Number Associations

On Sunday, a conversation happened without provocation:
"Daddy, you are number 2. Pop and Boo are number 7."
Who are you, Hyrum?
"I am number 1."
Who is Mommy?
"Mommy is number 3."
Who is number 4?
"Althea."
Who is number 5?
"Brother F____."
Who is number 6?
"..... Pop is number 6 and Boo is number 7!"
I see.

I asked him later in the day who each of the numbers were. He moved Bro. F___ up to #5 and his daughter (Althea) to #4. We give them rides to church on Sunday and he was thinking about them when he made the first numbering system. He held to the numbers on Tuesday.

The fun part is when I ask him:
Who is number 8?
"I don't remember!" *face palm*


Another day this week he and Joy got out his number puzzle. He pulled out the numbers one by one and said
"#1 How we got the Book of Mormon.
#2 Lehi warns the people.
#3 Lehi Leaves Jerusalem...."

And so on through as many chapters of his Book of Mormon stories book as he could remember. Every day for Jesus Time we've been reading from one of his scripture stories book, and lately Joy added to that letting him play on the computer (!!!!) with a Book of Mormon stories CD that will read the stories to him and let him click on words. He particularly likes #14 Abinadi and King Noah and #20 Alma and Nehor.

Today when the father of King Lamoni "got angrier and drew his sword to kill Lamoni" Hyrum recognized the word pattern and said it was just like Nehor who "got angry and drew his sword.and killed Gideon." Wow. His favorite Nehor picture is attached. He makes a point of telling us which pictures and which pages in books are his favorite.



Joy wonders what it will be like when we introduce him to The Prisoner! ROFL.

Comment on the road to Damascus

Pres. Uchtdorf spoke about us "waiting on the road to Damascus" for a Paul-like heavenly manifestation that wipes out our doubt. He commented, among other things, that we gain a knowledge of truth by living it and moving forward, that answers come on our feet as often as on our knees.

I note that when Saul was on the road to Damascus, he was on his feet, doing the things he believed God wanted him to do. It was in that circumstance that God turned him around.

LDS Symposium on the Bible

An annual religious symposium at Brigham Young University focused on the reverence Mormons show for the Bible, and the King James Version (KJV) in particular which turns 400 this year. Three of the talks referenced by the Church News stood out to me.

Prof/Brother/Mr. Millet discussed the issue of errors in transmission of the Bible:

"The question is not whether there have been scribal errors through the centuries; there have been," he said. "The question is not whether the Bible is the word of God; it is. The question is not whether the Bible can be relied upon with confidence if, in fact, there have been errors in the text; it can."
He said, "We do not believe the Bible must be translated perfectly to be spiritually normative and eternally valuable. ... For that matter, while we accept the Book of Mormon [and other LDS cannon] as holy scripture, we would not rush to proclaim their inerrancy. The marvel is the greater that an infinite and perfect God can work through finite and imperfect humans to deliver His word to His children."...
"Clearly, many factors impacted the prophetic message: personality, experience, vocabulary, literary talent," Brother Millet remarked. "The word of the Lord as spoken through Isaiah is quite different from the word of the Lord as spoken through Luke, and both are different from that written by Jeremiah or Mark. ... The LDS concern with the ancients is not the perfection with which such messages were recorded, but with the inspiration behind the message. ...
"In other words, knowing that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and the fact that He spoke to them at all, however well or poorly it may have been recorded, attests that He can speak to men and women in the here and now. After all, the Bible is only black ink on white paper until the Spirit of God illuminates its true meaning to us."

 Prof/Bro/Mr Belnap discusses the use of King James language and prose in the Book of Mormon. Other cultures and languages do not use the KJV but because the Book of Mormon was written using KJV cadence, syntax, vocabulary, and often quotations (though several witnesses attest Joseph Smith never had a copy of the Bible with him while translating) the language of the KJV becomes the Church standard throughout the world. He also talked about Nephi's vision of the Bible in America and the probability that it was the KJV specifically to which he referred. The article closes with his suggestion that one reason the KJV was popular with the colonists was that, unlike the Geneva Bible that preceded it, it did not contain numerous annotations telling people what they were supposed to think about each verse, leaving them free to independent study and prayer.

Prof/Bro/Mr Tanner provides evidence that the KJV was written specifically in order to sound authoritative and scriptural, to have an ancient veneer about it, and was translated in part with its aural qualities in mind. The KJV was deliberately assigned to become the official church Bible of the time, to be read from the pulpit and give added authority to the preacher. While he points this out as a contrast with the Tyndale Bible which was intended for personal study, the KJV translators retained such enormous portions of the Tyndale translation (~90%) that it would be easy to overstate the contrast.

More quotes (1)

A few more quotes from Understanding the Book of Mormon. At some point in my reading, I realized I wasn't underling in my usual style, so I am going back through to catch some other things that struck my notice and marking some other parts for my own scripture study. Anything after this is either quoting Hardy or someone Hardy quotes:

The Book of Mormon should rank among the great achievements of American literature, but is has never been accorded the status it deserves, since Mormons deny Joseph Smith's authorship, and non-Mormons, dismissing the book as a fraud, have been more likely to ridicule than to read it.

-- Daniel Walker Howe

The reader must begin this book with an act of faith and end it with an act of charity. We ask him to believe in the sincerity and authenticity of this preface, affirming in return his prerogative to be skeptical of all that follows it.

-- John Barth in Giles Goat-boy


[The Book of Mormon] is basically is a tragedy. If there is any validity to the Talmud's observation that the phrase "it came to pass" signals impending trouble, we know that things will not turn out well in the Book of Mormon. ...

Although at times latter-day Saints want to speak of God as "the primary author of the Book of Mormon," clearly the Book of Mormon is not like the Qur'an, with God speaking in the first person (or even like Joseph's own revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, for that matter). Rather, the word of God is articulated by very human narrators who continually draw attention to the editorial choices they have made.

Thoughts from "Understanding the Book of Mormon"

I reviewed Hardy's Understanding the Book of Mormon last week and today wanted to write up some of my notes from it. You may recall I argued that the book is less about understanding the Book of Mormon and more about a literary analysis of the narrators of the Book. So let's open with a quotation he pulls out about what literary analysis is:

"[Literary interpretation] is not a matter of discovering truths about a world so much as assigning thematic significance to component parts of a work. It is a search for coherence and sense. It involves making connections by subsuming more and more elements in a work under a network of thematic elements.

To someone like Joy, the admission that he is reading scripture without trying for Truth but mere thematic significance is "pointless." But let us allow him to make his case that studying the narrators is interesting at least. He makes an interesting point starting out about one of the key differences between the Bible and the Book of Mormon in terms of tone and narration, which is why he wants to interest us in the narrators:

The narrators in the Hebrew Bible are anonymous, omniscient, reticent, and unobtrusive. They speak from no particular time or place, reporting words, actions, and secret thoughts (even, at times, what God is thinking). They rarely comment on the story, offer judgments, mention themselves, refer to their own editing, or address their audience directly. We are seldom told how we should react to specific incidents, and as a result, biblical narratives are generally open to multiple readings and interpretations. This is part of the literary appeal. ... [In the Book of Mormon] the first round of interpretation has been done for us... . In summary, we might say that while the Bible appears to be divine in its authorship and human in its textual transmission, the Book of Mormon seems to be just the opposite -- it claims to have been written by specific, historical individuals but was transmitted to modern readers through divine intervention.

Unlike in the Bible, the narrators in the Book of Mormon are known characters with purposes, agendas, and limitations. I'll put some of his thoughts about those narrators below the fold if you want to keep reading:

Book Review: Understanding the Book of Mormon

For Christmas I got Grant Hardy's Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide. It came recommended by Bushman, a name I respect even if I haven't read his work yet, and looked like a different kind of scriptural study than I had done before. Hardy was the chief editor of the Reader's Edition of the Book of Mormon published a few years ago, so he is intimately familiar with it and its structure in ways few others are.

I like it overall and there are several parts of it that I'm going to take particular note of and jot in my own scriptures; but it also has some pretty large flaws (to my way of thinking) that prevent me from universally recommending it. In this post I'm going to talk about the book itself and in another I'll stick to specific things he talks about that I want to comment on or remember.

Making Lemonade, Carping Diem, and Improving Shining Moments

Joy and Hyrum were talking to Grandma Boo via webcam when I texted them that I was done with my seminar and could they please come pick me up from school so we could have some family time before I left again for home teaching and got back to our job market. (This all was planned and FHE was Sunday). Joy excitedly said goodbye and raced out the door with Hyrum ... leaving her keys inside the locked house. Oops.

It was chilly and neither of them had sweaters. She decided they would stay warmer if they walked out to meet me along the way. So she encouraged Hy to jog along beside her up the hill and down the road to meet me.

I had also started walking home as I usually do so we can meet each other all the sooner. Last night it was a good thing too! We met up outside the school and decided we might as well have family fun time on the move. Hyrum wore my sweater as he rode my shoulders and we talked and made merry. We paused at one point to admire a noble buck in a grassy field just at the crest of the hill, with autumnal trees and a rising moon in the background. It was quite impressive.

Normally we read the scriptures, but none were at hand, so we told Hyrum about the scriptures we were reading. Joy told him about Enos and I told him about Peter blessing the lame man at the temple. A good time was had by all.

Then this morning I went to wake Hyrum. While we read his scriptures, he paused to tell me "Peter goes to the temple." Why, yes he did, Hy. What did Peter do at the temple? "Blessed the man who couldn't walk." And what happened? "He stood up and walked!" Was he happy? "Oh yes!"

A good time was had by all.

It came to pass

Pop was in a Sunday School class once when a woman shared that her favorite phrase from scripture was "And it came to pass," which opens far more verses in the Book of Mormon than any sane author would have written if he were trying to get on the bestsellers list. Wars, famines, sorrows, peace, prosperity, life ... it all comes and passes. Whatever we are going through will pass, and she found that very comforting.

Last week I was diagnosed with a parasite. I dutifully took my pills and it should have passed away by now.

But the doc thinks that isn't what's wrong with me. It's irritable bowel syndrome caused by job market stress. So I'm looking forward to another 6 months of disgusting symptoms and Metamucil. And then it will come to pass.

Yesterday I had a strange pain in my back, but it went away after a short nap. Just before bed, it started coming back. Then suddenly it hit with full force. I couldn't find any position that relieved the pain. Nothing helped. Screaming and whimpering in agony, I phoned my parents for a priesthood blessing and their counsel to hurry to the ER. Home teachers came to guard sleeping Hyrum while Joy and I spent a sleepless night at the hospital. I have never known such prolonged agony as I waited for them to admit me. But being in the waiting room and the dry and less-dry heaves finally came to pass.

Kidney stones, the CT scan said. Here, have some more drugs and some antibiotics for your infections. Oh what instant bliss and relief! Huzzah for narcotics! The pain came to pass.

The night passed away without sleep. One of my smiling nurses explained that she has had 3 children and 4 kidney stones. The kidney stones hurt worse, there's precious little you can do to prepare for them or prevent them, and nothing much anyone can do other than give you a CT scan and some narcotics. But they come to pass.


For Joy, as emotionally effected and drained by the night's events as I was, church and her myriad responsibilities passed away and she survived.

A 3mm stone is hanging around somewhere inside me, waiting to be passed. And then it will all have come to pass. Until another one comes. And passes.


A song and favorite poem, "Even This Shall Pass Away," on the subject.

Recitation: Doc & Cov 101:16

For those who don't speak toddler, that's

"Doctrine and Covenants 101:16 says, 'Therefore let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God."

We've explained to him that when we remember that God is our Father and that He loves us, we can have peace and be still even when things aren't going well.

Next up: John 3:16 (Why he's learning this)

My Favorite Part of the Day

Hi there. Hy here to tell you about my favorite part of the day:

About a month ago, Daddy decided I was old enough to appreciate a Magic Time from his childhood known as Family Fun Time. While Family Home Evening happens every week - with a lesson, song, scriptures, prayer, activity, and dessert - Family Fun Time happens every night. We read a little from the grownups' Book of Mormon, Daddy explains it and Mommy ties it into Jesus ... and then we have fun!

"Fam'y Fun Time" is one of the first things I ask for after breakfast. Mommy says, "He is completely insane about Family Fun Time." I ask for it whenever I see Daddy after breakfast and it's one of the first things I say to Mommy. If both Mommy and Daddy are home, we could have Family Fun Time! I clap when he announces that it's Time.

We take turns choosing the fun. Mommy likes watching VeggieTales and bouncing on their bed. Daddy likes taking me outside to play or exercise or playing a video game. He taught me all about The Train Game: Sid Meier's Railroads. I just want to watch the intro movie over and over again. I tell Mommy and Daddy about the "tracks." I'm also very excited about the towns we've built to and changing the color of the trains. "Blue train," "green train," etc. Tonight for FHE, Daddy showed me on a map where temples are in the USA, including three in Columbus, Detroit, and Chicago. After introducing each one, I said, "Like in train game."

Sometimes I ask for movies we've seen, like Peter Pan's "You Can Fly" or a scene from Mary Poppins. Sometimes I ask for Candy Land. Sometimes I want to play in the rice. Once or twice I've asked to color with Mommy and Daddy. Basically, whatever I wanted to do during the day but couldn't because it was the wrong time.

I never want Family Fun Time to end. Now I say in every prayer, "Thank Thee Mommy Daddy."

My Morning

Hi there. Hy here.

My day starts somewhere between 5am and 6:30. When I wake up, I find my room spotlessly clean, my door wide open, and a gate that keeps me from getting out. This isn't a problem though. I go to the edge of the gate and look up. There, perched on top of the washing machine just above my head, is a massive pile of books and a couple toys, one of them usually involving the alphabet. Daddy puts them there when he checks on me at night, opens the door to cool off my room (or heat it up in winter), and puts the gate in place. I pull them down one at a time (sometimes ten at a time) and spend a while quietly reading and playing.

Enough is enough, though. Eventually I call out, "Daddy, come in!" If he or Mommy wake up before 7, they come to tell me it isn't time for them to get me yet and close my door. If not, Daddy will drag himself across the floor, inform me that he needs to go to the bathroom and pray and then he'll be with me. "Okay!" I shout, and then continue asking him to "Come in." Daddy has taught me to say, "Good morning," when I see him or Mommy.

When Daddy comes in, I tell him all about my morning. Today, for instance, I told him, "I found a picture." It was an ad for the Disney Movie Club. It has a picture of Peter Pan and Mickey Mouse. I told Daddy I wanted the picture on my wall, and then I placed it on the wall like Mommy did when she was decorating.

After talking a little, Daddy and I read the scriptures - one of the children's versions. I best like stories about the temple or people singing. Then Daddy sings to me and I say my morning prayer. Daddy changes my diaper and dresses me. He used to ask me which I wanted to do first, and what after that and after that and... but I always asked for things in that order, so he figured it out eventually. After the in-room routine, Daddy lets me out to watch the scriptures on TV and then 10 minutes of some movie. Right now we're watching Ratatouille, which I can say. "Ratatouille. See?" If I haven't seen Mommy by the time we leave the room, I go in search of her. After the TV, I have breakfast.

Breakfast is usually yogurt, peaches, applesauce, or cookie dough. I drink apple juice and also chocolate milk that I mix myself. After breakfast, I play by myself for a few minutes while Mommy and Daddy have breakfast and Daddy gets ready to go to work. Then Mommy and I play and work for the rest of the morning. I usually get some time to write, draw, or color at some point in the morning.

Don't mock me, Daddy

Hi there. Hy here.

This conversation has happened one too many times as far as I'm concerned:

D: Hyrum, do you want to read scriptures?
H: Read scriptures.
D: Oh, you want to read shickers?
H: No, read scriptures.
D: Shickers.
H: No!
D: Scriptures?
H: Read scriptures.
D: Okay, read shickers.
H: No!

I'm only two. Gimme a break, Dad. I'm doing the best I can.

What God Did Not Say

 God did not say "Free-range your passions - it's organic, man." Instead, we are warned that the all-natural man is an enemy.

So there need to be limits. But God also did not say "Put your passions on a leash," which would imply giving them free reign within a certain sphere.

But He also did not say "Muzzle your passions," which would be never listening to them or unhealthy suppression.




"Bridle your passions" expresses a working relationship between spirit and body, between conscience and mind, heart, stomach, and any other bodily organ. We are to learn how to bring ourselves into submission until such time as rider and horse are one.

Joseph's Last Testimony

The Church has done a wonderful job, putting movie to Elder Holland's recent testimony of the Book of Mormon.

I know it to be true as well. How thankful I am for that companion to the Bible and my own witness of both works of holy writ. What strength and comfort they have given me, what knowledge of God and His purposes. I love the Book of Mormon. I love the prophet Joseph and my Savior Jesus.


To find out more or for your own, free copy of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ or The Holy Bible, see the appropriate link.

Strength in Weakness

I was reading up about "firmness" in the Book of Mormon yesterday on our way to the Palmyra Temple. I noticed the people of Ammon, who became known for the firmness in the faith of Christ. Mormon gives us as the symbol of that firmness their burying their weapons of war. Immediately after the king encourages them to do so, in fact, is when Mormon tells us of their firmness in keeping their commitments.

It struck me that if the people of Ammon had God-like firmness, there really would have been no need to bury their weapons. No matter what, they wouldn't use them, so why go to the trouble?

Instead, they recognized that their firmness was not perfect. The king's speech is entirely about how grateful they are that God has forgiven them and the terrible consequences if they should stain their weapons with blood again. So as a commitment device, they bury them, lest they become tempted to take up their weapons again, lest in seeing their families and friends being slaughtered by the marauders who will hit them on the very next page, they break their oath and take up the weapons - even in self-defense. To make sure that weakness wouldn't overtake them, they buried their weapons.

They became firm because they acknowledged their weakness and took steps to neutralize it. Just as courage is not the absence of fear, strength is not the absence of weakness. They were strong, not because there was no weakness, but because they responded to their weakness in a way that made them strong.

First Impressions of a Savior

Imagine that you were introducing Jesus as our Savior to someone for the first time. Maybe they had heard fragmented accounts of some stories in the Bible, maybe not. What is the very first thing you would want to tell them about Jesus?

I picked up my New Testament again tonight and thought about that question as I read Matthew 1:1. The first thing Matthew tells us is that Jesus is "the son of David, the son of Abraham," and then he goes through the genealogy chronologically. Jesus is the son and heir of the king of Israel and an heir of the covenant of Abraham. But he is more. He is the author of that covenant - the "author and finisher of our faith." He is the King of Israel in whose stead David stood, this being the answer to Jesus' question: If the Christ is the son of David, why does David call him Lord? (Matt 22:41-46). Jesus is our king, our lawgiver twice over, and the one to whom our fathers looked. That's a lot to pack into eight words, i'n' it?

Mark and Luke both start with John the Baptist, but in very different ways. Mark begins with John's testimony that Jesus' mission was to remit sins, to baptize with fire and the Holy Ghost, and his witness that God Himself called Jesus His Son. Luke begins yet earlier with John's father, Zacharias, entering the temple to petition God. The angel declared that his prayers had been heard. What was it the priest was to pray for when he entered the temple? For the redemption of the people, a redemption heralded by two births in the same extended family. Jesus would redeem His people.

John focuses on who Jesus was before He came to earth: the Word, of God and God in His own right, the Creator, the Light and the Life, the only way whereby we can return to God and receive of His fullness. Deep and wonderful doctrines that require more chewing than I'm planning on for a blog post.

So then I got thinking about the Book of Mormon. I realized one of the primary differences between the Gospels authors and the Book of Mormon authors is that the Gospels authors are very third-person and hidden in the background (John does his dead-level best to hide his own name and the others try to avoid mention of themselves as well) while the Book of Mormon is much more first-person: this is me and my life. The thing that I realized we don't have in the New Testament is what might be termed a personal narrative: I came to Jesus with this question and this is what He said to me; I had this weakness and this is how Jesus taught me, healed me, trained me, changed me. Rather, the authors of the Gospels tell His interactions with others and group interactions in which the author can hide. On the other hand, Nephi, at the end of the first chapter, tells us his purpose is to show rather than tell how the Lord's tender mercies have been over him and his family. It's an account of God's dealings with people in the first person.

I'm very thankful to have both: records about Jesus and His life and records about other people and their relationship with their Savior. What a beautiful complementarity!

So that was one verse of my scripture study today. On to verse 2! :)

Scripture Stories for Toddlers: God said "yes" edition

Hi there. Hy here. Daddy told me a lot of stories yesterday at the temple and I wanted to remember them. Since I turn two this week and am a full-fledged toddler, I'm discovering the power of the word, "no." Daddy said he wanted me to learn the power of "yes."
----------
Jonah was a missionary. God told Jonah to go over there. Jonah said "no" and ran away. God said, "yes" and he sent a big fish. The big fish swallowed up Jonah *NOM*. Jonah said, "I'm sorry. I'll go over there. Will you forgive me?" God said, "yes" and the big fish spat Jonah up *ptooie*. Jonah went to the people and told them about God. He said God would forgive them if they were good. They were happy to hear about God. They repented and God was happy.
----------
Moses was a prophet. God told Moses to save His people from Egypt. Moses said to Pharaoh, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said, "no." God said, "yes" and made all the water blood.
Moses said to Pharaoh, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said, "no." God said, "yes" and sent frogs. *ribbit ribbit*
Moses said, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said, "no." God said, "yes" and sent a lot of flies *buzz buzz*.
Moses said, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said, "no." God said, "yes" and sent hail - little pellets of snow that hurt *poke poke poke poke poke*.
Moses said, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said, "no." God said, "yes" and made everything dark. (At some point, the toddler catches on and will repeat the phrases for each character.)
Moses said, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said, "no." God said, "yes" and he told Moses how to save their boys. Pharaoh didn't listen and his son died. Pharaoh was very sad.
Moses said, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said, "okay."
Moses led them to God and they were happy.
------------
God told Lehi to send his sons over there to get the brass plates. Lehi asked Laman if he would go. Laman said, "no." Lehi asked Lemuel if he would go. Lemuel said, "no." Lehi asked Nephi if he would go. Nephi said, "yes." So they went to Jerusalem to get the plates. They asked Laban if he would share the plates. Laban said "no" and attacked them. They told Laban they would share their toys if Laban shared the plates with them. Laban said "no" and attacked them. Laban stole their toys. He was a bad man. Nephi wanted to try again. Laman said, "no" and was mean. Lemuel said "no" and was mean. God sent an angel. The angel said "yes; and you should be soft with your brother." Nephi tried again. He found Laban asleep. God killed Laban. Nephi went to Laban's house and asked Zoram if he would share the plates. Zoram said, "yes" so they all went back home and were happy to have the scriptures.
-----------
Paul was not a nice man. When someone asked him if he believed in Jesus, Paul said, "no" and hurt them. Paul went around trying to find people who believed in Jesus and hurt them. Then one day, Jesus talked to Paul and said, "hello." Paul said, "Who are you?" Jesus said, "I'm Jesus. Please be soft." Paul said, "I'm sorry. I'll be soft. Will you forgive me?" Jesus said, "yes." But Paul couldn't see anymore. His friends took him to town.
God came to one of his friends and told him to make Paul all better. God's friend said, "yes" and went to see Paul. He asked if Paul believed in Jesus. Paul said, "yes" and God's friend put his hands on Paul's head and blessed him so he could see again. Paul was very happy.

Derrill on Nibley: Intro

Let me start with Nibley's concluding comments from the chapter I just finished reading whose notes I'm about to type up and share in the next post. In 1816, the American Bible Association decided that the apocrypha (a group of writings that claimed Biblical authority but were not in the generally accepted canon, though there's disagreement about that also since my German Catholic Bible includes several 'apocryphal' works in it too) were the work of the devil, and essentially all publication or discussion of them ceased in the US. In 1945, the last living apocrypha scholar said it was time to close the door on them and let them sink into nothingness. Then in 1946 great discoveries were made to vindicate much of the work and a new era of research into them began.

When in 1833 Joseph Smith asked God what if anything he should do with the apocrypha, God's answer was (D&C 91): "There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly; There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolatinos by the hands of men. ... Whose is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom."

So finding the truth in them is left to us by the manifstation of God's Holy Spirit. One of the things I most value in Nibley's work has been to dig through the many apocryphal writings and pull out gems that unite with truths we have in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and other modern revelation.

In this chapter, Nibley goes through a bunch of areas where the apocrypha supports the Book of Mormon. Many of them are 'oddities' about the Book of Mormon that have given skeptics pause. From the apocrypha, we learn that they really aren't oddities at all, but that Lehi, Nephi, and all the rest of them in the Book of Mormon fall into distinct, recognizable patterns of thought, speech, symbolism, and custom that were common in the ancient world but which you cannot find in the Bible and were complelety unknown in Joseph Smith's days. These are therefore intellecutal underpinnings that support a testimony of the historicity of the Book of Mormon and Joseph's prophetic call.

They also support the LDS claim that the gospel of Jesus Christ was known anciently - that Adam believed in Jesus Christ, as did Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and other prophets and faithful people from Adam's day to this. A common pattern was had in those days we term 'in the beginning,' a pattern that was spread throughout the earth in themes and variations among just about every ancient culture and civilization. (The LDS answer to Jung given years before Jung was nothing more than a Freudian slip in his father's mouth.)

These evidences are not themselves a testimony, but they support and strengthen one that already exists.

So that's the introduction. The next post has the meat.

Nibley on "Rediscovery of the Apocrypha and the Book of Mormon"

The world today has forgotten that the most shocking and offensive thing about the Book of Mormon was what? For years and years, nobody could find any objectionable teachings in it. So what were they so upset about? It was this: It presented a completely unfamiliar set of scripture and revelation - a completely new idea of scripture. ... This is the thing people resented. But this is exactly what we run into in the newly discovered apocryphal texts. ...

The world says that the documents of the Bible, properly selected and evaluated, are the word of God. But they select the documents! So we go around in a circle, declaring these to be the word of God, insomuch as they're properly selected and evaluated. But who selects and evaluates? Oh, we do! We make our own word of God. That is what it amounts to. ... The Book of Mormon breaks right into that - coming in from the outside, having nothing to do with any of the formal concepts of scripture. It's a completely jarring note, and it's a remarkable document. ...

[Following are more-than-bullet-points of the main common themes in the apocrypha also found in the Book of Mormon. This picture, which I got here, is of metal plates written on in ancient Etruscan, about 600BC - Lehi's day. Another support of Joseph's story that was not known until after the Book of Mormon was published.]

Fasting, Joy, and Gifts

This post has been moved to our new family blog.