![\"Delso](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2017\/02\/800px-Sunset_next_to_Waikiki_Beach_Oahu_Hawai_USA1.jpg\")
<\/a>(Image by Diego Delso, delso.photo, License CC-BY-SA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Two new items appeared on the website of the Interpreter Foundation today:<\/p>\n
\u201cProphet or Loss: Mosiah1<\/sub>\/Zeniff, Benjamin\/Noah, Mosiah2<\/sub>\/Limhi and the Emergence of the Almas,\u201d<\/a> written by Val Larsen<\/p>\n Abstract: <\/strong>Mormon\u2019s overwhelmingly dominant rhetorical purpose is to testify of Christ, which he and his protagonists often directly do. But he also communicates his testimony more subtly through carefully crafted historical narratives. His use of frame narratives is especially artful. In the Book of Mosiah, Mormon frames the dispiriting account of Zeniff and Noah\u2019s rule with the story of its aftermath: the suffering of Limhi and his people, which is recounted both before and after the central Zeniff\/Noah narrative and which underscores the folly in the narrative it frames. The Limhi story is, in turn, framed by a Mosiah family narrative that features prophet kings Mosiah1<\/sub>, Benjamin, and Mosiah2<\/sub> and that, likewise, underscores the folly in the Zeniff\/Noah\/Limhi story through pointed contrasts with Mosiah1<\/sub>\/Benjamin\/Mosiah2<\/sub>, the antitypes of the Zeniff-family kings. Benjamin\u2019s great discourse on Christ, the most important component of the Mosiah narrative is also set within a frame narrative, a coronation account, which creates a political subtext in that great spiritual sermon and that, likewise, underscores the folly of the Zeniff family\u2019s failure to follow the prophets God sent them. The article concludes by discussing the emergence of the Almas as the first family of Nephite history, the connecting thread that runs through Mormon\u2019s account of the next ten generations of Nephite history.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cInterpreting Interpreter<\/em>: Contrasting Mosiah\u2019s Dynasties,\u201d<\/a> written by Kyler Rasmussen<\/a><\/p>\n This post is a summary of the article \u201cProphet or Loss: Mosiah1\/Zeniff, Benjamin\/Noah, Mosiah2\/Limhi and the Emergence of the Almas<\/a>\u201d by Val Larsen in Volume 60 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>. All of the Interpreting Interpreter<\/em> articles may be seen at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/category\/summaries\/<\/a>. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter<\/em> series is available at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Takeaway:<\/strong> \u00a0Larsen argues that the Book of Mosiah frames a strong contrast between the family lines of Mosiah (i.e., Mosiah1<\/sub>, Benjamin, Mosiah2<\/sub>) and Zeniff (i.e., Zeniff, Noah, Limhi), with each pair of kings mirroring each other in ways that highlight the spiritual follies of Zeniff\u2019s family line. In doing so, Larsen proposes sexual symbolism in the context of Benjamin\u2019s sermon that contrasts righteous sexuality with the wanton whoredoms of King Noah.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I\u2019ve seen a couple of articles online about the rather severe prison sentences that were \u00a0recently handed-down for Utah \u201cparenting influencer\u201d Ruby Franke and her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt. \u00a0I haven\u2019t really been following the story very much, although I know vaguely what the accusations against them were. \u00a0And not merely because I\u2019ve been traveling. \u00a0I also haven\u2019t followed very closely the details of the stories about Hunter Biden\u2019s personal life, say, or Johnny Depp\u2019s battle with his ex-wife, or Fani Willis\u2019s relationship with Nathan Wade, or the accusations against Timothy Ballard, or Donald Trump\u2019s financial and other entanglements with Stormy Daniels. \u00a0I figure that the relevant courts will sort through such matters. \u00a0If sanctions or punishments are warranted, I\u2019m serenely content for the courts to hand them out.<\/p>\n In the case of these two articles \u2014 one from New Zealand and one out of the United Kingdom \u2014 about Franke and Hildebrandt, though I\u2019ve been struck, as I often am, by their emphasis on the fact that both of the women are \u201cMormons.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve noticed the same thing for years, at least since the case of Richard Floyd McCoy<\/a> (\u201cMormon Sunday School Teacher Hijacks Airliner\u201d). \u00a0In his case, his status as a teacher in Sunday School was surprising enough that I suppose it was worth mentioning. \u00a0And perhaps mentioning the religious affiliation of Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt is also understandable, since it adds a curious dimension to their story.<\/p>\n But both articles about their case were followed by scores of comments decrying the allegedly cultish, controlling, and misogynistic nature of \u201cMormonism,\u201d which the letter writers plainly assumed to be the sole and sufficient explanation for the clear misbehavior of Hildebrandt and Franke, and there was little or no pushback from anybody on the matter.<\/p>\n I found this quite unfortunate and more than a bit frustrating. \u00a0After all, the actions of Franke and Hildebrandt that have been in question, and the legal actions against them, were all centered in St. George, Utah, or at least in Washington County. \u00a0So isn\u2019t it likely that at least some, and probably most or even perhaps all, of the jurors involved in their cases (if they were jury trials) were Latter-day Saints? \u00a0Isn\u2019t it probable, too, that at least some, and likely most or even perhaps all of the neighbors who apparently complained to the authorities about their treatment of children were Latter-day Saints? \u00a0Isn\u2019t it very probable, as well, that the judge who handed down the sentences is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? \u00a0And wouldn\u2019t this be worth mentioning? \u00a0Doesn\u2019t it seem relevant to the claim that Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt represent the cultish, controlling, and misogynistic character of the Church?<\/p>\n We drove to the Sydney Airport just as thousands of fans of Taylor Swift had gathered for the first of her four evening concerts in Accor Stadium (which, I\u2019ve read, can hold about 80,000 spectators, but which, at least according to one item that I just saw, may somehow have held about 96,000 fans for last night\u2019s concert). \u00a0It didn\u2019t look promising. \u00a0As we drove to the airport, rain was pouring down. \u00a0Apparently, though, the Swifties had a great time. \u00a0They were visible as we walked around Sydney\u2019s Circular Quay<\/a> the day before the concerts began, and we even encountered them in our hotel. \u00a0The one with whom we spoke was, to judge from her accent, either American or Canadian. \u00a0She told us that she was in Sydney for Taylor Swift \u2014 which is to say that she was very likely a groupie who had come to Australia for the \u201cEras Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>