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<\/a>(Photo by Nick Allen.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I was very pleased to read the remarks delivered by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland at BYU\u2019s annual University Conference yesterday.\u00a0 (Although now retired from BYU, I was invited to attend.\u00a0 Instead, though, I was with the world\u2019s cutest 4.5-year-old at the Butterfly Biosphere and the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point, in Lehi, Utah.\u00a0 Wonderful places.). You can watch a video of Elder Holland\u2019s speech and read its complete text at<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cElder Jeffrey R. Holland Urges BYU to Embrace Its Uniqueness, Stay True to the Savior: Apostle speaks at BYU\u2019s 2021 University Conference\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Yesterday\u2019s address reminds me quite a bit of a speech that he gave back on 10 November 2018.\u00a0 You can read the text of that address here:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Maxwell Legacy in the Twenty-First Century\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And you can watch a video of it here:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, \u201cThe Maxwell Legacy in the 21st Century\u201d (2018 Neal A. Maxwell Lecture)<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I reflected on Elder Holland\u2019s 2018 remarks here:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Interpreter Foundation and an Apostolic Charge\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here are links to a few articles that were published in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em> some time ago.\u00a0 They remain relevant:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Daniel C. Peterson, \u201cA Democratic Salvation\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0Over the centuries, many religious thinkers \u2014 precisely because they are religious thinkers \u2014 have put a premium on intellectual attainment as a prerequisite for salvation. This has sometimes yielded an elitism or snobbishness that is utterly foreign to the teachings of the Savior. The Gospel as taught in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> values education and knowledge, certainly. But not unduly. Intellectuals, while heartily welcome among the Saints and, when faithful, much appreciated for their potential contributions to the Church, have no claim on any special status in the Kingdom simply because of their (real or pretended) intellectuality, whether here or in the hereafter.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Stanford Carmack, \u201cBad Grammar in the Book of Mormon Found in Early English Bibles\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0This study describes ten types of grammatical usage found in early modern Bibles with correlates in the original text of the Book of Mormon. In some cases Joseph Smith\u2019s own language could have produced the matching grammar, but in other cases his own linguistic preferences were unlikely to have produced the patterns or usage found in the original text. Comparative linguistic research indicates that this grammatical correspondence shouldn\u2019t be a surprise, since plenty of Book of Mormon syntax matches structures and patterns found in Early Modern English.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Matt Gardner, \u201cDiscipleship of Yesterday for Today\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Review of Eric\u00a0D.\u00a0Huntsman,\u00a0Becoming the Beloved Disciple: Coming unto Christ through the Gospel of John<\/em>\u00a0(Springville, UT: CFI, an imprint of Cedar Fort, 2018). 176 pages. $19.99.<\/span><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0What does the Gospel of John say about discipleship? Does early Christian discipleship matter today? Can coming unto Christ be different for each person? Eric Huntsman offers answers to these questions through his excellent scholarly background in Greek, which lends to crisp exegetic interpretations on the fourth gospel. Even more, Huntsman provides valuable hermeneutic applications for a\u00a0growing diversified membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Indeed, this book delivers a\u00a0better understanding of how each child of God uniquely comes to know Jesus Christ.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Val Larsen, \u201cFirst Visions and Last Sermons: Affirming Divine Sociality, Rejecting the Greater Apostasy\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0There is a\u00a0kinship between Lehi and Joseph\u00a0Smith. They are linked to each other by similar first visions, and they faced roughly the same theological problem. Resisted by elites who believe God is a\u00a0Solitary Sovereign, both prophets affirm the pluralistic religion of Abraham, which features a\u00a0s\u00f4d\u00a0\u2019\u0115l\u00f4him (Council of Gods) in which the divine Father, Mother, and Son sit. These prophets are likewise linked by their last sermons: Lehi\u2019s parting sermon\/blessings of his sons and Joseph\u2019s King Follett discourse. Along with the first visions and last sermons, the article closely reads Lehi\u2019s dream, Nephi\u2019s experience of Lehi\u2019s dream, and parts of the Allegory of the Olive Tree, John\u2019s Revelation, and Genesis, all of which touch on the theology of the S\u00f4d (Council).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Mark J. Johnson, \u201cScriptures through the Jeweler\u2019s Lens\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Review of Terryl Givens with Brian Hauglid,\u00a0The Pearl of Greatest Price: Mormonism\u2019s Most Controversial Scripture<\/em>\u00a0(New York: Oxford University Press, 2019). 285 pages. $34.95 (hardback).<\/span><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0Among the many revelatory works of Joseph\u00a0Smith, members and scholars alike seem to give lesser attention to what is found in the Pearl of Great Price. In\u00a0<\/em>The Pearl of Greatest Price, Terryl Givens and Brian\u00a0Hauglid attempt to provide some of the attention that has been lacking. The result is a\u00a0book that, while spotty in places, provides a\u00a0good resource that should receive wide exposure in academic circles. Believing members, on the other hand, may find the book lacking or downright questionable because of the secular approach it takes to dealing with scripture understood to have a\u00a0divine provenance.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n