp., The Witnesses of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1968) does gather a handful, though the collection is incomplete and out of date.

31. MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 10.

32. Richard Lloyd Anderson, “Cowdery, Oliver,” in To All the World: The Book of Mormon Articles from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, comp. Daniel H. Ludlow, S. Kent Brown, and John W. Welch (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2000), 78, brackets mine.

33. Terryl L. Givens, By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 40.

34. Brant A. Gardner, Traditions of the Fathers: The Book of Mormon as History (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2015), xv.

35. Harper, “The Eleven Witnesses,” 19. For a brief evaluation of the witnesses and their role, for believers, in God’s “proof system of the Book of Mormon,” see Book of Mormon Central, “Who Are the ‘Few’ Who Were Permitted to See the Plates? (2 Nephi 27:12–13), KnoWhy 54 (March 15, 2016), online at https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/who-are-the-few-who-were-permitted-to-see-the-plates (accessed April 19, 2016).

36. Richard Lyman Bushman, “The Recovery of the Book of Mormon,” in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, ed. Noel B. Reynolds (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1997), 33. For the most recent attempt to grapple with this issue by a non-Mormon, see Ann Taves, “History and the Claims of Revelation: Joseph Smith and the Materialization of the Golden Plates,” Numen: International Review for the History of Religions 61 (2014): 182–207.

37. My argument here is similar to that of Daniel C. Peterson, “A Response: What the Manuscripts and the Eyewitnesses Tell Us about the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” inUncovering the Original Text of the Book of Mormon: History and Findings of the Critical Text Project, ed. M. Gerald Bradford and Alison V.P. Coutts (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2002), 67–71. Also see Daniel C. Peterson, “Editor’s Introduction — Not So Easily Dismissed: Some Facts for Which Counterexplanations of the Book of Mormon Will Need to Account,” FARMS Review17/2 (2005): xi–xxiv, xxx–xxxii.

38. See John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone, “How Long Did it take to Translate the Book of Mormon?” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, 1–8; For a much longer and thorough examination, see John W. Welch, “The Miraculous Translation of the Book of Mormon,” in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820–1844, ed. John W. Welch (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2005), 77–117. Immediately following the article, from pages 118–213 are transcriptions of the relevant statements regarding the translation process, from a total of 202 documents. The primary sources used in this section can all be found in this collection. The citation to pages in Opening the Heavens will be provided only for documents difficult to access directly.

39. I’ve somewhat paraphrased Russell M. Nelson, “A Testimony of the Book of Mormon,”Ensign (November 1999): 71 on additional events occurring during translation. All these activities are documented in Welch, “The Miraculous Translation,” 77–117.

40. Bushman, “The Recovery of the Book of Mormon,” 32.

41. See Joseph Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” The Saints’ Herald (1 October 1879): 289–290.

42. “The Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon,” Millennial Star 48 (June 21, 1886): 389–390.

43. See Edward Stevenson, letter to the editor (reporting an interview with Martin Harris) November 30, 1881, Deseret Evening News (December 13, 1881), interview occurred in 1870; Eri B. Mullen, “Letter to the Editor,” (reporting an interview with David Whitmer) The Saints’ Herald 27 (March 1, 1880): 76; Interview of David Whitmer reported in Kansas City Journal(June 5, 1881).

44. See Smith III, “Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” 290.

45. See Edmund C. Briggs (reporting an interview with Emma Smith), “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” Journal of History 9 (October 1916): 454; E.C. Briggs (reporting an interview with David Whitmer), “Letter to the Editor,” The Saints’ Herald 31 (June 21, 1884): 396–397; “The Book of Mormon,” (reporting an interview with David Whitmer) Chicago Tribune (December 17, 1885): 3.

46. See Briggs, “A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856,” 454; cf. Nels Madsen, “Visit to Mrs. Emma Smith Bidamon [in 1877],” 1931, Church Archives, transcribed in Openings the Heavens, 129–130;Chicago Tribune, 3; M.J. Hubble, interview of David Whitmer, November 13, 1886, Missouri State Historical Society, Columbia, MO, transcribed in Opening the Heavens, 155–156. For commentary on this event, see Book of Mormon Central, “Did Jerusalem Have Walls Around It? (1 Nephi 4:4),” KnoWhy 7 (January 8, 2016), online athttps://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/did-jerusalem-have-walls-around-it(accessed April 19, 2016).

47. Orson Hyde (clerk), Council minutes from Kirtland, OH, February 12, 1834; in Fred C. Collier and William S. Harwell, eds., Kirtland Council Minute Book (Salt Lake City: Collier’s Publishing Company, 2002), 23.

48. For background on the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project, Royal Skousen, “The Original Text of the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 7 (2013): 57–96.

49. See Royal Skousen, “Translating the Book of Mormon: Evidence from the Original Manuscript,” in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, 67–87.

50. The exact mechanics of how one actually sees and translates using a seer stone are unclear, but the best attempt at explaining this is made by Gardner, The Gift and Power, 250–315. Other writers have explicitly avoided trying to explain, instead choosing to focus on capturing the miracle of the Book of Mormon translation as Joseph Smith and his contemporaries experienced it. See, for example, MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, xiii–xvi.

51. Harold Love, Attributing Authorship: An Introduction (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 51.

52. See Michael Hubbard MacKay, Gerrit Dirkmaat, Grant Underwood, Robert J. Woodford, and William G. Hartley, Documents, Volume 1: July 1828–June 1831, The Joseph Smith Papers (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2013), 64 n. 196, 94 n. 366. Also see Miriam A. Smith and John W. Welch, “Joseph Smith: ‘Author and Proprietor’,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1992), 154–157.

53. The most detailed recent attempt to make a historical case of Spaulding/Rigdon authorship is Wayne L. Cowdrey, Howard A. Davis, and Arthur Vanick, Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon? The Spalding Enigma (St. Louis: Concordia, 2005). For detailed analysis of the many problems with the Spaulding/Rigdon theory, see Matthew Roper, “The Mythical ‘Manuscript Found’,” FARMS Review 17/2 (2005): 7–140; Matthew Roper, “Oliver Cowdery and the ‘Mythical Manuscript Found’,” in Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness, ed. John W. Welch and Larry E. Morris (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2006), 123–131; Matthew Roper, “Myth, Memory, and ‘Manuscript Found’,” FARMS Review 21/2 (2009): 179–223; Matthew Roper and Paul J. Fields, “The Historical Case against Sidney Rigdon’s Authorship of the Book of Mormon,” Mormon Studies Review 23/1 (2011): 113–125.

54. See several of the sources in Opening the Heavens, 118–213.

55. See, for example, Dan Vogel, “The Validity of the Witnesses’ Testimony,” in American Apocrypha, ed. Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002), 108. Taves, “History and the Claims of Revelation,” 182–207 more or less follows Vogel.

56. Kirk B. Henrichsen, “What Did the Golden Plates Look Like?” New Era (July 2007): 32 (insert “A Model of the Plates”); Shanna Butler, “A Golden Opportunity,” New Era (February 2006): 34–37

57. MacKay and Dirkmaat, From Darkness unto Light, 108. Even seemingly obvious and “common sense” aspects of the construction turn out to be beyond what Joseph Smith or someone from his day would have known to do. For example, the fact that the plates had threerings, which were D-shaped, makes it highly unlikely someone like Joseph Smith manufactured them. Three rings provide the most stability, and the D-shape provides the optimum utility, facts that were unrealized when ringed-binders were first developed in 1854. Whoever manufactured the plates had knowledge and experience in ring-binding technology, something no one in upstate New York had but which some ancient peoples were aware of, as confirmed by recent discoveries. See Warren P. Aston, “The Rings That Bound the Gold Plates Together,” Insights26/3 (2006): 3–4.

58. Steven C. Harper, Makings Sense of the Doctrine and Covenants: A Guided Tour through Modern Revelations (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2008), 62–63; Brown, Plates of Gold, 47–53.

59. Other explanations which invoke drug-induced hallucinations, or hypnotism, etc., get even more ad hoc as they attempt to rationalize the eyewitness testimonies. For more detailed responses to attacks on the Book of Mormon witnesses, see Anderson, Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses, 151–179; Steven C. Harper, “Evaluating the Book of Mormon Witnesses,”Religious Educator 11/2 (2010): 37–49; Matthew Roper, “Comments on the Book of Mormon Witnesses: A Response to Jerald and Sandra Tanner,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2/2 (1993): 164–193; Larry E. Morris, “‘The Private Character of the Man who Bore That Testimony’: Oliver Cowdery and his Critics,” FARMS Review 15/1 (2003): 311–330; Richard Lloyd Anderson, “Attempts to Redefine the Experience of the Eight Witnesses,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/1 (2005): 18–31.

60. Richard Lloyd Anderson, “The Credibility of the Book of Mormon Translators,” in Book of Mormon Authorship, ed. Noel B. Reynolds (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1982; reprint FARMS, 1996), 230, 231.

61. Bushman, “The Recovery of the Book of Mormon,” 25-26.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

“Bring Forth Fruit with Patience”: Lessons on Faith and Patience from the Book of Mormon Archaeology

April 30, 2016 by Neal Rappleye

“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:3).

“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).

We don’t typically think of patience as a gospel principle, even though it is mentioned 66 times in the Standard Works. Patience is a virtue, yes, but you are more likely to hear that old adage than a scripture reference when being told you’ll just have to wait for something you want right now. Yet, despite this, the fact is patience is a necessary component to faith.

The relationship of patience and faith can be illustrated well with the Book of Mormon and archaeology. Critics love to claim that there is no archaeological evidence for the Book of Mormon, and produce lists of plants, animals, and material culture items which are thought to be absent from ancient America to make their point. The pitfalls of negative evidence, however, are quickly apparent if we are we willing to step back and look at some examples.

Let’s start with barley. Barley is mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon, and was long considered an anachronism in the text. In 1983, however, domesticated barely was found in Arizona dating back to AD 900. When apologists first pointed this out, critics were slow to cede ground and nit-picked that this still was not old enough for Book of Mormon times.

Subsequent evidence has demonstrated that in native American “little barley” was cultivated as early as 800 BC, and in widespread use from 200 BC through AD 1000. Geographically, it is known in predominantly in the eastern United States, but archaeological findings also show it was cultivated in the southwest and Mexico. As Book of Mormon Central recently pointed out:

Over time, more and more evidence for domestication of little barley in the Americas has emerged over an increasingly wider span of both time and geography. Little barley may have diffused to other regions of the Americas which were known to trade with the southwest and eastern United States, including the exchange of crops. In any case, evidence demonstrates that in at least some parts of the Americas, a type of barley was a highly important crop during Book of Mormon times.

Some will still nit-pick and claim that the Book of Mormon requires old world barley, but unless one insists on a narrow interpretation of the text, that simply is not true. Barley no longer poses serious problems for the Book of Mormon, and that’s the weakness of negative evidence: a single discovery can change the picture. Book of Mormon Central gets it exactly right when they say “discoveries like little barley illustrate the wisdom in keeping an open mind and avoiding hasty judgments while considering and exploring what the Book of Mormon says about Nephite life.”

barley-meme1 1

1983 was 153 years after the Book of Mormon was published, and all that time critics took advantage of the absence of barley; and right up until 1982, the absence of barely might have seemed pretty damning for the Book of Mormon. The value of patience here is clear.

The lesson learned from barely can be extended to other examples of common and long thought anachronisms. Consider wine, for instance. It is important to note that even in today’s vernacular, wine can refer to more than just fermented grape juice. Just google “apple wine,” “banana wine,” “pineapple wine,” and even “dandelion wine” to see my point. These kinds of “wines” were certainly known in pre-Columbian America. Book of Mormon Central explained: “Alcoholic beverages were made from a variety of fruits in the Americas before Columbus. These include bananas, pineapple, and agave, among others.” There were also native grapes, with some indication that it was used for wine-making.

wine_meme 1

Yet for the purposes of this post in illustrating the value of patience, I would like to highlight something else Book of Mormon Central mentioned: “There is also some evidence that the Old World grape was known and used for winemaking at one site in Chiapas, Mexico dating to between the first centuries BC and AD.” The evidence cited comes from a master’s thesis on an archaeological site in Chiapas (the region some geographers consider the land of Zarahemla) from 1978. It is less abundant, less widespread, and less well known than that of barley, but it is interesting nonetheless, and it follows the Book of Mormon by 148 years. Score one more for patience.

These kinds of examples are important to be aware of and keep in mind when dealing with some puzzles which are not so easily solved, like the horse. As Book of Mormon Central points out, there are certainly different possibilities, like loan-shifting and translator anachronisms that we ought to be open-minded about, but they are also keen to point out patience here as well. They note that there is some promising, yet inconclusive, evidence for horses in the Americas during Book of Mormon times. They then note, “it is best to be patient with the archaeological record. There is still much work to be done, and lots to be learned about life in pre-Columbian America.” Continuing on, they stress:

The vast majority of Mesoamerican ruins remain untouched underneath thick jungle growth, and other areas in the Americas have received even less attention. Also, the preservation of animal bones is very poor in the humid jungles of Mesoamerica. … Still, several items mentioned in the Book of Mormon once considered anachronistic have since been verified. This is why John E. Clark, a Latter-day Saint and prominent Mesoamerican archaeologist, declared: “the Book of Mormon looks better with age.” Such findings should urge caution against making final judgments based on absence of evidence.

Barley, and perhaps even wine, (to say nothing of Old World examples like Egyptian writing in Palestine, once thought to be an anachronism) illustrate this very point.

horses-knowhy2 (1) 1

Other lines of evidence further encourage patience among believers. Little, if anything, was known about the ancient Mesoamerican practice of carving the history and achievements of kings on “large stones” in 1830, but now the scholarly understandings of such things converge nicely with the description in Omni 1:20–22. Or the way social stratification and polygamy functioned together in the middle pre-Classic (ca. 800–400 BC), providing a fitting context for Jacob’s sermon in Jacob 2–3. Or the lineage histories of various Mesoamerican cultures, which fit the Book of Mormon in both form and function. Or tumbaga and how the “golden” plates are consistent with this alloy. Or the way the conceptual purposes of Mesoamerican bloodletting are tied into the “atoning blood of Christ” and blended well with ancient Israelite understandings of blood sacrifice.

All of this does not even touch the Old World connections, generally seen as more abundant and persuasive. Things like the detailed understanding of ancient olive cultivation found in Jacob 5; the ancient legal practice of duplicating or abridging documents and then sealing a portion, just as the Book of Mormon plates were abridged and sealed; ancient Israelite festival and coronation tie-ins to Benjamin’s speech; the extensive use of poetic parallelisms common to Hebrew writing; the practice of subscriptio, which appears twice in the Book of Mormon; Sherem’s and Abinadi’s trials in light of ancient Israelite law; and on and on I could go. I’ve yet to mention the Nahom altars, which some critics act like is the only thing Mormon apologists ever talk about.

While there are certainly still lists of puzzling features that invite further thought and research, many things now known about both the ancient Near East and pre-Columbian Mesoamerica shed light and insight on the Book of Mormon. Why not focus on what evidence we do have rather than pine for the evidence that is missing? Few who jump on the Internet today are aware that the list of anachronisms is getting shorter. As John Clark said, the Book of Mormon truly does look better with age. This trend certainly endorses patience while grappling with persistent puzzles. Such patience has yielded abundant fruit over the last 186 years, and will likely to continue to yield even more.

Neal Rappleye is a Research Project Manager for Book of Mormon Central. He blogs on Latter-day Saint topics at http://www.studioetquoquefide.com/

Filed Under: Anti-Mormon critics, Apologetics Tagged With: barley, Book of Mormon, Book of Mormon Geography, horses, patience

“I Glory in my Jesus”: How Nephi Helps Us Grow Closer to the Savior

March 27, 2016 by Neal Rappleye

Christ's hands 

Today, Christians around the world celebrate the single greatest event in world history. The Son of God, the Great Creator of Heaven and Earth, condescended below all things, suffered for our sins, died on our behalf, and then three days later, He rose from the grave, giving life and hope to us all: He lives, and because of Him, we all shall live. Nothing can be said to inspire greater hope than those immortal words: “He is not here: for he is risen” (Matthew 28:6).

Like many others, I fear my own words are woefully inadequate to articulate my deepest feelings toward my Savior and Redeemer. Nephi, too, felt that his words were inadequate (2 Nephi 33:1), and yet few testimonies stir my soul greater than his powerful declaration toward the close of his record: “I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell” (2 Nephi 33:6).

Book of Mormon Central recently highlighted Nephi’s farewell testimony of Christ.

“Nephi’s account is brimming with the significance of Jesus Christ and his mission, affirmed through prophetic testimony, parental teaching, scriptural witnesses, and profound spiritual experiences.” Accordingly, Nephi “gives sincere followers of Christ everywhere a model of spiritual behavior to follow in seeking to gain, build, or strengthen their own relationships with Jesus Christ.”

Nephi’s knowledge of the Savior came in at least four different ways:

(1) Prophetic testimony;

(2) Parental teaching;

(3) Scriptural witnesses; and

(4) Personal spiritual experiences.

Let’s explore each of these in Nephi’s record and consider what we learn about the Savior in each instance.

Prophetic Testimony

The life and mission of Christ was understood by many prophets, many hundreds of years before His coming. While some scholarship is just starting to recognize an awareness of a divine Son-Redeemer figure in ancient Israelite theology, the Book of Mormon has long affirmed that pre-Christian prophets bore witness of the Savior.

Nephi records both Lehi and Jacob bearing prophetic witness of the Messiah. To the people of Jerusalem, Lehi had prophesied “plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world” (1 Nephi 1:19). As a prophet, Lehi had witnessed in vivid detail several events in the Savior’s life (see 1 Nephi 10:4–12). To the people of Nephi, Jacob taught the plan of salvation and the central role of the Atonement in that plan. He revealed the name of Christ to the people, and taught by revelation about the Savior’s mission.

Just as God had prophets teaching of Christ in the ancient cities of Nephi and Jerusalem, so there are prophets today who bear witness of Jesus Christ. Next week, we will gather together as Latter-day Saints throughout the world to hear them bear their special witness. Let’s follow the example of Nephi and cherish and learn from their testimonies.

Parental Teaching

Lehi, of course, was not only the prophet at the time, but he was Nephi’s father. He was acting in his paternal role when he gather this family together and taught them about how, due to the effects of the Fall, all must come unto the Messiah with a broken heart and contrite spirit. In the wake of his father’s passing, Nephi lamented over his personal shortcomings, but also affirmed his dependence of the Savior: “O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever” (2 Nephi 4:34). Lehi and Sariah, faithfully taking their family in the wilderness upon the Lord’s command, are the ones who modeled that trust in the Lord for Nephi to learn.

Just like Lehi and Sariah, parents today have a personal responsibility to teach their children about Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Less often talked about, but equally important, children today have the responsibility to learn from their parents. May we all, in our roles either as parents or children (or, for many, both) teach and learn and better come to know the Savior within the family setting.

Scriptural Witnesses

There can be little question that Nephi was a diligent student of the scriptures. He risked life and limb to recover a copy of scriptural works from Laban in Jerusalem, and his entire record is laced with quotations of scripture. He draws on the writings of several prophets to describe Christ’s atoning death (1 Nephi 19:10–12). Nephi used Psalm 24 to teach about what must be done to come into the presence of Christ and to recognize Him as the Messiah.

Of course, everyone is familiar with Nephi’s extensive use of Isaiah. Nephi explicitly used Isaiah as a witness of Christ. In Isaiah’s writings, Nephi could discern prophetic descriptions of the Savior’s birth, divine titles, and ministry, and rejection by the people. A sweeping vision of the Redeemer’s mortal life and ultimate redeeming work guided Nephi’s selection and interpretation of Isaiah.

Just as Nephi and Isaiah’s words work together to bear witness of the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ, so do the entire Bible and Book of Mormon work together. Latter-day Saints are blessed today with the testimony of two nations that Jesus is the Christ, rather than just one. Like Nephi did with the brass plates, we can draw closer to the Lord and Savior as we read and ponder the teachings of Christ found in the scriptures we have.

Personal Spiritual Experiences

Nephi had his own sacred experiences that taught him about the importance of the Savior. While pondering on Lehi’s vision of a tree, Nephi received his own revelation wherein he learned the meaning of the tree and its connection to the birth of Jesus Christ. The vision also taught Nephi firsthand about the life, baptism, and death of the Son of God (see 1 Nephi 11). Later in life, as Nephi reflected on the Savior’s baptism, he came a greater understanding of why Jesus was baptized, and conversed with the Father and the Son about the doctrine of Christ.

Such personal spiritual experiences, which all of God’s children are entitled to, are more important than the witness of parents and prophets. But as Nephi’s experience teaches us, it is the teachings of prophets, parents, and scripture that serve as the springboard to personal testimony. Diligent study and application of the scriptures, teachings of modern prophets, and parental council often will generate spiritual experiences to cherish and use as building blocks to personal testimony.

The temple also plays an important role in providing a sacred space where these kinds of experiences can be had. The high mountain Nephi is carried to in 1 Nephi 11 is representative of the temple. After arriving in the New World, Nephi has his people build a temple shortly before he begins writing his account.

Coming into the Presence of the Lord

Although we are using Nephi as an example, we should keep in mind that ultimately, this is not about Nephi. It is about Jesus Christ and coming closer to Him. Nephi’s entire account is ultimately about guiding the reader into the presence of Christ. When Nephi talks about “speak[ing] with the tongue of angels,” Book of Mormon Central has proposed that, “Ultimately Nephi [is] invit[ing] all his readers to find the way to enter into the presence of the Lord and to participate in the divine council as one of the ‘angels.’”

Nephi drew on all the variety of sources—his father’s prophetic call, Isaiah’s scriptural writings, and his own personal revelation on a high mountain top—in order to ultimately drive this point home; and the way to get there is through the temple.

This Easter, as you reflect on what the Savior has done for you and consider how you can draw closer to Him, remember the example set by Nephi, and join with him. Just as he does, glory in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, who has saved your soul from death and hell!

Neal Rappleye is a Research Project Manager for Book of Mormon Central. He blogs on Latter-day Saint topics at http://www.studioetquoquefide.com/

Filed Under: Book of Mormon, Early Christianity Tagged With: Book of Mormon, Easter, FairMormon, Jesus Christ, Resurrection

Nephi and Isaiah: Some Suggestions for Study

March 13, 2016 by Neal Rappleye

Isaiah

We have all experienced it. Newly committed to the read through the Book of Mormon, we eagerly start with the familiar words, “I, Nephi, having been born …,” and the reading seems to be going well. And then they come. The dreaded “Isaiah chapters.” These chapters are dense, difficult, and demanding.

You are tempted to just skip over them, but they wouldn’t be there if they weren’t important, right? Nephi “delights” in Isaiah’s words (2 Nephi 11:2), and the Savior himself declares them “great” (3 Nephi 23:1), but for you they are more like “great and dreadful.” How can you get more out of the Isaiah chapters?

Book of Mormon Central has been churning out KnoWhys—short insights into some detail in the Book of Mormon—at an astonishingly rapid rate, and the for the last few weeks they have zeroed in on the Isaiah chapters. With more than a dozen KnoWhys on Nephi and Isaiah, these provide a diverse set of tools to aid in your personal study. The Isaiah KnoWhys from Book of Mormon Central generally take four different approaches to the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi, each of which can provide a framework for further individual study of Isaiah.

Likening Isaiah

One approach Nephi uses is likening. Book of Mormon Central offers several insights into what Nephi might have meant by this. For example, when Nephi first quotes from Isaiah in 1 Nephi 20–21, he says that he “did liken all scriptures unto” his family (1 Nephi 19:23). But have you ever thought about how he likened them? What connections did he see between Isaiah 48–49 and his family’s experience? Book of Mormon Central suggests several possibilities, but they are far from exhaustive. Perhaps the next time you study these chapters you could ponder how Nephi saw his own experiences within those chapters.

Nephi also promised to “liken” Isaiah 2–14 Isaiah to his people (2 Nephi 11:2). So how did Nephi apply these parts of Isaiah to his followers and their situation? Book of Mormon Central offers a couple of examples. Perhaps he understood the temple they had just built to be “the house of the Lord,” prophesied of in Isaiah 2, just as modern prophets apply it to the Salt Lake temple today. Likewise, Nephi could have easily seen native peoples that the Lehites had interacted with as fulfilling several of the Gentiles’ roles in Isaiah’s writings. What are some other ways these chapters in Isaiah could be applied to Nephi’s people in the New World?

The Nephite Prophetic View

To get ready for studying Isaiah 2–14 in 2 Nephi 12–24, Book of Mormon Central introduced a 4-stage framework based on Nephi’s vision in 1 Nephi 11–14:

  • Stage 1: Christ’s coming (1 Nephi 11);

  • Stage 2: his rejection and the scattering of the Jews (1 Nephi 12);

  • Stage 3: the day of the Gentiles (1 Nephi 13); and

  • Stage 4: the restoration of Israel and the ultimate victory of good over evil (1 Nephi 14).

This same framework can be applied to other places where Nephi uses Isaiah, like 1 Nephi 19–22, 2 Nephi 6–10, and Nephi’s interpretations in 2 Nephi 25–30. This can prove a useful lens through which to read these Isaiah chapters, looking for each of these stages in Isaiah 2–14.

To make it more interesting, though, you can not only look for these themes, but also compare Isaiah’s words with Nephi’s in 1 Nephi 11–14. Book of Mormon Central, for example, compares Nephi’s vision in 1 Nephi 11 with Isaiah’s prophecies quoted in 2 Nephi 12–24, and get illuminating results. They also explored ways each of the other three stages are manifest in Isaiah’s writings and how they compare with Nephi’s own prophetic visions.

In each instance, Book of Mormon Central is only just scratching the surface. There is a lot more to explore for each of these stages. The “Nephite Prophetic View” can thus be employed productively by anybody seeking to get more out of these Isaiah chapters. And with each one, it starts to become clear that Nephi deeply identified with Isaiah. No wonder Nephi went to pains to include Isaiah as one of his three witnesses of the Messiah. In marvelous poetic fashion, Isaiah described many of the same things Nephi had witnessed in vision. How could Isaiah not resonate with Nephi?

Nephi’s Keys

Another approach to these chapters is to consider the “keys” Nephi offers in 2 Nephi 25. Once again, Book of Mormon Central helpfully outlines this lens of study:

  1. Understand the “manner of prophesying among the Jews” (v. 1)

  2. Do not do “works of darkness” or “doings of abominations” (v. 2)

  3. Be filled with the spirit of prophecy (v. 4)

  4. Be familiar with the regions around Jerusalem (v. 6)

  5. Live during the days that the prophecies of Isaiah are fulfilled (v. 7)

As an example of how this can enhance our study of Isaiah, Book of Mormon Central applies key 1 to a phrase found through Isaiah 2–14—“for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still”—to show how understanding ancient Israelite thought changes how we read this passage. What other insights await us if apply Nephi’s keys while reading Isaiah?

Latter-day Application

Finally, Nephi invites his latter-day readers to “liken” the scriptures themselves as well (2 Nephi 11:8). Nephi himself provides some Latter-day applications. He likens Isaiah 49 to the latter-day (1 Nephi 22:6–14), for instance, and Book of Mormon Central argues that given such an application, Joseph Smith could be understood as the “servant” in Isaiah 49:1–6. How can the rest of the chapter be applied to the latter-day Restoration?

Isaiah 11 also seems to be applied to Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, if not by Nephi, at least by Moroni. Nephi’s most extensive application to the Latter-days, however, is his appropriation of Isaiah 29. Book of Mormon Central proposes that 2 Nephi 27 should not be read as Nephi quoting Isaiah 29, something Nephi never claims to be doing throughout 2 Nephi 25–30. Instead, he is applying and adapting the Isaiah’s words to his own vision of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

Nephi had seen the Restoration and coming forth the Book of Mormon in vision (1 Nephi 13:32–42). When Nephi read about “a book that is sealed,” taken by men to “one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee,” and then subsequently taken to “him that is not learned” (Isaiah 29:11–12), he found apt words to adopt in describing certain events which would unfold in the life of Joseph Smith (2 Nephi 27:15–19).

While this is not only one way to approach the relationship between Isaiah 29 and 2 Nephi 26–27, it opens up interesting ways to study how Nephi is personally interacting with Isaiah. Have you tried reading the two prophecies side by side to see what Nephi is doing?

Conclusion: Delighting in the Great Words of Isaiah

Today there is a rich array of tools for Latter-day Saints to use in better understanding Isaiah, and what his writings are doing in the Book of Mormon. The recent slew of KnoWhys from Book of Mormon Central provides us with a number of different paths to follow for enriching study of Isaiah’s “great” words (3 Nephi 23:1). The application of several approaches to Isaiah derived from Nephi’s own words illuminates Isaiah’s writings in wonderful ways and begins to shed light on why Nephi “delighted” (2 Nephi 11:2) in the words of this great Israelite poet and prophet.

Neal Rappleye is a Research Project Manager for Book of Mormon Central. He blogs on Latter-day Saint topics at http://www.studioetquoquefide.com/

 

 

Filed Under: Book of Mormon Tagged With: apologetics, Book of Mormon, Isaiah

Lehi’s Lasting Legacy

February 29, 2016 by Neal Rappleye

Tree

Nephi tells us that his father, Lehi, kept a record (1 Nephi 1:17). That record is lost to history, but nonetheless his legacy lives on. His son recorded a number of his most profound prophecies and visions. These include his prophetic call vision, powerful poetic declarations to his two oldest sons while encamped in an Arabian wadi, his moving dream about the tree of life, and his prophecies about the Messiah.

Lehi’s legacy was solidified by the testament he left behind. While nearing his death, Lehi called together his posterity, warned them of temptations, taught them to live righteously, blessed them, and related prophecies (2 Nephi 1–4). Book of Mormon Central has dubbed this the “Testament of Lehi” because it has all the characteristics found in the Jewish testamentary literature. Book of Mormon Central also comments on the legacy this creates for Lehi:

It provides an example for fathers and patriarchs today. The tradition, initially but briefly present in Genesis 49, was not maintained and developed only by the Jews after their return to Jerusalem in the Second Temple period but was called upon extensively and effectively by Lehi in the sixth century BC. Building from there, later prophets in the Book of Mormon followed Lehi’s example, as Alma does in Alma 36–42 and Helaman does in Helaman 5:5–13. Latter-day Saint fathers today also follow these patriarchal examples as they bless, instruct, exhort, and testify to their children and grandchildren.

Some of Lehi’s most influential teachings were given as part of his testament. For instance, drawing on the imagery of the Psalms, Lehi taught about the importance of offering the Lord your broken heart and contrite spirit. Of this teaching, Book of Mormon Central pointed out, “This presents an important lesson for modern Book of Mormon readers. No matter what sacrifice we offer to the Lord—be it our time, our talents, etc.—if this is not done with the true sacrifice of our hearts and spirits, then it cannot be fully acceptable to the Lord.”

It is also as part of his testament that Lehi gave his epic discourse on the Fall. Drawing from the hints found in the Old Testament and Israelite temple traditions, Lehi provided the most complete teaching on the Fall presently on record. According to Book of Mormon Central,

Lehi’s teaching was the foundation for several other important sermons in the Book of Mormon by Alma, Amulek, and others, and continues to be the foundation upon which we build when we teach the Fall today.

Nephi’s love for Isaiah may have come from Lehi, since Lehi appears to be drawing on Isaiah 14:12 when he describes Satan. Isaiah 14 is drawing on a rich ancient Near Eastern mythos of a fallen deity, and like he does with the Fall, Lehi expands on Isaiah’s use to provide a fuller view of the Adversary. Indeed, Lehi seems well versed in the great literature of his day and time, as he poetically describes death in a way the resonates not only with the much later Shakespeare, but also with ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Canaanite, and Israelite motifs.

Drawing on both the literary form and the language of the Psalms, Nephi lamented after his father passed away. Nephi, however, was not the only one of Lehi’s sons who was profoundly impacted by their father’s influence. In his first sermon recorded in the Book of Mormon, Jacob taught many of the same doctrines Lehi had taught to him. As Book of Mormon Central puts it,

Tracing Jacob’s understanding of the plan back one generation earlier, it appears that his inspired summation carried forth the influence of his father’s instructions to him in 2 Nephi 2. Although Lehi never called it a “plan,” he taught these same doctrines in his final blessing to Jacob.

Comparing the two also illuminates which doctrines both Lehi and Jacob most related to:

Though they taught the same doctrines, Lehi’s emphasis was focused more on the fall, opposition, and the agency afforded to all to choose between good and evil. Jacob, meanwhile, put more emphasis on the atonement, resurrection, and the eternal outcome from choosing either righteousness or filthiness.

Jacob also shows an awareness of Israelite and ancient Near Eastern conceptions of death. Given that Jacob was born in the wilderness and was still very young when the family arrived in the promised land, this knowledge surely came to him through his father’s teachings.

Given the reverence both Nephi and Jacob had for Lehi, it may seem odd that Nephi summoned Isaiah to act as a third witness of the Redeemer alongside Nephi and Jacob. Lehi had already born witness of Christ, multiple times (1 Nephi 1:19; 1 Nephi 10; 2 Nephi 2). Yet, this may actually be one of the most powerful reflections of Nephi’s love for his father.

Lehi was believed to be a false prophet by both the Jews at Jerusalem and also his two oldest sons, Laman and Lemuel. The penalty for false prophecy was death, and Laman and Lemuel try to kill him multiple times. Biblical law required two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15) to testify in a trail. As such, coming on the heels of Lehi’s passing, and the division of Nephi from his brothers, 2 Nephi 6–30, recording the testimonies of Nephi’s three witnesses—Jacob, Isaiah, and Nephi—could be read as the Apology of Lehi.

That is, it is Nephi’s defense of Lehi as a true prophet, marshalling the biblically required three witnesses to verify Lehi’s own prophecies about the Messiah. This would explain why Lehi himself was not considered one of the witnesses—he was the defendant. If this is correct, then it would speak powerfully to the legacy of Lehi, as nearly all of 2 Nephi would be dedicated to him in some capacity.

In either case, there is no denying the abundant legacy of Lehi left behind by his sons.

Neal Rappleye is a Research Project Manager for Book of Mormon Central. He blogs on Latter-day Saint topics at http://www.studioetquoquefide.com/

Filed Under: Book of Mormon, LDS Scriptures Tagged With: apologetics, Book of Mormon, FairMormon, Lehi, Prophets

1 Nephi: An Arabian Testament

January 28, 2016 by Neal Rappleye

In 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith went to his grave testifying of the Book of Mormon. By that point in his life, he had lived in the forests of Vermont and New York, the plains of Ohio and Missouri, and the swampy river bottoms of Nauvoo, Illinois. Yet the publication that defined his life began in a totally different world. The opening chapters of the Book of Mormon have a distinctly Arabian flavor, garnished with some Israelite and Egyptian dressings.

Growing up in the late-7th century BC, Nephi wrote in “the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2). Critics in the 1830s scoffed at the idea of Jews writing in Egyptian, and for decades this particular phrase was difficult even for believers to understand. Now, archaeological finds have uncovered over 200 texts in Israel dating to the 8th–7th centuries BC that use Egyptian script in a distinctive way. The peculiar phrasing of 1 Nephi 1:2 proves to be an apt description of what some scholars are calling “Palestinian hieratic.”

[Read more…] about 1 Nephi: An Arabian Testament

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Some Thoughts on “Bracketing” and the Relationship of Reason and Revelation

October 26, 2015 by Neal Rappleye

Cross-posted from Studio et Quoque Fide

20120518_faith_reasonWhen I first started this blog back in 2010, I called it “Reason and Revelation.” I spelled out some thoughts I had on the relationship between the two at the time. Of course, as with all things, when I write, the thinking is not necessarily done, not even by me. Like everyone else, I keep wrestling with the tension that the two often create—a wrestle that, I must admit, I find strengthens faith.

There is a growing tendency among Latter-day Saint academics to talk about “bracketing” faith out of scholarship (although not everyone uses that term). While I grant that this method has certain benefits as a provisional mental or intellectual exercise, and I have gained some valuable insights both from works where such “bracketing” has been done and from engaging such exercises myself, I fear there are also corrosive effects that are not often recognized by its practitioners.

For starters, more often than not, it is not treated merely as a provisional mental exercise, but rather as a permanent, methodological necessity. That is, the conclusions reached while the lens of faith is removed are taken to be more valid and more accurate than those reached with faith. This has at least two byproducts that are harmful to holding a vibrant faith.

First, it treats the lens of faith as a distortion rather than a corrective. Most practitioners of bracketing, I suspect, will object to this assertion, and I accept that none of them are consciously meaning to demean faith in this way. Nonetheless, it is inherent in the method. By privileging conclusions reached without faith, you inherently make faith a negative bias—as I said, a distortion to how you read and interpret the data which should be removed.

While most secular academics would likely read that, nod their heads and say, “Yes, of course, that is exactly what faith is,” as believers and disciples, we ought to take a more positive view of our faith and the revelations it gives us access to. Faith should be viewed as a positive bias—a lens which improves and enhances our vision and clarifies what we see. A corrective to our imperfect ability to reason and interpret.

The second byproduct is that it creates what I call a “One Way Street,” between reason and revelation. Because faith is “bracketed,” i.e., blocked off from traveling with our reason into the realm of scholarship, faith and revelation have no influence on the conclusions reached. But these conclusions are still imported back into the practitioner’s faith. That is, they reshape and reform their faith in light of conclusions reached without faith.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I am not opposed to letting scholarship, reason, and evidence influence and shape the content of our faith. My faith has certainly under gone changes as a result new information. What I am opposed to is the one way relationship created by bracketing faith out of scholarship, but not bracketing scholarship out of faith. Instead, I believe that faith and scholarship, reason and revelation, should have a two-way, give and take relationship. Where they help influence and shape each other.

This should not be viewed, however, as a relationship of equal partners. While granting that we can—and sometimes do—misunderstand what the Lord has revealed, we nonetheless ought to grant the Lord’s revelations precedence over our own reasoning. I particularly like the metaphor of faith and reason as riders on a tandem bike. Both must not only be peddling, but they must be in-sync with each other in order to move forward most effectively. And while the rider in the back can offer some guidance on where to go, only the front rider can actually steer the bike. I would suggest that faith should be the front rider. When we bracket faith out of scholarship, however, we often times not only make reason the front rider, but push faith off the bike completely (or, at least, forbid it from peddling at all, making it dead weight).

In closing, I would simply like to state what should be obvious—my faith is a part of me. As such, it will influence any creative act in which I engage—and make no mistake about it, scholarship, particularly that related to history and the humanities, is an act of creation, and hence a creative endeavor. It would be absurd to ask someone to “bracket” or ignore evidence they know contradicts something the Sunday School teacher, or the Sacrament meeting speaker, is saying. And, indeed, most practitioners of the bracketing method turn around and insist that scholarship is an important part of their faith, despite not letting faith be part of their scholarship.

I can no more bracket my faith out of my attempts at scholarship than I can turn off my brain and capacity to reason while worshiping at Church, or while reading the scriptures devotionally. Both reason and faith are part of who I am, and are constantly influencing me in how I understand both scholarship and revelation. To my best recollection, I have never pretended it to be otherwise. I freely and willingly and openly let faith influence my scholarship (and vice-versa), and leave to readers to decide what to count that for (whether it be a weakness or a strength).

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Does the Historicity of the Book of Mormon Matter?

May 2, 2015 by Neal Rappleye

Mormon Abridging the Plates
Mormon Abridging the Plates

[This post originally appeared at Studio et Quoque Fide and is reposted here with permission.]

The “historicity wars” of the bloggernacle have died down, and I am reticent to start them back up again. Since I am generally ignored by the bloggernacle, however, that is unlikely to happen. I have long pondered over the relevance of historicity for the Book of Mormon—if it matters, and if so, why it matters. As I have been reading about the experiences of Joseph Smith and others with the plates and other artifacts in the newly released From Darkness unto Light: The Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon, by Michael Hubbard MacKay and Gerrit Dirkmaat, I have once again begun to ponder the question of historicity.

For me, I think it helps to realize that what we are talking about when we discuss history and historicity is the experiences of other people, and whether they existed or not. When I share personal experiences with other people, it matters to me that the things I experienced really happened. It matters that these are not just stories I am making up, but that they reflect real things that I have personally been through and witnessed. I glean things from real experiences that I don’t gain from “fishing stories.”

Likewise, it matters to me if you believe my experiences are real when I share them with you. I’m assuming I am not the only one who would feel hurt if someone told me, after I shared a deeply personal experience, “That is a nice story. And I think there is a lot we all can learn from it. But I just don’t believe that really happened to you.” Express skepticism that things are not exactly as I perceive them? OK (maybe the all the people driving 3 under the speed limit when I am in a hurry aren’t actually out to get me after all). Believe that there might be other perspectives to consider? Sure. But think I am just making my own life experiences up? Ouch. That hurts just to imagine someone discounting the very things that have made me who I am.

The reverse is, I think, also true. It matters to me if the experiences you claim as your own are real. It matters if the things you tell me happened to you actually happened. I would feel betrayed if, in fact, I found out you were lying to me about them. Granted I might be a little more sympathetic if I knew you were a habitual liar, or had some kind of mental instability, or for some other reason really believe your stories to be your real experiences, but my sympathy would not necessarily mitigate the feeling that I can’t really trust you when you claim to be talking about your own personal experiences. The sense of betrayal would be magnified if the stories you told as if they were your own personal experiences had galvanized me to provide you with monetary support, or in some other way make sacrifices on your behalf. And, again, I am guessing I am not alone in any of this. Most others would feel the same way. It is human nature.

So getting back to the question about whether historicity of the Book of Mormon matters, I would like to ask, matters to whom? Perhaps we should think about that.

Do you think it matters to say, Emma, Joseph’s wife, if the object wrapped in the linen cloth that sat on the table as she transcribed Joseph’s dictation, was really a set of metal plates containing a record of ancient prophets, whose words Joseph was dictating in translated form? Emma suffered estrangement from her parents and family over Joseph’s refusal to show this object to any of them. She saw her house torn apart by a crazed Lucy Harris, wife of Martin, who was determined to find and see that object. And she generally endured all kinds of hardships due to the events that unfolded from the translation of that record. Yet through it all, she dutifully chose not to look under the linen cloth. Tell me, do you think it matters toher, if her husband’s claims about angels and plates and ancient peoples are true? I think the historicity of the Book of Mormon matters to Emma.

Speaking of Martin Harris, let’s talk about him for a minute. Do you think the historicity of the Book of Mormon matters to him? This is the man who took copies of ‘caractors’, ostensibly from the plates, to scholars back east in New York City (and, probably, Philadelphia), at great personal expense, to see if the writings could be verified. The man who experience severe strain on, and the eventual failure of, his marriage due to his efforts to assist in the work of getting the record translated and published, who mortgaged the bulk of his farm to that end. The man who carefully investigated the members of the Smith family upon first hearing the stories of the angel and plates, who cautiously hefted the box containing the plates, until he was satisfied that the object within was either lead or gold, and who practically begged to be one of the witnesses when word got out that a select few would get to see the plates. Do you think it matters to that man—Martin Harris—if Joseph’s stories about angels and plates and ancient peoples are true? Do you think it matters to him if his own experience seeing an angel holding the plates, and hearing a voice declaring that the translation of those plates is correct really happened? That is wasn’t something just in his head, or some kind of deception on Joseph Smith’s part (or, worse, of God’s part)? I think the historicity of the Book of Mormon matters to Martin.

How about Mary Whitmer? The women who carried the brunt of the burden of having long term house guests stay with her family as Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery finished the translation there. The women who at one point was so exhausted by the extra labor and sacrifice required of her at this time that she was granted—or believed she was—a view of the plates, shown to her by some stranger who then miraculously disappeared; an experience that gave her the strength endure the hardship until the translation was complete. Do you think it matters to her if she really saw a man with the plates that day? That is matters that those really were the same plates that contained a record that Joseph was translating from? I think the historicity of the Book of Mormon matters to Mary Whitmer.

What about the many others close to Joseph Smith? His father, mother, and siblings, whose lives were put at risk assisting Joseph in hiding and protecting this object that he told them was an ancient record engraved on gold plates. Whose very lives were disrupted and uprooted time and time again for the sake of the movement that started after the text was published. Do you think it matters to them if Joseph was just spinning old money diggers yarns or telling fanciful stories? Or if he himself was somehow convinced of these stories, but they nonetheless were not really happening? No real angel, no real plates, no real Nephites or Lamanites? I think the historicity of the Book of Mormon matters to them.

Let’s even consider Joseph Smith himself. Everything the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon set in motion ultimately cost him his life. Do you think it matters to him if the plates were objectively real? And if those plates really contained an ancient text? And if the words he was dictating to his scribes really were a translation of that record? He endured mobs trying to take the object he kept in that box. Lucy Harris ransacking his home. The enmity of his in-laws. And widespread mockery for the text he published and stories he told about its origins. In his 1838 history he poignantly told about the ridicule he endured for visions he claimed to have. Do you think it matters to him if the revelations he had were more than merely the product of his own mind? If the history he believed he was revealing actually is history? I think the historicity of the Book of Mormon matters to Joseph Smith.

I think it is clear that to all of these people, the historicity of the Book of Mormon most certainly matters. And I think it matters to all of them—but especially Joseph—if we believe their stories. Just like it would to you and me if we shared our personal experiences with someone else. We can see how much it mattered to them in the many tellings and retellings of their experiences that we have on record. The historicity of the Book of Mormon mattered to them, and it mattered to them if others believed in it too. I think it matters to them if we believe it now. Likewise, just as it would matter to us if someone today told us bogus stories as personal experiences, it should matter to us if these stories are historically true. We are, after all, giving our lives to those stories.

Those are the people who are indisputably real, and others (like David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, etc.) could be added to that list. But what if we take this a little further? Do think the historicity of the Book of Mormon matters to say, Mormon? To the man who so very carefully sifted through a thousand years of history and meticulously engraved his well crafted narrative history onto metallic sheets. Do you think the veracity of that history matters to him? Do you think he cares if we believe that he is a real person who actually went through that painstaking effort? Or what about Moroni, who promised to see us before the bar of God on judgment day? The man who diligently finished what his father started. And then spent 35 lonely years protecting that record as he wondered. And who came back from the dead to see to it that we would have the record today. Do you really think it wouldn’t matter to him if you believe he is real? That he just shrugs his shoulders and thinks, “Well, at least you still think its inspired.” What about Nephi, the man who started the record (who also promises to see us at the judgment bar)? The man who endured 8 years of hardship in the Arabian desert, who not only spent years laboring to build a sea worthy vessel, but also had to navigate it across thousands of miles of oceans, who had to lead and organize a new colony. A man who spilt blood for the sake of providing records to his own people. Do you think it matters to him if we believe the stories he told about his family’s journey and hardships?

How about the multitude who saw and felt the risen Lord, Jesus Christ? Who deemed the event of utmost importance to bear witness of it collectively? Do you think it matters to them if you or I believe their witness? If we really believe that event happened, as they testified? While we are on the topic, how about the Savior himself? Do you really think he does not care what we believe about the things he said and did in front of that multitude? That as he carefully and lovingly ministered to the sick and infirm among them, and blessed their children, he simply didn’t care if others would believe those things happened? I think historicity of the Book of Mormon matters to the Savior. I am sure there are things that matter more to him than that, but I nonetheless suspect this is not something he feels is completely irrelevant.

So, does the historicity of the Book of Mormon matter? It certainly mattered to the people—both ancient and modern—who contributed to our having it today, as is evident in the sacrifices they endured to make that possible. It should matter us, too.

Filed Under: Book of Mormon

1 and 2 Nephi as a Temple Text

March 25, 2015 by Neal Rappleye

Screen Shot 2015-03-25 at 12.21.44 PM

[This post originally appeared at Studio et Quoque Fide and is reposted here with the author’s permission.]

A common criticism I used to hear on my mission was that, as one counter-cult ministry put it in 2009, “there is NO evidence to suggest that the peoples in the Book of Mormon practiced ANY of the temple ceremonies that modern day Mormons practice.”[1] Personally, I always thought this criticism was pretty silly. The Book of Mormon mentions the presence of temples in virtually every major city, and of course they don’t describe the ceremonies—like us, they would have held them too scared to share in a text they knew would be public!

Nonetheless, this kind of criticism persists, at least in some corners of the anti-Mormon world. I thus find the intersection of Book of Mormon studies and temple studies that has emerged and gotten quite popular over the last few years rather fascinating. Turns out the temple really permeates the Book of Mormon record in ways few of us ever could have guessed. And, for those who have been to the LDS temple, the patterns found in the text are suspiciously familiar. This starts with the very first writer in the book—Nephi, son of Lehi.

Donald W. Parry has identified a chiasm right at the beginning of 1 Nephi,[2] as Nephi is introducing himself:

Screen Shot 2015-03-25 at 12.21.34 PM

There is a lot of interesting things that can be commented on in this chiasm, but for my present purposes I want to point out what he does with “knowledge” in lines A and A’. By arranging the passage chiasticly, Nephi connects his “knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God,” with the “knowledge” he is basing his record on. As Andrew Miller explains in a recent publication from FairMormon, the Greekμύστηριον (mystērion), or plural μύστηρια (mystēria) originally referred to esoteric rituals connected with temple worship.[3] That Nephi connects his making a record with his knowledge of the mysteries merges with a common ancient practice that,

At the end of the mysteries, you were required to record this before you could leave the cave, or the temple or whatever it was. You would leave a record of your experiences in the mysteries—whatever visions it was you had.[4]

So we see that it starts to become pretty interesting that Nephi connects his knowledge of the mysteries with his making a record. But we are really only getting to the tip of the ice-burg here (and, regrettably, we won’t be able to explore too much in  this little blog post). Joseph Spencer, in his volume An Other Testament (a must read, seriously—it will completely change the way you read the Book of Mormon, I promise!), notices a structural pattern that bridges across 1 and 2 Nephi:

These structural divisions order Nephi’s record as a four-part progression, from (1) the journey to the New World (1 Nephi 1–18) through (2) a series of theological sermons (1 Nephi 19–2 Nephi 5) to (3) the culminating, commanded heart of Nephi’s record (2 Nephi 6–30) and (4) a brief conclusion (2 Nephi 31–33).[5]

Having identified the four-part progression, Spencer then identifies the theological pattern embedded within this structure.

The basic theological pattern at work is relatively straightforward: (1) 1 Nephi 1–18 recounts the founding of the Lehite colony in the New World; (2) 1 Nephi 19–2 Nephi 5 relates the breaking up of this colony into two rival factions, one of which is cut off from the presence of the Lord; (3) 2 Nephi 6–30 consists of prophecies and sermons focused on the eventual return of that cut-off faction to the Lord’s favor; and (4) 2 Nephi 31–33 offers summary reflections on baptism as a crossing of a limit.[6]

From here, Spencer categorizes the four sections as Foundation (1 Nephi 1–18); Division (1 Nephi 19–2 Nephi 5); Redemption (2 Nephi 6–30); and Conclusion (2 Nephi 31–33).[7] Using only a little imagination, Spencer quickly recasts these categories into a pattern readily identifiable with the temple:

  • Creation (1 Nephi 1–18)
  • Fall (1 Nephi 19–2 Nephi 5)
  • Atonement (2 Nephi 6–30)
  • Veil (2 Nephi 31–33)[8]

This dovetails nicely with the theological pattern that Margaret Barker has sketched out for the pre-exilic temple: (1) creation; (2) covenant; (3) atonement; and (4) wisdom.[9] Though (2) and (4) might seem different at first, they are quite connected. Covenant and fall go hand-in-hand. The fall can only come through thebreaking of the covenant (no covenant, nothing to “fall” from), and it is the breaking of the covenant that necessitates the third stage, atonement. And in the mysteries, wisdom is what is imparted to the initiate at the veil.

Thus, we see that Nephi really does craft his record in accordance with his knowledge of the mysteries, even embedding them into the very structure of his narrative. Really, though, since Nephi states that he had his people build a temple around the same time he started crafting his text (see 2 Nephi 5:16, 28–32), it should come as no surprise that temple theology permeates the text.[10] It is perhaps even possible that Nephi made this record as a temple text—that is, as the liturgy to used during the performance of the mysteries at his newly built temple. Regardless of whether that is the case, though (and I am not sure it is, though it is interesting to contemplate), it certainly puts to rest the assertion that there is “no evidence” for anything like the temple ceremonies in the text. The book is literally littered with allusions to the temple drama, it just requires astute reading, and awareness of what you are looking for, to notice.

[1] “The Bible and LDS Temple Ceremonies,” online article from concernedchristians.com, no longer available; screenshot in my possession.

[2] See Donald W. Parry, ed., Poetic Parallelisms in the Book of Mormon: The Complete Text Reformatted (Provo, Utah: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2007), 1.

[3] Andrew I. Miller, “‘Able to Know Heavenly Things’: The Anti-Nicene Mysteries and their New Tesament Sources,” FairMormon Papers and Reviews 2 (2015), online at http://blog.fairmormon.org/2015/03/23/able-to-know-heavenly-things-the-ante-nicene-mysteries-and-their-new-testament-sources/ (accessed March 23, 2015).

[4] Hugh W. Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon: Transcripts of Lectures Presented to an Honors Book of Mormon Class at Brigham Young University, 1988–1990, 4 vols. (American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications and FARMS, 2004), 1:13.

[5] Joseph M. Spencer, An Other Testament (Salem, Oregon: Salt Press, 2012),  36.

[6] Spencer, An Other Testament, 41–42.

[7] Spencer, An Other Testament, 42.

[8] Spencer, An Other Testament, 42.

[9] See Margaret Barker, Temple Theology: An Introduction (London, Eng.: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004).

[10] See John W. Welch, “When Did Nephi Write the Small Plates?” in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s, ed. John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1999), 75–77.

Filed Under: Book of Mormon

Rediscovering the First Vision

February 6, 2015 by Neal Rappleye

Christensen_coverA Review of: Matthew B. Christensen, The First Vision: A Harmonization of 10 Accounts from the Sacred Grove (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Inc., 2014). 51 pp., no index. $11.99, FairMormon Bookstore price (reg. retail price: $14.99).

The First Vision: A Harmonization of 10 Accounts from the Sacred Grove is a small little book, richly illustrated, which provides even the most diligent students of the vision with a fresh and rewarding experience. Boasting a back dust jacket endorsement from none other than Richard Bushman—the dean of Joseph Smith scholars in the early 21st century—this small, stylishly designed book is, in my opinion, the best way to introduce Latter-day Saints to the various accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision.

Christensen begins with an introduction wherein he explains himself and what he is doing. Christensen is wholly aware that he is not following the conventions of historical scholarship, and is clear that what he produces is not intended to be taken as an actual historical document, or be treated like the reconstruction of an event that a professional historian might produce. Instead, Christensen is producing a tool for the faithful to use in getting closer to the founding vision upon which their faith is rooted; to help them get a fuller and more complete view of what Joseph Smith experienced. Christensen also introduces and gives some background of each of the 10 accounts he used (5 first-hand, 5 second-hand, all from Joseph Smith’s lifetime).

After the introduction comes Christensen’s “harmonization.” Here, Christensen takes the 10 accounts he introduced earlier and produces and amalgamated account, incorporating parts of all 10 accounts into one synthesized whole. Christensen smooth’s out each account, updating grammar and punctuation, and substitutes first-person pronouns when using second-hand accounts, for the purpose of readability, especially for his target audience of lay Latter-day Saints. He also color-codes the text, with a key at the bottom of each page, so the reader can easily and quickly see which account any given portion comes from. Lest one mistakenly think that by doing all this Christensen obscures the differences the accounts contain, it should be noted that he often uses the footnotes to mention and discuss some of the key differences in the various accounts.

Being familiar with the different accounts, I found many of Christensen’s choices interesting. I couldn’t help but think about how I might have merged the accounts differently. Sometimes Christensen seemed so determined to include as much as possible that the account begins to feel redundant, and I often felt that some things could have been left out. To his credit, however, there were some cases where I felt his insistence on pulling together all 10 accounts was very rewarding. In particular, the recounting of the Father’s and Son’s appearance—the vision proper—I felt was very well put together, with Christensen adeptly piecing parts of each account together in a way the vastly enriched the traditional description of there appearance in a pillar of light. He also skillfully wove together every word attributed to the divine visitors in the various accounts, thus providing a full and complete picture of the message given to Joseph Smith that day, as he understood and related it to others.

There are also some places where Christensen omits things that I would have included. For instance, I was disappointed that Christensen didn’t include Joseph’s explanation, found in the 1832 account, that his search began “at about the age of twelve years,” and continued, “from the age of twelve years to fifteen.” Few people realize that Joseph spent years searching and pondering before he had his vision, and I think getting a sense for how long Joseph was grappling with his deep questions is important for better understanding, relating to, and learning from Joseph Smith and his visionary experience. Including these age markers thus could have improved Christensen’s synthesis of the accounts.

On balance, however, I thought Christensen did a nice job, and that the account which emerges serves to enrich the experience for the reader, making it possible to better grasp the fullness of Joseph’s experience. I would recommend it as an ideal way to get introduced to the various accounts of the First Vision, particularly for parents with adolescents, who I believe should be introduced to the different accounts and other historical issues in settings and formats that foster faith. Beyond that, I would heartily recommend this little volume to Latter-day Saints wanting to get a new and fresh perspective on the First Vision—which should be all of them.

Filed Under: First Vision

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