“Overwriting Ether: Moroni’s Transfiguration of Jaredite Scripture”

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A new article has appeared in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship:

“Overwriting Ether: Moroni’s Transfiguration of Jaredite Scripture,” by David J. Larsen

Review of Rosalynde Frandsen Welch, Ether: A Brief Theological Introduction (Provo, UT: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2020). 128 pages. $9.95 (paperback).

Abstract: The Book of Ether is a sometimes-overlooked gem of a text within the Book of Mormon, a history within a history that deserves careful and innovative investigation. Rosalynde Frandsen Welch offers such with a novel perspective in her entry in the Maxwell Institute’s series of “brief theological introductions” to the books within the Book of Mormon. The principal focus of Welch’s analysis is on issues concerning Moroni’s editorial purposes, how he interacts with his source text, and the ethics of his agenda for his abridgment of the Jaredite record. She critiques what she sees as Moroni’s lack of interest in the Jaredite record for its own sake and his attempts to “Christianize” the indigenous religion and culture of the former inhabitants of the land he occupies. Additionally, Welch presents Moroni as offering his future audience a “reader-centered theology of scripture” that seeks to transfer the authority of Scripture from the author to the reader. This review finds some of Welch’s proposals to be problematic but recognizes the great value of her beautifully written contribution to the academic study of the Book of Ether and the Book of Mormon.

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I called attention yesterday to the forthcoming Hulu miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven, suggesting that Latter-day Saints should probably be aware of it and that they might want to be prepared for it.  In response, readers of my blog have called attention to a couple of helpful resources responding to the original publication of Jon Krakauer’s book, which bears the same title as the approaching miniseries and forms the basis for it.

The first is a review that was written by Richard E. Turley, Jr., who was, at the time, the managing director of the Family and Church History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

“Faulty History: A Review of Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith”

The second is this, on the Church Newsroom website:

“Church Response to Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven“

Read and be ready.

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I’ve recently encountered a criticism of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that is connected with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine:  Why, thesse critics demand to know, hasn’t the Church denounced this brutal and unprovoked assault on an independent nation?  And perhaps, of course, the Church will eventually issue such a statement.  But I doubt it.  What good would it do?  Would the former KGB thug Vladimir Putin, unmoved by economic sanctions and international outrage, suddenly repent at the sight of a letter from the First Presidency?  I’m betting against it.  What possible harm could it do?  It might put Russian Latter-day Saints at risk.  It might put Ukrainian Latter-day Saints at risk under a harsh Russian military occupation.  These are not trivial concerns.  The lives and the freedom of Slavic Latter-day Saints shouldn’t be exploited as weapons against their church.

Here’s a valuable unofficial Latter-day Saint statement on the Russian invasion:

“We Can’t Even Agree on Vladimir Putin?  If we can’t even agree about the threatened invasion of a democratic, sovereign nation playing out before us, what does that say about our own condition as an American people?”

Yesterday, I noted an article by Katherine Kelaidis about an Orthodox Christian dimension to Russia’s current attempt to destroy independent Ukraine.  Today, I point to an article by Ms. Kelaidis on the role played by anti-Semitism in what’s going on:

“The Enigmatic Role of Anti-Semitism in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict”

Please note her comment that “according to credible US intelligence, Russian forces in the disputed regions intended to target Russian and Belorussian dissidents living in Ukraine, including religious and ethnic minorities, journalists, and LGBT activists.”  Is that likely to affect Ukrainian Latter-day Saints, who belong to a church that is headquartered in the United States?

Don’t be surprised if it does.  Consider this, for instance, from the Protestant magazine Christianity Today:

“Russia Keeps Punishing Evangelicals in Crimea: Last year, there was an uptick in fines to Protestants and fellow religious minorities in the region annexed from Ukraine.”

And consider this article, from National Review:

“What Putin’s Invasion Means for the Baptists of Ukraine: Ukraine’s Baptist population is under threat of oppression as Putin seeks ‘spiritual security’ for Russia.”

Question:  Are Latter-day Saint missionaries from other countries allowed to enter Russia?  (Subtle hint:  No.)

Here’s a 2018 item from Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty:  “Keeping The Faith: With Missionary Work Banned, Mormons In Russia ‘Just Making Friends'”

I have two good friends who have served as mission presidents in Ukraine.  What are the prospects for future missionary work there?  At the moment, it seems to me, they’re not good at all.

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I noted with interest that, in his just-concluded formal announcement of Ketanji Brown Jackson for the impending vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States caused by the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer, President Biden cited Judge Thomas B. Griffith, a BYU graduate and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who is now retired from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in support of his choice.  And he specifically identified Brother Griffith both as a Bush appointee and as a former general counsel for Brigham Young University.

I confess to being suspicious these days of any judicial appointment by a Democratic president.  But I look forward to learning more about Judge Jackson.  I was actually quite positively impressed by her remarks at her introduction.

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Finally, here’s yet another chilling specimen from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File©.  You should probably sit down before you read it:

“How Bees and Goats Are Changing Lives in Jordan: Latter-day Saint Charities project fosters self-reliance”