The future of Mormonism? During his mortal ministry, Jesus commanded his disciples to restrict their preaching to the house of Israel. Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples . . . [and] sent [them] out with the following instructions: Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the … Read more
Figure 7 of Facsimile 2 of the Book of Abraham. The Prophet Joseph Smith interpreted Figure 7 in Facsimile 2 as follows: “Represents God sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand Key-words of the Priesthood; as, also, the sign of the Holy Ghost unto Abraham, in the form of a dove.” The … Read more
Detail of an image inside the tomb of Sennedjem, discovered at the necropolis of Deir el-Medina and dating to the 19th dynasty. Here Sennedjem is accompanied by his wife Lyneferti and wields the “sekhem-scepter, a symbol of power.” (Image and description via Tour Egypt.) The German Egyptologist Jan Assmann has some interesting observations about the ancient … Read more
(Click to enlarge) As an article of faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms, “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” (Article of Faith 9). Among the … Read more
Alexander Louis Leloir, Jacob Wrestling With the Angel (1865). This evening I (finally) finished reading Terryl Givens’ excellent Wrestling the Angel: The Foundations of Mormon Thought: Cosmos, God, Humanity. (Before I say anything else, may I express my delight in Givens using a story from the Hebrew Bible to symbolize his treatise on Mormon theology?) … Read more
Heavenly Mother by John Hafen. “Come to me, here’s the myst’ry that man hath not seen; / Here’s our Father in heaven, and Mother, the Queen.”– William W. Phelps, “A Voice from the Prophet: Come to Me” (1844). One aspect of Latter-day Saint doctrine that distinguishes Mormonism from other contemporary Christian sects is the Mormon affirmation … Read more
Der Meister – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832). I am currently taking a senior seminar on the life and writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. My professor, Hans Wilhelm-Kelling, has an article comparing some of Goethe’s (often enigmatic) religious convictions with Latter-day Saint theology. According to Kelling, some of Goethe’s religious thoughts that intersect with … Read more