tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71935079847366161272024-03-19T14:28:49.421-07:00The Sign of Jonas<i> "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas."
- Jesus<i></i> </i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-63343865344316466152014-04-12T23:02:00.001-07:002014-08-29T23:04:31.142-07:00The Small and Simple Things. A talk by Elder Raymond A. Besse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.3px;"><b>The Small and Simple Things</b></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">A talk by Elder Raymond A. Besse</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: 0px;">Given April 13, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I would like to start by sharing a quote by Sister Ann M. Dibb in the May 2009 edition of the Ensign: “The small and simple things you choose today will be magnified into great and glorious blessings tomorrow. Living each day as ‘an example of the believers’ Will help you to be happy and more confident". </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In this life we cannot always accomplish great things. We can only do small and simple things with great love. How very often we tend to look for the “grand plan”, or the big things we can do to make a big difference, all while the small and simple opportunities that are ever-present pass us by and we tend to look beyond the mark.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">But big plans seldom work out, and big ideas seldom take off. Whereas the little, more achievable, the more straightforward and more immediate things, are the things that are right in front of us, those are the things that really matter and really move us forward.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s great to dream, but it’s better to do. After all, it’s usually the cumulative effect of so many little things, done persistently, and done well, that creates greatness.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/37/6#6"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">Alma 37:6</span></a>) it states; “By small and simple things, are great things brought to pass.” </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In our lives, whether in business or as members of the church, as we pay closer attention to making the most of the little opportunities that lie right in front of us, we will move naturally towards the dreams that matter most.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Recently in my daily scripture study with a friend of mine, we studied about Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">After they were carried into captivity in Babylon, Daniel and his friends asked to be fed vegetables and water rather than the rich food from the royal table. Much of what would have been served on the royal table may have been sacrificed to the Babylonian gods or might have been a meat, such as pork, that would have been considered unclean to a Jewish person. It was at the risk of his life, and that of his friends, that Daniel made such a request to the king’s official who was in charge of the young exiles, but Daniel knew the importance of faithfulness and obedience to God.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Later in their lives, Daniel and his friends faced much greater tests of their obedience to the One True God. It was the faithfulness and obedience to God in the small things, like food choice, that refined their resolve when greater tests came along. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced the king’s fury and the fiery furnace because they would not bow down to the image that the king had made, they exercised their faith in God and stayed true to the One who could save them. The same is true with Daniel as he faced the lion’s den because of his refusal to bow to the king.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">I want to offer to you a though as we consider the obedience and faithfulness in the small things that God allows in our lives.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It’s highly probable that if Daniel had compromised by eating the king’s food, he would have compromised about other things as well, like bowing to his image. It would have been easy for him to think ‘Oh, I’ll still pray to God, but I’ll just bow to this thing to spare my life, because, after all, I can do a lot of ministry for God if I survive’. That wasn’t Daniel or his uncompromising buddies Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">When you obey God in the small and simple things, it becomes a lot easier to obey Him in the big things. That’s when God shows up. He can shut the mouths of lions and protect you from the flames.”</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Recently in my life the Holy Spirit has cautioned me of the need to do a better job of being faithful in the small and simple things. I want God to find me faithful no matter the size of the test, but it is through those seemingly small and relatively insignificant tests that God builds my faith for the larger tests. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Our path to success is uncompromising resolve in big and small things alike. When you obey God in the small things, it becomes a lot easier to obey Him in the big things, and honestly, sometimes we need to just stop and realize there really are no "small" acts of obedience in that they all matter. They all count. They all have the ability to make a HUGE difference in our lives. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">As I touch on the subject of obedience, I am reminded of my good friend Alayna Winkle, she once shared with me the words of her former Missions President’s wife “Obedience brings blessings, but obedience with exactness brings miracles.”</span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Sometimes the big acts of obedience aren't even the ones that can mess us up in life. It is kind of like the way we probably won't trip up on a huge boulder sitting in our path. We can just easily walk around it. But it can be those small stones, they can trip us like none other. We need to constantly be on the look out for those small acts of obedience we may be overlooking and stumbling on.</span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In closing my dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to search your daily lives and contemplate if there is an area in your life that seems small and insignificant where God is calling you to take a stand and be obedient. Maybe there is an area where you have been trying to convince yourself that it is such an insignificant issue that it really doesn’t matter what you do. Could it be that God is testing your obedience in the small things in preparation for a greater test in the future? </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">It is my prayer that you and I both will be obedient to God in the small and the simple things in this life, and may our hearts stay tender, aware, and willingly obedient in the smallest of ways. </span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Of theses things I pray, most humbly in the sacred name of our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01236069772860022687noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-84927673682891762972013-06-23T19:48:00.001-07:002013-06-23T19:55:58.162-07:00Book of Mormon: Podcast 03 - "The Nature of the Original Text"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A video of this presentation is available on the Maxwell Institute's YouTube page <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRgAt4PHo_8&feature=c4-overview&list=UUdSQT58fJ0BcQ0XGIJImoog">here</a>.<br /><br />This podcast is one part in a series of three lectures given by Dr. Royal Skousen as part of his 25 year magnum opus work on the textual criticism of the Book of Mormon.</span></i><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">About Royal Skousen</span></b></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> Royal Skousen is Professor of Linguistics and English Language at
Brigham Young University. In 1972 he received his Ph.D. in linguistics from the
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He has taught linguistics at the
University of Illinois, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of
California at San Diego, and as a Fulbright scholar at the University of
Tampere in Finland. In 2001 he was a research fellow at the Max Planck
Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Skousen's work in
linguistics has dealt chiefly with developing a theory of language called
Analogical Modeling, a theory that predicts language behavior by means of
examples rather than by rules. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">Skousen has published three books on this subject: Analogical Modeling
of Language (1989), Analogy and Structure (1992), and Analogical Modeling: An
Exemplar-Based Approach to Language (2002). More recently, he has published on
the quantum computation of Analogical Modeling, notably in his 2005 paper
"Quantum Analogical Modeling" (available <a href="http://www.arxiv.org/">here</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">Skousen has been the editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project
since 1988. In 2001, he published the first two volumes of the Critical Text
Project, namely, typographical facsimiles for the original and printer's
manuscripts of the Book of Mormon. From 2004 through 2009, he published the six
books that make up volume 4 of the critical text, <i>Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon</i>. This work
represents the central task of the Critical Text Project, to restore by
scholarly means the original text of the Book of Mormon, to the extent
possible. In 2009, using the results from volume 4, Skousen published with Yale
University Press the culmination of his critical work on the Book of Mormon
text, namely, <i>The Book of Mormon: The
Earliest Text</i>. The Yale edition presents the reconstructed original text in
a clear-text format, without explanatory intervention. Unlike modern editions
of the Book of Mormon that have added chapter summaries, scriptural
cross-references, dates, and footnotes, this edition consists solely of the
words dictated by Joseph Smith in 1828-29, as far as they can be established
through standard methods of textual criticism. Later emendations by scribes,
editors, and even Joseph Smith himself have been omitted, except for those that
appear to restore original readings. Skousen is currently writing volume 3 of
the critical text, <i>The History of the
Text of the Book of Mormon</i>, which will be available in about three years (~2016).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> Skousen has recently accepted the assignment
to be one of the editors for the Joseph Smith Papers, along with Robin Jensen,
charged with the task of preparing the three volumes that will reproduce
photographs and facsimile transcripts for the two manuscripts of the Book of
Mormon.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> For those interested, Skousen's vita is available via Brigham Young University <a href="http://linguistics.byu.edu/static/documents/cv/VITA.12.docx">here</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0okIw49fidsxPT4GvUG7VcWwtdCno-6c1nUiTajdQ4rZqAqTxA0yxYoO3PKFArtTs1cW6fC1GDU18G6lVOoNmIO7fx24PYCvX0kWj9-XSZcBdoau2DoX6nMrSwMy_3GG1WfVtjxMErY/s1600/Hinckley_Center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0okIw49fidsxPT4GvUG7VcWwtdCno-6c1nUiTajdQ4rZqAqTxA0yxYoO3PKFArtTs1cW6fC1GDU18G6lVOoNmIO7fx24PYCvX0kWj9-XSZcBdoau2DoX6nMrSwMy_3GG1WfVtjxMErY/s200/Hinckley_Center.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> This lecture originally took place in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center on the campus of Brigham Young University on Tuesday, March 5th 2013. The original lecture was accompanied by a powerpoint presentation. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> This lecture examines the nature of the original text, as recovered by scholarly means as part of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. It is important, first, to note the number and kinds of changes that have been </span><span style="font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 30.899999618530273px;">implemented</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> in </span><i style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;">The Earliest Test </i><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;">(Yale University Press, 2009). Of 606 readings in the Yale text, 216 come from the original manuscript (O), 187 from the printer's manuscript (P), and 88 from both O and P. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> The manuscripts play the most important role in recovering the original text. Since O is only 28% extant, this means that by human means most of the original text is not fully recoverable. Nonetheless, </span><span style="font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 30.899999618530273px;">there</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> are 241 new reading that make a difference in meaning; these changes would show up in any translation of the Book of Mormon. Various examples are discussed that show how the original text was more </span><span style="font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 30.899999618530273px;">consistent</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> in usage. In addition a few changes in names make a difference in how we interpret the narrative. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> Conjectural emendations are found in the Yale edition as in all editions of the Book of Mormon, but much less frequently. On average, about one out of every four proposed conjectural emedations have been accepted in the Yale Edition.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> The original text itself shows word-for-word control in its Hebrew-like expressions, the large number of lexical meanings dating from the 1500's and 1600's, its use of 131 instances of fully consistent expressions, identical non-biblical citations from different parts of the test, and the spelling out of the Book of Mormon names letter by letter. Even the non-standard grammar of the Book of Mormon may date back to Early Modern English.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> This information was largely </span><span style="font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 30.899999618530273px;">retrieved from "<a href="http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/details-about-royal-skousens-upcoming-lectures-on-the-book-of-mormon-critical-text-project/">Interpreter: a Journal of Mormon Scripture</a>"</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;">.</span></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-7189188411583645912013-06-01T21:07:00.000-07:002013-06-23T19:52:53.255-07:00Book of Mormon: Podcast 02 - "Textual Criticism: The Printed Editions"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">This podcast is one part in a series of three lectures given by Dr. Royal Skousen as part of his 25 year magnum opus work on the textual criticism of the Book of Mormon.</span></i><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">About Royal Skousen</span></b></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> Royal Skousen is Professor of Linguistics and English Language at
Brigham Young University. In 1972 he received his Ph.D. in linguistics from the
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He has taught linguistics at the
University of Illinois, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of
California at San Diego, and as a Fulbright scholar at the University of
Tampere in Finland. In 2001 he was a research fellow at the Max Planck
Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Skousen's work in
linguistics has dealt chiefly with developing a theory of language called
Analogical Modeling, a theory that predicts language behavior by means of
examples rather than by rules. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">Skousen has published three books on this subject: Analogical Modeling
of Language (1989), Analogy and Structure (1992), and Analogical Modeling: An
Exemplar-Based Approach to Language (2002). More recently, he has published on
the quantum computation of Analogical Modeling, notably in his 2005 paper
"Quantum Analogical Modeling" (available <a href="http://www.arxiv.org/">here</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">Skousen has been the editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project
since 1988. In 2001, he published the first two volumes of the Critical Text
Project, namely, typographical facsimiles for the original and printer's
manuscripts of the Book of Mormon. From 2004 through 2009, he published the six
books that make up volume 4 of the critical text, <i>Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon</i>. This work
represents the central task of the Critical Text Project, to restore by
scholarly means the original text of the Book of Mormon, to the extent
possible. In 2009, using the results from volume 4, Skousen published with Yale
University Press the culmination of his critical work on the Book of Mormon
text, namely, <i>The Book of Mormon: The
Earliest Text</i>. The Yale edition presents the reconstructed original text in
a clear-text format, without explanatory intervention. Unlike modern editions
of the Book of Mormon that have added chapter summaries, scriptural
cross-references, dates, and footnotes, this edition consists solely of the
words dictated by Joseph Smith in 1828-29, as far as they can be established
through standard methods of textual criticism. Later emendations by scribes,
editors, and even Joseph Smith himself have been omitted, except for those that
appear to restore original readings. Skousen is currently writing volume 3 of
the critical text, <i>The History of the
Text of the Book of Mormon</i>, which will be available in about three years (~2016).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> Skousen has recently accepted the assignment
to be one of the editors for the Joseph Smith Papers, along with Robin Jensen,
charged with the task of preparing the three volumes that will reproduce
photographs and facsimile transcripts for the two manuscripts of the Book of
Mormon.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> For those interested, Skousen's vita is available via Brigham Young University <a href="http://linguistics.byu.edu/static/documents/cv/VITA.12.docx">here</a>. </span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">About this Lecture</span></b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0okIw49fidsxPT4GvUG7VcWwtdCno-6c1nUiTajdQ4rZqAqTxA0yxYoO3PKFArtTs1cW6fC1GDU18G6lVOoNmIO7fx24PYCvX0kWj9-XSZcBdoau2DoX6nMrSwMy_3GG1WfVtjxMErY/s1600/Hinckley_Center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0okIw49fidsxPT4GvUG7VcWwtdCno-6c1nUiTajdQ4rZqAqTxA0yxYoO3PKFArtTs1cW6fC1GDU18G6lVOoNmIO7fx24PYCvX0kWj9-XSZcBdoau2DoX6nMrSwMy_3GG1WfVtjxMErY/s200/Hinckley_Center.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> This lecture originally took place in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center on the campus of Brigham Young University on Tuesday, March 5th 2013. The original lecture was accompanied by a powerpoint presentation. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> The critical text directly compares 20 significant printed editions of the Book of Mormon, with 15 published by the LDS Church, 4 by the RLDS Church (now the Community of Christ), and one private edition in 1858 (published in New York City by James Wright). </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> In this review of the printed editions, Skousen will identify the most innovative changes made in each of the significant LDS editions. There will also be a comparison of the LDS and RLDS textual traditions.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> In the last part of the presentation, Skousen will discuss various secular editions published within the last decade, including Grant Hardy’s 2003 A Reader’s Edition (University of Illinois Press), the 2004 Doubleday Edition (with text furnished by the LDS Church), and Royal Skousen’s 2009 The Earliest Text (Yale University Press).</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 30.909090042114258px;"> This information was taken largely from <a href="http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/details-about-royal-skousens-upcoming-lectures-on-the-book-of-mormon-critical-text-project/">Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture</a>.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-44160003682384331202013-05-22T18:42:00.000-07:002013-06-23T19:54:39.318-07:00Book of Mormon: Podcast 01 - "Textual Criticism: The Original and Printer's Manuscripts"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2Z2i1Lsosmjfu4NNTthtfR5QWzP6O8vonvLy9Gd1BpaVgNyZVpYt8NRXcAyGaAMesu3sG9kKMwlwP9jZdRC_BtbIgfxHamYvOQY0iSTZMaAuNERY3mB49sRfy3wekMrPl28Xo75ZHjE/s1600/Episode+1+Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr2Z2i1Lsosmjfu4NNTthtfR5QWzP6O8vonvLy9Gd1BpaVgNyZVpYt8NRXcAyGaAMesu3sG9kKMwlwP9jZdRC_BtbIgfxHamYvOQY0iSTZMaAuNERY3mB49sRfy3wekMrPl28Xo75ZHjE/s640/Episode+1+Banner.jpg" width="512" /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="30" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="http://archive.org/embed/SkousenLecture1TheOriginalAndPrintersManuscripts" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="515"></iframe></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://archive.org/download/SkousenLecture1TheOriginalAndPrintersManuscripts/SkousenLecture1TheOriginalAndPrintersManuscripts_vbr_mp3.zip">(Download)</a></span>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">This podcast is one part in a series of three lectures given by Dr. Royal Skousen as part of his 25 year magnum opus work on the textual criticism of the Book of Mormon.</span></i><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">About Royal Skousen</span></b></h2>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> Royal Skousen is Professor of Linguistics and English Language at
Brigham Young University. In 1972 he received his Ph.D. in linguistics from the
University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He has taught linguistics at the
University of Illinois, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of
California at San Diego, and as a Fulbright scholar at the University of
Tampere in Finland. In 2001 he was a research fellow at the Max Planck
Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Skousen's work in
linguistics has dealt chiefly with developing a theory of language called
Analogical Modeling, a theory that predicts language behavior by means of
examples rather than by rules. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">Skousen has published three books on this subject: Analogical Modeling
of Language (1989), Analogy and Structure (1992), and Analogical Modeling: An
Exemplar-Based Approach to Language (2002). More recently, he has published on
the quantum computation of Analogical Modeling, notably in his 2005 paper
"Quantum Analogical Modeling" (available <a href="http://www.arxiv.org/">here</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">Skousen has been the editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project
since 1988. In 2001, he published the first two volumes of the Critical Text
Project, namely, typographical facsimiles for the original and printer's
manuscripts of the Book of Mormon. From 2004 through 2009, he published the six
books that make up volume 4 of the critical text, <i>Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon</i>. This work
represents the central task of the Critical Text Project, to restore by
scholarly means the original text of the Book of Mormon, to the extent
possible. In 2009, using the results from volume 4, Skousen published with Yale
University Press the culmination of his critical work on the Book of Mormon
text, namely, <i>The Book of Mormon: The
Earliest Text</i>. The Yale edition presents the reconstructed original text in
a clear-text format, without explanatory intervention. Unlike modern editions
of the Book of Mormon that have added chapter summaries, scriptural
cross-references, dates, and footnotes, this edition consists solely of the
words dictated by Joseph Smith in 1828-29, as far as they can be established
through standard methods of textual criticism. Later emendations by scribes,
editors, and even Joseph Smith himself have been omitted, except for those that
appear to restore original readings. Skousen is currently writing volume 3 of
the critical text, <i>The History of the
Text of the Book of Mormon</i>, which will be available in about three years (~2016).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> Skousen has recently accepted the assignment
to be one of the editors for the Joseph Smith Papers, along with Robin Jensen,
charged with the task of preparing the three volumes that will reproduce
photographs and facsimile transcripts for the two manuscripts of the Book of
Mormon.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> For those interested, Skousen's vita is available via Brigham Young University <a href="http://linguistics.byu.edu/static/documents/cv/VITA.12.docx">here</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> This lecture originally took place in the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center on the campus of Brigham Young University on Tuesday, February 26th 2013. The original lecture was accompanied by a powerpoint presentation.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> In this lecture, Royal Skousen discusses the history and significance of the dictated original manuscript for the Book of
Mormon as well as the printer copy of the book of Mormon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">There are two manuscripts of the Book of Mormon: the original manuscript
(O) and the printer’s manuscript (P). O is the dictated manuscript (the one the
scribes wrote down as Joseph Smith dictated the text). Only 28 percent of O is
extant, of which 25 of the 28 percent is held by the LDS Church. P is a copy of
O made by Oliver Cowdery and other scribes. For five sixths of the text, P was
used as the copytext by the 1830 typesetter, John Gilbert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">During February 1830, Oliver Cowdery took P to Canada in an attempt to
secure the copyright to the Book of Mormon within the British realm. During
that period of time, one sixth of the 1830 edition (from Helaman 13:17 to the
end of Mormon) was set from O.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;">This lecture will cover all the major discoveries that have been made
about the two manuscripts over the past 25 years. The original manuscript,
despite its incompleteness, is the most important source for determining the
original text of the Book of Mormon as well as providing crucial evidence on
how Joseph Smith translated the book.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Times, serif; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 200%;"> This information was taken largely from <a href="http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/details-about-royal-skousens-upcoming-lectures-on-the-book-of-mormon-critical-text-project/">Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture</a>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-13942193823034027092012-06-24T19:58:00.000-07:002013-05-30T21:29:16.815-07:00Church History: Podcast 06 - "Coming Forth of The Book of Mormon" by Susan Easton Black<div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> This podcast is in a series of recordings of Dr. Susan Easton Black
lecturing on the life of founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Joseph Smith. To view the initial podcast click <b><a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html">HERE</a></b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Susan Easton Black is a professor of Church history and
doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU) where she has taught since 1978. She
is a past Eliza R. Snow Fellow, Associate Dean of General Education and Honors,
and Director of Church History in the BYU Religious Studies Center. She is the
recipient of numerous academic awards including the Karl G. Maeser
Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2000, the highest award given a
professor on the BYU Provo campus. Dr. Black has authored, edited, and compiled
more than 100 books and 250 articles.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Black Specializes in research on Joseph Smith and the
early Latter-day Saints, and in particular on the Missouri and Nauvoo periods.
Dr. Black is the widow of Harvey B. Black, the mother of eight children and
currently serves as a ward Young Women’s president.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For indexing and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>informational purposes
I will detail the contents, topics, stories, and
question discussed in the associated podcasts. In this installment of Dr. Black podcasts
many contents, topics, stories, and question are discussed
which include:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Joseph Smith's Treasure Hunting Days</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">o</span><span style="line-height: normal;"> Rumors of lost gold in </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">Harmony </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">Pennsylvania</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">o</span> Peepers</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> William Hale's search for gold on Issac Hales property</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> William Hale hires both Joseph Smith Sr. and Joseph Smith Jr. to help in the search for gold</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><b>Joseph's Courtship, Engagement, and Marriage to Emma Hale </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Joseph's courtship and attempted engagement to Emma Hale</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Joseph and Emma elope and move to Palmyra</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">o</span><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">The </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">secret</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">acquisition </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">of Emma's dowery from Issac Hal</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">o</span> The friendship between Emma Hale Smith and Lucy Mac Smith</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">o</span><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">Joseph takes Emma to the Hill Cumorah to his annual visit with the angel Moroni</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Acquisition of the Plates and Move to Harmony</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Joseph obtained the Golden Plates and discusses the matter with Josiah Stole, who was at his house</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Treasure Hunters seek the Golden Plates through force</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"> Joseph and Emma Flees back to Harmony</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"> Joseph borrows $50 from Martin Harris</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"> Lucy Harris takes Joseph Smith to court for "stealing" $50 from her husband Martin Harris</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Joseph and Emma in Harmony</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.25in;">Joseph Moves denied stay with the Hales due to refusal to show him the contents of his glass box </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">o</span><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">Martin Harris goes to Harmony and scribes for Joseph while under the guise of going to New York City to get farm equipment and a dress for Lucy Harris</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Lucy seeks after her husband and has a altercation with Martin and Joseph, and eventually allies with Issac Hale</span>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Martin Harris went to New York to get the Book of Mormon characters authenticated, Charles Anthon transcript incident occurs </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Martin Harris obtained the 116 pages and is instructed only to show them to Lucy Harris, his parents, and his brother and sister-in-law</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Joseph and Emma have their first child -Alvin</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Martin loses the manuscript, Joseph loses translation powers and plates</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 31px;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Issac Hale accepts Joseph now that he is no longer a "looker in stone" and give him an inheritance</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span> Click <a href="http://ia600705.us.archive.org/16/items/06-ComingForthOfTheBookOfMormon/06-ComingForthOfTheBookOfMormon.mp3" style="color: #38761d; line-height: 32px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a><span style="line-height: 32px;"> to listen to the podcast or click on the banner at the top of the post. Below is a list of the published podcasts so far. Click on the name to take you to the </span><span style="line-height: 31px;">corresponding</span><span style="line-height: 32px;"> post. Enjoy!</span><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Church History Q&A: Podcasts by Susan Easton Black</u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html" target="">01 - "The Value of Studying Church History"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-02-prelude-to.html" target="">02 - "Prelude to the Restoration"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-03-joseph.html" target="">03 - "Joseph Smith's New England Heritage"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-04-first.html" target="">04 - "The First Vision"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-05-period-of.html" target="">05 - "A Period of Preperation 1823-1829"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-05-period-of.html" target="">06 - "Coming Forth of The book of Mormon"</a>
</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
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</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-3186387279551946222012-06-17T19:56:00.004-07:002013-05-30T21:29:24.308-07:00Church History: Podcast 05 - "A Period of Preparation 1823-1829" by Susan Easton Black<div>
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<a href="http://ia601204.us.archive.org/23/items/05-APeriodOfPreparation1823-1829/05-APeriodOfPreparation.mp3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQb6yRWpjF1yBvWgf2ECTpXocslzA76ppJG2xnCz-VvAMg6Ko1SV-UJZJRU_88EyC2o-As9TUaMQhk_qfuiLmQAhyVfyHSf_HbIRlz4cb1NPbIkYeTdew0CO2ZTzfRHjkNBTxUpgo1dAg/s1600/05+-+A+Period+of+Preparation+1823-1829.jpg" width="520" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://ia601204.us.archive.org/23/items/05-APeriodOfPreparation1823-1829/05-APeriodOfPreparation.mp3" target="_blank">Click on picture above or here to play the podcast</a></span></span>
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<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-04-first.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltM4bxc001mFu9-VLlCR3pG0FvtU4XRgYh6ZupPkS9fa9QMvAKXobtiT8TvwuTei_1CvVbGEuTaEJwwbsn1Euj9FRM6k-qLYquKn-hflffhceTulGYyiXae4YaY0lfFIRDkG6qL1vVW0/s200/Previous.png" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-06-coming.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVROxCn5ZlBqplfNkC_ThJ6XK1aTIlS7INcvZIdcKUdwqcyPkSer3ELQZM9v4ZziCnmyNSAYTIuK0KXsKly0ZZLg0sdBcVSeLw0omTmXrbjx5SpgkVem5QduBNY98926XmXywc-luCxZ8/s200/next.png" width="133" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">This podcast is in a series of recordings of Dr. Susan Easton Black
lecturing on the life of founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Joseph Smith. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">To view the initial podcast click </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html">HERE</a></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Susan Easton Black is a professor of Church history and
doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU) where she has taught since 1978. She
is a past Eliza R. Snow Fellow, Associate Dean of General Education and Honors,
and Director of Church History in the BYU Religious Studies Center. She is the
recipient of numerous academic awards including the Karl G. Maeser
Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2000, the highest award given a
professor on the BYU Provo campus. Dr. Black has authored, edited, and compiled
more than 100 books and 250 articles.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Black Specializes in research on Joseph Smith and the
early Latter-day Saints, and in particular on the Missouri and Nauvoo periods.
Dr. Black is the widow of Harvey B. Black, the mother of eight children and
currently serves as a ward Young Women’s president.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For indexing and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>informational purposes
I will detail the contents, topics, stories, and
question discussed in the associated podcasts. In this installment of Dr. Black podcasts
many contents, topics, stories, and question are discussed
which include:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Joseph Smith's Follies of Youth</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Joseph's early friendship with Orrin Porter Rockwell</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">o</span> Joseph in flight - Joseph in the blacksmith shop</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Joseph in fight - Joseph's physical altercation with his neighbour</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">Religious </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">Instruction</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> by Angels</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Joseph's repentance and first vision from the angel Moroni</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> The history of Hill C</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">omorah</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The Urm and Thumim</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">o</span> The first site of the plates of Moroni and his subsequent annual visits by angel Moroni</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">o</span><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">Joseph's stories and descriptions of Book of </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">Mormon</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> lands and people including interviews with historical figures</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <span style="line-height: 32px;">Alvin dies due to oral prescription of calamine</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Translation</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">Joseph's account of finding his "seer stone" while digging a well</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Joseph's method of translating the plates</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"> Martin Harris "stone swap" designed to test the prophets validity </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>George Albert Smith</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">His </span><span style="line-height: 30px;">patriarchal blessing</span><span style="line-height: 31px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 32px;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>His study at Brigham Young University</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"> His calling as an Apostle while at the Utah State Fair</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 31px;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> His initiation of buying historic church sites</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span> Click <a href="http://ia601204.us.archive.org/23/items/05-APeriodOfPreparation1823-1829/05-APeriodOfPreparation.mp3" style="color: #38761d; line-height: 32px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a><span style="line-height: 32px;"> to listen to the podcast or click on the banner at the top of the post. Below is a list of the published podcasts so far. Click on the name to take you to the </span><span style="line-height: 31px;">corresponding</span><span style="line-height: 32px;"> post. Enjoy!</span><br />
</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Church History Q&A: Podcasts by Susan Easton Black</u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html" target="">01 - "The Value of Studying Church History"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-02-prelude-to.html" target="">02 - "Prelude to the Restoration"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-03-joseph.html" target="">03 - "Joseph Smith's New England Heritage"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-04-first.html" target="">04 - "The First Vision"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-05-period-of.html" target="">05 - "A Period of Preperation 1823-1829"</a>
</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-33845593226541919402012-06-03T23:48:00.002-07:002013-05-30T21:29:33.429-07:00Church History: Podcast 04 - "The First Vision" by Susan Easton Black<div>
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<a href="http://ia600601.us.archive.org/32/items/04-TheFirstVision/04-TheFirstVision.mp3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrZxYdmCe1b22YbigSoCN0VoIGHEK5TKQmscsKPANAoHjOjEjGWZRVoVkOP7DEhKivgHlj5-suQrcNgIrpRHrKWXbZPW36If_CtX2h4pLoVg6c40-kty5H89TtdCKpZzZELj9h6Yvcpc/s1600/04+-+The+First+Vision.jpg" width="520" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://ia600601.us.archive.org/32/items/04-TheFirstVision/04-TheFirstVision.mp3" target="_blank">Click on picture above or here to play the podcast</a></span></span>
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<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-03-joseph.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltM4bxc001mFu9-VLlCR3pG0FvtU4XRgYh6ZupPkS9fa9QMvAKXobtiT8TvwuTei_1CvVbGEuTaEJwwbsn1Euj9FRM6k-qLYquKn-hflffhceTulGYyiXae4YaY0lfFIRDkG6qL1vVW0/s200/Previous.png" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-05-period-of.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVROxCn5ZlBqplfNkC_ThJ6XK1aTIlS7INcvZIdcKUdwqcyPkSer3ELQZM9v4ZziCnmyNSAYTIuK0KXsKly0ZZLg0sdBcVSeLw0omTmXrbjx5SpgkVem5QduBNY98926XmXywc-luCxZ8/s200/next.png" width="133" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">This podcast is in a series of recordings of Dr. Susan Easton Black
lecturing on the life of founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Joseph Smith. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">To view the initial podcast click </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html">HERE</a></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Susan Easton Black is a professor of Church history and
doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU) where she has taught since 1978. She
is a past Eliza R. Snow Fellow, Associate Dean of General Education and Honors,
and Director of Church History in the BYU Religious Studies Center. She is the
recipient of numerous academic awards including the Karl G. Maeser
Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2000, the highest award given a
professor on the BYU Provo campus. Dr. Black has authored, edited, and compiled
more than 100 books and 250 articles.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Black Specializes in research on Joseph Smith and the
early Latter-day Saints, and in particular on the Missouri and Nauvoo periods.
Dr. Black is the widow of Harvey B. Black, the mother of eight children and
currently serves as a ward Young Women’s president.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For indexing and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>informational purposes
I will detail the contents, topics, stories, and
question discussed in the associated podcasts. In this installment of Dr. Black podcasts
many contents, topics, stories, and question are discussed
which include:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b> Joseph Smith Sr. in Palmyra</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>His move to Palmyra prior to his families move to scout out the town<o:p></o:p> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> His employment actions in Palmyra including the use of divining, or witching, rods</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Smith's Cake and Beer Shop<span style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> Hired Caleb Howard to pick up his family</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Family Travel to Palmyra</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Caleb Howard's prejudice against Joseph Smith<o:p></o:p> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Caleb's Attempt to steal the Smith's possessions</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Joseph Smith's abandonment and travel to Palmyra</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Religious Affairs and Demographics of Palmyra</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The preaching and revivals in the "west" creating "the Burned Over District"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The religious presences and makeup of Palmyra</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The Smith's Sunday Bench -- their only property</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The religious division in the Smith family</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Religious teachings and origins leading Joseph Smith to the grove</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Different Accounts of the First Vision</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>1838 Account</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Released in 1851 by Franklin D. Richards</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The origins and contents of "Franklin's Pearl of Great price", a precursor of the now official "Pearl of Great Price"</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1832 Account </span></b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Origins, content, and focus on repentance</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The grove as if on fire when the Lord appears</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>1835 Account</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Origins and content</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Description of his struggle with a dark being</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Personages appear separately</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>1841 Account</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Origins and content</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>His struggle with the evil power</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Two personages appear to Joseph Smith</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Reception of the First Vision </span></b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span> Click<b> <a href="http://ia600601.us.archive.org/32/items/04-TheFirstVision/04-TheFirstVision.mp3" style="color: #38761d; line-height: 32px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">HERE</a></b><span style="line-height: 32px;"> to listen to the podcast or click on the banner at the top of the post. Below is a list of the published podcasts so far. Click on the name to take you to the </span><span style="line-height: 31px;">corresponding</span><span style="line-height: 32px;"> post. Enjoy!</span><br />
</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Church History Q&A: Podcasts by Susan Easton Black</u></b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html" target="">01 - "The Value of Studying Church History"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-02-prelude-to.html" target="">02 - "Prelude to the Restoration"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-03-joseph.html" target="">03 - "Joseph Smith's New England Heritage"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-04-first.html" target="">04 - "The First Vision"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-05-period-of.html" target="">05 - "A Period of Preperation 1823-1829"</a>
</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-59309516364967161232012-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:002013-05-30T21:30:10.149-07:00Church History: Podcast 03 - "Joseph Smith's New England Heritage" by Susan Easton Black<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ia601206.us.archive.org/16/items/03-JosephSmithsNewEnglandHeritage/03-JosephSmithsNewEnglandHeritage.mp3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXGrP_7Tq4nUtaVpAmaZM64_LZyqGdT8L7naDVEwcZa00pw0i080g3Q2kGvqUOssrZiroVM-eKJmm7BpiWJSOwHwgCCgvbPEHpl7FDH8_QNj0ZhECVnj6DhDZco2ItSwYlZFQgflll-U/s400/03+-+Joseph+Smith%27s+New+England+Heritage.jpg" width="520" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://ia601206.us.archive.org/16/items/03-JosephSmithsNewEnglandHeritage/03-JosephSmithsNewEnglandHeritage.mp3" target="_blank">Click on picture above or here to play the podcast</a></span></span>
</div>
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<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-02-prelude-to.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltM4bxc001mFu9-VLlCR3pG0FvtU4XRgYh6ZupPkS9fa9QMvAKXobtiT8TvwuTei_1CvVbGEuTaEJwwbsn1Euj9FRM6k-qLYquKn-hflffhceTulGYyiXae4YaY0lfFIRDkG6qL1vVW0/s200/Previous.png" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-04-first.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVROxCn5ZlBqplfNkC_ThJ6XK1aTIlS7INcvZIdcKUdwqcyPkSer3ELQZM9v4ZziCnmyNSAYTIuK0KXsKly0ZZLg0sdBcVSeLw0omTmXrbjx5SpgkVem5QduBNY98926XmXywc-luCxZ8/s200/next.png" width="133" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">This podcast is in a series of recordings of Dr. Susan Easton Black
lecturing on the life of founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Joseph Smith. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">To view the initial podcast click </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html">HERE</a></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Susan Easton Black is a professor of Church history and
doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU) where she has taught since 1978. She
is a past Eliza R. Snow Fellow, Associate Dean of General Education and Honors,
and Director of Church History in the BYU Religious Studies Center. She is the
recipient of numerous academic awards including the Karl G. Maeser
Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2000, the highest award given a
professor on the BYU Provo campus. Dr. Black has authored, edited, and compiled
more than 100 books and 250 articles.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Black Specializes in research on Joseph Smith and the
early Latter-day Saints, and in particular on the Missouri and Nauvoo periods.
Dr. Black is the widow of Harvey B. Black, the mother of eight children and
currently serves as a ward Young Women’s president.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For indexing and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>informational purposes
I will detail the contents, topics, stories, and
question discussed in the associated podcasts. In this installment of Dr. Black podcasts
many contents, topics, stories, and question are discussed
which include:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b> Joseph Smith Sr. in Palmyra</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>His move to Palmyra prior to his families move to scout out the town<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> His employment actions in Palmyra including the use of divining, or witching, rods</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Smith's Cake and Beer Shop</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: 32px; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> Hired Caleb Howard to pick up his family</span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Family Travel to Palmyra</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Caleb Howard's prejudice against Joseph Smith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Caleb's Attempt to steal the Smith's possessions</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">o</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Joseph Smith's abandonment and travel to Palmyra</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The Religious Affairs and Demographics of Palmyra</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The preaching and revivals in the "west" creating "the Burned Over District"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The religious presences and makeup of Palmyra</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The Smith's Sunday Bench -- their only property</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The religious division in the Smith family</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Religious teachings and origins leading Joseph Smith to the grove</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Different Accounts of the First Vision</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>1838 Account</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Released in 1851 by Franklin D. Richards</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The origins and contents of "Franklin's Pearl of Great price", a precursor of the now official "Pearl of Great Price"</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1832 Account </span></b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Origins, content, and focus on repentance</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>The grove as if on fire when the Lord appears</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>1835 Account</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Origins and content</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> Description of his struggle with a dark being</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Personages appear separately</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>1841 Account</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Origins and content</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>His struggle with the evil power</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span>Two personages appear to Joseph Smith</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Reception of the First Vision </span></b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b></b></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span> Click <a href="http://ia601206.us.archive.org/16/items/03-JosephSmithsNewEnglandHeritage/03-JosephSmithsNewEnglandHeritage.mp3" style="color: #38761d; line-height: 32px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a><span style="line-height: 32px;"><b> </b>to listen to the podcast or click on the banner at the top of the post. Below is a list of the published podcasts so far. Click on the name to take you to the </span><span style="line-height: 31px;">corresponding</span><span style="line-height: 32px;"> post. Enjoy!</span><br />
</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Church History Q&A: Podcasts by Susan Easton Black</u></b></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: normal;">
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html" target="_blank">01 - "The Value of Studying Church History"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-02-prelude-to.html" target="">02 - "Prelude to the Restoration"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-03-joseph.html" target="">03 - "Joseph Smith's New England Heritage"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-04-first.html" target="">04 - "The First Vision"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-05-period-of.html" target="">05 - "A Period of Preperation 1823-1829"</a>
</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-44375171922103595032012-05-06T20:21:00.001-07:002013-05-30T21:13:41.443-07:00Church History: Podcast 02 - "Prelude to the Restoration" by Susan Easton Black<a href="http://ia601202.us.archive.org/18/items/02-PreludeToTheRestoration_478/02-PreludeToTheRestoration.mp3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1G00AYigRxJH3rw_bmnx1UNzpUWMn9WdD2i5zpTESWTqpfQ94s9-enT_JuDf0u2Xfy3FKDJ2CKFl3NCG0eVZuax6vTepBfkuVhUeFEbM7iIV_r61FhLaKIiw6UlxxWBQqNuavmNTUTU/s1600/02+-+Prelude+to+the+Restoration.jpg" width="520" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><a href="http://ia601202.us.archive.org/18/items/02-PreludeToTheRestoration_478/02-PreludeToTheRestoration.mp3" target="_blank">Click on picture above or here to play the podcast</a></span></span>
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<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltM4bxc001mFu9-VLlCR3pG0FvtU4XRgYh6ZupPkS9fa9QMvAKXobtiT8TvwuTei_1CvVbGEuTaEJwwbsn1Euj9FRM6k-qLYquKn-hflffhceTulGYyiXae4YaY0lfFIRDkG6qL1vVW0/s200/Previous.png" width="133" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-03-joseph.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVROxCn5ZlBqplfNkC_ThJ6XK1aTIlS7INcvZIdcKUdwqcyPkSer3ELQZM9v4ZziCnmyNSAYTIuK0KXsKly0ZZLg0sdBcVSeLw0omTmXrbjx5SpgkVem5QduBNY98926XmXywc-luCxZ8/s200/next.png" width="133" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">This podcast is in a series of recordings of Dr. Susan Easton Black
lecturing on the life of founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints Joseph Smith. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">To view the initial podcast click </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html">HERE</a></b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Susan Easton Black is a professor of Church history and
doctrine at Brigham Young University (BYU) where she has taught since 1978. She
is a past Eliza R. Snow Fellow, Associate Dean of General Education and Honors,
and Director of Church History in the BYU Religious Studies Center. She is the
recipient of numerous academic awards including the Karl G. Maeser
Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2000, the highest award given a
professor on the BYU Provo campus. Dr. Black has authored, edited, and compiled
more than 100 books and 250 articles.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Dr. Black Specializes in research on Joseph Smith and the
early Latter-day Saints, and in particular on the Missouri and Nauvoo periods.
Dr. Black is the widow of Harvey B. Black, the mother of eight children and
currently serves as a ward Young Women’s president.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For indexing and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>informational purposes
I will detail the contents, topics, stories, and
question discussed in the associated podcasts. In this instalment of Dr. Black podcasts
many contents, topics, stories, and question are discussed
which include:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">John Lathrop</span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>An ordained minister for the Church
of England, and predecessor to Joseph smith
and Oliver Cowdrey, he was imprisoned for his belief that the
Church of England did not have the proper authority even though his daughters
did not have a mother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Predecessor of the following members:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Joseph
F. Smith</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Views his father, Hyrum Smith, for the last time<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>His job in the church history archives and
his ordination to apostleship by Brigham Young at 27<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Heber C. Kimball's revelation that Joseph F.
Smith will be in the leading councils of the church<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Oliver
Cowdry</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>How he became a teacher in Palmyra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>The
Pratts</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Parley P. Pratt's death and his body's retrieval
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Parley's conversion of Orson Pratt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Orson Pratt's naming of the chapter in the
Doctrine and Covenants and charting the phasing of the moon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Potential discipline of Orson Pratt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Fredrick
G. Williams</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Joseph Smith's son named after him<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span><b>Wilford Woodruff</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Missionary to England<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Journal keeper and Statistician<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Funeral <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Harold B. Lee<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Church welfare/Deseret industries <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Marion
G. Romney<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>First Presidency<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Asel Smith<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Grandfather of Joseph Smith <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>His 11<sup>th</sup> commandment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>His revelation about a revolution of religion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Solomon
Mack<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Stories about his many accidents<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>His revelation and publication of his book “The Narrative”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>His revelations about a pillar of light and
hearing his name<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Solomon
Mack<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Stories about his many accidents<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>His revelation and publication of his book “The Narrative”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>His revelations about a pillar of light and
hearing his name<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Joseph
Smith Sr.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>His 7 visions or revelatory dreams including a
similarity to Lehi’s dream<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Joseph
Smith Jr.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>Similarities of Joseph Smith’s revelations to
his father and grandfathers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Importance of Family<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">o<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span>How Joseph Smith was born into a prepared family<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.25in;">See <a href="http://larsenhistory.org/Rev_John_Lathrop_and_Mormons.html" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>for a more full list of LDS leaders that are </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: 0.25in;">descendent</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.25in;"> to John Lathrop. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">These podcasts will be posted every Sunday and will deal with church history chronologically focusing initially on the life of the Mormon founder and Prophet Joseph Smith.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">Click </span><a href="http://ia601202.us.archive.org/18/items/02-PreludeToTheRestoration_478/02-PreludeToTheRestoration.mp3" style="color: #38761d; line-height: 32px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="line-height: 32px;"> to listen to the podcast or click on the banner at the top of the post. Below is a list of the published podcasts so far. Click on the name to take you to the </span><span style="line-height: 31px;">corresponding</span><span style="line-height: 32px;"> post. Enjoy!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Church History Q&A: Podcasts by Susan Easton Black</u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html">01 - "The Value of Studying Church History"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-02-prelude-to.html" target="">02 - "Prelude to the Restoration"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-03-joseph.html" target="">03 - "Joseph Smith's New England Heritage"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-04-first.html" target="">04 - "The First Vision"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-05-period-of.html" target="">05 - "A Period of Preperation 1823-1829"</a>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-204222235625475172012-04-29T16:47:00.000-07:002013-06-01T18:53:21.444-07:00Church History: Podcast 01 - "The Value of Studying Church History" by Susan Easton Black<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ia601207.us.archive.org/21/items/02-PreludeToTheRestoration/01-TheValueOfStudyingChurchHistory.mp3" target="_blank"><img height="125" src=" https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJuReWgbgA2DC6hmr1AgNqxfUqp9BCUTv5A21oVHENLGnEnZmVrrn3Chyphenhyphenb1LCmnJYLUNxnblNX33yb4wTpOmCeQ4JRe-kBNd6GhS-UgtAVaSoK5d7hgTRvf0WhUQF-TiXidP3X8yBS-o/s400/01+-+The+Value+of+Studying+Church+History.jpg " width="500" />
</a><span style="color: red;"><a href="http://ia601207.us.archive.org/21/items/02-PreludeToTheRestoration/01-TheValueOfStudyingChurchHistory.mp3" target="_blank">Click on picture above or here to play the podcast</a></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">This podcast is the first in a series of recordings of Dr. Susan Easton Black lecturing on the life of founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Joseph Smith.</span></div>
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Dr. Susan Easton Black is a professor of Church history and
doctrine at Brigham Young University where she has taught since 1978. She
is a past Eliza R. Snow Fellow, Associate Dean of General Education and Honors,
and Director of Church History in the BYU Religious Studies Center. She is the
recipient of numerous academic awards including the Karl G. Maeser
Distinguished Faculty Lecturer Award in 2000, the highest award given a
professor on the BYU Provo campus. Dr. Black has authored, edited, and compiled
more than 100 books and 250 articles.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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Dr. Black Specializes in research on Joseph Smith and the
early Latter-day Saints, and in particular on the Missouri and Nauvoo periods.
Dr. Black is the widow of Harvey B. Black, the mother of eight children and
currently serves as a ward Young Women’s president.<o:p></o:p><u1:p></u1:p></div>
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For indexing and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>informational purposes
I will detail the contents, topics, stories, and
question discussed in the associated podcasts. In this
first instalment of Dr. Black podcasts
many contents, topics, stories, and question are discussed
which include: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><b>How do you pierce the veil?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">The Story of Heber C.
Kimball and a new pair of shoes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">The Story of James E.
Talmage’s Marriage<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">The Story of Willard
Richards' Marriage<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><b>Patriarchal and Patriarchal Blessings</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOLI-og1WG9cPCIZuQYS7-ZJy02hWk_BJ5MX8pnpKlktHVxNy0dIg0GqSiThF2FofUWWetoqLp7CchDR39tHo09nK9tf98UNqN4G-nYs19ih3V0ffnroq7F5x9QIlMYS4ij8yg2noJ88/s1600/pb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOLI-og1WG9cPCIZuQYS7-ZJy02hWk_BJ5MX8pnpKlktHVxNy0dIg0GqSiThF2FofUWWetoqLp7CchDR39tHo09nK9tf98UNqN4G-nYs19ih3V0ffnroq7F5x9QIlMYS4ij8yg2noJ88/s320/pb1.jpg" width="169" /></a></div>
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">The Mantle of the
Priesthood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">The story of Heber C.
Kimball's selection of </span><br />
<span class="apple-converted-space">a patriarch </span><span style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">without a hand</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">The Purpose of
Patriarchal Blessings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">Tribes of Israel<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><i>§</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i>The tribe of Ephraim,
their responsibilities and traits</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">Joseph Smith as a pure Ephriamite and establisher of stakes
and temples<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">§<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></i><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">The tribe of </span><span style="line-height: 32px;">Manasseh</span></i><span style="line-height: 200%;"><i>,
their responsibilities</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">The format of patriarchal
blessings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space">Gifts of the spirit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>The difference between
“knowing”, “doing”, and “being” </b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;">
</span></span>Spencer W. Kimball’s
change of Naomi Randall’s song “I am a Child of God”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;">
</span></span>“I AM” as Jehovah and
our opportunities to say “I am” and its meaning<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b>How do you pierce the
veil?</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">These
podcasts will be posted every Sunday and will deal with church history
chronologically focusing initially on the life of the Mormon founder and Prophet
Joseph Smith. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Click
<a href="http://ia601207.us.archive.org/21/items/02-PreludeToTheRestoration/01-TheValueOfStudyingChurchHistory.mp3" target="_blank">here</a> to listen to the podcast or click on the banner at the top of the post. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.25in;">Below is a list of the published podcasts so far. Click on the name to take you to the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.25in;">corresponding</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.25in;"> post. Enjoy!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a28uzh07miIlwcIH0OQgw6SNBZ2lEFBRrIiR27F3-Afg_1A_pSUyq5d1IZ3xlBWBFVrH2ZEvCtTVLXpbyxJZ4p8FtfPV4wrfXCZsfbG3uFOVxmOrpCIT3RUeF3pmJh5XCMVUXX36yG8/s1600/719489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9a28uzh07miIlwcIH0OQgw6SNBZ2lEFBRrIiR27F3-Afg_1A_pSUyq5d1IZ3xlBWBFVrH2ZEvCtTVLXpbyxJZ4p8FtfPV4wrfXCZsfbG3uFOVxmOrpCIT3RUeF3pmJh5XCMVUXX36yG8/s400/719489.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Eldred G. Smith</b> (Emeritus Presiding Patriarch) with <b>Thomas S. Monson</b> (President of the LDS church) on the occation of Smith's 105th birthday</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Church History Q&A: Podcasts by Susan Easton Black</u></b></span></div>
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<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/04/church-history-q-podcast-01-value-of.html">01 - "The Value of Studying Church History""</a><br />
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<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-02-prelude-to.html" target="">02 - "Prelude to the Restoration"</a><br />
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<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/05/church-history-q-podcast-03-joseph.html" target="">03 - "Joseph Smith's New England Heritage"</a><br />
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<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-04-first.html" target="">04 - "The First Vision"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2012/06/church-history-q-podcast-05-period-of.html" target="">05 - "A Period of Preperation 1823-1829"</a>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-22484817449527380732010-11-22T16:01:00.000-08:002014-01-23T15:58:55.668-08:00Church History Q&A: Did Brigham Young Really Try to Implement a Secret Deseret Language?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8q1LJTay_wWG1HRwfVI_2BL2H5SyYh2TkAfE6VymZdATkDN7L6hVSRgA0S-KV7k0j3FrREuXSE-fc2YmgtKUwUwisKmp-nO1y3gKk1YL9zSuo6oZ-MgKldBcYNUkc9j02ZuFdHcrGy2k/s1600/The+Three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8q1LJTay_wWG1HRwfVI_2BL2H5SyYh2TkAfE6VymZdATkDN7L6hVSRgA0S-KV7k0j3FrREuXSE-fc2YmgtKUwUwisKmp-nO1y3gKk1YL9zSuo6oZ-MgKldBcYNUkc9j02ZuFdHcrGy2k/s400/The+Three.jpg" height="170" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Parley P. Pratt, Brigham Young, George D. Watt) <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"> . </span></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></i></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Widely unknown - even for life long members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - is a remarkable endeavor in the mid to late 1800’s in which Brigham Young, then the president of the Church, commissioned and advanced a movement for the creation and </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">implementation</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> of a new written system of the English language. Important to note is that it was not a creation of a new language but rather a new alphabet for the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">existing</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> spoken </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">English</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> language. This new alphabet was called the Deseret Alphabet. The alphabet was commissioned in 1862, created and material published in 1869, and finally abandoned prior to the death of President Bingham Young in 1877. There are several questions which can be asked of this - Why would Brigham Young have such an interest in creating a new alphabet? Was it an effort to keep further separate the Mormons from the rest of Society? Was it to keep secrets? Why did it fail? Was the failure a reflection of the Prophet Brigham Young and the Church?</span></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The History and Reasons</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From the beginning of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> missionary work has been a forefront of the doctrine and culture of the church. It is an attempt to do as Jesus instructed to his apostles of old: “Go… and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/18/19#19">(Matt 18:19)</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> One prophetic missionary effort by the church was the missions to England. Joseph Smith advocated and emphasized that missionary work must be taken to England, that it was the will of God. The validity and prophetic nature of this direction can be seen immediately prior and shortly after the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1844. During this time of turmoil many American Latter-day Saints had their testimonies and beliefs tried to the core through persecution, confusion, doctrinal objections and attacks on their beliefs. Many Latter-day saints were in one way or another separated from the church. The British immigrants started arriving by the thousands pumping new life blood into the church this crucial time in church history. Famously thousands of immigrants crossed the plains in handcarts after the Saints had established themselves in Salt Lake. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_L._Evans">Richard L. Evans</a> of the Council of the Twelve reported of the importance of the English extradition:</span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"80 percent of the members of the Church today are of British extraction. All of the presidents of the Church except the Prophet Joseph Smith have, at one time or another, accepted the call and performed full-time missionary labors in Great Britain."</span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Richard L. Evans, “History of the Church in Great Britain,” Ensign, Sep 1971, 25)<a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=e582945bd384b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1">(Link)</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is a cherished and well known story in the church of the very first English baptism. In 1837, seven years after the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, missionaries for the church came to England. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heber_C._Kimball">Heber C. Kimball</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Hyde">Orson Hyde</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Richards">Willard Richards</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fielding">Joseph Fielding</a> traveled to Preston England to meet with Joseph Fielding’s brother Reverend James Fielding. Joseph Fielding had previously traveled from England to Canada in 1832 where he and his wife were baptized in 1836 by the Apostle <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parley_P._Pratt">Parley P. Pratt</a>. Joseph having talked to his brother received permission to preach in his chapel in Preston.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The preaching had much effect and on July 30, 1837 there several who desired to be baptized, of these there were nine who participated in a footrace to become England’s first official convert. A man named </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_D._Watt" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">George D. Watt</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> won the race and was the first convert in England. George was a skilled student in Pitman shorthand and he along with Parley P. Pratt would eventually be approached by Brigham Young in 1852 to create a phonetic </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">writing</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> system.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From 1850 to 1860 the territory of Utah grew as a population from 11,380 to 40,273 an increase of 253.9%. By 1870 more than 35 percent of all Utah residents had been born outside of the United States. By 1890 two thirds of Utah’s population of <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">210,779</span></span> was Immigrants. Of these many did not speak English and most English speakers were themselves illiterate. Even among literate or partially English literate or partially literate there was large variations in spelling and grammar particularly the 80,000 immigrant from the British Isles by 1890.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Due to the difficulty of the English language to master and with the vast majority of the people in Utah illiterate Brigham Young and his advisors decided to create and implement a new English phonetic alphabet. A </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonetic_spelling" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">phonetic alphabet</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> means that words are spells as they sound and not through vast converse and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">convoluted </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">rules and history. Following are some example of phonetic spelling using the English language.</span></span></div>
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<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-collapse: collapse; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin-left: 27.8pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-insideh: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-border-insidev: .5pt solid windowtext; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;"><tbody>
<tr style="height: 16.95pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 16.95pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 193.6pt;" valign="top" width="258"><div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Current English Spelling</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Possible Phonetic Spelling</span></span></b></div>
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<tr style="height: 8.2pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;"><td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 8.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 193.6pt;" valign="top" width="258"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fillet</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; height: 8.2pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 175.5pt;" valign="top" width="234"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.45pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Fila</span></span></div>
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<tr style="height: 23.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;"><td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 23.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 193.6pt;" valign="top" width="258"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Knight</span></span></div>
</td><td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: medium none; height: 23.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 175.5pt;" valign="top" width="234"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 3.45pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nit</span></span></div>
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<tr style="height: 20.35pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;"><td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 20.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 193.6pt;" valign="top" width="258"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Caught</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">C<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">at</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
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<tr style="height: 19.7pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;"><td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 19.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 193.6pt;" valign="top" width="258"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Book</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Buk</span></span></div>
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<tr style="height: 21.05pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;"><td style="border-bottom: windowtext 1pt solid; border-left: windowtext 1pt solid; border-right: windowtext 1pt solid; border-top: windowtext 1pt solid; height: 21.05pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding-bottom: 0in; padding-left: 5.4pt; padding-right: 5.4pt; padding-top: 0in; width: 193.6pt;" valign="top" width="258"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">America</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">U<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">mericu</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Actual</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">kchuul</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><b>The Birth of the Deseret Alphabet</b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkSQO_lMRn52woA17lB7sdr7v9GpCYulFkr2i8indgkn2qySF8JbtmZclHARg6orlB4fmQE9QrmZJ64ztJkjjZqvjttazAoftsgToyOeIjztYhUFlQ1Rr4q40__VHUKOIw7x3RA7VDXs/s1600/deseretalphabet_bomtitlepage.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkSQO_lMRn52woA17lB7sdr7v9GpCYulFkr2i8indgkn2qySF8JbtmZclHARg6orlB4fmQE9QrmZJ64ztJkjjZqvjttazAoftsgToyOeIjztYhUFlQ1Rr4q40__VHUKOIw7x3RA7VDXs/s320/deseretalphabet_bomtitlepage.gif" height="320" width="180" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><b></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brigham Young commissioned a committee headed by George D. Watt to create a new Alphabet to put phonetically with the existing English spoken language. We know that partial funding of the effort, $10,000 (approximately $266,000 in today’s currency (2009)), was given by the University of Deseret (now the University of Utah) which also published the material printed in the Deseret Alphabet. Legislature allocated $2,500 (approximately $66,500 in today’s currency) dollars for the font type of the Deseret Alphabet. Altogether the printing and publication of the Deseret Alphabet and material costs around $18,500 (approximately $492,000 in today’s currency). This was a huge price for the small church of under 100,000 impoverished members. </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brigham Young heavily encouraged the people to lean and use the Deseret Alphabet. In the fall session of General Conference in 1868, one year before most of the publications took place Brigham Young instructed and advised the saints concerning the alphabet</span></span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"There are a few items I wish to lay before the Conference before we dismiss, which I think we shall do when we get through our meeting this afternoon. One of these items is to present to the congregation the Deseret Alphabet. ...The advantages of this alphabet will soon be realized, especially by foreigners. Brethren who come here knowing nothing of the English language will find its acquisition greatly facilitated by means of this alphabet, by which all the sounds of the language can be represented and expressed with the greatest ease. As this is the grand difficulty foreigners experience in learning the English language, they will find a knowledge of this alphabet will greatly facilitate their efforts in acquiring at least a partial English education. It will also be very advantageous to our children. It will be the means of introducing uniformity in our orthography, and the years that are now required to learn to read and spell can be devoted to other studies."</span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: normal;">Journalof Discourses</span></span>, Vol. 12, p. 298, Brigham Young, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 8th, 1868.)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">During the publication period at least four books were printed. Ten thousand copies of </span></span><span class="apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i><span style="color: black;">The First Deseret Alphabet Reader</span></i><span style="color: black;">,and ten thousand copies</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i style="color: black; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Second Deseret Alphabet Reader</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">were published and started </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">distribution</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> on August 13, 1868; the former for 15 cents while the latter for 20 cents. 8,000 copies of a</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> book of Mormon section </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"First Nephi-Omni" was published and sold for 75 cents a </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">piece</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. 100 copies of </span></span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Book of Mormon</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> in its entirety was published and distributed 1869 selling for 2 dollars each.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Aside from official publication the Deseret News published a weekly section of their paper in the Deseret Alphabet to encourage the saints to learnt the alphabet. In fact the very first printing of the Deseret Alphabet was Sermon on the Mount which in the Deseret News February 16, 1859. D</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">uring the period of 1859-1860 Brigham Young’s Journals were written in the Deseret Alphabet. Coins were also made using the Deseret, there were even tombstones made using the Deseret Alphabet. Although never publish Parley P. Pratt saw the transcription of the complete Bible and Doctrine and Covenants. It was estimated that to create a publication of 1,000 in the Deseret Alphabet would cost a staggering $5,000,000 dollars <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">(approximately $133,000,000 in today’s currency) a logistically impossible task for the Saints.</span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5muLV03h_bbisURbu5dBk057WGlgYZ33XjgqlwE6XXFiAjzOf1SqL_Al3SYTqRzok-t_n7d_031ibauq1_OdaYcFUzn8yGLXnOsT1-MfsUSeGdsniINjkOs0kGUGcOITxiH_zeR5ufdw/s1600/deseretalphabetbook_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5muLV03h_bbisURbu5dBk057WGlgYZ33XjgqlwE6XXFiAjzOf1SqL_Al3SYTqRzok-t_n7d_031ibauq1_OdaYcFUzn8yGLXnOsT1-MfsUSeGdsniINjkOs0kGUGcOITxiH_zeR5ufdw/s640/deseretalphabetbook_cover.jpg" height="640" style="cursor: move;" width="387" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi363zE2r8maM_DvAegGnBkZvdjAD9Nxvf1fZBBTcUbhf1BFIWEuEojJsqbmLiNS56F0yUp70Tzi3NCxIHVvG0TyXmEGYZEaF_Ezlubv6kzrSosDAJ6oWu-u5tYxADDtTsX12Qs0xujhVc/s1600/news.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi363zE2r8maM_DvAegGnBkZvdjAD9Nxvf1fZBBTcUbhf1BFIWEuEojJsqbmLiNS56F0yUp70Tzi3NCxIHVvG0TyXmEGYZEaF_Ezlubv6kzrSosDAJ6oWu-u5tYxADDtTsX12Qs0xujhVc/s200/news.png" height="200" width="188" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This attracted attention from the East – In the New York Herald there was an article published about the Alphabet:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"One prominent and striking feature connected with the News just received is the introduction into its columns of the new Mormon alphabet. It is clearly the intention of brother Brigham to have his people go to school again. Every number of the paper is to contain familiar portions of the Bible, so that the people may the more easily acquire a knowledge of the new language. As the apostle Hyde says in his epistle, that the Mormons are 'a very peculiar people,' with many peculiarities--and none doubt him--the language now introduced is calculated to make the faithful still more peculiar than anything that distinguishes them from other mortals. Gentiles are not likely to take much trouble to acquire a knowledge of the new characters, so that in course of time we may expect to be cut off from much that we have been accustomed to receive from the Rocky Mountains.</span></blockquote>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"The characters seem a conglomeration of the Celtic and the phonotypic, and are intended, like the latter, to represent distinct sounds. No classification is made into vowels and consonants, as that is by them considered of little consequence. 'The student is, therefore at liberty to deem all the characters vowels, or consonants, or starters, or stoppers, or whatever else he pleases.' There is no perfection claimed for the system, but the projectors 'are sanguine that the more it is practised and the more intimately the people become acquainted with it, the more useful and beneficial it will appear.'"</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(The New York Harold, Wednesday, April 6, 1859</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite the efforts made in forms of admonition, monetary funding, and apparent benefits the effort failed within the decade and is now a virtually unknown to even Mormons being only a small footnote in most texts. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Criticism</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The Deseret Alphabet has attracted </span></span><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">linguistic</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> critics both in and out of the church due to some rahter unintuitive aspects of the alphabet – it has no extenders such as </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascender_(typography)" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">ascenders</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> and </span></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descender" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">descenders</a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> (letters rising or descending outside of the mean line length lines. e.g. ascenders: capital letters, d, or l; descenders: p, q, or y). Ascenders and descenders aid in the recognizability of words which aid in reading and understanding quickly. For this purpose of British road signs no longer print in all capital letters.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKunx-R-GLcMKJM4f-V2Yo-ZwR5pKZMPdVFx_5J80L9uJTAEc66XyPJhKZIoBzOQH7iXsjXGmYeu2RLE7tawnGu6VEee3WYk7TurWifTZ4blObvC5yW1pwGTgZpcn9Fsq4kMMQ4IyP_gQ/s1600/361px-Typography_Line_Terms.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKunx-R-GLcMKJM4f-V2Yo-ZwR5pKZMPdVFx_5J80L9uJTAEc66XyPJhKZIoBzOQH7iXsjXGmYeu2RLE7tawnGu6VEee3WYk7TurWifTZ4blObvC5yW1pwGTgZpcn9Fsq4kMMQ4IyP_gQ/s320/361px-Typography_Line_Terms.svg.png" height="85" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some historians see the Deseret Alphabet as an attempt for the already isolated Latter-day Saints to further distance themselves from the rest of society. They claim that it was created as an exclusive writing system to keep their secrets from "gentiles" while at the same time prohibiting the Mormon population from learning or exploring the world </span></span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: 0.5in;">outside</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; text-indent: 0.5in;"> of the Mormon </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Corridor</span></span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">. American Mormon Historian David L. Bigler writes:</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“[The Deseret Alphabet] demonstrated cultural exclusivism, an important consideration. It also kept secrets from curious non-Mormons, controlled what children would be allowed to read…”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896, by David L. Bigler, Arthur H. Clark Co., 1998, p.56)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Neil Alexander Walker, a current Doctoral candidate in Linguistics (UCSB) said on the subject:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Contrary to the assumptions of outside critics, who have claimed that this alphabet was intended to cloak LDS writings from Gentile view and further isolate the Mormons in their mountain retreats, the Deseret Alphabet was intended solely to ease the burden imposed upon students learning to read and write English.”</span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">(A Complete Guide to Reading and Writing the Deseret Alphabet, by Neil Alexander Walker,2005, p.13)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://copper.chem.ucla.edu/~jericks/Historical%20or%20Technical/Linguistics/Deseret_Guide.pdf">(Link to E-book)</a></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Furthermore in every book published was a key for the alphabet; any book, any page, any phrase, could be translated given the time and effort.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Recently there has been an interest in the Deseret Alphabet, in fact it has been incorporated into Unicode. Meaning that it has been accepted and standardized as a alphabet, Unicode is intended to be a Universal character set supporting every written script used on Earth. The Deseret Alphabet has recently been added to the UK Mac OS fonts.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Deseret Alphabet was a very logical and methodical endeavor which ultimately failed as a result of lack of commitment or dedication to the principle. Although it can be seen as a failed project sponsored by the church and the government at the time it does not reflect on Brigham Young as a prophet as he never claimed it was from a divine source, furthermore regardless of the source the failure was primarily in the reception of the instruction and message. Whether the implementation of such an alphabet would have been a beneficial effort or an error is unknown and only open to speculation. If indeed the alphabet were to be used as Mr. Bigler postulated – that it would be the exclusive alpha of Utah – than there could be severe consequences with the expansion of the west, with integration and segregation. However if the alphabet was to be used in tandem with the English, or if all of the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">English speaking</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> world were to adopt the alphabet, than it would be an asset. Whatever the influence could have been it has now become an interesting unique part of the Mormon Culture that by and large has been forgotten.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_696035660">(See Video on the Deseret </a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 32px;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_696035660">Alphabet</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24pt;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3bzidX5214&feature=player_embedded">)</a></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Works Cited</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bateman, Edward. "The Deseret Alphabet." Web log post. <i style="margin: 0px;">XMission Internet</i>. 2003. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http: capteddy="" des01.html="" deseret="" hyper="" www.xmission.com="">.</http:></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Bancroft, Hubert Howe. <i style="margin: 0px;">Reproduction of Hubert Howe Bancroft's History of Utah, 1540-1886</i>. Las Vegas (Box 15444, Las Vegas, NV 89114): Nevada Publications, 1982. Print.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bigler, David L. <i style="margin: 0px;">Forgotten Kingdom: the Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896</i>. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 1998. Print.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Evans, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Richard L.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> “History of the Church in Great Britain.” Ensign. Salt Lake City, Utah 1971. Print </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jensen, Richard L. "Utah History Encyclopedia." <i style="margin: 0px;">Media Solutions - Information Technology - The University of Utah</i>. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http: i="" immigration.html="" uhe="" www.media.utah.edu="">.</http:></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Measureing Worth." <i style="margin: 0px;">Measuring Worth - Measures of Worth, Inflation Rates, Saving Calculator, Relative Value, worth of a Dollar, worth of a Pound, Purchasing Power, Gold Prices, GDP, History of Wages, Average Wage</i>. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. <http: uscompare="" www.measuringworth.com="">.</http:></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><http: uscompare="" www.measuringworth.com=""></http:></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Walker, Neil A. <i style="margin: 0px;">A Complete Guide to Reading and Writing the Deseret Alphabet</i>. 2005. E-book.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-54613921928809403612010-09-26T17:54:00.000-07:002010-12-06T13:45:11.339-08:00Gospel Scholarship: Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they AppearGospel Scholarship: Objects in the Mirror are Closer than they Appear<br />
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<img src="http://www.inakidsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Tooth-Fairy-DVD.jpg" /><br />
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Many movies are based on the idea of the average Joe finding out he is actually someone/something special. Whether it is Harry Potter finding out he’s a master wizard that is intricately connected to his arch-nemesis; Jake Sully finding out he has more in common with his Avatar than with his fellow marines; or Dwayne Johnson discovering he is a real Tooth Fairy with deep-seated issues, we find that the teachings in the scriptures are more complex than they seem on the surface.<br />
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In the movie,<i> The Blind Side</i>, we are reminded that along with the complex characters in the movie, we have to “peel back the layers” of the onion that makes up the gospel. In joining the Church at 16 years of age, I found the Book of Mormon to be filled with lots of cool, gory war stories. While 1975 preceded the shoot-everything-in-sight video game era, young men in any period tend to be attracted by a show of violent force. I was intrigued by the war stories, and looked forward to getting to the end of long sections of teaching. It’s been remarked that the movie Titanic would have been the perfect guy movie if it would have actually started about an hour into the movie.<br />
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The story goes of two missionaries walking along a road to an appointment. One elder was a veteran of 18 months on his mission, the other had been out just a few days. As they walked along, a huge pit bull rushed up from behind some bushes. It lunges towards the missionaries. The experienced elder quickly side stepped the massive dog. The second elder froze in terror with his scriptures in his hands in front of him, hoping to shield him. Amazingly, the pit bull chomped down on the scriptures, pulled them out of the missionary’s hands, growled and tossed his head around. After a few minutes of mangling the book in its massive jaws, the pit bull sighed, dropped the book and trotted off.<br />
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The experienced missionary slowly walked over and picked up the book. He opened it up and noted that the dog had bitten the Book of Mormon only through a portion of Second Nephi. The young elder, still trembling from the experience, said, “it makes sense, I always struggle getting through the Isaiah portions myself.”<br />
<br />
That is how I viewed the difficult portions of the scriptures for the first several years I was a member. Even as a missionary, the focus on doctrine was limited primarily to the concepts taught in the discussions. Gospel scholarship requires time and effort. Lots of time and effort, in order to become a better scholar. There is no such thing as becoming the know-all scholar, as the scriptures, connected with modern revelation, is an onion with a never ending supply of layers to peel.<br />
<br />
Just as we have to go step by step in growing in Gospel scholarship, so did the Savior of the world: <br />
<blockquote>“And I, John, saw that he (the mortal Jesus) received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness” (D&C 93:12-13, <br />
<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/93/12-13#12">http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/93/12-13#12</a>). </blockquote><br />
In this same manner, we receive grace for grace as we move from grace to grace. Or better said, we move from one level of righteousness and knowledge to the next level. It requires us to take action, and then to allow God to sanctify us to a new level of grace, until we receive a fullness, even as Jesus did.<br />
<br />
One eats an elephant one bite at a time. One peels back the layers of the gospel onion one at a time. It is alright to look at it as a long term, even lifetime, goal. On my first foray into reading the Book of Mormon, I could never imagine that 35 years later I would have read it more than 75 times more (I’ve frankly lost count). And I now enjoy the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon much more than the war accounts. So, how do we begin peeling the layers?<br />
<br />
First, schedule the time and then make the time to study the scriptures each and every day. If all you can find are 15 minutes a day, it may not seem like much, but each small layer adds up. In a year’s time, you will have read over ninety hours in just one year. The first few times you may want to read straight through the books of scripture, so you can get the gist of the story lines and most obvious concepts being taught. Familiarity, in this instance, breeds inspiration.<br />
<br />
Next, ask yourself questions about what you are reading. Go into the scriptures with questions that you would like better answers to. Think about the things you are reading and how such teachings can apply to you in a modern sense, or in an ancient sense. Is there more than one way to interpret a scripture? Is the specific scripture incomplete, and we need to find a more complete answer elsewhere in scripture? This is how Joseph Smith received many of his revelations. He studied it, trying to understand what it was really suppose to mean. While translating the Book of Mormon, he read about baptism. He pondered on it, trying to understand the passages as best he could. It led him to pray about it, and the Lord restored the Aaronic Priesthood through John the Baptist (D&C 13, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/13">http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/13</a>). His later studies in the Bible would lead to the Book of Moses, and many other revelations.<br />
<br />
Third, ask God to help you have a greater understanding of what you are studying. Oliver Cowdery, Joseph’s chief scribe, wished to assist in the direct translation of the plates. The Lord granted him the gift of translation, however Oliver quickly became frustrated and stopped trying. The Lord explained to him:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>“Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.<br />
“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right” (D&C 9:7-8, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/9/7-8#7">http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/9/7-8#7</a>).</blockquote><br />
You’ll note that Oliver had to do more than just ask God to reveal it to him. He first has to study, ponder, and try to find possible answers for himself. Only after such effort would God reveal the answers to him from on high. So it is with us. We cannot be like Nephi’s rebellious brothers who did not bother to pray because they felt “the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” (1 Nephi 15:8-9, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/15/8-9#8">http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/15/8-9#8</a>). Nephi chastised them for the hardness of their hearts, because they were not diligent in keeping the commandments, which would include inquiring after the Lord to find answers. Are we in the same boat as Laman and Lemuel, and don’t even realize it?<br />
<br />
Peeling the layers of hidden knowledge from the scriptures does one other thing for us. It helps us to peel the hidden layers from ourselves, as well. We get to see deeper within ourselves, even as God peers into our souls. It causes times of reflection and a will and desire to change. A part of the change is to go, layer by layer, grace to grace, from being like Laman to being like Nephi.<br />
<br />
In beginning these steps, the path will look long and foreboding ahead of us. But if we stop to enjoy the grace we receive as we peel back each layer of the sweet gospel onion, we can rejoice in the journey. And the day will come when we look back at the gospel scholarship path we’ve walked and stand pleased with how far we’ve come. Then we can look forward again, and continue further along the scholar’s path.rameumptomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16109035792711248691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-43910003863952162432010-08-01T23:55:00.000-07:002010-08-01T23:55:10.189-07:00Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith – The First Vision<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta><meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Generator"></meta><meta content="Microsoft Word 12" name="Originator"></meta><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><style id="dynCom" type="text/css">
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i>Our whole strength rests on the validity of that vision. It either occurred or it did not occur. If it did not then this work is a fraud. If it did then it is the most important and wonderful work under the heavens.</i>” Gordon B. Hinckley<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Does God communicate with mankind? Sure, he spoke personally with Adam and Eve in the Garden, as some believe. How does God typically speak to us though? Through prophets, chosen seers set apart as His mouthpiece. He spoke to Jared, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Joshua, Isaiah, Malachi; John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and his Twelve Disciples, as well as a plethora of men and prophets in the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and the prophets today, currently President Thomas S. Monson.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> For most people, that last part is a whole lot to swallow. It’s for this reason I’m writing today about an experience had by Joseph Smith Jr that has come to be known as the First Vision.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b>Circumstances<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Joseph Smith Jr. received his namesake from his father, Joseph Sr. His father and mother, Lucy Mack had eleven children, of which Joseph was the fifth. He was born on December 23, 1805 in Sharon, Vermont. In 1816, after several moves, Joseph Sr. moved to Palmyra, New York, and his family later followed. Up until the 1830’s, the nation was undergoing the Second Great Awakening, so called as it was a reaction against the Age of Enlightenment and the secularism that went along with it. Joseph Smith Jr. was raised in a family where they joined every morning and evening for prayers, scripture reading, and hymn-singing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> When he was 15, his mother, two brothers, Hyrum and Samuel, and his sister Sophronia joined the Presbyterian faith. In his recorded history, he states, “<i>my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still <span class="searchword">I</span> kept myself aloof from all these parties, though <span class="searchword">I</span> attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit</i>” (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1998883209">Joseph Smith-History, v.8</a></span><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/8#8"><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></a><a class="msocomanchor" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7193507984736616127" id="_anchor_1" language="JavaScript" name="_msoanchor_1" onmouseout="msoCommentHide('_com_1')" onmouseover="msoCommentShow('_anchor_1','_com_1')"></a><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">). Joseph wondered on matters deeply spiritual, and felt a great desire to join the correct, or at least the most correct church.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b>James 1:5<o:p></o:p></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> A scripture that can be recited by nearly every Latter-day Saint, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/james/1/5#5">it reads</a>:<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><a class="msocomanchor" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=7193507984736616127#_msocom_2" id="_anchor_2" language="JavaScript" name="_msoanchor_2" onmouseout="msoCommentHide('_com_2')" onmouseover="msoCommentShow('_anchor_2','_com_2')"></a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Joseph Smith records he read the above scripture and determined to ask of God which church he must join. Others cite his brother William as saying Joseph heard the scripture quoted by a religious minister, and also suggesting his brother ask of God. Many of those who believe William believe that man was Methodist minister, Reverend George Lane, who visited the area around Palmyra during a large Methodist conference in 1819.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Before The Vision<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the spring of 1820, after coming to the conclusion that he would “<i>do as James directs, that is, ask of God</i>” (JS-H 1:13), he made his way into a grove of trees on their 100 acreage. When he found the place he had before decided to go, he knelt down and began a vocal prayer. He records that some great power took hold of him, binding his tongue. He records that “<i>Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction</i>” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/15#15">JS-H 1:15</a>). But he wasn’t. He did <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/16#16">everything he could</a>, praying for deliverance, and “<i>at the very moment when [he] was ready to sink into despair and abandon [himself] to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin...</i> <i>just at this moment of great alarm...”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><b><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Vision<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i>I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me... When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> If we are <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/16-17#16">to believe this</a>, which many people do, in its simplest form it shows that God and Jesus Christ exist. Even more, it means they have bodies of flesh and blood like us, that we were created in their image, that they have two separate bodies, and that like the people in Biblical times, we’re not being left alone. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> So Joseph Smith asked his question: Which church should he join? He was told that he shouldn’t join any of the churches, that none of them contained the fullness of Christ’s church. The way my missionaries explained it to me, the Gospel is like a glass table. After Christ and his disciples died (well, except John the Beloved and the three Nephites) the Gospel, or the table, shattered. From that, men picked up pieces of the Gospel and made their own churches, many, without a doubt, with the best of intentions. Each church had a piece, but not the every piece. The Restoration, completed through Joseph Smith, enabled that glass table to be repaired.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Ramifications<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Like stated above, if this did occur, then Jesus Christ and God exist, and not only that, they also possess bodies of flesh, from their image we were created, and they possess separate and distinct bodies. As amazing as those concepts are, I think a greater reality is the fact that God hasn’t left us here to try to manage on our own, to try to work out our salvation without a chance of success. In other words, the promise that was made by James is true – if we ask God in faith, God will provide us with answers. Also, because of what Joseph experienced prior to receiving the Vision, he understood and appreciated the reality of Satan. Obviously, the big point of this is the fact that Joseph Smith was told all the churches at the time didn’t contain the truth, and this prepared him in his future task of restoring Christ’s church on the earth. President Joseph F. Smith said:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt;"><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“<i>The greatest event that has ever occurred in the world, since the resurrection of the Son of God from the tomb and his ascension on high, was the coming of the Father and of the Son to that boy Joseph Smith, to prepare the way for the laying of the foundation of his kingdom—not the kingdom of man—never more to cease nor to be overturned. Having accepted this truth, I find it easy to accept of every other truth that he enunciated and declared during his mission of fourteen years in the world.</i>” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 495-96.)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Inconsistencies (READ Assumed Problems)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There are nine accounts of the first Vision given by the Prophet Joseph Smith. There wouldn’t be anything wrong with this, critics say, except for the fact that they differ, some differing in a manner which seems to be great. I cannot enter into this in great detail, but I would like to touch on it, and since it was a problem for me in the early days of my membership, it seems important to me to include this and explain, at least a little, that just because they differ, it doesn’t mean the event never occurred, or that Joseph somehow evolved his story to be more and more grandiose. I won’t include the text of each version, but they were given as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">(1) the Prophet’s handwritten description in 1832, an attempt to start a manuscript history of the Church; </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">(2) a Church secretary’s brief 1835 journal entry of Joseph talking with a visitor who called himself Joshua, the Jewish minister; </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">(3) the 1838 history discussed above, published in 1842 and now in the Pearl of Great Price; </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">(4) Orson Pratt’s publication, the first publicly disseminated, of the Prophet’s vision in his <i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions,</span></i> issued in 1840 in Edinburgh, Scotland; </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">(5) Orson Hyde’s revision of Orson Pratt’s pamphlet, published in 1842 for German readers and adding some insights that may have come from his contact with Joseph Smith; </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">(6) the Wentworth Letter, created in response to editor John Wentworth’s inquiry and published by Joseph Smith in 1842 in <i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Times and Seasons;</span></i> this account adapted parts of Orson Pratt’s pamphlet; </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsynI_VoNzslESfaH5K5EHyjCmXi_5gu33Ot7wXTW19mtqhY0a8pXaRa-OFEZ3e5VAEYc4vjg3XIdqi4UWs1YmT25uXbTkmVEDxMFjkSCq0H-qqvz-LHlQOAOg8sG4kyohoCxszRq5Fmo/s1600/the_prophet_joseph_smith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsynI_VoNzslESfaH5K5EHyjCmXi_5gu33Ot7wXTW19mtqhY0a8pXaRa-OFEZ3e5VAEYc4vjg3XIdqi4UWs1YmT25uXbTkmVEDxMFjkSCq0H-qqvz-LHlQOAOg8sG4kyohoCxszRq5Fmo/s320/the_prophet_joseph_smith.jpg" /></a>(7) Levi Richards’s diary about Joseph Smith preaching in the summer of 1843 and repeating the Lord’s first message to him that no church was His; </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">(8) a newspaper interview in the fall of 1843; </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">(9) Alexander Neibaur’s 1844 journal entry of a conversation at the Prophet’s house. (<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Papers of Joseph Smith</span></i> 1:1, 125–27, 265–67, 387–91, 405–9, 430, 444, 461.)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">These accounts of the Vision are not all the same, obviously. So clearly something has to be wrong, right? Some critics cite this as evidence of an evolution of Joseph Smith’s experience. However, if a man were to get up on the stand in front of a judge on several different occasions, I think suspicion would arise if the man told the exact same story with the exact same words on each occasion. When I tell a story of one experience to a friend, I won’t emphasize the same points, or speak the same words I would use when talking to my mother, or a significant other, or a young child. It’s only through combining each record that we find the original. Just because some details are omitted in one version and included in another does not mean that those details have evolved through excessive story-telling or the like. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">The 1932 record of the First Vision seems to refer to the presence of only one being. While I cannot provide the accounts (unless you go and pick up a copy of <i>The Papers of Joseph Smith</i>) in their entirety, this particular account refers to their being the Lord, who opened the heavens to Joseph, while the Son explains more to Joseph. This account seems to focus mainly on the words of the Saviour and seems to just hint at the presence of God there. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">As my seminary teacher once told me: If the First Vision really happened, then Joseph is a Prophet. If Joseph is a Prophet, then the Book of Mormon is true. If the Book of Mormon is true, then the Church is truly God’s Church, and God's work.</div>Tephrochrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09887714536640435040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-12480851549824418532010-07-25T14:57:00.000-07:002012-03-05T01:58:14.067-08:00Church History Q&A: Rebaptism in the Early Church<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Introduction</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Many times in the church we develop erroneous social conceptions of corporal and eternal principles. As close knit communities of Latter-day Saints we can sometimes, without doctrinal substance, develop social norms and taboos which can, because of the context in which they were developed, inherit a spiritual or ecclesiastical authority which the principle does not originally embody. Such practices can be seen as <i>Cultural Mormonism</i>, which is to be contrasted with <i>Doctrinal Mormonism</i>, in which the substance comes from scripture or prophetic council rather than society or interpretation of doctrine. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Some examples of Cultural Mormonism could be the abstinence of caffeine, the former apologetic beliefs and justifications of the ban of the Priesthood from the blacks, the former and continuing stance of anti-evolution, the belief that the hill Cummorah is the same hill that Joseph Smith retrieved the plates out of, the belief that to be a “good Mormon” you must be a democrat. These opinions are not, nor were, inherently wrong but they do not come from official Latter-day Saint Doctrine, but rather through cultural influence. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">The Doctrine of Baptism</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span>The doctrine I will discuss today is that of baptism, one of the most essential doctrines of the Latter-day Saints and all of Christendom. The word “baptism” come from the Greek <i>baptizo </i>meaning to “dip” or “immerse”. For Christianity (and Mormonism) it is the key initiatory event in conversion and acceptance of Jesus Christ.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRig5FtWNzYQdTGhPu2iuqDCnf7VPruVC_5vPPmInHOUA6C_KXEmUZEdCxXpClZf1neKpEvTpuYtQ4_yR-vIEXXxEcwcqulfLOCFpGr7pvw5QEFNZIYEe8tZvRj6XMOflHzcNKcATAT8/s1600/baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRig5FtWNzYQdTGhPu2iuqDCnf7VPruVC_5vPPmInHOUA6C_KXEmUZEdCxXpClZf1neKpEvTpuYtQ4_yR-vIEXXxEcwcqulfLOCFpGr7pvw5QEFNZIYEe8tZvRj6XMOflHzcNKcATAT8/s320/baptism.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span>For Latter-day saints baptism and confirmation are an inseparable saving ordinance. A saving ordinance in the Latter-day Saint church is a solemn convent made by the individual with God in order to accept Christ more fully into their life and inherit eternal life. Baptism and Confirmation are the first two initiatory ordinances which starts the process of fully accepting Jesus Christ into their lives. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> Preparatory to baptism the person must first find faith in God, His Son, and His Church. Whey must repent for their sins by recognizing them, confessing them, and forsaking them. They are then prepared to make convents with God through baptism. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span>There are five main purposes for Baptism and confirmation in the church:</span></span></div>
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<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">To be cleansed from the sins that the individual has repented for previous to his or her baptism.</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">To covenant with God to follow him, and thus take on a portion of Christ name into our hearts, or to accept Christ (to a degree)</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">As a saving ordinance, it is necessary prior to the entering into God’s presence</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">To receive the Holy Ghost as a constant companion</span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">To enter into Christ’s Church</span></span></li>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>This process and convents are not a “one time” affair, the same process, promises, and covenants are repeated weakly in <i>The Sacrament of the Lords Supper</i> (Also known as communion, sacrament, or the Eucharist). As one properly partakes of the Lords Supper they recovenant and refresh their baptism. It can be seen as a weekly baptism, a scheduled cleansing appointment. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>There is much cultural Mormonism attached to baptism; this is not so much in explicit writings of the doctrines or practices but rather in the underlying traditions and expectations. These range from the trivial matters of the format of the baptism and refreshments after; to the very serious misconception that baptism erases <i>all </i>sins committed by the person baptized to believing that we fully take upon us the name of Christ when we are baptized.[1][2]</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>In this publication I am going to discuss an issue that deals with a topic which not only dealt with social misunderstanding but doctrinal. This is the topic of rebaptism.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Re-baptism: Then and Now</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>Today in the church it is unusual to be re-baptized, virtually the only case of rebaptism is for those who have been excommunicated and thus by necessity forfeit the blessings and covenant that were made at baptism. After undergoing the necessary repentance process the individual can re ovenant with god and get rebaptisd; for those who have been excommunicated reinstates the blessings of baptism, and readmits them into Christ church. Other than these circumstances rebaptism does not occur.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>Imagine that next Sunday in sacrament meeting the bishop gets up and announces that to recommit the ward everyone is going to get rebaptized that Saturday at 1:00pm (refreshments will be served after). I would hazard to assume that there would be more than just confusion and a knee-jerk, jaw-dropping surprise but many would see this as an act of blasphemy, undoctrinal, and a form of apostasy. However this would have not been the case but 120 years ago. In the early church rebaptism was embraced, encouraged, and practiced by virtually everyone in the church.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Was Joseph Smith Baptized Twice?</span></span></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NstHRaXtThhrHsHnk-Y5hhwlC5uxl8DTBAW2JWeQ72QUIyaDBW0faVtbXZ0VSGNmqdJH5uD_-0mPydcrEVrPEvOqplIfyFFSWGh3_0qCtNloG3nIk-if1eOq-hA4xCKwvgeAAzRzXHE/s1600/450px-Aaronic_Priesthood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NstHRaXtThhrHsHnk-Y5hhwlC5uxl8DTBAW2JWeQ72QUIyaDBW0faVtbXZ0VSGNmqdJH5uD_-0mPydcrEVrPEvOqplIfyFFSWGh3_0qCtNloG3nIk-if1eOq-hA4xCKwvgeAAzRzXHE/s320/450px-Aaronic_Priesthood.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>A little known fact is that Joseph Smith himself was baptized more than once. As is well known on May 15<sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">th</span></sup> 1829AD Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery went to pray on the banks of the Susquehanna River, near Harmony, Pennsylvania received the Aaronic Priesthood under that hands of John the Baptist as heavenly messenger, and was instructed to baptize one another. Joseph first baptized Oliver in the Susquehanna after which Oliver baptized Joseph. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>This baptism, although achieving the first three aforementioned purposed of baptism and confirmation, did not however allow entrance into Christ restored church as the Restored church was not yet organized on the earth. The next year, April 6<sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">th</span></sup> 1930, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized and both Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith got rebaptized into Christ church. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Rebaptisms in the West</span></span></b></span><span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>Some may point out that the hypothetical situation I posed and the example of Joseph Smith are not analogous as the example of Joseph Smith had a logical and practical reason behind it while the hypothetical situation merely purports baptism as merely a whimsical desire to be more committed to the gospel. This whimsical desire however was a very valid and accepted reason to be rebaptized in the middle to late eighteenth century.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>After the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the succession on Brigham Young, and the forced exodus out of Nauvoo Illinois the Saints headed west eventually to end up in the Great Salt Lake Valley. As the church settled into the Rockies a decision to emphasize rebaptism was made. This was done for two main reasons. The first reason was that the records of the church were somewhat scanty as the time and there was some uncertainty about the validity or existence of Baptisms or Baptismal Records, thus a mass rebaptism effort would allow for security in baptism and a chance to document and redocument baptismal records. The second reason as described by the prolific journalist and future President of the church Wilford Woodruff:</span></span></div>
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On this day the Twelve were re-baptized. Why? Because the Church, having broken old ties in the East was, in a way, experiencing a new birth. Because, owing to conditions of life on the plains, regular Church routine could not always be observed. For this reason for non-observance of certain regulations were made by the people and accepted by their leaders. But now those who stood at the head of the Church wanted a gesture of support to themselves and a sign that willing obedience would be given to the rules of the Church. This was affected by re-baptism.</blockquote>
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(Wilford Woodruff Journal, August 6, 1847.)</blockquote>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>On August 6<sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">th</span></sup> 1847, Brigham Young, The Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency lead the way into this new age by setting the example and getting rebaptized as a sign of commitment to the ideals of the church and to Jesus Christ himself.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>Rebaptisms continued to be preformed not only as a sign of recommitment but also in preparation for major life commitments or spiritual experiences such as marriages, temple endowments, temple dedications, or entering into the United Order. At one point there were rebaptisms preformed for those who were in failing or poor health in faith that they would be healed. Rebaptism became so common that the Ward Membership Forms placed a section for rebaptisms in 1877. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>The practice was heavily endorsed by the church to the point that Joseph Fielding Smith</span></span> i<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">n 1878 gave instructions to bishops regarding those being endowed that “No person, male or female, should be recommended for these ordinances, unless they have first renewed their covenants by baptism.”[3] </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> Baptisms in this manner are just as effectual in it’s purpose as is the taking the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. If we wished to we could be baptized every week at church, and every time we would be baptized all of the sins that we had truly repented of would be washed away. Baptism and the Sacrament of the Lords Supper are essentially one and the same, the only difference is that the Sacrament it only effectual to those who have already been baptized and made those covenants with God, while those who are not baptized are encouraged not to partake in the covenant-ordinance. As Paul taught to the Corinthians:</span></span></div>
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Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.</blockquote>
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(KJV, Holy Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29)</blockquote>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> The practice of rebaptism in the early west became struck by cultural Mormonism. Although rebaptisms are a good doctrinal idea, and could provide a greater, more dramatic, more public sign or repentance the idea of rebaptism ceased to be thought of as a sign repentance and opportunity to receive forgiveness and it became in the minds of the people a form of repentance and the act of forgiveness. Just because one gets baptized does not mean that they have repented, nor does it mean that they are cleansed from all their sins. </span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>This idea of baptism persists to this day in cultural Mormonism. I have been to many baptisms, particularly baptisms of those who are young, where a member of the church in a talk proclaims that the baptized is now totally clean of all their since, or that they are the cleanest person on earth. While to a extent this can be true baptism does not guarantee total forgiveness any more than the sacrament guarantees it. Baptism without repents in ineffectual and hallow, void of reason or meaning.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">For this cultural misinterpretation the practice of rebaptisms, rebaptisms was later discouraged and eventually against official policy. In the Church History in the </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Fullness</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> of Times manual for the formal religious education of the church (The Church Educational Services (CES)) it explains this period of time:</span></span></span></div>
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Church leaders also discontinued the long-standing practice of rebaptism. Oftentimes Latter-day Saints had been rebaptized in conjunction with important milestones, such as marriage or entering the United Order or sometimes for improvement of health. These rebaptisms were recorded on Church membership records. The First Presidency grew concerned that some members were substituting rebaptism for true repentance. In 1893, stake presidents were instructed not to require rebaptism of Saints wishing to attend the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, and in 1897 the practice of rebaptism was discontinued altogether. As President George Q. Cannon explained, “It is repentance from sin that will save you, not rebaptism."</blockquote>
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(Salt Lake City, Utah : Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1992, 1989.)</blockquote>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Conclusion</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> Rebaptisms are now against church policy and the history is generally unknown and un-understood. I am not suggesting that we reinstitute rebaptisms as it is against policy, but to understand that rebaptisms of these kinds were and are still valid and effectual. The policy may have changed but the principle has not. Similar cases where policy has been changed but not doctrine would be the doctrine of the Law of Consecration (the United Order), or the doctrine of polygamy.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> Although in my original hypothetical situation there was great (theoretical) opposition to the idea of rebaptism, this animosity was not based on church doctrine or even on church policy but on a cultural Mormonism knee jerk. The issue in this problem is giving authority to cultural norms particular to the Latter-day Saints which do not warrant such authority by the doctrines of the church. We need to introspectively ask ourselves of our motives and reasons for our beliefs so as to get closer to the “trunk” of the gospel, closer the essence of the gospel and further away from the flimsy branches of opinion, culture, and speculation.</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">[1] Legrande Richards, <i>A Marvelous Work and A Wonder, Deseret Book Co, 1976, </i></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span> Dallin H Oaks, <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">“</span></span><a href="http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=32dc8949f2f6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ,</span></a><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">”</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Ensign,</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">May 1985, 81</span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span> <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 115%;">Joseph F. Smith to Frederick Kesler, 4 Dec. 1878, in papers of Frederick Kesler, Huntington Library, San Marino, California.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-62391628120719464572010-07-17T10:20:00.000-07:002010-12-06T13:45:58.664-08:00Gospel Scholarship: Order out of Chaos<blockquote>"Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?" Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/51/9-10#9">Isaiah 51:9-10</a>).</blockquote><br />
This verse discusses, among other things, the Creation of the world and how God brought order out of chaos. We will see how the ancient Middle East believed the earth was formed. This article will also show how this Creation motif is re-lived and renewed in the story of the Exodus, the atonement of Christ, and the ordinances we receive.<br />
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Isaiah's words reflect the ancient belief that God formed the world out of Chaos: <br />
<blockquote>"And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gen/1/2#2">Genesis 1:2</a>).</blockquote><br />
Here we see that there IS an earth already available for him to work with. There is no <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_nihilo">ex nihilo</a> creation, or creation from nothing. However, this earth is "without form, and void" or is not organized yet. The earth is steeped in darkness and covered in water. <br />
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For the ancients, nothing was more chaotic than darkness and water. Before creating life, God must eliminate chaos by bringing forth light. This light is not the sun, moon and stars, for those are brought forth on the fourth day (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gen/1/14-19#14">vs 14-19</a>).<br />
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Instead, on the first day, light was called forth, ordered, and divided from the darkness. The chaos of darkness is not destroyed nor eliminated, but is diminished and held at bay (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gen/1/3-5#3">vs 3-5</a>).<br />
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Next, the waters had to be tamed. On the second day, waters on earth were separated from those in the skies. And on the third day land masses jutted up into the air, forcing the waters into the oceans, seas, and rivers (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/gen/1/6-10#6">vs 6-10</a>).<br />
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As with the darkness, the waters were not destroyed, but controlled. Isaiah's above quote mentions a dragon, or sea serpent, which in the ancient beliefs was slain or defeated by God, in order to bring order and create the earth. <br />
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In some traditions there were two dragons, male and female. The Lord defeated one in the Creation, and will defeat the second one in the last days. Isaiah also foresaw this event:<br />
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<blockquote>"In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/27/1#1">Isaiah 27:1</a>).</blockquote><br />
Leviathan and Rahab are sea serpents. They caused the waters to be chaotic. In forming the earth, the Lord was able to control, but not totally defeat the monster(s) until the end. <br />
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Confusing? Puzzling? Let's let the scriptures explain:<br />
<blockquote>"And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was there place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/12/7-9#7">Revelation 12:7-9</a>).</blockquote><br />
As with the ancient tradition, the serpent, or Satan was not completely defeated until the end:<br />
<blockquote>"And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/20/2#2">Revelation 20:2</a>).</blockquote><br />
In LDS theology, Lucifer sought to replace both Christ and God, recommending a replacement plan that did not require a Suffering Savior nor agency, but would force a chaotic salvation on all (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/1/1-4#1">Moses 1:1-4</a>, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/abr/3/23-28#23">Abraham 3:23-28</a>, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/14/12-20#12">Isaiah 14:12-20</a>).<br />
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So, in the beginning, God had to defeat Satan (Adversary) and his chaos in order to form the earth. But he did not totally destroy the chaos, as it was necessary for earth life. Half of the earth is bathed in life and the other in darkness. Water still covers most of the earth. <br />
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While a group of elders traveled down the Missouri River, Wilford Woodruff spotted Satan raging upon the waters. The party pulled to the bank, and Joseph Smith asked God the meaning of the vision. The answer is found in <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/61">Doctrine & Covenants 61</a>. <br />
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The Lord preferred them to slow down and preach along the way, because the "the inhabitants on either side (of the river) were perishing in unbelief (spiritual darkness)" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/61/3#3">61:3</a>).<br />
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The Lord allowed them to travel by river, because he wanted to reveal to them an important concept: "there are many dangers upon the waters and many more hereafter" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/61/4#4">61:4</a>). The Lord "decreed in mine anger many destructions upon the waters, especially these waters" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/61/5#5">61:5</a>). Here we see Satan connected to the chaos of the waters of the Missouri. The Lord still allows the chaos its place. Still, "he that is faithful among you shall not perish by the waters" (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/61/6#6">61:6</a>).<br />
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The Lord explained that the waters were blessed "in the beginning" or in the Creation as he brought order to them. However, they would be cursed in the last days, even as John the Revelator prophesied. Interestingly, the Missouri River is especially noted as cursed. Here we have the greatest curse/chaos located on the edge of Zion.<br />
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In fact, modern revelation tells us that the line between chaos and order will be very visible in the last days. "And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must need flee to Zion for safety." In fact the only people not at war, a man-made chaos, will be those in Zion (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/45/68-69#68">D&C 45:68-69</a>).<br />
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Satan, the Dragon, will rule the hearts of many, filling them with rage and chaos. Those who turn fully to Christ will go to Zion, rejoicing for the peace and order it provides (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/45/71#71">D&C 45:71</a>).<br />
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There has always been a delicate balance between order and chaos. Lehi explained to his son Jacob that "opposition in all things" is necessary for life to exist. Without it, there is no agency and free will. Nor is there a need for a Savior and atonement to save us from total chaos: Perdition and Outer Darkness, death and hell. We do experience temporary chaos in life, in order to learn, grow, and have personal choice. In the premortal existence, we experienced the chaos of Satan's rebellion, where 1/3 of the host of heaven followed the Dragon (Rev ) and were cast out of heaven. The dark womb and chaotic waters that break forth in new life, creates order from birth. In this life, we struggle with unanticipated events and entropy- the natural flowing of energy and systems from order to chaos. Things break down, requiring us to use more energy to restore order. Even the sun is expected to burn itself out in a few billion years, collapsing into a dark chaotic mass.<br />
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God brings new order to those things that accept his infusion of light, life and order. Just as Christ calmed the Sea of Galilee and ordered the waves, "Peace, be still," he can bring order out of our lives. He has formed several levels of heaven (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_cor/12/1-4#1">1 Cor 12:1-4</a>) to give each of us blessings according to the level of order and chaos we choose to live with. For those who abide a celestial law or level of order will receive a celestial glory (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/88/22-32#22">D&C 88:22-32</a>).<br />
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Our sins separate us from God, because in sinning we embrace chaos and darkness. In embracing the atonement of Christ through faith and repentance, we accept order and light. Faith in Christ allows God to defeat the Dragons and Leviathans of life and bring forth in us a new Creation as saints and children of God.rameumptomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16109035792711248691noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-83573902546464507512010-07-13T16:21:00.000-07:002010-12-06T13:48:03.331-08:00Jews and Mormons: Similarities and Differences<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMg7ytYfEuZ4Nl5AvyAz-qYL6m6BEqSm9seND3l12E3nZOnB-q-tYfSpbf08oESyZht4nDcMRC6ZfpboD-i-nfWFz23f4SJ4s2lXicpCnf3p-ib6d3Aej8n0Bf0WNOrUd2PM75SOCoe7SD/s1600/794px-Salt_Lake_Assembly_Hall_Star_of_David.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493538930730473010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMg7ytYfEuZ4Nl5AvyAz-qYL6m6BEqSm9seND3l12E3nZOnB-q-tYfSpbf08oESyZht4nDcMRC6ZfpboD-i-nfWFz23f4SJ4s2lXicpCnf3p-ib6d3Aej8n0Bf0WNOrUd2PM75SOCoe7SD/s320/794px-Salt_Lake_Assembly_Hall_Star_of_David.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 242px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Above is the Latter-day Saint Assembly Hall in Salt Lake City, Temple Square featuring the hexagram, a sign of the Jewish faith)</span></span></i><br />
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<div class="post-body entry-content" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5; position: relative; width: 518px;"><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Introduction</span></span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span></span></div><div align="left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> To a large extent, Jewish awareness of Mormonism, however minimal, remains negative, due mainly to Latter-day Saint practices widely regarded as offensive in the Jewish community: Missionary work(or proselytizing) and baptism for the dead (namely, posthumous baptism by proxy of non-Mormons, usually ancestors of someone who is LDS). Most Jews are unlikely to be aware, however, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has attempted to respect Jewish sensitivities on both these issues, which are, after all, fundamental practices of Mormonism. In an agreement submitted to Israeli authorities when the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies was opened, the president of the church (President Ezra Taft Benson) and the president of Brigham Young University (Elder Jeffery R. Holland) signed a solemn commitment forbidding Latter-day Saints proselyting in Israel, and threatened any student, member of the faculty, or staff violating that commitment with immediate expulsion from the Jerusalem Center and from the country. Similarly, respecting Jewish sensitivity, especially after the Shoah (holocaust), the church agreed in 1995 to stop the practice of baptism for the dead applied in a wholesale manner to Jews (although reaffirming the right of individual Latter-day Saints to baptize their own direct ancestors).</span></span><br />
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Therefore, given that Mormonism in not a significant factor in the concerns of most Jews. why do I believe that Jewish-Mormon dialogue is important for both sides? My answer is given on three levels: general, Jewish, and Mormon.</span> </span><br />
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</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> First, in general, many people of diverse backgrounds today increasingly recognize the urgent need for increased inter religious dialogue and understanding, all the more so in our era of the 'global village' and at a time when the whole world is threatened by fanatical and fundamentalist religiopolitical terror. as radical Catholic theologian Hans Hung has said, without peace among the world's religions, there will be no peace among the nations. In my part of the world in particular, it is an unfortunate fact that religion is rarely a force for peace and is usually used (or abused) to exacerbate conflicts that are basically national and political, and not theological, in nature. we need, therefore, to encourage inter religious dialogue wherever possible, and with whomever possible.</span></span><br />
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Second, looking at inter religious, specifically Jewish-Mormon relations, from a Jewish perspective, the Jewish people in general and the State of Israel in particular do not have many friends in the world. Some of the decades-old Jewish alliances with mainline and liberal Christian churches over domestic American agendas such as civil rights and civil liberties are now increasingly strained due to some of these churches' involvement with overt criticism of Israel, support for Palestine's, and calls for divestiture and even boycotts of Israel, of Israeli universities and academicians, or of companies doing business in Israel. Moreover, given the resurgence of European anti-semitism, it seems to me an obvious Jewish interest to foster relations with Churches, like the Church of Jesus Christ, that have extended their hands in friendship to the Jewish people and the state of Israel and that have no history of consistent anti-semitism. Various Christian churches are struggling with, or overtly repudiating, the supersessionist theology that typified so much of their historical attitudes toward the Jewish people and Judaism. The Latter-day Saint record is far more positive. For Example:</span> </span></div><div align="left"><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews, nor any of the remnant of the house of Israel; for behold, the Lord remembereth his covenant unto them, and he will do unto them according to that which he hath sworn (</span><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/3_ne/29/8#8"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3 Nephi 29:8</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">)</span></span></blockquote></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 27px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Specifically, given the diminishing numbers of Jews in America (in absolute terms, and all the more as a proportion of the American population ), and in light of the fact that-contrary to Arab propaganda-the Jewish-Israeli lobby does not control the American congress and has never been able to stop sales of advanced weapons to Arab countries (like Saudi Arabia) hostile to Israel, it seems clear that the only true power the American Jews posses is the power of moral persuasion. Persuasion, however, requires reaching out in dialogue to a broad spectrum of communities with whom the Jews have not previously had extensive dialogue, including the Latter-day Saints, who are growing in numbers and influence.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span> Third, though of course i cannot speak for the church officially, it seems to me from my encounters as a member of the church and a Jew, that there is a growing interest among the church for a duologue with Jewish people, who occupy a special place in Mormon thought. Latter-d</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ay Saints, seeing themselves as physically descended from ancient Israel (primarily from the house of Ephraim), often feel a special kinship Jewish whom they sometimes refer to as "cousins" of "the house of Israel" of the tribe of Judah, leading them to regard themselves and Jews as "two houses of Israel". In many respects this sense of kinship is reinforced when latter-day Saints portray themselves as a new Israel, suffering persecution and wandering on the "great trek" in the wilderness until they came to an American Zion. we shall return later to this LDS topic of physical lineage. But what is no less important for Jewish-Mormon dialogue is growing :LDS effort to relate to Jews, not as an Old Testament tribe but as a living religious community.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> So for different and legitimate reasons, Latter-day Saints and Jews can recognize not only the general need for religious encounter, but also a specific common interest in a special dialogue with each other, a dialogue that will not eliminate the fundamental differences between them, but will, rather, enhance those differences with greater mutual understanding and respect.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> That special dialogue suffered a setback some years ago, when the security situation in Israel led to the closing, for the time being, of the Jerusalem Center for near Eastern Studies, despite valiant efforts of the BYU administration in Jerusalem and Provo to keep it open under difficult circumstances. The center was a major focus for Jewish-Mormon dialogue. To the best of my knowledge, no other university in the world brought some 850 young people annually to study in Jerusalem over of years. Indeed, few, if any, Israeli universities have programs for oversees students coming from all over the world that can approach that number. In fact, few colleagues in Jewish studies around the world, who are often lucky to teach a few dozen students a year, taught, as I did, 850 students every year, all of whom were potential ambassadors of goodwill in the relationship between Jews and Latter-d</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ay Saints.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Having explained why I think Jews and Latter-day Saints need to engage each other in dialogue, I would now like to describe some examples of the similarities and differences, on a general level, and then deal with two specific issues, each exemplifying both similarities and differences between the two communities. Understand each other's terminology and frame of reference in an obvious requirement for effective communication.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIDP0GQA8RmUQj04PVbx9xuP7Tm_otZGIjhr38ZHwPZEpyNNKEYMx3u3ZgGnHD6WuHZlL70hgYy5kE7NKzY_sj07OsqxOnnQo_9CdsYXf_ebI90bQayrlZmx7deh0awdh45w0HXJsro4/s1600/jerusalem_center.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIDP0GQA8RmUQj04PVbx9xuP7Tm_otZGIjhr38ZHwPZEpyNNKEYMx3u3ZgGnHD6WuHZlL70hgYy5kE7NKzY_sj07OsqxOnnQo_9CdsYXf_ebI90bQayrlZmx7deh0awdh45w0HXJsro4/s400/jerusalem_center.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 27px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Above is the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center in Jerusalem)</span></span></i></span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01236069772860022687noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-10664251896268634752010-07-04T11:18:00.000-07:002010-12-06T13:47:44.757-08:00Polygamy – Now and Then<div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Introduction to the Author</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>A warm welcome, friends, colleagues, associates, and passersby! I’m Jared, or if you will, Teleo (tell-LAY-oh), a native of the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Salt+Lake+Valley,+Salt+Lake+City,+Salt+Lake,+Utah+84116&ie=UTF8&hl=en&cd=1&geocode=FZUMbgIdMYNT-Q&split=0&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&hq=&hnear=Salt+Lake+Valley,+Salt+Lake+City,+Salt+Lake,+Utah+84116&ll=40.797177,-111.791382&spn=2.120791,4.938354&t=h&z=8">Salt Lake Valley</a> in north-central Utah. While born into an LDS family, I didn’t care much about it until by age 17 I began to experience a sensation I can only call “soul hunger.” My search for solutions led me to investigate my family’s beliefs, and over a three year period I came to know and love God my Heavenly Father, His Son, Jesus Christ, who is my Savior, and their teachings—which literally include the entire universe (and likely beyond). Any answer to life’s questions, comfort for pained souls, a savory feast for souls similarly hungering, can be found in the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Polygamy – Now and Then</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>Perhaps the most controversial topic I’ve investigated in LDS doctrine is <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/polygamy">polygamy</a>. Due to a lengthy Western history of <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/monogamy">monogamous</a> tradition on the political side, and classical Christian teaching about sexual purity and faithfulness on the religious side, surprise and indeed concern may well be expected and even validated concerning a plurality of spouses. Without a theological context, and integrating the practice with other Christian principles, the practice may easily be misunderstood and abused.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span><br />
However, thanks to the first, and <i>most</i> <i>important</i> LDS doctrine—that people can go to God in prayer, and expect divine teaching (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/james/1/6#6">James 1:6</a>, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/7/7#7">Matthew 7:7</a>, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moro/10/3-5#3">Moroni 10:3-5</a>, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/9/7-9#7">D&C 9:7-9</a>)—many so-called mysteries of divinity have been clarified, including the doctrine of polygamy.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span><a href="http://www.mormonwiki.com/Joseph_Smith">Joseph Smith</a>’s earliest religious experiences show that he was a seeker of truth and enlightenment. However, long before Joseph prayed about polygamy, he began with far more basic concepts that built, line upon line, precept upon precept, into more advanced topics. Beginning with an overview of a few of these foundation stones will allow for context as well as clarity in this essay.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wlgsx0mMXqiD7iGTVZovrGJ355JGvLvvbeNcIUYde151SvrR5eOFnkU1v49xNCbMImQBv50QWdgpnhXOrbNmNcqLi1VOy750-lIJEy43-Gzkub2SpDIfpOw1DM56wfzAGhXBgCACuas/s1600/Kilbourn-reading-james_HR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wlgsx0mMXqiD7iGTVZovrGJ355JGvLvvbeNcIUYde151SvrR5eOFnkU1v49xNCbMImQBv50QWdgpnhXOrbNmNcqLi1VOy750-lIJEy43-Gzkub2SpDIfpOw1DM56wfzAGhXBgCACuas/s320/Kilbourn-reading-james_HR.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>Like many sensitive and self-aware people through the ages, Joseph wanted to know his standing before God. Turning to the religious societies that surrounded him for guidance, (a logical enough step), Joseph found that they didn’t always agree on the methods of salvation. As a result, he was left confused, dissatisfied, and turned to one thing that they usually shared in common: belief that the Holy Bible contained God’s teachings.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>While reading a portion of that book that explained how one gained wisdom (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/james/1/5#5">James 1:5</a>), Joseph felt that this counsel was sound, and its promise true. Once he determined to follow it, he exercised his faith in God, and prayed with a sincere heart and pure intent. The answer he received was far more than he’d ever anticipated. He experienced what the Latter-day Saints (LDS) now call the “First Vision,” in which God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son appeared to Joseph and provided him with a few basic instructions to prepare for important things yet to come.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>Following this first epiphany, and now certain of the reality of God, the distinction between the Father and the Son, and this clarification of their “oneness” and disposition toward humanity, Joseph continued to pray about core parts of the gospel, and further answers came. A few examples, or “foundational building blocks,” as I will call them, include: clarifications on the doctrine of <i>repentance</i>, including our responsibility and God’s promises in this process (see <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/19">D&C Section 19</a>); questions about <i>priesthood</i> <i>governance</i> (see D&C Sections <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/84">84</a>, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/88">88</a>, and <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/107">107</a>); and <i>conditions of the afterlife</i>, eternal justice, and rewards for faithful obedience (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/john/5/29#29">John 5:29</a>, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/22/12#12">Revelation 22:12</a>, <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_cor/15/41-42#41">1 Corinthians 15:41,42</a>, and particularly <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/76">D&C Section 76</a>).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>Detailed revelations about God’s preferred methods of leadership over His kingdom ultimately led to the breadth of the cosmos, and then focused back here, on Earth, to the family circle. The culminating aspiration of a priesthood holder, it was discovered, is not the fulfillment of self by living the gospel teachings. Rather, this was a preparation, a purification, designed to help humanity understand God by working with Him to bring about the improvement of His children. Only by living gospel principles ourselves could we be enabled to <i>perpetuate</i> the work of God and His followers. No position, title, or assignment, therefore, is more vital and far-reaching as father and mother.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>Joseph learned that when parents have prepared themselves as faithful followers of Christ, their marriage is strengthened by promises between each other, as well as with God. Marriages enriched by hearts and hands that are practiced in faith and loyalty, honor and benevolence, hospitality and service, virtue and chastity, brotherly kindness and charity, unquestionably will be more godlike and worthy of God’s favor, than those that do not. Due to the aforementioned revelations about the afterlife (esp., <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/76">D&C 76</a>), the importance of eternal marriage as a help for eternal order in God’s kingdom began to be realized.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>With these preparatory steps, or foundation stones, in mind—repentance and gospel living, priesthood preparation and administration, and working toward eternal goals that continue into the afterlife—the wisdom and order of polygamy in eternity can start to be understood.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>A Christian legacy of concern about marriage relationships continuing into the afterlife, largely stemming from <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/22/30#30">Matthew 22:30</a>, led the curious Joseph Smith to pray for understanding. The official doctrine about eternal marriage and polygamy, found in <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/132">D&C 132</a>, was the answer he received. Where Jesus was more restrictive in His teachings to an unreceptive New Testament audience, He could give a much more detailed explanation to a willing and receptive audience among the Latter-day Saints.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>It is important to consider both parts of <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/132">Section 132</a> in order to appreciate the function and potential of eternal marriage and polygamy. <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/132/1-33#1">Verses 1-33</a> focus on basic eternal marriage (monogamous or polygamous), with <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/132/16#16">verse 16</a> being perhaps the most important to remember: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide in my law ye cannot attain to this glory.” In short, because marriage is complex (as any married couple will witness to, in or out of our faith), if we have not effectively learned and practiced the aforementioned gospel basics, our foundation will be unfit for continued building as eternal parents. And just as surely, if we faithfully discover, experiment, solidify, and plan, our family can effectively and securely build forever, generation after generation.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>In this fashion, we realize that it is not our foundation upon which we build, but the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/eph/2/20#20">Ephesians 2:20</a>). It is God’s Church; we are only pillars, supporters for future generations to build upon. If we through our unfaithfulness to God’s instructions fail to build securely on God’s framework, our children will have so much more difficulty securing their lives upon His teachings. And again, if we through our faithfulness learn wisdom, learn obedience, learn how to love, correct, and guide as God does, our children may not only build with confidence, but even expand upon our anchors, worlds upon worlds. This works with monogamous or polygamous eternal marriages.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>Because God wants to lift, raise, and improve all of His children, and such dependable disciples have proven the consistent minority, concerns about the millions of children who have been raised with no eternal truths or guiding principles approved by God, the solution of polygamy to raise up more children in the homes of faithful followers easily arises (see <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/jacob/2/30#30">Jacob 2:30</a>). Due to the nature of our physical creation, women have been given the ability to produce offspring, and men provide some blueprints. As a result, polygamy—one man with plural wives—will be able to rapidly expand a family, and conform to priesthood governance, as opposed to polyandry—one woman with plural husbands—which serves no such purpose, and requires a dna test to determine the father, confusing the order intended by marriage relationships.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>Obviously, in this light, polygamy is easier in theory than in practice. Indeed, history has shown that even when God commanded polygamous marriages, complications and frustrations often followed. In our fallen world, where we are in a learning and testing phase of eternal life, given a measure of freedom, instructions by God, and temptations by Lucifer so that we can learn from the difference between good and evil, we’ve seen abuses of procreation, a horrendous spectrum of emotional abuses, and challenges even in “happy” marriages. It’s easy to see how polygamy can be twisted into lechery. That’s why God taught Joseph the foundation principles first. Without them, marriage, let alone polygamy, can easily fall into chaos.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span>Perhaps polygamous relationships would be more useful in the afterlife, where God’s work of creating planets and solar systems abounds, and where peopling these planets would benefit from such marriages built upon godly foundations? In any case, it’s easy to see why polygamous marriages have been the exception throughout history, rather than the rule!</div>The Sign of Jonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17708353317700992820noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-41001599243473316722010-06-20T17:32:00.001-07:002010-06-30T11:06:54.520-07:00Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith - Faith in Christ<link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><style>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">Introduction to the Author</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As this is my first official post on this very excellent blog, I’d like to start off with a little bit of an introduction to who I am, how I got here and where I’m going. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> First off, my name is Katie Plett, and I’m from the cities of Langley, Surrey, and Maple Ridge in British Columbia, in the land known as Canada. As a little bit of a background, I first became aware of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was 13, when my mother was going through some rough times and was run into by the Sister Missionaries. She was eventually baptized, as was my little brother. My sister was in Manitoba at the time, and when she found out that our mom and brother had gotten baptized, she was enraged. She spoke to me often on the phone and told me not to listen to “the Mormons,” although at the time I didn’t need her to tell me that. I was very angry at my mother’s decision, and I let my anger drive a wedge between my brother and me. I had convinced myself before this that God didn’t care about me, and didn’t listen to my prayers; I decided since He didn’t listen to me, I wouldn’t listen to Him. The way I saw it, God was going back on the bargain I had made with Him now that the Sisters, Elders, and the Church were in my life. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> A pair of Sisters, who I will always consider “my missionaries,” asked if they could teach me, and since I had previously made a connection with them, I agreed. Much to my mother’s astonishment, she would often come home to find the Sisters teaching me – the first few times this happened she thought maybe she had forgotten about a lunch or dinner appointment with them. After a few lessons, one of the Sisters asked me how I felt when we read the Book of Mormon together, and I responded that I felt good. Excitedly, she asked if I would pray about the Book, and I said I would. Well, I didn’t. The next time we met, she eagerly asked if I had prayed, and I told her I hadn’t. It was easy to tell that this upset her, but she would cheer up and again challenge me to pray. I don’t remember how many times this happened, but one night after I went through my bedtime routine and got into bed, I found that I had lacked any ability to fall asleep. It just wasn’t happening. I turned over various thoughts in my mind but eventually came back to the Sisters challenge, and how every time I failed to pray to know whether the Book was true or not, they were actually sad, troubled, and hurt by my failure. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I remember staring at my ceiling and finally saying aloud, “What the heck?” So I knelt down and closed my eyes, and tried to think of what to say. It’s hard to explain, but while I was still organizing my thoughts and before really “commencing,” the prayer, I felt exactly what I read I would feel. The Lord says it succinctly: “<i>you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right</i>” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/9/8#8">Doctrine & Covenants 9:8</a>). This was a feeling that spread from my chest to the very tips of my fingers and toes, and I felt as though someone had put their arms around me. This was astonishing, because I was fairly convinced God had forgotten about me, and that He didn’t care whether I was troubled, or in pain, or suffering. When I met again with the Sisters, I was again asked if I had prayed. “Yes,” I said, feeling like my feet had been thrown out from under me. The Sister who asked me had a huge smile on her face, “And?” she asked. “It’s true,” I said, or rather mumbled. “So do you want to be baptized?” I felt severely humbled by my experience, but after having a relatively secret baptism (my mother only discovered it when a man in the ward walked up to her after sacrament and congratulated her on my decision), here I am coming up on 7 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Right now I’m preparing my papers to submit so I can serve a mission, which I get to do in 76 days, but who’s counting, right? Hopefully I can contribute something awesome to this blog before I leave, while still remaining spiritual about it, of course. While I’m here though, I’ll post regularly about various teachings, sermons, doctrines, etc., taught by our first President, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and when space permits, various arguments presented against his teachings by anti-Mormons and the like.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Faith in Christ</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><a href="http://ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/jesus-christ_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ginavivinetto.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/jesus-christ_1.jpg" width="224" /></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Absolutely basic, and essential really, to any Christian religion is the need of faith in Christ. This is because we were not there when Christ was born, we did not hear him teach, and we did not witness his brutal sacrifice. We do not have physical evidence to show that Christ is the Son of God, which is why we cannot authenticate, in the traditional sense of the word, Christ’s divine origin, mission, and resurrection. However, just because it cannot be proven, does not mean it is, or can be disproven. As Christians have faith that Christ existed, so do others need to have faith that he did not.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Faith is not just confidence or trust in something or someone; it is a hope that something which you cannot see is true. Paul said simply to the Hebrews, “<span class="smallcaps"><i>Now faith</i></span><i> is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen</i>” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/heb/11/1#1">Heb. 11:1</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is not enough to simply have faith that Christ is the Son of God, although that is tremendously interesting, and may help one develop faith that Christ and God exist; it does not help us in our quest to return to their presence. “<i>Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence...</i>” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/6/57#57">Moses 6:57</a>). Through the fall of Adam and Eve, sin entered the world. And because all of mankind sins, we are separated from God and Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As Christians, it is not enough to simply have faith that Christ was born, lived, and died. It is not hard to imagine someone existing. It is much harder however, to have faith that someone existed who could remove us from our sins, was resurrected, and enables us to return to God’s presence. But Christ did that, and that is what our faith needs to be based in, the fact that salvation comes to us through the sacrifice, or Atonement of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><a href="http://www.lds.org/images/Manuals/tchg-pix.nfo:o:1be.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.lds.org/images/Manuals/tchg-pix.nfo:o:1be.jpg" width="153" /></a><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By merely telling of his experiences, Joseph Smith showed his faith in, as well as bore his testimony of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith recorded that, “[he] <i>saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description... One of them spake unto </i>[him]<i>, calling </i>[him]<i> by name, and said – pointing to the other – “This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him.”</i> (<a href="http://www.boap.org/LDS/History/HTMLHistory/v1c1history.html">History of the Church, Vol. 1, pg 5</a>). During the early years of Church history, Joseph received revelations from the Lord which have been compiled into what is known today as the Doctrine and Covenants (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/introduction">Explanatory Introduction, Doctrine & Covenants</a>). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As though that is not evidence enough of Joseph Smith’s faith and the importance of Christ’s Atonement and Resurrection, Joseph Smith also lectured much on those subjects. On one such occasion, “<i>to save [himself] the trouble of repeating the same a thousand times over and over again,</i>” Joseph Smith had the following printed in the <i>Elder’s Journal</i>: “<i>The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it</i>” (History of the Church, Vol. 3, pg 30).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In what has become known as the “Wentworth Letter,” Joseph Smith reiterated the “<i>rise, progress, persecution, and faith of the Latter-day Saints</i>” (History of the Church, Vol. 4, pg 535). Parts of what he wrote then has since become regarded as “<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/a_of_f/1/1,3-4#1">The Articles of Faith</a>,” and the first, third, and fourth declare the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 72pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We believe in God the eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost... We believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. We believe that the first principle and ordinances of the Gospel are: (1) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Repentance; (3) Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; (4) Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fumlbi.org/Christ%20standing%20at%20door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.fumlbi.org/Christ%20standing%20at%20door.jpg" width="141" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Joseph Smith taught of the Atonement, Resurrection and salvation afforded us by Christ; the very concepts taught by the Bible are taught in the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, by the Prophet Joseph Smith and by every Prophet who succeeded him.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rom/10/6-11,13#6">Romans 10:6-11, 13</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="7"></a>Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="8"></a>But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="9"></a>That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="10"></a>For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="11"></a>For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36pt;"><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/hel/14/15-17#15"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Helaman 14:15-17<o:p></o:p></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="16"></a> Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="17"></a> But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/76/22-24#22">Doctrine & Covenants 76:22-24</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><i><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of [Christ], this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="23"></a> For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.do" name="24"></a> That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.stmargaretsleicester.org/IMAGES/resurrection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.stmargaretsleicester.org/IMAGES/resurrection.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> To believe that Christ was born, lived and died is just not enough. To lead us to salvation, our faith, as the scriptures teach, as Joseph Smith taught, as we are taught today by our Prophet and the Apostles, needs to be centered on Jesus Christ, that he not only was born, lived, and died, but that he atoned for our sins and was resurrected, because <i>“... if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain</i>” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_cor/15/14#14">1 Cor. 15:14</a>).</span></div>Tephrochrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09887714536640435040noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-9748564865370854642010-06-13T22:06:00.000-07:002010-06-30T11:07:20.156-07:00The Prophets in their Place<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Introduction to the Author</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>My name is<a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/14416491410261648051"> Lynden Jensen</a>. I was born in Lethbridge Alberta Canada but have moved around Canada considerable since then. Subsequently I have lived in Lloydminster AB/SK, Cornwall Prince Edward Island, Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Maple Ridge British Columbia, Las Vegas Nevada, Carlin Nevada, and now Rexburg Idaho. <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Lethbridge,+AB,+Canada&daddr=Lloydminster,+Saskatchewan,+Canada+to:Prince+Edward+Island,+Canada+to:Saskatoon,+Saskatchewan,+Canada+to:Maple+Ridge,+British+Columbia,+Canada+to:Las+Vegas,+NV+to:Carlin,+NV+to:Rexburg,+ID&geocode=FTJD9gIdkCtG-SkjzVrxSoZuUzGuvpVi43hcHA%3BFQD9LAMdgIhx-SnrAaB5sLIJUzEy1m-Xdv7tDw%3BFXiyxQIdElY4_CnFg3_U3VJeSzGGZpL01dZoqQ%3BFeKBGwMdmK-k-Skrme1Hv_YEUzGQJneVMp4EBQ%3BFVXl7gId6BOw-CnfaiZCEtSFVDHq6M0w6sOlRw%3BFdYQJwIdMJoi-SnRffWkgre-gDGjebPV5tXMOg%3BFU8-bQId4mQU-SlJOVqdXd-lgDF3yf6P7g-O9w%3BFWe7nAIdiDlW-SmxmHqASwpUUzFzHBjS0dhJSg&hl=en&mra=ls&sll=44.69637,-93.07256&sspn=31.826598,79.013672&ie=UTF8&ll=44.653023,-92.988281&spn=31.859206,79.013672&z=4">(Map of the Above)</a><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>When I was born both of my parents where members of <a href="http://www.mormon.org/">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a>. My father had converted when he was in his late teens and had served a mission to Chile. My mother, a Lethbridge native, had been a member of the church her whole life, however her mother had been a convert and subsequent immigrant from Australia after she got kicked out of her home for joining the church.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Although I was born in a condition of church and some of my most basic memories are related to church I did not receive a testimony of belief of the church until I was 14 years old and in 10th grade. It was at that point that I seriously questioned remaining in activity as I did not believe in the validity of the church. I ultimately asked in prayer to know if it was true and it was at that point that everything in my life changed. Since that point I have been rather obsessed with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I started researching about the church in my free time. I knew it was true, but I didn’t know what it was. Most of my friends at the time were atheist and had a great influence on my search both positively and negatively. Positively because they were all intelligent about their beliefs which caused me to apply critical thinking to the gospel, but negatively this was the very reason why I finally asked God if it was true, because I really didn’t logically or spiritually think so.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>As a newly converted member I strove to justify my beliefs to my friends, to logically assert the gospel, this had me running through dozens of anti-Mormon site, talking with hundreds of Anti-Mormons, viewing their claims and seeking out the answers. Although I did not find all the answers or definitive proof for God or my religion I came to a much deeper understanding of what my religion really was. As I continued to branch out I sought to understand other religions, their beliefs, their unique beneficial contributions to religion and philosophy on the idea that if my religion was then the viewing of others beliefs would only strengthen my own. I engaged in sincere interfaith dialogue with representatives or faithful member of most of the major world religions. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>When I was 19 years old I served two years as a full time Missionary in Las Vegas, and Carlin, Nevada teaching people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I Am now 21 years and attending Brigham Young University – Idaho. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>I am also the primary founder of this blog which is designed for conceptual religious exposition. I will personally be posting a blog article every month or so; I have chosen to focus on "Questions About Church History" focusing on historical issues relative to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you have any suggestions feel free to comment on this post, <a href="mailto:TheSignOfJonasBlog@Gmail.com">E-mail us</a>, <a href="mailto:Lynden_Jensen@hotmail.com">E-mail me</a>, or <a href="http://thesignofjonas.freeforums.org/">join our forum</a>. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">- - - - - - - - - - </div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The Role and Importance of The Prophets</span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hmm9e8Xc_2KF1Yhg6WLpRPHT8yKb5PhSFBsgPk1_KfcHF4hDr6ZFVXdJkwaht5VC3B9IgnGTsanlPQjSGkafBlWa3cZwIfeEyc4dDrQoZTwsnNG0nnQxIAlxk25VffuXQX6Gr-B2kjk/s1600/prophet_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hmm9e8Xc_2KF1Yhg6WLpRPHT8yKb5PhSFBsgPk1_KfcHF4hDr6ZFVXdJkwaht5VC3B9IgnGTsanlPQjSGkafBlWa3cZwIfeEyc4dDrQoZTwsnNG0nnQxIAlxk25VffuXQX6Gr-B2kjk/s320/prophet_1.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a paramount theme and doctrine is the doctrine of the prophets. Christ’s church has always been founded on the prophets, and always will. In the <i>New Testament</i> Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ taught this to the newly baptized members of the Church in the city of Ephesus:<br />
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<blockquote>“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and<i> of the household of God</i>; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone”</blockquote><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/eph/2/19-20#19">(KJV <i>Holy Bible</i>, Ephesians 2:19-20, emphasis added)</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Paul told these people that the foundation of the church that they had just joined, this “household of God” was made of three parts: Apostles, Prophets, and Jesus Christ. Having worked construction in high-rises I can appreciate better the need of a sure foundation; my grandfather died when my mother was sixteen on a construction site because the building was not structurally sound and it collapsed on him, killing him and others. Christ is the master architect and has placed at the foundation of his church Prophet and Apostles with himself, Christ, being the cornerstone or most important piece. This foundation was given, as Paul explains two chapters later for:<br />
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<blockquote>“the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: <i>That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine</i>, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ”</blockquote><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/eph/4/12-15#12">(KJV, <i>Holy Bible</i>, Ephesians 4:12-15, Emphasis Added)</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>The whole purpose of Prophets and apostles is to lead the church towards Christ in unity, to correct errors creeping in, so that the people would not be left on their own to be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. Or going back to the analogy of a building, it is the foundation, the basis, the piece that ensures the changing earth will not destroy the building. This was not a new concept; it has been since the beginning of man. In the <i>Old Testament</i> book of "Amos" it speaks of the importance of the role of the Prophets:<br />
<blockquote>“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”</blockquote><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/amos/3/7#7">(KJV, <i>Holy Bible</i>, Amos 3:7)</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>God has always through prophets and always will, it is the foundation of His gospel in the past, in the present, and in the future. As we look through many religious texts in all the periods of time we see a pattern of prophets:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge04hMeZDic3EeTgg0HRQheqUGeg_qaXITlAGTLlFa1Jy_VRdgNXRcPQ54hGwXd-7_AgLSdmfEGJtR3UtLSPaXerD50jCmFPlFc0pUa1CpZCNr_0JbZhMZCD0qYxlP0oJQfTCLmgwbDTo/s1600/The+Prophet-Pride+Cycle.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge04hMeZDic3EeTgg0HRQheqUGeg_qaXITlAGTLlFa1Jy_VRdgNXRcPQ54hGwXd-7_AgLSdmfEGJtR3UtLSPaXerD50jCmFPlFc0pUa1CpZCNr_0JbZhMZCD0qYxlP0oJQfTCLmgwbDTo/s400/The+Prophet-Pride+Cycle.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<ol><li>A man is called of God</li>
<li>The people accept him</li>
<li>The people become prosperous</li>
<li>The people become prideful</li>
<li>The people reject and cast out of the prophets</li>
<li>The people lose their prosperity</li>
<li>The People are humbled </li>
<li>The People turn to God</li>
</ol><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>History has shown us that there will always be a time when prophets are rejected and taken away; when the people reject the very stones that support them. When a structure does not have a foundation it is subject to the changes of the world, it will shift with the world, and will eventually fall.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>At the time that Paul wrote the previous letters he was one of the twelve Apostles and was also a Prophet. He fulfilled this calling as was he was supposed to; we have great evidence to that as we look at his epistles or letters, they are combating those philosophies of men that were entering into the church, he was trying to keep the Saints unified without deviation or division so that they would not go the natural way of things and pervert the doctrine of the Lord as had happened with the Jews.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>The Latter-day saints believe that we still do need Apostles and Prophets. Have persecutions and divisions ceased? Have men’s philosophies become less persuasive or prevalent? Has Christ’s church remained the one church that prophets and apostles established in Christ’s day? The answer is a clear ‘no’. We need prophets and apostles more than ever, to bring us back into the unity of faith, to stop our wandering eyes diverting from the image of the fullness of Christ. We need prophets.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Having established the basic role and importance of the prophets, particularly in Latter-day Saint theology I have found most Latter-day Saints alarmingly, if not surprisingly, ignorant of what a prophet is.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>As a missionary I found many Saints confused in their definitions of what a prophet was. So the first Question is:<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">What is a Prophet?</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>I believe the most common response to this question from a Latter-day Saint perspective would be something like this:<br />
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“A prophet is a chosen mouth piece of God to deliver his message to the whole world. He is an authoritative spokesman speaking with will of God and is given proper authority and power to do on earth what God himself would to do if he himself were there.”<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>This definition of a prophet is not entirely correct, what the above answer is portraying is the cultural use of the word in relation to the President of the Church, or the presiding prophet. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>The word “Prophet” literally means “Speaker” in the Greek root, it is a person who speaks in behalf of God but it is not nearly as narrow or constricting as many Latter-day Saints may think. Furthermore in relation popular belief that a prophet is a foreteller, or soothsayer figure, a prophet does not need to foretell events or condemn anyone to be classified as such, the role of a foreteller would be that of a seer, which will be discussed later.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Harold B. Lee, the 11th president of the church taught:<br />
<blockquote>“In a broad sense, a Prophet is one who speaks, who is inspired of God to speak in His name.”</blockquote>(Lee, Harold. “The Place of the Living, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator,” in <i>Charge to Religious Educators</i>, p. 107)<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Moses lamented for the hardheartedness and individual incapacity Israel saying:<br />
<blockquote>“Would God that <i>all the Lord’s people were prophets</i>, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!”</blockquote><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/num/11/29#29">(KJV, <i>Holy Bible</i>, Numbers 11:29, Emphasis Added)</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>John the Revelator tells us in his book of Revelation that a messenger of God came to him, as John knelt down to worship him the messenger forbade him and taught him the true meaning of a prophet saying to him:<br />
<blockquote>“See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for <i>the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy</i>.”</blockquote><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/19/10#10">(KJV, <i>Holy Bible</i>, Revelation 19:10, Emphasis Added)</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>We all, members and non-members, ought to be prophets. Being a prophet does not give us authority over anyone else; it does not give us power or influence but only is a reflection of our testimony of Jesus, and our relationship with him. You are a prophet inasmuch as you believe and obey Jesus Christ.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Being a prophet allows us to speak authoritatively from God, but it does not give us authority to speak on behalf of God to others, but only for the jurisdiction that God has given us. If we are a parent, we are a prophet for ourselves and for our children in which we are entitled to receive revelation, or divine guidance, for the family. If we are properly ordained and authorized servants of a group (such as Relief Society Presidency, Deacons Quorum Presidency, Bishop, Stake President, ect) we are entitled to revelation for that group. Thus the president of the Church is often called “The Prophet”, meaning “The Prophet with the authority to receive revelation in behalf of the whole world”.<br />
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<b>How is “The Prophet” any different than any of us?</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>When we as a cultural church say “The Prophet” we are referring to the current “Prophet of the World” (As discussed above) who is also known as “The President of the Church”. We see him as the chief administrator of Gods kingdom on earth with power and authority delegated to him from Jesus Christ. We sustain him as the president and head on earth of the Prophets Seers and revelators; he being the only one of such that independently holds all the keys and authority to administer all ordinances and rites therein. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>We have above discussed the role and definition of prophets and “The Prophet” in relation to being a prophet, but what is a Seer or Revelator?<br />
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<b>What is a Revelator?</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>The world Revelator comes from the root “reveal” meaning the Latin revelare meaning to un-veil, or to make known. This is the role of a revelator of God, to make known a previously unknown truth from God. To be a Revelator you must first be a prophet, or in other words you must first have a Testimony of God and Jesus Christ. This makes a lot of sense as it would be rather bizarre to receive knowledge from a being you neither knew nor believed in.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>From the acclaimed apostle John A. Widtsoe comes the following definition:<br />
<blockquote>“A revelator makes known, with the Lord's help, something before unknown. It may be new or forgotten truth, or a new or forgotten application of known truth to man's need. Always, the revelator deals with truth, certain truth <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/100/11#11">(D&C 100:11)</a> and always it comes with the divine stamp of approval. Revelation may be received in various ways, but it always presupposes that the revelator has so lived and conducted himself as to be in tune or harmony with the divine spirit of revelation, the spirit of truth, and therefore capable of receiving divine messages.”</blockquote><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_11646399">(Widtsoe, John. </a><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_11646399">Evidences and Reconciliations. </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_11646399">Bookcraft, 1997. Print.</a></span></i><a href="http://www.cumorah.com/language/evidencesandreconciliations.html"> P. 258)</a><br />
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<b>What is a Seer?</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>The word seer come from the root “See” meaning one that does see., in particular one who does see the things of God, things that most men do not. He is a foreseer, and fulfills the role of what many consider prophets to be.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>In the Book of Mormon Ammon teaches us:<br />
<blockquote>“…a seer is greater than a prophet… A seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.”</blockquote><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/mosiah/8/15-16#15">(<i>The Book of Mormon</i>, Mosiah 8: 15-16)</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>To be a seer is the panicle quality which man can obtain. As was said “A seer is greater than a prophet . . . and a gift which is greater can no man have . . . “. <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>John A. Widtsoe defines seers as:<br />
<blockquote>“…one who sees with spiritual eyes. He perceives the meaning of that which seems obscure to others; therefore he is an interpreter and clarifier of eternal truth. He foresees the future from the past and the present. This he does by the power of the Lord operating through him directly, or indirectly with the aid of divine instruments such as the Urim and Thummim. In short, he is one who sees, who walks in the Lord's light with open eyes. <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/mosiah/8/15-17#15">(<i>Book of Mormon</i>, Mosiah 8:15-17)</a>”</blockquote><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_11646395">(Widtsoe, John. </a><i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_11646395">Evidences and Reconciliations. </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_11646395">Bookcraft, 1997. Print.</a></span></i><a href="http://www.cumorah.com/language/evidencesandreconciliations.html"> P. 258)</a><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Conclusion</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>The role of “The Prophet” or “The President of the Church” is to be the head of Gods organization on earth; to lead and the church in this latter-day. He is the chief Prophet, Seer, and Revelator on earth; the only one such that independently holds all the keys and authority to administer all ordinances and rites therein. Through the power and authority that has been delegated to him from God, it is in turn delegated to us to bless our families.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Just as Paul defined in his letter to Ephesus it is His job, and the job of those chosen to the holy Apostleship of the Lord to keep the course steady, to warn and forward, that the Children of God may have a banner to follow, that they be no longer children tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, but be an established nation of God; to be built upon the ancient architectural foundations of Prophet and Apostle, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. That when, as Helaman proclaimed to his sons,:<br />
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<blockquote>“…the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. “</blockquote><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/hel/5/12#12">(<i>Book of Mormon</i>, Helaman 5:12)</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>It is only once we start rejecting the stones upon which we are built that we fall. God is faithful and will not leave us alone, but gives us these righteous men to lead us to receive our own revelation and assurances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do not follow any prophet blindly but have a responsibility to be a prophet unto ourselves and receive conformation and revelation in regards to Gods truth.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>God is there and he does care, he never forsakes us, but we may forsake him. <br />
<blockquote>“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. “</blockquote><a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/49/15-16#15">(KJV, <i>Holy Bible</i>, Isaiah 49:15-16)</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #121212; font-family: Garamond, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>"For thousands of years there have been constant broadcasts from heaven of vital messages of guidance and timely warnings, and there has been a certain constancy in the broadcasts from the most powerful station. Throughout all those centuries there have been times when there were prophets who tuned in and rebroadcasted to the people. The messages have never ceased.”<br />
(Spencer W. Kimball, in Conference Report, Apr. 1970, p. 121.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PjKwBoza24_L6WsE0tshYdZ-6FbwbM6fLV-W7fs_UPLFXl7SrWA7OR1n8D_7Ll7bgRkcwa1JmnxaeWzz70NeE_j0xZlQjDOnk6OzK7qnv_nd5h8MFdiRrEvNOK5IYSLb0_uQI9ZjnsQ/s1600/prophets16.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PjKwBoza24_L6WsE0tshYdZ-6FbwbM6fLV-W7fs_UPLFXl7SrWA7OR1n8D_7Ll7bgRkcwa1JmnxaeWzz70NeE_j0xZlQjDOnk6OzK7qnv_nd5h8MFdiRrEvNOK5IYSLb0_uQI9ZjnsQ/s320/prophets16.gif" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-89427611077562873702010-06-08T07:56:00.000-07:002010-06-18T18:53:35.354-07:00Gospel Scholarship: Coming Distractions<b>Gospel Scholarship: Coming Distractions</b><br />
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<img src="http://www.disneydreaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/disneys-up.jpg" /><br />
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In the recent popular Disney movie, “Up” (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/disney.go.com/disneypictures/up/">disney.go.com/disneypictures/up/</a>), we find an old gentleman who lifts his home into the sky with thousands of helium balloons, in order to settle it in his dream adventure location. Along the way, he picks up a cub scout and meets up with dogs with special collars that allow them to speak in... <i><b>Squirrel!</b></i><br />
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The heroes win in the long run because the evil dogs are prone to distraction. Their main goals often fail because of such distractions. Perhaps distractions are one of Satan’s primary tools to prevent us from becoming all we can become as sons and daughters of God.<br />
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According to statistics, in 2006 the average household watched over eight hours of television per day (<a href="http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/">http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/</a>). Imagine how that is today compounded by the number of people seeking to be entertained on IPhones, IPads, Twitter and Facebook! (see also: <a href="http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html">http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html</a> )<br />
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American University law professor Jane Raskin stated in 2004, "Everybody’s got values.... The thing that frightens me is the way that an eroding public school system ... and television on all over the place is leading to a steady dumbing down of the American public and a corrosion of basic critical thinking in the population." (<a href="http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/">http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/</a>)<br />
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I recall a few years ago giving a talk on gospel scholarship. One of the key points made was to continually be reading, learning, and questioning things. Afterward, an older lady came up and told me that she agreed how important reading was. She went on to explain how she had read hundreds of Harlequin Romance books. It took all my strength to refrain from commenting on how she totally missed the point of the lecture.<br />
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This isn’t a new problem, either. The Lord warned the Laodicians: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/rev/3/15#15">Revelation 3:15-16</a>) Today, many people are lukewarm in their testimonies because the world distracts them. They have a testimony and attend Church, but are too busy with looking at shiny objects the world dangles in front of them that they do not notice that they are spiritually adrift.<br />
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Mormon noted, “But now, behold, they are led about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they.” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/morm/5/18#18">Mormon 5:18</a>)<br />
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Ships use sails and anchors to guide and stop. In conjunction with charts and other tools, they guide a ship through dangerous waters to safe harbors. However, when sails and anchors are not used, the ship is left to aimlessly drift with the currents, distracted by every tug on the bow.<br />
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Does this make television and other entertainment evil? In many cases, no. But is it the best use of our short lives? Was our life created for us to be simply entertained? Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Twelve Apostles spoke of Martha and Mary, close friends of the mortal Lord, who had different focus. Martha busied herself cleaning house and making dinner for everyone, while Mary sat at the Savior’s feet listening. When Martha complained, Jesus explained that Mary actually had chosen the better part.<br />
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In this life there are good things, better things, and best things, according to Elder Oaks, <br />
<blockquote>“Some uses of individual and family time are better, and others are best. We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families....To our hundreds of thousands of home teachers and visiting teachers, I suggest that it is good to visit our assigned families; it is better to have a brief visit in which we teach doctrine and principle; and it is best of all to make a difference in the lives of some of those we visit. That same challenge applies to the many meetings we hold—good to hold a meeting, better to teach a principle, but best to actually improve lives as a result of the meeting. “ (<a href="http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=12d72bce258f5110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD">Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Good, Better, Best”, Ensign, Nov 2007</a>)</blockquote><br />
Are we properly using our time to its best? Are we using it to develop talents, knowledge, skills, family relationships, and serve others? Or do we spend our time seeking to be entertained and numb our minds towards the realities around us and the things of God?<br />
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What goals have we made for ourselves, our families, our jobs, our church callings? Are we just doing the bare minimum to get by, eagerly awaiting for the end of the week so we can play? Or are we making the best of each moment?<br />
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Each of us should sit down weekly and review the week, our successes and failures, and determine where we can do better in the following week. Goal setting is necessary to achieving a fulfilling life. Both long term and short term goals need to be set. How many books will you read this year, this month, this week? What kind of books? What new talents or knowledge will you develop over the next year or two? How can you improve on your home/visit teaching? Is the major babysitter in the home a television or a set of books? What can you do to make a difference in the world today? Are you hot, cold, or lukewarm?<br />
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“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith. Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God. “ (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/88/118#118">D&C 88:118-119</a>)<br />
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What is it that we should learn and why?<br />
<blockquote>“And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.<br />
“Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;<br />
Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—<br />
“That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/88/77#77">D&C 88:77-80</a>)</blockquote><br />
As we learn to focus on what is best, eventually the squirrels will no longer distract us from our true potential as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father.rameumptomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16109035792711248691noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-86886271122586563452010-06-06T17:03:00.000-07:002013-06-01T18:48:49.546-07:00The Mission and Roots of The Sign of Jonas<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>The Mission</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The Mission of The Sign of Jonas Blog, </span><span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt;">created May 16, 2010,</span><span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is to increase our secular and religious knowledge, involve others in that effort, collaborate information, and ultimately to fulfill our baptismal covenant: that through Abraham’s seed “shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of... salvation, even of life eternal” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/abr/2/11#11">Abraham 2:11</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The authors of the Sign of Jonas serve our readers, and each other. What we do for those to enrich their lives is explain the gospel and that which is gospel-related in basic, life-applicable, albeit scholarly terms; in other words, we strive to strengthen and build each other’s and our own testimonies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt;">We will strive to build an environment that is conducive to having the Spirit in attendance, </span><span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt;">and promotes open and truthful discussion</span><span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt;">; one which conveys a sense of openness, that our authors are within reach and can be engaged in a dialogue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt;">We are on an equal level with each other, and despite our various qualifications, all authors are valued equally for their individual strengths and that which they bring to the Blog. The openness of our environment will ensure that readers can and do play as important a role as our authors – without readers we would lack purpose and our goals would be left unfulfilled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: serif, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we will seek to “teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom,” that we may be “instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for [us] to understand” (<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/88/77-78#77">Doctrine and Covenants 88:77-78</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Where did you get the name "The Sign of Jonas," and what does it mean?</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The name comes from an incident recorded in the gospels in of New Testament. At this time in history Jesus was in northern Israel, around 100 miles from the city of Jerusalem. He was ministering to the people in lower Galilee. This was the area and time where Jesus fed the 5,000, walked on the Sea of Galilee, taught the Bread of Life sermon, healed various people, and fed the four thousand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxRYK9AgrBXs8Q_RMZNWWohq_33gbQjRhWxI1HvMyd8a9dvfd8KoEfBizvW7uHcS6QU9HqFSdSL-7Bx1VipTsKeTWClKV8sjtdRV5mXtq-vEdMy4EG4m3pWDksGFwoBnnaAKG4WCTcLQ/s1600/Map-Palestine-Bodies-of-Water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxRYK9AgrBXs8Q_RMZNWWohq_33gbQjRhWxI1HvMyd8a9dvfd8KoEfBizvW7uHcS6QU9HqFSdSL-7Bx1VipTsKeTWClKV8sjtdRV5mXtq-vEdMy4EG4m3pWDksGFwoBnnaAKG4WCTcLQ/s400/Map-Palestine-Bodies-of-Water.jpg" width="221" /></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">It is at this point that Jesus arrives on the coasts of Magdala or Magadan. This city was on the south western coast of the Sea of Galilee near the mount of Arbel. It was a city famed for fishing; the literal translation of Magdala meaning "Tower of Fish." It is probably most famous for being the hometown of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene">Mary of Magdalene</a>, a woman who Christ had saved from a demonized life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Christ’s reputation had spread throughout Galilee and as he began to minister in the city the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Jewish ecclesiastical leader of time, united despite some conflicting interpretations of the Law and approached Jesus to trap him, and to prove him a false prophet. They approached Jesus and told him that their desire was that he would show unto them a sign that they may know of the truthfulness of his claims. They wished for a physical manifestation of his heavenly commission. After such, they then would believe that he was who he said he was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Christ answered them saying:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring, O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?</blockquote>
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A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.”</blockquote>
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(KJV Holy Bible - <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/16/2-4#2">Matthew 16:2-4</a>, emphasis added)</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of the day for seeking for a physical sign of the truth of the prophets and their messages. He told them that the only sign that was to be given was the sign of Jonas. So who was, and what is the sign of Jonas?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jonas is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Jonah whose story is found in the Christian Old Testament book of Jonah. Jonas was a man from Gath-hepher less then a days walk from </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Magdala, he lived during the 8th century BC and was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">called as a prophet to the city of Nineveh, which was a historical enemy to Israel. Jonas was not too enthused about his calling so he decided to, in effect, run from his calling and left Israel on a ship to Tarshish (in modern day Spain, or what is alternately thought to be Turkey).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Shortly into the trip, a tempest came upon the boat. The occupants thought it was divine punishment from God, and that someone in the ship had displeased God. Eventually it was known that the perpetrator was Jonas, who came forth admitting that it was he who had upset God, and told them to cast him overboard thereby saving the occupants of the ship. He was thrown over and eaten by a fish. While he was in the fish he repented and after three days, was consequently spat out onto dry land. At this point Jonas went to preach to Nineveh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Christ's reference to this event and a future related sign can be seen as a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ was eventually crucified and laid in a tomb for the space of three days, after which he was resurrected into new life. This event is the </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">typified, </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">climatic event of the overall Atonement of God and man by and through Jesus Christ. Through this final event God and men are reconciled and have the ability to coexist together in amity. The sign of Jonas can be interpreted as the Atonement itself, which Christ says is the only sign that will be given.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In relationship to this blog it is referring to the fact that although it is academic and may be dealing with physical facts, we cannot rely on any of these things to believe in Christ. What we do have is our testimony of the only </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">sign which he gave us to know him by, The Sign of Jonas, the Atonement, breaking the chains of physical and spiritual death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Jesus demonstrates this later in that same chapter as he inquired of apostles asking:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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"Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?</blockquote>
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And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say aye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.</blockquote>
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And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."</blockquote>
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(KJV Holy Bible - <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/16/13-18#13">Matthew 16:13-18</a> Emphasis added)</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Constantly we are bombarded with like demands as were given Jesus of old. “Why do we need a prophet today when we have the old prophets?”, “If the prophets today are true, show us a sign and we will believe”, “If the Book of Mormon is true where is the evidence of it?”, “The Bible says this, which proves you wrong”. There will never be an end to questions or those who ask them in malicious desire to disprove, tear down, and destroy, seeking to justify their own faith and pride rather than build up others. The world has not much changed in 2000 years, and Christ's response says it best when answering these type of malicious questions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.”</blockquote>
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(KJV Holy Bible - <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/matt/23/29-32#29">Matthew 23:29-32</a>)</blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no hope in finding the truthfulness of this gospel through any other source than the source itself; God. It is not to be found in archaeology</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">, in logic, in philosophy, or in the words which man’s wisdom teaches, but in the still small voice of the Holy Ghost in the cavity of your own heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> The gospel is true and will go forth, no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"> The Sign of Jonas Team</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-59484183502660515622010-05-17T22:52:00.000-07:002013-06-01T18:49:24.335-07:00Application Form for Authorship on The Sign of Jonas blog<link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></link><style>
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<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">If you wish to be an author of The Sign of Jonas blog we encourage you to contact us. Sign of Jonas blog is currently looking for additional regular authors and is always seeking for guest authors: those who can only write occasionally or who wish, or are willing, to blog on a specific topic for a special incidental post.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">If you wish to contribute to either, we ask you to send us an e-mail with the following format:</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">o<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Compose a paragraph telling us who you are (name, alias, church experience, hobbies and interests: give us enough information to feel like we know you), what kind of publisher you would like to be (Regular, Occasional or One-timer), and what your current schedule and/or employ (eg. school, work, volunteer service, etc.), or possible limitations are. <u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">o<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Next, include a few subjects you would be willing to blog about (1,000-2,000 word) posts.<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">o<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> If you wish, p</span>rovide a sample of your writing on a topic of your choice <u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;">E-mail the above information as an attachment to lynden.jensen(at)gmail.com (replace "at" with the "@" sign) and wait for a response.<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> If you haven’t already, make sure you read the “<a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.com/2010/05/application-for-sign-of-jonas.html">Guidelines for The Sign of Jonas blog</a>”, which is specific to your obligations and responsibilities as an author on this blog.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> Note: If you know of anyone who would be interested in joining a organization like this, please refer them to our website.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> The Sign of Jonas Team</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"><u1:p></u1:p></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u2:p></u2:p><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Tephrochrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09887714536640435040noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193507984736616127.post-15918505381317521602010-05-17T00:35:00.000-07:002013-06-01T18:49:10.088-07:00Guidelines for Authors and Mission Statement<link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx" rel="themeData"></link><link href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CTEPHRO%7E1%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml" rel="colorSchemeMapping"></link><style>
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<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
The goal of The Sign of Jonas Blog, created May 16, 2010, is to maintain a <i>professional</i> <i>research-style</i> blog with regular, weekly publications focused on religious studies. </div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
The authors of this blog need not have unusual or supernatural abilities or intellect. The blog welcomes all who are willing to put forth effort in their publications. If you wish to write on this blog please see <a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2010/05/application-form-for-authorship-on-sign.html" target="_blank">this</a> post. The blog will strive to maintain a fair balance of scholastics and spiritualism, with each author developing his own personal balance. However, an accepted author’s publication status will not be put in question because of a lack of scholastic or spiritual content.</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
The overall goal of this blog is to have several authors contributing about once a month. The post is to be footnoted (or hyperlinked) with references (not necessarily citations but preferred) in an essay-like format. The post size will generally be a minimum of 1,000 words with a maximum of 2,000 words, supported by visuals as desired (exceptions apply). Posting, at this point, is not regulated. One may post as many or as few articles as desired.</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
The content will focus on various aspects of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a pro-Mormon blog that is to encourage and strengthen the faith of those who read it. Having said this, we encourage the writers to present opposing viewpoints, addressing common objections and concerns of, and against, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint church. The authors are encouraged to share their testimonies and feelings but should remember to strive to remain objective and honest in their publications.</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
Each author will focus on an author-chosen, and commonly agreed upon, research section for a set duration of time. The following are some examples and suggestions:</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>Early Apostolic Christianity</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>Parables of Jesus Christ</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>Prophesies of the Prophet Joseph Smith</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>Evidences of the Book of Mormon</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>Profiles of Modern Prophets</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>Latter-day Saints Current Events</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>World Religions</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>The Epistles of Paul</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>A Jewish Perspective of the Book of Mormon</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New';">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span>This Month in Church History</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
These are merely a few ideas for you to get a feel of the type of blog this would be. Please feel free to tailor a topic of your own or suggest other topics to us. It is anticipated that occasionally you will be asked to write a special publication for a specific occasion or reason in addition to your regular post. Each author will develop their own identity, unique voice and expertise on the blog and will be called upon to discuss related matters. Once again, you should anticipate a minimum of one 1,000-word blog post a month. </div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
The author is asked to administer over the comments of his or her post, to encourage discussion, to revise posts in order to maintain accuracy, to answer questions, to be a good example of Christ, and to use their discretion in the deletion of vulgar or inappropriate comments (although you are not to remove comments on the basis of opposing viewpoints). Authors are also asked to read the posts of the other authors and contribute ideas in comments when appropriate.</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
As this is a professional-style blog we ask that you maintain a professional character, using appropriate language, and material. This includes maintaining a professional air when being berated or scrutinized by antagonists of the church. The author should not get in heated debates, although they should moderate and answer questions in relation to their post: this will lay primarily under the author’s discretion.</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
As an author your primary motivation in this blog should not be popularity or acknowledgment in the public eye but personal study, the service and teaching of others. Ideally authors should be motivated independently of the reception or distribution of their works. This is essential to stay consistent and motivated in writing.</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
The above expectations are to ensure consistency and dedication. Although these are not set in stone, and will be discussed and revised prior to the launch of the blog, they are placed to ensure professionalism and establish expectations. More important than the quality or style which your research has is the consistency, professionalism, and reliability with which you hold yourself. If you desire at some point to discontinue being an author at The Sign of Jonas Blog, discuss it with you co-authors and Administrator(s), and it will be arranged and your status edited.</div>
<u1:p></u1:p> <br />
<div style="text-indent: 36pt;">
If you desire to join us at The Sign of Jonas, please click on <a href="http://signofjonas.blogspot.ca/2010/05/application-form-for-authorship-on-sign.html" target="_blank">*this*</a> to read the application post.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0