![\"Pretty](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/10\/779px-Christonmountolive.jpg\")
<\/a>This new Interpreter Foundation article went up online today: \u201cDivine Council Directive Speech in Jacob 5: Collaborative Governance and Authorized Partnership in Zenos\u2019s Allegory of the Olive Tree,\u201d<\/a> written by Stephen Kent Ehat<\/a>, in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em> 68 (2026) : 157-206:<\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong> Christ the Lord\u2014the Lord of the vineyard or the Son acting in his stead\u2014both fulfills his promises and authorizes his servants to share in the work of saving the vineyard. Building on Brant Gardner\u2019s identification of promise\/fulfillment pairs in Jacob 5, this study identifies a complementary literary-theological pattern of divine council directive speech acts. These imperatives and cohortatives (\u201cGo and pluck,\u201d \u201cCome, let us go down,\u201d \u201clet us graft\u201d) not only announce divine intention but they commission, consult with, and mobilize covenant agents. Drawing on ancient Near Eastern divine council traditions, speech-act theory, and covenant formulary studies, the paper argues that the allegory presents the plan of salvation as collaborative governance rather than unilateral decree. The Lord directs, delegates, and labors alongside his servants, expanding the gathering of Israel from prophetic mission to collective effort and culminating in shared success. Jacob 5 affirms both divine reliability and covenant partnership: trust the Promisor and join the work.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Brother Ehat\u2019s article is accompanied online by \u201cInterpreting Interpreter<\/em>: Divine Directives in Jacob 5,\u201d<\/a> written by Kyler Rasmussen<\/a>:<\/p>\n This post is a summary of the article \u201cDivine Council Directive Speech in Jacob 5: Collaborative Governance and Authorized Partnership in Zenos\u2019s Allegory of the Olive Tree<\/a>\u201d by Stephen Kent Ehat in Volume 68 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 A video introduction to this Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/0nC5T8qKQkw<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Takeaway:<\/strong> Ehat proposes a structure for Jacob 5 based on different divine directives, some direct imperatives, and some collaborative, council-oriented invitations, occurring in cycles of crisis, commission, labor, and assessment. These patterns show our role in participating in God\u2019s divine council as he labors on behalf of humanity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n One complaint that I\u2019ve heard from a couple of friends about our Becoming Brigham<\/em> series has been that the episodes are too short. \u00a0They wanted more.<\/p>\n Let me address that complaint a bit, explaining our reasoning as to the length of the episodes: Our general impression is that many people, especially younger people, favor shorter<\/em> online content. \u00a0(I should note that the complaints about our installments being too short have come, in every case, from people in their seventies.) \u00a0So we decided to go about as short as we could without altogether sacrificing substance \u2014 which is how we arrived at a length that will typically run between ten and fifteen minutes. \u00a0We think, on the whole, that it\u2019s better to hear people wishing for more<\/em> than to have them complaining that we went on too long<\/em>.<\/p>\n If length and depth of treatment are<\/em> desired, though \u2014 and I hope that people do<\/em> want depth and substance! \u2014 folks should remember that our current plan is to create about seventy to seventy-five episodes of Becoming Brigham<\/em> \u2014 which will come out, eventually and approximately, to between fourteen and nineteen total hours of documentary material.<\/p>\n Six episodes of Becoming Brigham<\/em> are already out (and available here<\/a>). \u00a0The seventh episode will appear on Monday. \u00a0Anybody who finds ten or fifteen minutes too little is certainly welcome to watch more than one installment at a time. \u00a0And, incidentally, we plan to post complete transcripts of all of the interviews that we\u2019ve done (and that we continue to do) for the series.<\/p>\n I would like to remind you of an upcoming event and encourage you to mark your calendars for it. \u00a0It will be held on the Provo campus of Brigham Young University, regarding which further details will be forthcoming:<\/p>\n A Conference on the Small Plates of Nephi in the Book of Mormon<\/p>\n May 29-30, 2026<\/p>\n Sponsored by The Interpreter Foundation<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cGOP Rep. Gonzales ending reelection bid after admitting to affair with late staffer\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 Representative Tony Gonzales of Texas, a married father of six, had an affair with his married political aide Regina Ann Santos-Aviles, who eventually drenched herself in gasoline and burned herself to death. \u00a0Since then, he has been under pressure to leave Congress, and he has finally given in to the pressure.<\/p>\n However, I\u2019m not sure why, in today\u2019s Republican Party, Mr. Gonzales\u2019s affair should have been such big deal.<\/p>\n Years before becoming the Attorney General of Texas, in 2014, Ken Paxton was reprimanded and fined $1,000 by the Texas Securities Board for failing to register as an investment advisor.<\/p>\n Since assuming the office of Attorney General, Mr. Paxton has faced accusations of bribery, abuse of public trust, obstruction of justice, and fraud, resulting in a twenty-article impeachment by the Republican-led Texas House of Representatives on a vote of 121-23. \u00a0(Eight of his top aides had reported him to the FBI for abusing his office, which led to a whistleblower lawsuit that was ultimately settled for $3.3 million in taxpayer funds.) \u00a0Allegedly, Mr. Paxton used his office to benefit Nate Paul, a donor to his campaign, who in turn employed a woman with whom Paxton had an affair.\u00a0 Mr. Paxton was acquitted by the Texas Senate, which failed to reach the 2\/3 vote required for conviction.<\/p>\n Mr. Paxton was also indicted on three felony counts of securities fraud shortly after taking office, facing up to 99 years in prison. \u00a0However, he reached a plea deal in March 2024 to drop these charges by paying nearly $271,000 in restitution, performing a hundred hours of community service, and completing courses in legal ethics. \u00a0(He is, please recall, the Attorney General of Texas.)<\/p>\n In July 2025, Mr. Paxton\u2019s wife, Texas state Senator Angela Paxton, sued him for divorce, citing adultery.<\/p>\n On Tuesday of this week, Mr. Paxton qualified by primary election to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX, a fairly traditional Reagan Republican type) in a run-off election for the Republican senatorial nomination.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve often been reminded in recent years, we\u2019re not voting for choirboys or for a preacher or a pastor-in-chief. \u00a0We\u2019re draining the swamp. \u00a0Making America great again. \u00a0So why all the fuss about poor Representative Gonzales?.<\/p>\n I close, as I often do, with some chilling reports \u2014 in this case, a solid quintet \u2014 that I\u2019ve drawn from the effectively inexhaustible Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 This new Interpreter Foundation article went up online today: \u201cDivine Council Directive Speech in Jacob 5: Collaborative Governance and Authorized Partnership in Zenos\u2019s Allegory of the Olive Tree,\u201d written by Stephen Kent Ehat, in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 68 (2026) : 157-206: Abstract: Christ the Lord\u2014the Lord of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":27594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[56,39218,36479,274,39712,28088],"class_list":["post-115162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-byu-pathway","tag-byu-pathway-worldwide","tag-jacob-5","tag-olive-tree","tag-small-plates"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a><\/a>\u201cFor a Wise Purpose in Him\u201d<\/h2>\n
Perspectives on the Small Plates of Nephi
\n(1 Nephi \u2013 Words of Mormon)<\/h3>\n<\/a><\/a>\n