“Alma” as a Semitic Name, and Reaching Irreantum

I’m pleased to announce that a second (and final) set of “sneak peek” early screenings for the new Interpreter Foundation film Six Days in August will occur on Monday, 7 October — which is the day after General Conference — in the same nine Cinemark theaters that offered last night’s showings: Salt Lake City, Draper, American Fork, Orem, Midvale/Sandy, Farmington, Ogden, Provo, and West Jordan: “Six Days in August – Early Access”

You might be amused to learn that some vocal hardcore online critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and of me, personally) are planning to do what they can to flood the web with negative reviews of Six Days in August.

This happened with Witnesses, as well. In a number of instances, it was patently obvious that those posting the “reviews” hadn’t even bothered to actually watch the film.  They faulted it, for example, because it had failed to mention either plural marriage or the failure of the bank in Kirtland, Ohio, because it was engaged in a “cover up” of those subjects, trying to “erase” them — even though entire scenes of Witnesses were devoted to plural marriage and the Kirtland Bank failure.

I’m not asking those who saw Six Days in August last night — or who will see it on 7 October, or at its special formal premiere for actors and crew and Interpreter volunteers and major donors on 9 October, or on or after its general theatrical opening on 10 October — to write positive reviews of it, though I obviously hope that audiences will like the movie.  But I, we, would very much appreciate it if those who have actually seen the film would share their genuine reactions to it on social media and, when, the opportunities arise, on review websites.  I’m hoping for honest reactions to the film itself, as opposed to mere pre-scripted expressions of contempt for the Church, disdain for Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and/or burning hatred of me.

In the meantime, the three brief (roughly two- to three-minute-long) interviews that John Donovan Wilson (aka Brigham Young) and I did on Wednesday morning with Tim Hughes and Amanda Dickson for KSL-Radio are now available at the Six Days in August Facebook page.

It is in one of these interviews that I wrongly identified the theater chain in which the “sneak peeks” are being given as Carmike, rather than Cinemark.  (See “In Which I Confess My Ability to Err.”)  Some have expressed puzzlement at the name Carmike.  But the Carmike theaters were, in fact, a real chain.  I wasn’t hallucinating about them; I didn’t make them up.  I just got it wrong, and I didn’t realize that, as of 2017, the Carmike chain is no more.  Now, though, I do.  Although an old dog, I can learn.

With all of the attention that I’ve been giving to Six Days in August, I’ve probably been neglecting tomorrow’s biennial “Temple on Mount Zion” conference.  That’s tomorrow.  Saturday.  Please don’t overlook it!  I’ll be there, and I hope to see you there.

Seership, Craftsmanship, and Fellowship:  The Seventh Interpreter Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference

As you can readily see, and as was prophesied by an anonymous critic years ago, the Interpreter Foundation is dead, or at least breathing its last.  Inquiring minds want to know:  Will Interpreter survive into next week?  Stay tuned!  In the meanwhile, here below are a few more of its final gasps, the first four of which were published just a few minutes ago:

“More Evidence for Alma as a Semitic Name,” written by Neal Rappleye and Allen Hansen

Abstract: Beginning with Hugh Nibley, several Latter-day Saint scholars have highlighted a deed found among the Bar Kokhba documents as evidence of the name Alma as a Jewish male name in antiquity. Here we highlight a second attestation of the same name used for a Jewish male from a slightly earlier period, as well as other evidence from Hebrew toponymy that helps corroborate not only that Alma is a Hebrew name, but also supports the etymology proposed by Latter-day Saint scholars and is suggestive of wordplays previously identified in the Book of Mormon text. Past critics have mocked the name Alma as a feminine name, but since this criticism has now been answered, some have pivoted to claiming that Alma was, in fact, a man’s name in Joseph Smith’s time and place. We investigate this claim and demonstrate that the evidence for Alma as a male name in the United States—and specifically upstate New York—during the early 1800s has been vastly overstated. Overall, this combination of data suggests that Alma in the Book of Mormon is better accounted for by the ancient rather than modern evidence.

“Interpreting Interpreter: A Semitic Alma,” written by Kyler Rasmussen

“Accessing Nephi’s Bountiful: A New Proposal for Reaching Irreantum,” written by Warren P. Aston

Abstract: Many Latter-day Saint scholars recognize that an excellent candidate for Nephi’s Bountiful is found at the inlet Khor Kharfot in southern Oman at the end of the lengthy Wadi Sayq. Many researchers have reasonably assumed that Lehi’s eastward travel from Nahom must have led to Wadi Sayq, which then leads directly to Khor Kharfot. However, there is a second route, through Wadi Kharfot, that leads to Khor Kharfot, joining Wadi Sayq near the inlet. Although almost unknown, this second wadi could also have offered a plausible route with some advantages to travelers arriving from the interior desert plateau. Specifics and details of terrain, distances, and directions are presented to support seriously considering this new proposal.

“Interpreting Interpreter: Through Wadi Kharfot,” written by Kyler Rasmussen

Hugh Nibley Observed: “Hugh Winder Nibley: The Man, the Scholar, the Legacy,” written by Gary P. Gillum

“While I was investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints in 1969, after spending seven years studying to be a minister of the gospel, there were two things I was reading: the Book of Mormon and an article a ward member had given me, ‘A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price,’ written by a scholar named Hugh Nibley. I had never heard of the Pearl of Great Price nor of Hugh Nibley, but what really surprised me as I read the article was that a scholar could combine faith and scholarship in such a remarkable manner—especially after I had read so much Protestant theology. Here was a fascinating article on an unknown subject by an unknown author which reflected both scholarly rigor and steadfast faith, together with an attitude of awareness and openness that converted me to the proposition that I could study anything known or unknown, in or out of space and time, from both earthly and heavenly teachers, and from many perspectives.”

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Hugh Nibley Observed, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Shirley S. Ricks, and Stephen T. Whitlock. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/hugh-nibley-observed/.

Now, however, as it often does, this blog goes very dark.  We turn to the endless litany of horrors that is to be found in the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™ for two chilling specimens:

“‘At Our Very, Very Best’: Thousands of Volunteers Help With National Day of Service Projects Across the Country: From packing meals to cleaning up neighborhoods, 9/11 was remembered through acts of love”

“Church Donation Enhances Early Cancer Diagnosis for Uruguayan Children: Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ visit the Pérez Scremini Foundation in Montevideo”