![\"Zurburan's](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/03\/640px-Agnus_Dei_The_Lamb_of_God_by_Zurbar%C3%A1n_San_Diego_Museum_of_Art.jpg\")
<\/a>These two articles were posted today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>:<\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong> Dr. Meir Bar-Ilan\u2019s paper, \u201cThe Heavenly Lamb, Sacrifices on the Heavenly Altar, and the Song of the Lamb,\u201d appearing concurrently in <\/em>Interpreter, is a welcome contribution from a noted Jewish scholar. Bar-Ilan has called the world\u2019s attention to a remarkable Hebrew manuscript with origins in antiquity, <\/em>Words of Gad the Seer. Those interested in the relationship between Jewish texts and Latter-day Saint scriptures may also wish to compare the findings in Bar-Ilan\u2019s paper with treatments of the Lamb of God in the Book of Mormon and the Book of Moses.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Abstract:<\/strong> The symbolic image of the Lamb of God is well-known in the New Testament and The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. This image derives from the Old Testament, later adopted by early Christians. Words of Gad the Seer is an apocalyptic pseudepigraphal book written in pseudo-biblical Hebrew from a manuscript copied in the eighteenth century. After over thirty-three years of investigation, many aspects of this recently discovered text are coming to light. There are more than twenty similarities between this largely unknown book and the book of Revelation, though one was written by a Jewish man who became Christian and the other by a (non-rabbinic) Jew. This old yet newly discovered book will be presented briefly, and the concept of the Heavenly Altar and the song of the Lamb will be discussed. Some esoteric traditions\u2019 pseudepigraphic, rabbinic, and Hekhalot literature will be presented concerning what is sacrificed on the Heavenly Altar or goes up to God, giving the heavenly world a new look. The relationship of the Song of the Lamb to Revelation 15:3 and Jewish liturgy is also explored.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n You can still watch the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s 2021 theatrical film Witnesses<\/em> online at no charge<\/a>. \u00a0I didn\u2019t expect this offer to go on so long, but I hope that some of you will take advantage of the opportunity. \u00a0And have your neighbors and ward members seen it? \u00a0Has your family seen it? \u00a0Have the members of your court seen it? \u00a0Have you at least called it to their attention? \u00a0Has your dog-walker watched the film? \u00a0Has your chauffeur? Your manicurist? \u00a0Your valet? \u00a0Your taster? \u00a0Your jester? \u00a0If not, why<\/em> not?<\/p>\n This article in the Wall Street Journal<\/em> is worthy of reflection, I think. \u00a0Its co-author is Ryan Burge, whom I and many others regard as one of the most interesting American sociologists of religion now working: \u00a0\u201cAre Americans Really Losing Their Religion? \u00a0About 100 million people in the U.S. say they have no religious faith, but a new survey paints a more complicated picture.\u201d<\/a> \u00a0(I hope that you are able to access it.)<\/p>\n This article, too, seems worth pondering (or, if you prefer, \u201cponderizing\u201d): \u00a0\u201cThe real Gen Z religion story is about women: On most indicators, Gen Z men\u2019s religious behavior has largely stayed the same in the past decade. Instead, it is Gen Z women who have moved religiously.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n And, while we\u2019re on this theme, you might have a look at this: \u00a0\u201cCatholics Are Rapidly Losing Ground: A new survey shows that for every 100 new Catholics, more than 800 people leave the Church. As bad as that is, the news is actually worse when we look more closely at the numbers. Radical changes are needed.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n And this: \u00a0\u201cDecline in U.S. Catholic Church doesn\u2019t have a political solution\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n And this: \u00a0\u201cAmerican Jews buck the US trend and turn away from religion:\u00a0But will antisemitism on dating sites change the picture in the future?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n But Latter-day Saints shouldn\u2019t feel complacent or smugly superior. \u00a0We appear to be battling the same headwinds: \u00a0\u201cPew: Utah\u2019s religious \u201cnones\u201d rise; Christianity \u2014 including Mormonism \u2014 declines: Change in share who say they identify as Christian or unaffiliated in Utah\u201d \u00a0<\/a>Assuming that the Pew figures are accurate and that the analysis correct, it remains unclear (to me, at least) what proportion of the rise in Utah religious \u201cnones\u201d should be credited to disaffiliation (certain the number isn\u2019t zero) and what proportion of it stems from the immigration into Utah of outsiders who have been attracted by the state\u2019s strong economy. \u00a0In either case, it\u2019s clear that Utah has become even more of a \u201cmission field\u201d than it already was.<\/p>\n Pretty much ever since it was announced, opponents of the Cody Wyoming Temple \u2014 e.g., an organization called Preserve Our Cody Neighborhoods<\/a> \u2014 have claimed that it would blot out the sky, dominate and loom over the city, and block views of the beautiful mountains that surround urban Cody. \u00a0But construction of the temple is now underway. \u00a0Its framing is substantially complete, and the horrified prophecies of the temple\u2019s opponents have clearly been fulfilled. \u00a0If you take a look at the 5 March 2025 construction photograph by Tom Cook entitled \u201cFraming the steeple,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 you can easily see how prescient those prophets of doom were. \u00a0Although it\u2019s admittedly true that the temple will be a very small one, with only 9,950 square feet of floor space, and that it will be set within 4.69 acres of private landscaped grounds, it already dominates the city\u2019s skyline, conceals the alpine mountains that surround Cody, and almost completely hides the sun, the moon, and the stars from view. \u00a0(For an aerial photograph of the temple\u2019s dominant location in the downtown heart of Cody \u2014 or, alternatively, intrusively inserted into one of the city\u2019s modest and quiet residential suburbs \u2014 see here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 These two articles were posted today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: \u201cThe Lamb of God: A Note on the Significance of Meir Bar-Ilan\u2019s Paper for Latter-day Saints,\u201d written by Jeff Lindsay Abstract: Dr. Meir Bar-Ilan\u2019s paper, \u201cThe Heavenly Lamb, Sacrifices on the Heavenly Altar, and the Song of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":16610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38468,36431,2935,36959,2905,788],"class_list":["post-109361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-agnus-dei","tag-cody-wyoming-temple","tag-jew","tag-lamb","tag-latter-day-saint","tag-mormon"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a>