“Simplicity and Understatement” in Joseph Smith, and So Forth

From my notes:

Jill Mulvay Derr and Karen Lynn Davidson have commented similarly upon the “simplicity and understatement” of the Joseph Smith’s 1838 autobiographical narrative of the First Vision and the circumstances leading up to it:

Joseph Smith proposes simply to “present the various events . . . in truth and righteousness” [verse 2].  He begins his account not with a thundering prophetic declamation, but with simple truths, a list of easily verifiable facts—his birth, the names of his family members—and goes on to describe the religious confusion surrounding him and his family.  Although he becomes slightly more descriptive as he continues with the account of the vision itself, with words like “astonishing” [verse 15] and “despair” [verse 16] to characterize the events and his reactions, even the First Vision itself calls forth a spare, almost minimal retelling.  The language is measured and dispassionate, non-defensive, the voice of a mature adult reflecting eighteen years later upon a vision he received as a boy.  Joseph Smith knows exactly what he saw and heard that day, and he is willing to let the events carry their own impact, without a great deal of comment or emotional language.  Above all, he does not cast himself in a heroic role.  He was an ordinary boy who offered a simple prayer, with no real notion of what was to follow.[1]

[1] Jill Mulvay Derr and Karen Lynn Davidson, “The First Vision in Eliza R. Snow’s Unfinished Epic on the Life of Joseph Smith,” 7 (unpublished paper in the possession of the author, discussed in Richard L. Bushman’s Joseph Smith Seminar at Brigham Young University, on 18 July 2002).

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This is a fun and very helpful three-minute video from my youngest son’s mission president, Elder Gary E. Stevenson — now a member of the Council of the Twelve:

“Avoiding an Idealized Reality and Debilitating Comparisons”

Thanks to Ben Cummins, who brought it to the attention of Tom Pittman, who brought it to my attention.

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And here’s an interesting new item from Neal Rappleye:

“Nephite History in Context 1: Jerusalem Chronicle”

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Yet another damning story for your collection of evidence that (a) religion is a blight upon humanity and (b) the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints never does anything kind or charitable for anybody:

“Church Joins Community in Making Donation to Aid Homelessness”

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Here’s a new nine-minute video from Book of Mormon Central that I think many of you will find interesting:

“Evidences of the Book of Mormon: Plates”

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And, in case that isn’t enough to satisfy your understandable craving for the voice of Stephen Smoot, here’s the latest article published by Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:

“The Divine Council in the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon”