An appeal at year’s end

A new article went up today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship.  It is entitled “Parallels between the Book of Moses and the Book of Mormon, Part 1: Details of Their Distribution and Relationships to the JST,” and it was written by Jeff Lindsay.

Abstract: In previous work, unexpected textual relationships between the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses that seem consistent with a brass-plates version of Genesis with similarities to the modern Book of Moses were explored. However, there is a need for further research to examine the nature of the distribution of the parallels in the Book of Mormon to the Book of Moses to assess, for example, whether the connections are scattered randomly across the text or show any meaningful patterns. There is also a need to consider the relationship of the Book of Mormon to the rest of the Joseph Smith Translation to determine if the Book of Mormon’s relationship with the Book of Moses (the first portion of the JST) is somehow unique or is consistent with the rest of Joseph’s work with the translation of the Bible. Data related to both topics are treated here, showing that the Book of Mormon’s relationship with the Book of Moses appears to be unique and consistent with an ancient brass-plates version of Genesis that influenced Book of Mormon personalities such as Lehi₁, Nephi₁, Jacob, and Alma₂. Later portions of the JST lack numerous parallels with the Book of Mormon, except for a few sections that appear to have been imported from the Book of Mormon into the JST. Further, the distribution of parallels at the book level and the chapter level is consistent with a meaningful application of material from a brass-plates version of Genesis by authors or speakers familiar with the brass plates.

Dr. Lindsay’s article was accompanied by a short summary on the Interpreter Foundation website that was created by Kyler Rasmussen: “Interpreting Interpreter: Distributed Parallels”:

The best months for charitable donations, I’m informed, are November and December.  Between them, if my information is correct, over thirty percent of charitable contributions are received during these two months — which represent just slightly more than 16.6 percent of the calendar year.

According to one source that I consulted, in a survey that was conducted of residents of the United States for the year 2024, 62% of Americans planned to make donations in November or December and fully 15% of U.S. adults give to charity only during November or December.  This surge is, no doubt, driven to some extent by the spirit of the holidays and perhaps also by reflections and self-evaluations at year’s end — but probably even more so (in the United States, anyway) by tax deadlines.

In fact, 31 December alone can see huge spikes in giving, with some nonprofit organizations receiving a substantial portion of their yearly funds on just that day by itself.

This massive annual surge in giving during the final weeks of each year, and especially during the last three days of the year, is my justification for writing this portion of today’s blog entry, and for writing it now.

There are, I’m fully aware, literally thousands of really good causes out there that would be benefited by a donation from you, and that would thereby be enabled to benefit others.  I hope that you’ll give to one or more of them.

I also hope that you’ll consider the Interpreter Foundation among them, and as a possible recipient of at least a small portion of your own charitable donations.

If you would like to learn more about what Interpreter does, please take a look at the “annual report” that I sent out to Interpreter’s donors and volunteers a short while back (see “A year-end report and Christmas letter”), as well as at a summary statement that I recently shared about the Foundation’s soon-to-be launched series of brief documentaries (see “Thoughts on the Twelve”).  That series, which we’re calling Becoming Brigham, is now scheduled to start appearing on Monday, 26 January, and to continue each week thereafter for somewhat more than a year.  Much of it is already, as they say, “in the can.”  But many of the episodes are still either in post-production or, in some remaining cases, still need to be filmed.

The Interpreter Foundation, by the way, is a non-profit organization.  Specifically, in terms of American tax law, it is a “public charity” that is exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.  It is also an almost-entirely volunteer organization.  Its leadership — e.g., its board and its editors — receives no financial compensation.  (My wife and I are, in fact, donors.). Nor are those compensated who write for Interpreter.

But there are unavoidable, inescapable expenses, and they have been increasing.  Thus, while the Interpreter Foundation cannot function without volunteers (that is, without “donors in kind”), it also could not exist, let alone flourish as it has and as it does, without the generosity of private financial contributors both large and small.

You can learn about how to make a donation to the Interpreter Foundation here.