![James Jordan captures Joseph Smith \"backstage\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2020\/02\/71915862_681230195711273_2163883826000953344_n.jpg\")
<\/a>If you\u2019re located along the Wasatch Front, don\u2019t miss the opportunity of seeing Six Days in August<\/em> this coming Thursday night. \u00a0There will be special early screenings in American Fork, Draper, Farmington, Jordan Landing, Ogden, Orem, Salt Lake City, and Sandy: \u00a0Six Days in August<\/em> \u2013 Early Access<\/a>. \u00a0Quite frankly, we\u2019re offering these advance screenings in the hope of generating word-of-mouth publicity, buzz, for the film. \u00a0This is an independent and non-profit movie venture. \u00a0It has been funded entirely by donations, and our budget for advertising and distribution is modest. \u00a0So we\u2019re relying on you to help us.<\/p>\n In addition, please don\u2019t fail to go to the official website of the film<\/a> and request that it come to a theater near your home. \u00a0We are taking these requests very seriously; to a considerable degree, they will guide our distribution strategy.<\/p>\n And please bring yourself, your Significant Other, your friends, and your neighbors to the fireside this next Wednesday \u2014 which is to say, the night before those special early screenings \u2014 at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem: \u00a0\u201cUnveiling History: Six Days in August<\/em> Fireside\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Moreover, before I change topics, a word of advice for those who attend a screening of Six Days in August<\/em>: \u00a0Stick around for the credits. \u00a0Not merely in order to see listed the names of those who made the film a reality, but so as to hear a special musical piece that will play behind<\/em> the rolling of the credits. \u00a0It is Rob Gardner\u2019s<\/a> arrangement of John Taylor\u2019s heart-wrenching hymn about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, \u201cO Give Me Back My Prophet Dear.\u201d \u00a0It features Casey Elliott<\/a>, of Gentri<\/a>, and I hope that you\u2019ll love it as much as I do. \u00a0I also hope that you\u2019ll love the film score of Six Days in August<\/em>, which has been created by Sam Cardon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why did I want a rendition of \u201cO Give Me Back My Prophet Dear\u201d to close out the film? \u00a0One simple reason is that I find Rob Gardner\u2019s arrangement of it so deeply stirring. \u00a0But another reason is this: \u00a0There is a lunatic suggestion going the rounds out there that Joseph and Hyrum weren\u2019t really killed by a mob with painted faces, as the Church (and all reputable historians of the subject, whether believers or non-believers) would have you believe, but by Willard Richards and John Taylor, on the orders of Brigham Young. \u00a0Please remember that John Taylor was grievously wounded by the anti-Mormon mob and that he carried some of their lead in his body until the day that he died. \u00a0I wanted Elder Taylor\u2019s actual feelings about the Prophet and the Patriarch on record, and powerfully so:<\/p>\n O give me back my Prophet dear, Ye men of wisdom tell me why, It is because they strove to gain, It is because the priests of Baal This piece has just been published in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cA Model for Looking Deeply and Deeply Looking,\u201d<\/a> written by Godfrey J. Ellis<\/a><\/p>\n Review of Peter J. Williams, The Surprising Genius of Jesus: What the Gospels Reveal About the Greatest Teacher <\/em>(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023). 113 pages, $14.59 (paperback).<\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong> Peter Williams, an independent biblical scholar, has written an analysis of the parable of the prodigal son in a fascinating attempt to demonstrate two truths. The first is that one of the most overlooked attributes of the Savior is his brilliant and analytical mind. In the process, Williams reveals many intricacies hidden in the parable. He also reminds readers of the role of the Old Testament in the understanding and appreciation of the teachings of Jesus. These contributions, by themselves, demonstrate the value of the book. The second truth is that Jesus, himself, and not the gospel writers or the Apostle Paul, was the source of his teachings. However, an even greater value (and a third truth, if you will) may be a powerful demonstration of the process of looking deeply at scripture to uncover and \u201csee\u201d easily missed insights.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n And, amid the rush and crunch of getting ready for the release of Six Days in August<\/em>, I failed to mention the appearance, a day or two ago, of this essay by a dear friend, a former missionary companion in Switzerland and a former colleague in Brigham Young University\u2019s Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages: \u00a0Hugh Nibley Observed<\/em>: \u201cReminiscences of Nibley,\u201d<\/a> written by Stephen D. Ricks<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cMy recollections of Hugh Nibley go back a generation. My father, Marc Ricks, and Nibley were both doctoral students at the University of California, Berkeley, in the late 1930s, my father majoring in chemistry and Nibley in ancient history. Both attended church services at the Berkeley Ward in a lovely chapel with a venerable history located on the corner of Walnut and Vine in Berkeley. Dad said that he and Nibley were given a service assignment of cleaning up the grounds around the chapel. They worked together on the grounds until Brother Nibley became bored or distracted, at which point he walked to the chapel upstairs to play the organ, which he could do with real finesse. My dad referred to Nibley as an \u2018information man\u2019 rather than a \u2018people person\u2019\u2014but, with all due respect to my father\u2019s point of view, permit me to observe that the Lord, in order to achieve his purposes, needs people from a whole range of backgrounds, even \u2018information men\u2019 who are not particularly \u2018people persons.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\nAnd Patriarch, O give them back;
\nThe Saints of latter days to cheer,
\nAnd lead them in the gospel track.
\nBut ah! they\u2019re gone from my embrace,
\nFrom earthly scenes their spirits fled;
\nThose two, the best of Adam\u2019s race,
\nNow lie entombed among the dead.<\/p>\n
\nWhen guilt nor crime in them were found,
\nWhy now their blood doth loudly cry,
\nFrom prison walls, and Carthage ground
\nYour tongues are mute, but pray attend,
\nThe secret I will now relate,
\nWhy those whom God to earth did lend,
\nHave met the suffering martyr\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n
\nBeyond the grave a heaven of bliss;
\nBecause they made the gospel plain,
\nAnd led the Saints in righteousness.
\nIt is because God called them forth,
\nAnd led them by his own right hand
\nChrist\u2019s coming to proclaim on earth,
\nAnd gather Israel to their land.<\/p>\n
\nWere desperate their craft to save;
\nAnd when they saw it doomed to fail,
\nThey sent the Prophets to the grave.
\nLike scenes the ancient Prophets saw,
\nLike these, the ancient Prophets fell;
\nAnd till the resurrection dawn,
\nProphet and Patriarch-Fare thee well.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/a>
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n