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<\/a>A new article, written by Professor Matthew L. Bowen<\/a>, went up earlier today on the never-changing website of the Interpreter Foundation: \u201c\u201cThe Travail of His Soul\u201d: The Narratological Use of Isaiah\u2019s Suffering Servant Typology in Mosiah 14\u201324\u201d<\/a> (Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em> 68 [2026]: 289-310):<\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong> The narrative account of Abinadi, king Noah and his priests, and Alma1<\/sub>\u2014the lone believer in Abinadi\u2019s words among Noah\u2019s priests\u2014ends with Alma1<\/sub>\u2019s people being brought into bondage by the aptly-named Amulon (Hebrew, \u201cman of travail,\u201d \u201cman of labor\u201d) and his collaborators. Amulon, Alma1<\/sub>\u2019s former priestly colleague, imposed Egypt-like bondage on Alma1<\/sub>\u2019s people, with \u201ctasks\u201d overseen by \u201ctaskmasters\u201d (Mosiah 24:9). Abinadi had quoted Isaiah\u2019s poem of the suffering servant (Isaiah 53) in Mosiah 14 to answer the question from one of Noah\u2019s priests about the meaning of Isaiah 52:7\u201310. Isaiah 53:11 foretells that the suffering servant would experience \u201ctravail\u201d (<\/em>\u02bf>\u0101m\u0101l<\/span>) that would give him experiential \u201cknowledge\u201d that would make many righteous. Alma1<\/sub> and his people\u2019s fulfillment of the messianic suffering servant typology of Isaiah 53\/Mosiah 14, which gave them experiential knowledge to \u201cstand as witnesses,\u201d helps us better appreciate how covenant Israel at other times fulfills this typology. A recognition of the validity of this approach can help Latter-day Saints extend more Christ-like empathy to ethnicities, faith groups, communities, and individuals who suffer persecution.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n It was accompanied online by Interpreting Interpreter<\/em>: \u201cA Suffering People,\u201d<\/a> which was written by Kyler Rasmussen<\/a>:<\/p>\n This post is a summary of the article \u201c\u201cThe Travail of His Soul\u201d: The Narratological Use of Isaiah\u2019s Suffering Servant Typology in Mosiah 14\u201324<\/a>\u201d by Matthew L. Bowen 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\/E6ZRX3D-fNU<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Takeaway:<\/strong> Bowen reflects on \u201csuffering servant\u201d imagery and wordplay in Mosiah 14-24, connecting the bondage of Alma\u2019s people with the experiential knowledge that Christ would gain through his atonement-oriented suffering.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Also newly posted on the long-dead website of the Interpreter Foundation: \u00a0The Interpreter Insights Podcast<\/em> \u2014 9 April 2026: Moses literature and sources for study as well as Interpreter resources on Moses, with Terry Hutchinson and Mark Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n In my blog entry yesterday (\u201cHistorical Notes About England And Hawaii\u201d<\/a>), I mentioned the Interpreter Foundation travel study tour to England<\/a> that I\u2019m scheduled to accompany in May. \u00a0Naturally, in some minds, this tour should call forth an investigation into my personal finances. \u00a0So here\u2019s the scoop:<\/p>\n Bountiful Travel<\/a> will be reimbursing the cost of my transportation, food, and lodging for the tour. \u00a0(By contrast, neither the Interpreter Foundation nor its donors will be putting up a single cent.). Bountiful Travel is a for-profit business. Whether rightly or wrongly, \u00a0the folks who run it evidently see some sort of commercial advantage for the company in covering my expenses. \u00a0Beyond such reimbursement, I will not be paid for accompanying this tour. \u00a0Nor will my wife\u2019s expenses be covered \u2014 except that she will be sharing my hotel rooms.<\/p>\n Having academics accompany tours is commonplace in certain sectors of the tour industry; it isn\u2019t a scam that is uniquely mine or that of the Interpreter Foundation. \u00a0And it\u2019s likely that the academics who accompany these groups aren\u2019t paying all of their own expenses out of their own pockets. \u00a0(In fact, as I happen to personally know, some of them are \u2014 rather unlike Yr Obdt Servant \u2014 quite well compensated for their time and effort.) \u00a0Here are some examples chosen effectively at random from various tour operators. \u00a0More examples are readily and easily available:<\/p>\n I don\u2019t believe that I\u2019ve ever heard of this before: \u00a0\u201cGood Deeds Day: What you can do to give back: Companies and individuals in Utah and around the world will participate in a day of service\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Unfortunately for Latter-day Saints, the fact that \u201cGood Deeds Day\u201d falls on a Sunday complicates things more than a little bit, although ways around that fact can easily be found \u2014 e.g., perhaps, by observing the day on Saturday<\/em>. \u00a0But it\u2019s a great idea.<\/p>\n Of course, as is well known in certain circles, I personally would rather gargle with razor blades or intervene between a lioness and her cub with a toothbrush than be caught doing a kind or generous deed. \u00a0But I definitely think that others<\/em> should do them. \u00a0In fact, the more the merrier.<\/p>\n A wonderful source of excellent practical ideas for good things to do is the JustServe program<\/a> that is sponsored and administered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a>. \u00a0Although, as I say, it\u2019s sponsored by the Church, people who want to use it in order to find opportunities for service absolutely needn\u2019t be Church members, and they certainly don\u2019t need to live within the State of Utah.<\/p>\n I understand that Tukia-\u2019I-Vava\u2019U Havea and Linita Fekitoa Havea of the Neiafu Vava\u2019u Tonga West Stake have been called as president and matron of the new and soon-to-be-dedicated Neiafu Tonga Temple<\/a>. \u00a0I love their names. \u00a0I love what this temple and their names say about the ever-increasing internationalization of the Church.<\/p>\n<\/a>\n
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