Amos, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Elijah

Bennion’s response to Melodie Moench Charles’s “The Mormon Christianizing of the Old Testament, which appeared in Sunstone.

Criticism of the way Mormons interpret the Old Testament to support their views

Reprinted in Old Testament and Related Studies, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 1. 87–114.
An address given at the BYU Women’s Conference, 1 February 1980.

Reprinted in Old Testament and Related Studies, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 1.
A controversial examination of evolution and the Latter-day Saint view on creation and the various roles of Adam.

The creation of man

The Sunday School Supplement on the Mosaic Hypothesis of authorship

Letter to the editor that criticizes Melodie Moench Charles’s article “The Mormon Christianizing of the Old Testament, which appeared in Sunstone.

Selections from this book can be found in Sunstone 6 (May–June 1981): 56–58

Time line

A brief background and answers to commonly asked questions about each book

Republished in 2000 in a second edition with new materials and illustrations as Abraham in Egypt, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 14.
Nibley examines the Book of Abraham’s striking connections with ancient texts and Egyptian religion and culture.

The creation of the earth was repetitiously celebrated in rituals in civilizations of the ancient Near East—Babylon, Assyria, Persia, and Israel. Sources suggest that in Israel, perhaps as early as the Second Temple period, laymen recited the Genesis creation story while priests were offering sacrifices. The laymen were expected to recite the account in towns far away from Jerusalem for the benefit of those who could not go to the holy city. Hearing about the creation enabled listeners to experience a renewal of creation in their own setting.

Extensive bibliography

Adam, Moses, Abraham, and Noah in apocryphal writings and traditions

A team of scholars analyze chiasmus in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and the Book of Mormon. Includes extensive bibliography and register of chiastic passages in many literatures.

A study of texts from biblical, classical, and other literatures

The Sunday School Supplement on the Rod of Aaron, an apocryphal account of Adam and the origin of sacrifice, cultural borrowing, and the Levitical Endowment

Joseph Smith’s study of Hebrew is related to the translation of the Book of Abraham

Tabs as inexpensive aids to scripture study

A letter to the editor agreeing with Melodie Moench Charles’s article “The Mormon Christianizing of the Old Testament,” which also appeared in Sunstone.

Blake Ostler examines what relationship exists between the papyri of the ancient Egyptian Book of Breathings possessed by Joseph Smith and the Book of Abraham. Ostler finds that Joseph Smith, in associating vignettes of the Book of the Dead to explain Abraham’s experiences, was actually duplicating an ancient practice about which he could not have known from secular sources available in his day.

Reprinted as “The Lachish Letters,” in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8. 380–406.
Suggests connections between the Lachish letters written at the time Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and events associated with Lehi’s departure. Includes political pressures on prophets, types of proper names, and a possible identification of Mulek.

Pre-Adamites, the location and return of the Ten Tribes, and the forbidden fruit

Major themes from the book of Isaiah and a computer study of the authorship of Isaiah

Roy Johnson examines the rituals and formulas of oaths, types of oaths, and the use of oaths in both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon. Johnson compares the use of oaths, curses, and covenants in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon to show that the relationship among those three acts is the same in both books.

Chapter-by-chapter commentary

Includes Noah’s ministry as the angel Gabriel

An explanation of the three degress of righteousness using Old Testament stories, specifically Adamic stories to show them.

A review of Avraham Gileadi’s The Apocalyptic Book of Isaiah, A New Translation and Interpretative Key (Provo, UT: Hebraeus Press, 1982).

How faith gives strength to avoid the natural fight or flight syndrome

Consistency of gospel truths in all standard works

Consistency of gospel truths in all standard works

Genesis 10 and 46 as a basis for the office

Using the Book of Mormon as a bridge between the Old Testament and us

The story of Saul as a literary work of tragedy

A challenge to Anthony Hutchinson’s article “LDS Approaches to the Holy Bible,” published in Dialogue.

Integrity as evidenced in the lives of Old Testament people

The Book of Mormon theme “Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land” evidenced in the Bible

The story of Job is an example for those wanting to know the Lord’s will

Some of the Andean Indians also have versions of the Flood story

The reality of prophecy is disputed by scholars but is ultimately a matter of faith

Emphasis on temples and sealing keys

The law of obedience and sacrifice today

Isaiah’s prophecies reviewed in their historical context and compared with the later meanings attached by Christians and Mormons

Insights from the Old Testament that can help today’s children

Early LDS interpretations of the Bible

A description of the Abrahamic covenant and who its heirs are

Similarities between LDS doctrines and the Dead Sea Scrolls do not prove that Qumran had the gospel

A brief note in the History of the Church under the date of Sunday, 3 April 1836, records the appearance of the Lord, Moses, Elias, and Elijah to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. Subsequent writers have noted that this date corresponds to the Jewish Passover, during which the arrival of Elijah is traditionally awaited. A parenthetical note in the Missionary Training Manual: For Use in the Jewish Proselyting Program states the correlation of the two events emphatically. There we are informed that Elijah appeared in the Kirtland Temple “at about the same hour that the Jewish families in that time zone would have been preparing to begin their feast of the Passover.” These statements, although correct in their identification of the Jewish Passover with the ritual expectation of Elijah and in their connecting the time of the appearance of Elijah in the Kirtland Temple with the Passover season, warrant further elucidation and modest chronological correction.

Most scholars who reject the one-man authorship of Isaiah do so because they reject prophecy

Symbolic connections between the sacred mountain and the temple in ancient Israel

Archaeology and textual evidence

Early Semitic temple and religious practices one thousand years before Israel entered Canaan

A challenge to George D. Smith Jr.’s “Isaiah Updated,” which appeared in Dialogue.

Hutchinson defends his article “LDS Approaches to the Holy Bible,” (also in Dialogue) from a challenge by James E. Faulconer

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

The marriage of Hosea and Gomer illuminates the covenant relationship of Jehovah and Israel

The answer to “What is a temple?” is partially the answer to “What was the temple?” Here a distinguished array of scholars trests this theme. This collection of essays—which grew out of a BYU symposium of experts—presents recent findings on the temple in antiquity: historical, linguistic, and archaeological data which bear on the idea of the temple in Israelite, Jewish, and Christian traditions. The book includes an expansive introduction to temple traditions and a bibliography for further clarification and comparison. ISBN 0-8849-4518-9

Gleaning from the expertise of an eminent array of Latter-day Saint scholars, a Brigham Young University symposium entitled “Isaiah and the Prophets” has brought to light a diversity of thought-provoking ideas relative to the Old Testament. This book contains ten of the addresses given at that symposium. Isaiah and the Prophets is rich in its outpouring of details. The book probes concepts that are pertinent to understanding the Old Testament as the Lord’s prophetic word and the gospel in its fullness. ISBN 0-8849-4522-7

Diseases and health issues

The prophecies of Isaiah by topic and verse by verse

The apocryphal book Susanna.

The fulfillment of the prophecy of Armageddon will depend on the faith of the Saints and there will be no nuclear or conventional war

The need for examination of the Bible

The life of Joseph focusing on the topics of adversity, interpretations of dreams, the Savior, fathers and blessings, and Joseph in the last days

The book of Moses, Noah and the covenant, Melchizedek, tokens and priesthood ordinances, Lot in Sodom, Jacob’s prophecies of Joseph, and Moses and Joseph Smith

The cycle of apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance in the book of Judges

The Exodus was a means by which the Israelites developed faith

The historicity of the flood and speculations concerning ways to reconcile scientific findings with the biblical account

Latter-day temples parallel ancient temples, especially those of the Israelites

The Lord has told us that many things in the Apocrypha are true and many false. The fascination that apocryphal writings generally hold for Latter-day Saints was recognized in a 1983 BYU symposium on this topic addressed by fifteen scholars representing a wide range of expertise. Those addresses are collected in this book.

How men and women can become one in heart and mind

When I was invited to participate in this symposium on the subject of apocryphal literature, my first inclination was to decline. This was a conference for experts trained in the biblical languages. But after some reflection, I changed my mind because I think there is a place for variety, and there might even be an advantage in having a paper from a nonlinguistic point of view. And so, although I do not know Greek or Hebrew, I have had considerable exposure to Church history, and I am familiar with the formation of several books of scripture and non-scripture. This is especially true as pertaining to the books that are used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereinafter labeled the LDS Church) and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (hereinafter called the RLDS Church). And I think there are some parallels between the development of books in the Church anciently and development of books in the Church in modern times.

In December 1832, the Lord instructed the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” Few members of the Church have followed that admonition as faithfully as has Hugh Nibley, emeritus professor of ancient history at Brigham Young University. As a young man he memorized vast portions of Shakespeare and studied Old English, Latin, Greek and other languages. As a student at Berkeley, in he began reading the southwest corner of the ninth level of the library and worked his way down to the northeast corner of the first level, studying every significant book that caught his eye. And throughout his life, he has related everything he has learned to the greatest knowledge of all-the word of the Lord, as revealed in the scriptures and in the temple. Not content with that, however, Dr. Nibley has dedicated himself to being a teacher, to sharing with others the knowledge he has gleaned through his vast studies. He has lectured and published widely, producing more than three hundred papers and books on a wide variety of subjects.

In the Book of Moses, part of the Latter-day Saint scriptural canon known as the Pearl of Great Price, are what the Prophet Joseph Smith entitled “extracts from the prophecy of Enoch.” These scriptures, says the eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, “supply us with the most valuable control yet on the bona fides of the Prophet. . . . We are to test. . . . ‘How does it compare with records known to be authentic?’ The excerpts offer the nearest thing to a perfectly foolproof test—neat, clear-cut, and decisive—of Joseph Smith’s claim to inspiration.”

In Enoch the Prophet, Dr. Nibley examines and defends that claim by examining Joseph Smith’s translations in the context of recently discovered apocryphal sources.

This book contains a collection of various comparisons of the Enoch materials in the Book of Moses with the Slavonic and Ethiopic Enoch texts and other related materials and lore from antiquity, showing the possibility that Joseph Smith’s book of Enoch could be authentic ancient text.

There is a striking example of a “narrative” type call in the prophetic commission of Enoch in Moses 6:23–36. This study considers the elements of the narrative call pattern; those elements of this form found in the prophetic commission of Enoch are examined and compared with the biblical narrative call passages.
The report of the prophetic vocation of Enoch in the book of Moses accords with impressive consistency with the call narratives in the Bible. All of the elements of the prophetic call pattern isolated and examined by Habel in the calls of Moses, Gideon, and Jeremiah are also found in the Enoch passage; with one minor exception, the order of the elements in the vocation of Enoch is the same as in the call accounts recorded in the Bible. This additional authenticating detail places Enoch more securely in the tradition of the prophets and the book of Moses more firmly in the form and tradition of the prophetic literature.

In this paper I intend to deal primarily with the element of deception in the production and employment of apocryphal literature, particularly as it is revealed by the devices of pseudonymity and pseudepigraphy. I am defining pseudonymity here as an author’s intentional adoption of another persona, not merely as a pen name but as an assumed identity. Thus the Testament of Solomon is pseudonymous because the author has clearly adopted the persona of Solomon and speaks, as Solomon, in the first person. On the other hand, Huckleberry Finn would not be pseudonymous by my definition even though Samuel Clemens used the nom de plume Mark Twain, because Clemens did not adopt a persona other than his own; that is, we may assume that Clemens did not return royalty checks made out to Mark Twain, but rather cashed them unashamedly. Sam Clemens was Mark Twain, and there was no real possibility of confusing one person for the other.

Contents:

Introduction: 1985 Sperry Symposium / Robert J. Matthews
1. Spiritual Communication / Richard G. Scott
2. The Doctrine of Godhood in the New Testament / Rodney Turner
3. The Fall of Man / LaMar Garrard
4. To Be As Gods: Original Sin or Eve’s Motive For Mortality? / Alan K. Parrish
5. Insights Into the Atonement from Latter-day Scriptures / Keith W. Perkins
6. The Sacrament: Principles Essential to Exaltation / S. Brent Farley
7. Having A Testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ / Chauncey C. Riddle
8. A New Commandment / George W. Pace
9. Humanity and Practical Christianity: Implications For a World-Wide Church / James R. Christianson
10. Covenants and Covenant People / James R. Moss
11. Affliction and the Plan of Salvation / Philip M. Flammer
12. Political Responsibility and Religious Belief / Gary C. Bryner
13. Personal and Family Preparedness: Lessons From Church History / William G. Hartley
14. Temples, Ordinances, and Art / R. L. Gunn