Versions of the Rod of Nature Revelation (D&C 8)

Below is the handout I included in my Sunstone Presentation, "Oliver Cowdery's Rod of Nature," Aug 2010, Clair Barrus
--

Versions of the Rod of Nature revelation

The four versions of the Rod of Nature revelation are designated below as follows:

A - Original text of what the Joseph Smith Papers editors titled "April 1829-B" from A Book of Commandments & Revelations as recorded by John Whitmer.  A Book of Commandments & Revelations (also called "Revelations Book 1" by the editors) is the first of two books published in the Manuscript Revelation Books, the first volume of the Revelations and Translations series, edited by Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper (Salt Lake City: The Church Historian's Press, 2009) and is part of the Joseph Smith Papers project published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a handwritten copy of revelations copied beginning in 1831 by John Whitmer.  

B - Modifications of "April 1829-B".  This includes handwritten modifications to the text of 1829-B by John Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon and an unidentified scribe.  Most of the changes were by Sidney Rigdon.

C - The Book of Commandments, Section 7, 1833.  The Book of Commandments was an effort to publish Joseph Smith's revelations in 1833, but was thwarted during publication by a mob, and only a few copies survived.

D - Doctrine and Covenants, Section 8, first published in 1835. The Doctrine and Covenants was an updated version of Joseph Smith's revelations published in 1835.

A, B, C and D reference each of the four versions of the revelation below, and use the versing established in D. Italics indicate an insubstantial edit was not noted.  Bold highlights changes between versions.  Inconsequential changes such as "&" becoming "and," spelling or punctuation changes are not identified as changes.

---

Heading

A: A Revelation to Oliver he being desirous to know whether the Lord would grant him the gift of Revelation & Translation# given in Harmony Sus Pennsylvania

B: A Revelation to Oliver he being desirous to know whether the Lord would grant him the gift of Translation given in Harmony Susquehannah Pennsylvania April 1829

C: A Revelation given to Oliver, in Harmony, Pennsylvania, April, 1829

D: Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, April 1829. HC 1: 36–37. In the course of the translation of the Book of Mormon, Oliver, who continued to serve as scribe, writing at the Prophet's dictation, desired to be endowed with the gift of translation. The Lord responded to his supplication by granting this revelation

Verse 1

A:Oliver Verily Verily I say unto you that as Shuredly as the Lord liveth which is your God & your Redeemer even so shure shall ye receive a knowledge of whatsoever things ye shall ask with an honest heart believing that ye shall receive a knowledge concerning the engravings of old Records which are ancient which contain those parts of my Scriptures of which hath been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit

B:Oliver Verily Verily I say unto you that as aSuredly as the Lord liveth which is your God & your Redeemer even so shure you shall receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask with an honest heart believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engravings of old Records which are ancient which contain those parts of my Scriptures which has been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit

C: Oliver, verily, verily I say unto you, that assuredly as the Lord liveth, which is your God and your Redeemer, even so sure shall ye receive a knowledge of whatsoever things ye shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engravings of old records, which are ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture of which have been spoken, by the manifestation of my Spirit;

D: Oliver Cowdery, verily, verily, I say unto you, that assuredly as the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive a knowledge concerning the engravings of old records, which are ancient, which contain those parts of my scripture of which has been spoken by the manifestation of my Spirit.


Verse 2

A: yea Behold I will tell you in your mind & in your heart by the Holy Ghost which Shall come upon you & which shall dwell in your heart

<no changes of consequence in subsequent versions>

Verse 3

A: now Behold this is the spirit of Revelation Behold this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the red Sea on dry ground

<no changes of consequence in subsequent versions>

Verse 4

A: therefore this is thy gift apply unto it & blessed art thou for shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies when if it were not so they would slay thee & bring thy soul to distruction

B: therefore this is thy gift apply unto it & blessed art thou for it shall deliver you out of the hands of your enemies when if it were not so they would slay you & bring your soul to distruction

<no changes of consequence in subsequent versions>

Verse 5

A: O remember these words & keep my commandments remember this is thy gift

B: O remember these words & keep my commandments remember this is your gift

<no changes of consequence in subsequent versions>

Verse 6

A: now this is not all for thou hast another gift which is the gift of working with the sprout Behold it hath told you things

B: now this is not all for you have another gift which is the gift of working with the rod Behold it has told you things

C: Now this is not all, for you have another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod:  behold it has told you things:

D: Now this is not all thy gift; for you have another gift, which is the gift of Aaron; behold, it has told you many things;

Verse 7

A: Behold there is no other power save God that can cause this thing of Nature to work in your hands for it is the work of God

B: Behold there is no other power save God that can cause Rod to work in your hands for it is the work of God

C: behold there is no other power save God, that can cause this rod of nature to work in your hands, for it is the work of God.

D: Behold, there is no other power, save the power of God, that can cause this gift of Aaron to be with you.

Verse 8

<text is unique to D>

D: Therefore, doubt not, for it is the gift of God; and you shall hold it in your hands, and do marvelous works; and no power shall be able to take it away out of your hands, for it is the work of God.

Verse 9

A:& therefore whatsoever ye shall ask to tell you by that means that will he grant unto you that ye shall know

B:& therefore whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means that will I grant unto you that you shall know

C: and therefore whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means, that will I grant unto you, that you shall know.

D: And, therefore, whatsoever you shall ask me to tell you by that means, that will I grant unto you, and you shall have knowledge concerning it.

Verse 10

A: remember that without faith ye can do nothing trifle not with these things do not ask for that which ye had not ought

B: remember that without faith you can do nothing trifle not with these things do not ask for that which you ought not

C: Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things. Do not ask for that which you ought not.

<no changes of consequence in D>

Verse 11

A: ask that ye may know the mysteries of God & that ye may Translate all those ancient Records which have been hid up which are Sacred & according to your faith shall it be done unto you

B:  ask that you may know the mysteries of God & that you may Translate all those ancient Records which have been hid up which are Sacred & according to your faith it shall be done unto you

<no changes of consequence in C>
D: Ask that you may know the mysteries of God, and that you may translate and receive knowledge from all those ancient records which have been hid up, that are sacred; and according to your faith shall it be done unto you.

Verse 12

A: Behold it is I that have spoken it & I am the same which spake unto you from the beginning amen

<no changes of consequence in C>
D:   Behold, it is I that have spoken it; and I am the same that spake unto you from the beginning. Amen.

Book of Mormon Conference: Symbolism in the Scriptures

Laura F. Willes Book of Mormon Conference,
17 September 2010

The 2nd Biennial Laura F. Willes Book of Mormon Conference will be held Friday, 17 September 2010. The title of this conference is "Symbolism in the Scriptures," and presenters include Alan Goff, Dan Belnap, Steven L. Olsen, Taylor Halverson, Jane Allis-Pike, John Tvedtnes, Richard Dilworth Rust, Miranda Wilcox, David Calabro, Gordon C. Thomasson, John Thompson, Noel Reynolds, and John Welch. The conference is free of charge and open to the public. The lectures will be presented in the Wilkinson Center and in the Tanner Building on the campus of BYU, with the first session beginning at 9:00 am, and the last session ending at 8:30 pm.

Hat tip to mormonconferences.org

McDannel and Lang, "Heaven: A History" (reviewed by Blair Dee Hodges)

Review

======

Title: Heaven: A History
Author: Colleen McDannell, Bernhard Lang
Publisher: Yale University Press
Genre: Religion
Year: 2001 (reprint)
Pages: 411
ISBN:0300091079
Price: $16.95

Reviewed by Blair Dee Hodges for the Association for Mormon Letters

It's not clear to me whether John Lennon realized he was proposing his
own sort of Heaven when he wrote the classic ballad "Imagine," but
that's what he was doing. He invites us to "imagine there's no heaven,
it's easy if you try" and describes a world of peace and love, a sort of
heaven on earth. The longing for peace in a heavenly place has led poets
and prophets throughout the centuries to write, paint, sing and talk
about Heaven.

Professors of religious studies Colleen McDannell (University of Utah)
and Bernhard Lang (University of Paderborn, Germany) have traced these
currents throughout western thought in "Heaven: A History."[1] To call
the book a "tour through the museum of Heaven" would impose all the
baggage the boring word "museum" carries; this book is an enjoyable
*journey*.

The authors explore theology, architecture, literature, art, and popular
ideas to give readers a sense of the diverse perceptions of Heaven over
time. While acknowledging the oversimplification of their framework,
they identify two overarching and competing versions of the afterlife:
theocentric and anthropocentric. The crucial difference hinges on the
type of relationship expected to exist between humans and the divine. In
the theocentric model, heaven consists of the soul and God; the focus is
on God to the exclusion of other considerations, relationships, and
associations. In the anthropocentric model, human relations are
emphasized; heavenly reunions, communities, and awareness of others are
central.

Interestingly, the authors found both perspectives present in a wide
array of traditions: "These two concepts [theocentric and
anthropocentric] do not depend on the level of sophistication of those
presenting the image (theologians versus lay people), or time frame
(early versus contemporary), or theological perspective (Protestant
versus Catholic). Rather," they argue, "we have found that throughout
Christian history anthropocentric and theocentric models emerge, become
prominent, and weaken" (353).

It isn't the case that studied theologians always arrived at Augustine's
theocentric "beatific vision," described in his "City of God." "Eternal
life," in this view, "consisted of the supreme enjoyment of 'seeing
God'" (59). No anticipated "family reunion" in this view; one went to
the presence of God to stare on his glory for eternity. Heaven is more
philosophical, intellectual, as opposed to a physical location in space
and time.

The early portions of the book, covering early Semitic concepts and the
New Testament, are probably the weakest parts. The further back in time
the authors go, the more cloudy the sources become. They must settle
with the most broad generalizations, relying on some contested
scholarship, especially (in my view) regarding Jesus of Nazareth's ideas
about heaven in the New Testament: "Earthly concerns of sexuality,
family, or compensation for lost wealth would be of no importance," they
state, overlooking scripture verses that would call into question this
conclusion (32). Still, these chapters are insightful and contain
important elements that will inform the rest of the book.

Following the section on Augustine (discussed above) they move into the
medieval scholastics, who largely kept to Augustine's views but made
heaven a locality: "the empyrean" (82). The universe was a series of
"concentric spheres and levels" each nearer to God than the last (82).

In perhaps the most radical section, they explore writings of medieval
mystics who anticipated a "more intimate blessed union with
Christ" (354). More moderate visionaries anticipated dancing, embraces,
and reunions with loved ones; others anticipated much more, including
Gertrude (1256-1302) who became a Catholic saint: "In your conjugal love
and nuptial embraces show me your greatness...in a kiss of your honeyed
mouth take me as your possession into the bridal chamber of your
beautiful love," she wrote unambiguously speaking of Christ (103). The
geography of heaven bifurcated into a lower paradise garden and a higher
heavenly building or city where saints and angels met and dwelt. Further
on they discuss levels of heaven and ranks of angels from writers like
Dante and Milton.

The rest of the book follows Protestant and Catholic reformers
retrenching from the radical elements, reemphasizing a charismatic
heaven where humans praise God eternally. However: "A basic tension
occurs at the heart of the Christian mentality," they conclude, "a
tension foreshadowed in its founder's injunction to love both God and
neighbor" (357). From the eighteenth through the twentieth century, they
find that models of heaven—from Fundamentalist to post-Christian radical
—"have deserted a human-oriented afterlife and have returned to the
God-oriented heaven of the reformers" (308).

"A major exception" to this trend, they argue, is found "in the theology
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The feelings of many
Christians who hope to meet their family in heaven and the
well-articulated doctrines of the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) provide
the clearest examples of the continuation of a modern heaven into the
late twentieth century" (308). The authors spend about ten pages
(313-322) describing Mormon views of the afterlife; this is a
significant amount of space in comparison to other contemporary
Christian traditions. They tend to steer toward more popular LDS
conceptions (citing authors like Duane Crowther and Mary V. Hill in
addition to a few General Authorities[2]). They don't explore the
genesis or development of LDS views.

Still, their account is adequate to their task, reasonable and
respectful, covering topics like temple marriage, the spirit world,
embodiment, child-rearing, and proxy ordinances.

This book is a pleasurable read in practically every sense. The prose is
good, the questions raised are interesting, the scope is wide without
biting off too much to chew (they do this by focusing on western
Christianity alone for the most part). Dozens of short vignettes are
sprinkled throughout the broader overview of belief. A particularly
touching example is from the painting "Last Judgment" by Fra Angelico
(1400-55, p.130). The painting, the authors note, emphasizes "the
sentimental and human quality" of heaven. One small section depicts a
monk embracing a female angel, something quite significant to a man who
had renounced all physical contact with the opposite sex during
mortality, and in contrast to the scholastic view of genderless angels.
"'Here we see a monk,' the art historian Herbert Stutzer maintains, 'who
during all of his life had renounced contact with the other sex, but is
now tenderly embraced by a female angel' (128). This book increases my
hope that reading will be an available afterlife activity as well. It is
worth reading more than once. I enjoyed embracing this book.


FOOTNOTES

[1] Originally published in 1988, it was republished as a Yale Nota Bene
paperback in 2001. From what I understand, the authors are not members
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[2] Elder Bruce C. Hafen, member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, has
enthusiastically referred to the book in some of his publications and
devotionals. See, for instance, Bruce C. Hafen, "Your Longing for Family
Joy," Ensign, Oct. 2003, 28. Hafen is not one of the quoted General
Authorities in the book, however. -Blair Hodges

Sunstone Symposium, 2010

Mormonism moving beyond its infancy, scholars say at Sunstone
Deseret News

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700054046/Mormonism-moving-beyond-its-infancy-scholars-say-at-Sunstone.html

Unlike some American religious movements, Mormonism has moved beyond its infancy and adolescent stages into a continually maturing faith that depends on its orthodox, institutional power structure and a strong sense of right and wrong.

The structure and defined moral ethic are part of what give the faith its staying power, according to two religious historians, who discussed the characteristics of new religious movements during the opening general session of the annual Sunstone Symposium Wednesday night.


Young progressives join mix at Sunstone
Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/50010586-80/symposium-mormon-lds-sunstone.html.csp

Amid Sunstone's typical potpourri of scholarly and personal approaches, though, there also will be healthy involvement by a new generation of Mormon thinkers, who mostly meet one another online as bloggers on church-related topics.
For example, a group from the lively feministmormonhousewives.org will explore the evolution of Mormon feminism.

"Bloggers are a lot of fun to hang out with online," says symposium chair Mary Ellen Robertson. "But it's 100 times more fun to hang out in person. It's great to have them bring their discussions from the blog to the symposium."...



Reasons for Technological Interpretations of Mormonism

http://lincoln.metacannon.net/2010/08/sunstone-transcript-reasons-for.html

How often have we heard the question: are science and religion compatible? And yet, how many of us are still waiting for the answer? What are we waiting for? Do we expect someone will discover or reveal the answer? Could it be discovered or revealed without begging the question? For example, can we use science to answer a question about science, without already assuming its axioms and methods? Likewise, for religion, can we use it to answer a question about itself, without starting from faith?
(transcript available at above link)


Symposium analyzes cow's role in handcart tragedy
Deseret News
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700054387/Symposium-analyzes-cows-role-in-handcart-tragedy.html

Did one small cow contribute to the 1856 Willie and Martin handcart disaster, in which some 220 people perished?

It did, according to an Idaho State University professor who spoke on the subject at a Sunstone Symposium session Friday afternoon at the Sheraton Hotel.

"The thing we can blame mostly is one small cow," Trent D. Stephens said, adding a new twist to the often-told pioneer tragedy.


Glenn Beck vs. LDS Church
https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/glenn-beck-rough-stone-roaring-part-i/
https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/glenn-beck-rough-stone-roaring-part-ii/

Sunstone Magazine's blog offers a long meditation, as only Sunstone can, on the impact of Glenn Beck on Mormonism. Beck, a Mormon, and other talk-show rabble rousers' popularity among the Mormon faithful are a problem for the church under President Thomas S. Monson that reels from such gratuitous nastiness. Church owned KSL radio has begun a purge of tough-talk shows, including the highly rated Sean Hannity.

Sunstone's Stephen Carter offers examples of Beckspew, including:
"I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself or if I would need to hire somebody to do it."

Contrast that with The Mormon Ethic of Civility:

"The moral basis of civility is the Golden Rule . . . : 'And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise' (Luke 6:31). This ethic of reciprocity reminds us all of our responsibility toward one another and reinforces the communal nature of human life."

Probably more troubling to the socially conservative LDS leadership than Beck's attacks on liberals and Democrats is his embrace of kookier fringe ideas floating around in Mormondom. Take the "White Horse Prophecy" that foretells a Mormon saving the nation when the Constitution "hangs by a thread." Says Carter:

Beck appears to see himself as one of those called to . . . "step forth" to "save [the Constitution] from utter destruction," "to rescue that great and glorious palladium of our liberty." Judging from his rhetoric, Beck seems to believe he's on a divinely appointed mission to fulfill modern-day prophecy. It is important to note that various apostles and presidents of the Church have disavowed the authenticity of at least some portions of White Horse Prophecy and have distanced themselves from some of its more extreme predictions...


Interfaith leader calls gay marriage legal issue
Salt Lake Tribune
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50068662-76/marriage-church-gaddy-gay.html.csp

People of faith should engage in civil dialogue about gay marriage, but government should rely on the U.S. Constitution -- not religion -- in deciding who can marry, the head of the national Interfaith Alliance said Friday.

The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy says marriage is a legal issue in the United States and only government can grant a marriage license.

"Religions care about it, yes, but you can't get married because of your religion," Gaddy said during a presentation on religious freedom at Sunstone, an annual forum for Mormon culture and academic study in Salt Lake City.


Sunstone Offers Gay Panels
http://qsaltlake.com/2010/08/05/sunstone-offers-gay-panels/

Once again, several papers, panels and presentations about gay and lesbian Mormons will be part of the Sunstone Symposium, an annual event that explores the complexities of LDS history, religion, culture, art and politics on what its parent organization calls "free and frank" terms.

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy of Monroe, Louisiana's Northminster Church will present the paper "Same-Gender Marriage & Religious Freedom: A Call to Quiet Conversations and Public Debates" about the ways in which society can shift the debate over gay marriage from "a scriptural argument to a religious liberty agreement," which includes the promise of equal rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Hugo Olaiz will moderate a panel on responses to 8: The Mormon Proposition, Reed Cowan's controversial documentary about the LDS Church's role in passing California's Proposition 8, which re-banned same-sex marriage in the state. Here, panelists Laura Crompton of MormonsForMarriage.org and author Robert E. Rees (No More Strangers and Foreigners: A Christian Mormon Response to Homosexuality) will discuss the film's strengths and weaknesses, and its influence on same-sex marriage debates as well as the church's behavior towards gay and lesbian members.

Gustav-Wrathall, a University of Minnesota history professor, will present a paper titled "Church, Priesthood, and the Gay/Lesbian Journey Toward Spiritual Maturity" as one of three papers presented between 8:45 and 9:45 a.m. This paper will examine the division between gay and lesbian Mormons who have left the church "via inactivity, excommunication, or suicide" and the "minority" who have remained and "subordinated their need for satisfying relational intimacy to Church law" which prohibits gay sex. Gustav-Wrathall will argue that the path to spiritual growth for gay and lesbian Mormons lies in engaging with tensions such as these.

A trio of papers will be presented as part of The Gay Mormon Literature Project: Johnny Townsend's "The Chosen Family in Gay Mormon Literature," about the families gay Mormons create when blood relatives reject them;  Alan Michael Williams' "Two Paradigms for 'Gay,'" a comparison of his Ockham's Razor and Jonathan Langford's No Going Back, both novels on gay Mormon themes; and "The Family in Latter Days," by Gay Mormon Literature Project founder Gerald S. Argentsinger, which is a study of the popular gay movie Latter Days.

The short film Two Loves: Documenting Gay Mormons' Stories will be screened from 3:30–4:30 p.m. This is a 25-minute documentary featuring interviews with gay Mormons who have left the church, remained in the church, and with author Carol Lynn Pearson, the ex-wife of a gay Mormon man who has written several books about the church's treatment of gays and lesbians. English literature and film student Michelle Ripplinger will present.

"Gay and Mormon on the Stage and Screen." will include the talk "Mormon Mothers as Devices (Key Change-Agents) Used to Reduce the Toxicity of LDS LGBT Inertia." Here, actor Charles Lynn Frost will discuss the insights he has gained into LDS families with gay children in the years he has performed as Sister Dottie S. Dixon, a character who is a Mormon mother with a gay son. In the second presentation, "Coming Out Mormon Style: Three Recent Plays, One by Me," playwright Eric Samuelsen will discuss recent "coming out plays" with LDS themes.

Sister Dottie will also appear in a special one-night performance Aug. 5 with Mr. Deity, the star of a humorous webcast about the life of the ruler of the universe and the troubles of running the cosmos. Mr. Deity is played by Brian Keith Dalton.

FAIR Conference, 2010

FAIR conference: 'Gender equality is the brick of Zion,' speaker says

Mormon Times
http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16337/FAIR-conference-Gender-equality-is-the-brick-of-Zion-speaker-says?s_cid=queue_title&utm_source=queue_title

"The Two Trees" was the simple title for Valerie Hudson-Cassler's presentation.

The message she hoped listeners received was more elaborate -- "The beauty of the great plan of happiness puts men and women as equal partners in the great journey from our home in the premortal existence through mortality, and then returning back to our heavenly home," Hudson-Cassler said.

Hudson-Cassler was one of the final speakers at 12th Annual Mormon Apologetics Conference at the South Towne Exposition Center on Friday.


FAIR conference: Defend the Book of Mormon by studying names, origins
Mormon Times
http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16307/FAIR-conference-Defend-the-Book-of-Mormon-by-studying-names-origins

One way to defend the Book of Mormon is by a study of its proper names and origins.

That was the message delivered by Stephen D. Ricks at the 12th Annual Mormon Apologetics Conference at the South Towne Exposition Center Thursday afternoon.

Ricks, a professor of Hebrew and Cognate Learning at Brigham Young University, said just knowing Book of Mormon names and their origins would help an individual know these names were authentic.


FAIR Conference: Roper's take on Book of Mormon geography
Mormon Times
http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16313/FAIR-Conference-Ropers-take-on-Book-of-Mormon-geography

Roper, a resident scholar at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU, based his 90-minute remarks on four subjects:

1. Terminology -- do terms used by Joseph Smith in his descriptions of the Book of Mormon, such as "this land," "this continent," or "this country," indicate, as some have suggested, any specific American setting for the Book of Mormon?

2. Did Joseph Smith's revelations include details about the geography of the Book of Mormon?

3. Regarding a handful of articles published under the editorship of Joseph Smith in the Times and Seasons regarding Central American discoveries -- did Joseph Smith write these articles or were they written by others?

4. Might recent wordprinting studies offer a solution to the question of authorship?


FAIR conference: Joseph Smith's discovery of ancient patterns
Mormon Times
http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16318/FAIR-conference-Joseph-Smiths-discovery-of-ancient-patterns?s_cid=queue_photo&utm_source=queue_photo

Joseph Smith didn't know this, but there are some ancient patterns in the scriptures he gave to the world. Jeffrey Bradshaw told the FAIR conference on Aug. 5 about parallels between the ancient "Apocalypse of Abraham" and Joseph Smith's "Book of Moses."

Bradshaw, a senior research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, used charts and tables to explain the intricate ways the two books' themes intertwine with each other and other ancient texts -- texts which, by the way, Joseph Smith couldn't have known about. Bradshaw said that even the great literary critic and Yale professor Harold Bloom was amazed at how Joseph Smith tapped into ancient themes in his writings. "Professor Bloom found it extraordinary that Joseph Smith could have come up with on his own a modern book that resembles so closely ancient Jewish and Christian texts," Bradshaw said.


FAIR conference: What if the U.S. president were a Mormon?
Mormon Times
http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16336/FAIR-conference-What-if-the-US-president-were-a-Mormon?s_cid=email

Peter Watkins gave his audience a lot to think about Friday morning.

What if the president of the United States were a Mormon?

If the scenario were true, Watkins said, members of the media would scrutinize his tax returns and wonder why 10 percent went directly to his church . Devoting three or more hours to church meetings and other duties, home teaching and national coverage of Sister Johnson's sacrament meeting talk might turn some heads. General conference would be a major media event. Attending the temple would become complicated.


Nibley editor says scholar was bolstered by research
Deseret News
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700053995/Nibley-editor-says-scholar-was-bolstered-by-research.html?s_cid=Email-2

Editing half the volumes in "The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley" gave Shirley Ricks a unusually intimate association and memory of one of Mormonism's most respected scholars, memories she shared in a presentation Thursday as the annual two-day conference of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) opened at the South Towne Expo Center, in Sandy.


Dan Peterson: FAIR addresses LDS issues
Mormon Times
http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16288/Dan-Peterson-FAIR-addresses-LDS-issues

Back in 1997, a miscellaneous group of Latter-day Saints found themselves confronted by detractors of their faith on the America Online Mormonism message boards. Tired of repeating the same arguments over and over again in reply to repetitious and sometimes even rather silly objections, and aware that they would be more effective if they worked together rather than separately, they decided to pool their varied expertise and interests. By the end of the year, they had incorporated the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) as a non-profit organization in the state of New York. And, already by March of 1998, www.fair.lds, the first FAIR website, was a functioning repository of answers to common anti-Mormon challenges.

Since then, although unaffiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and receiving no financial support from it, FAIR has grown impressively, providing responses to objections raised by both evangelical and secular anti-Mormons. (Incidentally, "apologetics" doesn't refer to some sort of "science" of saying "we're sorry"; instead, reflecting the original Greek meaning of the term "apologia," it identifies the discipline of defending one's position and beliefs.

FAIR conference: LDS doctrine clear on divinity of one God
Deseret News
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700054084/FAIR-conference-LDS-doctrine-clear-on-divinity-of-one-God.html

A frequent point of contention by critics against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the doctrine that there is not just one, but a multiplicity of gods.

Yet allusions to that concept pervade the Bible as well as ancient Near Eastern culture, Mormon scholar David Bokovoy said Thursday. He spoke at the annual conference of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, at the South Towne Exposition Centre in Sandy.


FAIR conference: Secret Mormon codes and Egyptian papers
Mormon Times
http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16366/FAIR-conference-Secret-Mormon-codes-and-Egyptian-papers?s_cid=queue_title&utm_source=queue_title

The key to figuring out the purpose of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers for Schryver was a two-page document in the papers: The Egyptian Counting document. Like the other documents in the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, the counting document had characters in a column with definitions. In this case the characters were defined as numbers. The characters, however, were not Egyptian. This is what gave Schryver an "aha!" moment.

"What we have here is not a tool to decipher Egyptian, but one intended to encipher the descriptive English text," Schryver said. Joseph Smith and his associates were attempting to create a secret code or cipher key. For example, in the counting document one character meant "six," another "seven" and so on.

The other documents in the Kirtland Egyptian Papers also appeared to be elaborate cipher keys. In a cipher key, it didn't matter what characters were used, so it didn't matter what order they were borrowed from the Egyptian papyrus. It didn't matter if they made up characters. It didn't matter if they used characters from the Knights Templar.

A Tentative Inquiry into the Office of Seventy, 1835-1845

The Office of the Seventy, by  Lyndon Cook

Lyndon Cook's has a provocative new book out on the Seventy during the Joseph Smith period. It's called "A Tentative Inquiry into the Office of Seventy, 1835-1845." It's a great read for history and doctrinal buffs.

For the first time in Mormon scholarship, Cook satisfactorily elucidates the early notion of "high priesthood" — what it was and what it was not; who had it and who did not, and what its relationship was to priesthood office and to the order of Melchizedek itself?

For not unlike their ministry at Kirtland and Nauvoo, the high priests in Utah and the west were the "standing ministers" of the church (i.e., the bishoprics, stake presidencies, and high council). Apparently, no amount of sermonizing could change that or position the seventy over the high priests in the minds of the faithful. Cook says that in spite of the official rhetoric or the revelations, the seventy have been the step children of Mormon priesthood almost from the beginning.

Available at  http://www.watsonandwatsonbooks.com/product.i?sku=0001

Judge strikes down Prop. 8, allows gay marriage in California

Excerpts of Judge strikes down Prop. 8, allows gay marriage in California by Maura Dolan

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A federal judge in San Francisco decided today that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, striking down Proposition 8, the voter approved ballot measure that banned same-sex unions.

U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn R. Walker said Proposition 8, passed by voters in November 2008, violated the federal constitutional rights of gays and lesbians to marry the partners of their choice. His ruling is expected to be appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Plaintiffs challenge Proposition 8 under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment," the judge wrote. "Each challenge is independently meritorious, as Proposition 8 both unconstitutionally burdens the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and creates an irrational classification on the basis of sexual orientation."

Vaughn added: "Plaintiffs seek to have the state recognize their committed relationships, and plaintiffs' relationships are consistent with the core of the history, tradition and practice of marriage in the United States."

Ultimately, the judge concluded that Proposition 8 "fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. … Because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional."]

Walker, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, heard 16 witnesses summoned by opponents of Proposition 8 and two called by proponents during a 2½-week trial in January.

Walker's historic ruling in Perry vs. Schwarzenegger relied heavily on the testimony he heard at trial. His ruling listed both factual findings and his conclusions about the law.

Voters approved the ban by a 52.3% margin six months after the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was permitted under the state Constitution.

The state high court later upheld Proposition 8 as a valid amendment to the state Constitution.

An estimated 18,000 same-sex couples married in California during the months that it was legal, and the state continues to recognize those marriages.

The federal challenge was filed on behalf of a gay couple in Southern California and a lesbian couple in Berkeley. They are being represented by former Solicitor General Ted Olson, a conservative, and noted litigator David Boies, who squared off against Olson in Bush vs. Gore.

A Los Angeles-based group formed to fight Proposition 8 has been financing the litigation.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown refused to defend Proposition 8, prodding the sponsors of the initiative to hire a legal team experienced in U.S. Supreme Court litigation.

Backers of Proposition 8 contended that the legal burden was on the challengers to prove there was no rational justification for voting for the measure. They cited as rational a view that children fare best with both a father and a mother.

But defense witnesses conceded in cross-examination that studies show children reared from birth by same-sex couples fared as well as those born to opposite-sex parents and that marriage would benefit the families of gays and lesbians.

-- Maura Dolan in San Francisco

Joseph Smith family Bible goes on sale

Excerpts of Joseph Smith family Bible goes on sale, KSL News

August 1st, 2010

By John Hollenhorst

SALT LAKE CITY -- The rarest of rare books, a one-of-a-kind family Bible, has surfaced in Salt Lake City. It's going on sale at an asking price of $1.5 million.

"It's the only copy in the world, the family Bible belonging to the founder of Mormonism and his first wife, Emma Hale Smith."

Sanders said the 1831 edition of the Bible was originally purchased by Joseph Smith Jr. when the family lived in Kirtland, Ohio. It's been out of sight for many years, apparently cherished for generations by descendants of Emma Hale Smith. In 1979, the Smith family sold it to a friendly outsider, Buddy Youngreen. He published photos of it in the LDS "Ensign" magazine in 1984.

The current owner is something of a mystery. Youngreen said he sold the book 15 years ago to an anonymous buyer. Sanders said he's been asked to sell it on consignment for a family that has asked to remain anonymous.

Between the pages of the Old Testament and the New Testament is a Smith family genealogy. It's a handwritten record of marriages, births and deaths in the Smith family. Sanders said the handwriting has been authenticated as that of Joseph and Emma Smith.

According to Sanders, the Bible was one of the few personal possessions the Smith family kept as they fled mobs in Ohio and, later, in Missouri. After Smith's murder in Illinois in 1844, Emma Hale Smith kept the book until her death in 1879.

According to Sanders, an almost identical copy of the Bible was purchased in 1831 by Joseph Smith's brother, Hyrum. That book is currently in the collection of the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

Whether the Joseph Smith Bible can command a price of $1.5 million is an unknown right now, but Sanders says there is precedent for it in the LDS rare-document market. In a recent sale, the 1833 edition of Joseph Smith's "The Book of Commandments" sold for $1.7 million, Sanders said, even though 29 copies of that book are known to exist.

Sanders plans to display "The Family Bible of Joseph Smith, Jr. and Emma Hale Smith" in his store at 268 S. 200 East in Salt Lake City. It will be available for public viewing this week from Monday through Thursday during regular business hours, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.