Steve Densley
John Thompson
Jeff Lindsay
Brant Gardner
In the November 24, 2024 episode of The Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts are Steve Densley and John Thompson, with special guests Brant Gardner and Jeff Lindsay. They discuss the recent book review articles by Brant and Jeff in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship and Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon lesson 51. You can listen to or download the November 24th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These audio tracks are also included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast).
The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.
Original air date: November 24, 2024. These recordings have been edited to remove commercial breaks.
| Discussion: “Trust Us, We’re Lawyers: Lucas and Neville on the Translation of the Book of Mormon” by Brant Gardner and “Through a Glass Darkly: Restoring Translation to the Restoration?” by Jeff Lindsay in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. | |
 |
Podcast: Download |
| The Book of Mormon in Context Lesson 51: “Come unto Christ, and Be Perfected in Him” covering Moroni 10 | |
|
Podcast: Download |
The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.
The assertion that Moroni carried the gold plates with him in his wanderings for 40 years is untenable and not supported by the text.
1. If the plates had been jostling and rubbing against each other as Moroni walked our jogged for 40 years, they would have become unreadable.
2. He said that he had not intended to write more after he had translated the Book of Ether, and then added, “But I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me” (Moroni 1:1). Thinking that the Lamanites might destroy him, it would have been gross negligence for him to be carrying the plates in his wanderings. Also, he was obviously still in Lamanite territory when he wrote that.
3. He said that he translated the book of Ether, “from the twenty-four gold plates found by the people of Limhi” (Ether 1:2). That would require Moroni to be back at the Cumorah Library when he made the translation.
4. In addition to the Book of Ether, Moroni also wrote, “The very things which the brother of Jared saw.” Which required he have access to the wrings of the brother of Jared. This is the sealed portion of the Gold Plates which is larger than the plates he received from his father.
5. In his own book, Moroni quotes verbatim from the words of Christ to His apostles and the words of their administering and blessings, which would require access to those records.
6. Moroni also quotes verbatim, words that Mormon spoke in a synagogue, and two other epistles that Mormon wrote.
Moroni obviously had to leave the Cumorah Library to find food, and skins for clothing, etc., and he may have wandered a great distance for other purposes. However, it appears obvious that he returned to the Cumorah Library to finish his writings and to bury the plates. There is no evidence in the text that he carried the gold plates with him in his wanderings.
Thank you for those thought provoking comments