![\"Melchizedek,](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/05\/800px-AbrahamApollinareClaseJRS.jpg\")
<\/a>This item was posted earlier today: \u00a0The Interpreter Insights Podcast<\/em> \u2014 January 15, 2026: \u201cAbraham, Enoch, and Melchizedek<\/a>:<\/p>\n In the 15 January 2026 episode of the Interpreter Insights Podcast<\/em>, Terry Hutchinson and Martin Tanner interview Jeffrey Bradshaw about Abraham, Enoch, and Melchizedek:<\/p>\n The Interpreter Insights Podcast<\/em> is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts and guests of the show. The views expressed on Interpreter Insights<\/em> are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As I said the other day, the current issue of BYU Studies<\/em> is unusually rich in articles that interest me. \u00a0For today, I read Stephen O. Smoot, \u201c\u201cSight and Power to Translate\u201d:\u00a0Revelatory Translation, Seership, and Joseph Smith\u2019s Scriptural Productions,\u201d BYU Studies<\/em> 64\/4 (2025): 59-83<\/a>.<\/p>\n On multiple occasions over the past few years, I\u2019ve encountered the hopeful allegation that Latter-day Saint leaders and scholars are backing away from the \u201ctraditional\u201d claim that two of Joseph Smith\u2019s scriptural productions \u2014 the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham \u2014 are authentically ancient. \u00a0The critics advancing that allegation often point, as evidence in its support, to descriptions of the two books as being the products of revelation or inspiration, which they take to signify a weakening of belief in their having actually been translated <\/em>and, thus, a step toward abandoning their historicity altogether.<\/p>\n The allegation has always seemed overeager and baseless to me and, now, Stephen Smoot\u2019s article has marshaled a large amount of evidence demonstrating just that. \u00a0He shows that the terms revelation<\/em>, inspiration<\/em>, and translation<\/em> have been used from the beginning and throughout Latter-day Saint history in association with each other and sometimes pretty much interchangeably with regard to both the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham:<\/p>\n I argue that the modern dichotomy of revelation versus translation is largely an external framework imposed on Joseph Smith\u2019s conceptualization of these texts and his role in producing them. For Joseph and the early Saints, revelation and translation were nearly synonymous because both categories converged within his role as a seer. (61)<\/p>\n The pronouncements of Orson Pratt and William Appleby anticipated Elder Soares\u2019s 2020 general conference address by nearly one hundred and fifty years. This reflects an indisputably long and consistent pattern in Latter-day Saint religious discourse of using the terms revelation<\/i> (and related words like inspiration<\/i>) and translation<\/i> practically interchangeably when describing Joseph Smith\u2019s scriptural productions\u2014a pattern particularly evident in discussions of both the Book of Mormon and the book of Abraham.<\/p>\n On a final note, lest there be any lingering confusion, it is important to emphasize that this terminological fluidity does not<\/i> suggest a strategic retreat from the authenticity of Joseph Smith\u2019s scriptural productions. There is no evidence to indicate that Latter-day Saint leaders\u2014from Orson Pratt and Wilford Woodruff to their modern successors\u2014have sometimes described Joseph Smith\u2019s translations of ancient scripture as revelations out of deference to critics or bashful concession that they lack historicity. On the contrary, the Latter-day Saint apologetic tradition has consistently offered a robust and spirited defense of the historicity and divine inspiration of both the Book of Mormon and the book of Abraham. In the case of the book of Abraham, it may be observed that Church leaders have recently shown greater openness to questions about the manner of its translation, but this is far from conceding to critics seeking to discredit its ancient authenticity.<\/p>\n The sources reviewed here are unequivocal: While these texts were often described as revelations, such descriptions were never meant to deny their status as ancient records. Recognizing this is essential for accurately understanding Joseph Smith\u2019s view of his scriptural texts, how Latter-day Saints have historically conceptualized Restoration scripture, and how that understanding has endured. (82-83)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We thought that we would need to film tomorrow (Friday) morning, but we\u2019ve been so impressively efficient during this trip that we actually managed to wrap our work up today<\/em>,<\/em> filming at the Family Living Center<\/a> and at the John and Leonora Taylor Home<\/a>. \u00a0Yesterday was cold and windy, but today seemed a bit warmer and it was definitely not as cold. \u00a0So, of course, all of today\u2019s filming was inside. \u00a0The first episode of Becoming Brigham<\/em> is due to premiere in about a week and a half, on Monday, 26 January 2026.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tradition, at the end of these filming expeditions and after we\u2019ve finished our work, to have a \u201cmovie night\u201d on the evening before we head home. \u00a0We take turns choosing a film to show in one of our motel rooms. \u00a0Tonight, it was Russ Richins\u2019s turn to choose, and the movie that he selected for sharing was Chiwetel Ejiofor\u2019s<\/a> powerful 2019 film The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind<\/a><\/em>, which is based on a true story that comes out of Malawi. \u00a0The primary vehicle of the film\u2019s dialogue is Chichewa, a Bantu language \u2014 which is translated in subtitles \u2014 although there\u2019s also a fair amount of English. \u00a0Toward the end, there are a few phrases of beautiful Classical Arabic, which, after the Chichewa, seemed to me like arriving comfortably home. \u00a0We all liked the film, and I recommend it.<\/span><\/p>\n Posted from Fort Madison, Iowa<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 This item was posted earlier today: \u00a0The Interpreter Insights Podcast \u2014 January 15, 2026: \u201cAbraham, Enoch, and Melchizedek: In the 15 January 2026 episode of the Interpreter Insights Podcast, Terry Hutchinson and Martin Tanner interview Jeffrey Bradshaw about Abraham, Enoch, and Melchizedek: The Interpreter Insights Podcast is a weekly discussion of matters of interest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":64769,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74,56,39570,3841,39573,1564],"class_list":["post-114444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-book-of-abraham","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-chiwetel-ejiofor","tag-historicity","tag-the-boy-who-harnessed-the-wind","tag-translation"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>
(LDS.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/a>