Interpreting Interpreter: Retranslated Blackness

This post is a summary of the article “Die Prophezeiung Henochs: Some Observations on Section 36 in the German Edition of the Community of Christ Doctrine and Covenants” by Adam Stokes in Volume 63 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

A video introduction to the Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https://youtube.com/shorts/hkCymnAtfwE.

The Takeaway

Stokes examines the Community of Christ’s recent German translation of Enoch’s descriptions of Cain and Cainan, noting how it attempts to avoid the racial implications of some verses, arguing that while it aligns with interpretive precedent (with "blackness" as a spiritual descriptor), it also unintentionally reinforces the idea that blackness must be equated with depravity.

The Summary

In this article, Adam O. Stokes provides a focused look at the Community of Christ’s German translation of Enoch’s descriptions of Cain and the people of Cainan (Found in the Community of Christ’s version of D&C 36, and in Moses 7 within the LDS canon). Produced in 2019, the translation changes "black" and "blackness" to terms related to "depravity" and wickedness. Stokes interprets these changes as an attempt to "de-problematize" the text, and though it aligns with how apparently racial terms are treated in the Book of Mormon, it may not fully address the racial connotations those verses contain, continuing to reinforce the idea that blackness should be equated with depravity.

As Stokes concludes:

"[This translation] indicates an awareness of the problematic reception history of the Enoch material and a deliberate effort to address those issues. The desire to make such adjustments is understandable, but may not do justice to the text nor fulfill the duty to provide an accurate translation, even when the text is problematic. Indeed, it is even possible for a well-intended adjustment to exacerbate the apparent problem that the translator sought to resolve."

The Reflection

Stokes analysis provides a vivid example of what I think is a broadly applicable point: that treating scripture in a legalistic way, in which we hang our beliefs and testimonies on interpretations of specific words, is often a futile endeavor. The scriptures we read have been through many hands, more than we often appreciate, and each of them cannot help to have been influenced to some degree or another by their personal and social circumstances. That these texts are simultaneously inspired and imperfect is a tension we all have to struggle with. But as we appreciate the truths they contain, we don’t need to get caught on the interpretive snags and barbs we find along the way, whether that means being offended by them or contorting them to align with our own preferences.

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