interview

Earliest Reference to Nauvoo-Era Temple Endowment?

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Urim & Thummim or Interpreters, as described by Joseph Smith and others. Steve Reed, OneClimbs.com.

The Urim & Thummim or Interpreters, as described by Joseph Smith and others. (Steve Reed, OneClimbs.com)

One of the most interesting presentations, at least to me, at this year’s 2012 FAIR Conference in Sandy, UT, was Don Bradley’s “Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages,” for obvious reasons; it dealt with the temple. I have not been acquainted with Don Bradley’s work before, so this was an excellent introduction.

Bradley is working on a Master’s thesis at Utah State University, and the focus of his study is the lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, and he is also planning to publish in a book on the subject, which is sure to be a fascinating read. I have since learned a bit more about Don Bradley, who has a unique history in and out of the Church. The Salt Lake Tribune published an article yesterday interviewing Bradley, and his experience with the Church. Of his unique gifts Don’s mentor at Utah State, Philip Barlow, said, “Intellectually, Don is uncommonly brilliant… In a roomful of Ph.D.s, he’d be among the smartest and most well-read. His writing and the thinking behind it are superlative.”

Bradley’s presentation at FAIR focused on what we might learn about the temple, and temple worship, among the Nephites, particularly from those insights gleaned from details uncovered in the lost 116 pages. Great stuff, which we’ll summarize a bit here.   [Read more…]

Hugh Nibley’s on Twitter! And has a Blog

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Hugh Nibley [off the record]

Hugh Nibley [off the record]

Well, not really.  But it sure seems so!  

Nibley’s family organization Hugh Nibley & Associates has organized a Twitter feed and a new blog, HughNibley.net, dedicated to Hugh Nibley’s work.  The Twitter feed includes quotes from Hugh at least once every day, as if he were tweeting, which I’m sure he would scoff at, but is fun nonetheless.  What would Nibley write in a 140-character sound bite?  You’d be surprised some of the concise, off-beat, meaningful, spot on, quirky, poignant, strange, and humorous things that have already been posted.

The HughNibley.net blog is meant to publish more of Hugh Nibley’s work, including ebooks, and new materials.  They explain:

[Read more…]

Mormon Temples’ Endowment from Mormon Perspective Video

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The late Krister Stendahl (1921-2008), who was a Swedish theologian, New Testament scholar, and a Professor and Dean of Divinity at Harvard University, once addressed the press about one of the Mormon temples that was being built nearby, and spoke about three important rules for religious understanding.  These rules have since been recognized for their tremendous insight and application in interfaith dialogue and learning.  They are:

  1. When you are trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.
  2. Don’t compare your “best” to their “worst.”
  3. Leave room for “holy envy.”  In other words, recognize those aspects of other religious traditions that you admire and wish could be reflected in your own.

I think there is great truth embedded in these principles, and we have the opportunity to exercise them every day.  In fact, we use them often here on TempleStudy.com to compare the similarities and differences of Mormon temples with other religious traditions and sacred worship practices.

Below is a short new video which succinctly explains what Mormon temples mean to the Latter-day Saints, from the Latter-day Saint perspective.  Hopefully those that are inquisitive about the Church will be able to learn, from us, what the temple means when investigating and evaluating LDS temple worship.

A more comprehensive video of 44 minutes, of which this is only a snippet, is also available to watch, entitled “Between Heaven and Earth,” which includes commentary and interviews from a number of scholars and theologians, both LDS and from other faiths.

Answering Questions about Mormonism

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A few months ago we showed a TV news story of an interview with a missionary who, how should we say, didn’t quite know how to answer questions about the Church or the temple, and which just left more suspicion and misunderstanding than it dispelled.  We concluded that we must have a good grasp of our own religion in order to answer questions intelligently and articulately, and to teach others about our beliefs.

Yesterday I received an email with a link to a videoclip of a Harvard student, Rachel Esplin, who answered questions about the Church and Mormonism in a very clear and forthright manner.  It looks like the event was an “Engaging Religious Differences” panel discussion, in which many different religious views were shared. Greg has more details at Believe All Things, who referenced aquinas at Summa Theologica on the same topic.

Take a look below.


Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose – 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.