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Sustaining and Defending the LDS Temple

john gee

FAIR Conference Coming Soon, Temple Topics and FARMS to be Addressed

July 10, 2012 by Bryce Haymond 16 Comments
Dr. Peterson gives his address at 2010 FAIR Conference

Dr. Peterson gives his address at 2010 FAIR Conference (Photo by R. Scott Lloyd)

I thought I’d take a moment and give a shout out for The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) and their 14th annual conference coming up in less than a month, on August 2-3, 2012, in Sandy, Utah.  I have attended this conference in years past (which I liveblogged in 2008), and I will be attending again this year.

For those interested in the temple, topics will include “Book of Abraham, I Presume” by John Gee, and “Piercing the Veil: Temple Worship in the Lost 116 Pages” by Don Bradley, as well as many other very interesting subjects.  Those that are interested in the ongoing FARMS/Maxwell Institute situation, the original founder of FARMS, John W. Welch, will be speaking about his further research on chiasmus, as will former Mormon Studies Review/FARMS Review editor Daniel C. Peterson, on the topic “Of ‘Mormon Studies’ and Apologetics,” which should be interesting given recent events.

It is significant to note that this year that you don’t have to travel to Sandy, Utah, to take part.  The conference will also be available online via live video/audio streaming!  You can sit in the comfort of your living room, or even on-the-go via your mobile smartphone or tablet, from anywhere in the world, and take part in this excellent conference.  This news comes direct from FAIR:

This year we are providing Conference streaming for your Windows, Android, Apple, and even Roku devices. Here is a way for you to have your own FAIR Conference in your home. Hook it up to your big-screen TV and invite over your friends for a FAIR Conference event. We have updated our technology on this, so the price for streaming the conference into your home, or two your phones, computers or tablets is $15 for each day or $25 for both days. When you sign up, in the comments section please mention which device or devices you are planning on using (Roku, iphone, ipad, Android tablet, etc.)

Sign up for the two days of streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1314

Thursday-only streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1085

Friday-only streaming here: http://bookstore.fairlds.org/product.php?id_product=1313

Read more about the upcoming FAIR Conference here.

Update: I’ve changed some information here, as Trevor has given more details.

Posted in: Announcements Tagged: abraham, apologetics, attendance, bookstore, conference, daniel c. peterson, information, john gee, maxwell institute, media, mobile, online, streaming, temple worship, video

Attacking Hugh Nibley’s Work

July 2, 2012 by Bryce Haymond 44 Comments
Hugh W. Nibley (1910-2005)

Hugh W. Nibley (1910-2005)

As if going after the present-day apologists in their current awful circumstances is not enough, yes, those apologists alive today that can actually still defend themselves against spurious arguments, some have now turned their attention to one of the Church’s most beloved apologists, the late Hugh W. Nibley (1910-2005).  See “Fundanibleists and Fauxpologetics,” at Faith Promoting Rumor.  It should be well noted that those bloggers are members of the Church.

Oudenos argues that the “Nibley approach to apologetics and its reception have, in part, had long term and still expanding negative effects on church members” [emphasis mine].  I completely disagree with Oudenos, and his arguments, some of which he presented but somehow failed to explain why they are “negative”.  Hugh Nibley has been profoundly influential in charting the course of LDS scholarship in the 20th and 21st centuries, taking it up to a whole new level unthought of before, and giving members bountiful evidences for the truth of the gospel, from dozens of cultures and time periods worldwide, which has helped strengthen the faith and testimony of countless people, inside and outside the Church.  Indeed, many have joined the Church after reading Nibley’s work, and then receiving a witness of the truth of the gospel.  Daniel Peterson’s own father had a conversion experience like this.

So this was my comment, with a few minor edits, addressing each of his seven points:

My comments, as founder of TempleStudy.com, a blog dedicated to the work of Hugh Nibley:

1) [Nibley’s writings] are authoritative (with a lower case “a”) if you consider what even priesthood Authorities (capital “A”) have said about him and his work. Nibley was incredibly smart, educated, and knowledgeable about an almost endless number of subjects and languages. He had a tremendous amount to say and teach, even being personally invited to teach the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve within the Salt Lake Temple. I know of no other scholars who have done that. I believe President Kimball once cleaned the dust off of his shoes, for what it’s worth [see Boyd J. Peterson, Hugh Nibley, A Consecrated Life]. All these things lead one to become authoritative in some degree; in Nibley’s case, it made him very authoritative in the subjects he addressed.

2) Nibley’s work is elevated, no doubt, but I would not say it is dense and impenetrable. I’ve poked some at it, and I have a degree in Industrial Design (i.e. nothing related to ANE studies, ancient languages, Near Eastern cultures, history, or the like). He has taught me worlds. His book Approaching Zion completely changed my life, teaching me unlike any other that this life is our time to prepare to meet God, and that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing in this life. By the way, there is more being uncovered that Nibley first discovered all the time. He opened the door to many rooms which we have now just begun to enter into. His work will be updated (see also #6).

3) Why is finding ancient parallels and sources for modern LDS temple ritual a bad thing? Just because ancient things may not always equal genuine or divine has nothing to do with it. It does mean that these things have had their counterparts in history, even before Joseph Smith. Hugh Nibley once wrote, “Latter-day Saints believe that their temple ordinances are as old as the human race and represent a primordial revealed religion that has passed through alternate phases of apostasy and restoration which have left the world littered with the scattered fragments of the original structure, some more and some less recognizable, but all badly damaged and out of proper context…” (Intro in Hugh Nibley, The Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment).

4) Again, why is looking into non-biblical records for that which shines light on Joseph Smith’s work a bad thing? I would see it as a vindication of the Prophet. These “nuggets” are especially interesting to Latter-day Saints, in the sense of apologia. But I would hardly call Hugh Nibley’s work a disregard for everything else those texts had to offer. Remember, Nibley published in many academic journals and periodicals about his findings, which were all peer reviewed and valuable to scholars everywhere.

5) Again, why is [searching for pre-Joseph Smith “nuggets”] bad? Please explain your arguments, and why this is “negative.” If something truly ancient and archaic that was not known at the time of Joseph Smith crops up in Church doctrine, ritual, or scripture, could that not be interesting evidence for the divine calling of the Prophet, revealing things he himself could not have known except by revelation? Even Harold Bloom was amazed by the Prophet’s ability to do this: “I can only attribute to his genius or daemons his uncanny recovery of elements in ancient Jewish theurgy that had ceased to be available either to Judaism or to Christianity, and that had survived only in esoteric traditions unlikely to have touched Smith directly” (Harold Bloom, The American Religion, 101).

6) I’ve noted on TempleStudy.com recently that Nibley and his contemporary LDS scholars hardly made absolutist claims about Abraham, Egypt, or anything else. Nibley quipped that he couldn’t be held responsible for anything he said three years ago, because things were constantly changing in scholarship and knowledge. John Gee noted where Nibley was mistaken in the second edition of An Egyptian Endowment, and carefully pointed where new information was now available. I do not believe I’m always accurate in what I say on my blog, but I try my best. The absolute truth and nothing but the truth will come later (see my recent post on alethiology).

7) Drive by blog it? Really?

For valuing so much of what Nibley wrote, and changing your life, you do him and his work a true disservice here, sir. You dishonor his name, his work, and his life.

I think it’s quite odd the way these members of the Church will write such critical things, but quickly follow them up with affectionate words, for example, “I value much of what Nibley wrote. His writings inspired a younger version of me and altered my life trajectory.”  Sometimes the flowers come out before the criticisms, like “I have nothing against Daniel Peterson.”  Really?  Then what are you doing calling his work “violent“?  Perhaps this is to help soften the blow?  Or is it a kind of Trojan Horse, to hook unsuspecting members or others?  There’s a disingenuousness to it all.

Posted in: Scholarship Tagged: apologetics, book, comment, egyptian, endowment, first presidency, harold bloom, hugh nibley, john gee, joseph smith, joseph smith papyri, salt lake temple, scholar

Brief Intro to the Joseph Smith Papyri and Book of Abraham

July 2, 2008 by Bryce Haymond 10 Comments

Original papyrus of Facsimile 1 (Joseph Smith Papyrus I).  Acquired by the LDS Church in 1967. (Click for a larger view)Note:  This was going to be the next part of the series on the Egyptian ankh, and its relationship with the papyri and Book of Abraham, but I thought an intro to these first would be a better place to start.

Let’s return again to the subject of the ankh, and related symbols, that we’ve briefly studied, and look to see if these symbols figure at all on the Joseph Smith Papyri.  As we’ve seen, these particular hieroglyphs have a strong connection to temple themes, being bestowed by the Egyptian gods in a manner reminiscent of the way eternal life is portrayed symbolically in the temple today.  But do these symbols appear on the papyri from which the Book of Abraham was translated, or in the facsimiles, and what does that mean?  [Read more…]

Posted in: Church History, Scholarship, Texts Tagged: abraham, book, egyptian, endowment, farms, fragments, hieroglyph, hugh nibley, john gee, joseph smith, lecture, olivewood, symbols, translation

John Gee (June 19) and Avraham Gileadi (June 26)

June 17, 2008 by Bryce Haymond 2 Comments

There are a couple good firesides/lectures coming up, for those of you who are in the Salt Lake/Provo area.

Dr. John GeeFirst off, there will be a lecture given by John Gee this Thursday, June 19th, at 7:00pm at the Olivewood Bookstore in Provo (3330 N. University Ave., Suite C).  He will be speaking about the message of the Joseph Smith Papyri.  Dr. Gee received his doctorate degree from Yale University in Egyptology.  He is currently William “Bill” Gay Assistant Research Professor of Egyptology at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, where he is a series editor for Studies in the Book of Abraham and a member of the editorial board of the Eastern Christian Texts series. He is also on the board of directors for the Aziz S. Atiya Fund for Coptic Studies at the University of Utah.  I have read his short book A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri, and it was a great learning experience and introduction to the Joseph Smith Papyri.  Anyone who is familiar with Hugh Nibley’s classic Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment knows that this papyri has a lot to do with the temple.  This will certainly be a great lecture.  If permitted, FAIR might videotape it and put it on YouTube.  Seating is based on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure to arrive there early.

Dr. Avraham GileadiSecondly, the Isaiah Institute (which I haven’t heard of before) is presenting a fireside with Avraham Gileadi on Thursday, June 26th, at 7:00pm at the ScenicView Academy in Provo (Room 245, 5455 North River Run Drive).  He will be speaking on “The Learning of the Jews: Isaiah’s Impact on the Book of Mormon.”  Dr. Gileadi obtained a Ph.D. in ancient Near Eastern studies and Hebrew Bible from BYU under the tutelage of professor R.K. Harrison of Wycliffe College, Toronto, Canada, with Hugh Nibley as chairman. He has translated and published the book of Isaiah into modern English and published it with analyses of many literary patterns in Isaiah’s prophecy discovered during many years of postdoctoral research.  This fireside has been described thus:Map to Scenic View Academy

Book of Mormon prophets don’t just quote Isaiah. Isaiah shapes their entire world view, their concept of God’s covenant people, and their understanding of the latter days. The learning of the Jews is key to interpreting the words of Isaiah and the Book of Mormon. Come and learn the learning of the Jews!

You are asked to RSVP to orders@isaiahinstitute.com to make sure there are enough refreshments.

Posted in: Scholarship, Tidbits Tagged: abraham, avraham gileadi, bible, book of mormon, BYU, egyptian, jews, john gee, lecture, neal a. maxwell, near east, olivewood, scholar

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