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Two new articles went up today at noon (Utah time) on the website of the Interpreter Foundation.\u00a0 We hope that you\u2019ll enjoy them:<\/p>\n
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\u201cToward a Greater Appreciation of the Word\u00a0Adieu<\/em> in Jacob 7:27,\u201d<\/a> written by Godfrey J. Ellis<\/a><\/p>\n Abstract:\u00a0<\/strong>The phrase \u201cBrethren, adieu\u201d (Jacob\u00a07:27) has been criticized over the years as an obvious anachronism in the Book of Mormon. That criticism holds no validity whatsoever, as others have pointed out, since many English words have French origins. It\u2019s worth considering, though, a deeper meaning of the word. In French, it carries a nuance of finality \u2014 that the separation will last until a reunion following death (<\/em>\u00e0 Dieu, or\u00a0<\/em>until God). This deeper meaning of\u00a0<\/em>adieu\u00a0appears to have been known by Shakespeare and frontier Americans although the second meaning is not generally recognized by English speakers today. However, Jacob 7:27 appears to reflect this deeper meaning as do certain uses of another valediction in the Book of Mormon \u2014 that of\u00a0<\/em>farewell. With the deeper meaning of\u00a0<\/em>adieu\u00a0in mind, the parallel structure in Jacob 7:27 \u2014 \u201cdown to the grave,\u201d reflecting the finality of\u00a0<\/em>adieu\u00a0\u2014 becomes more apparent. The question of whether Joseph Smith was aware of the deeper meaning of\u00a0<\/em>adieu\u00a0is taken up by looking at how the word was used in the Joseph Smith Papers. The take-away is that rather than reflecting an error on the part of Joseph Smith, the word\u00a0<\/em>adieu, with its deeper nuance of finality until God, is not only an appropriate term, it appears to strengthen rather than undermine the case for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cInterpreting\u00a0Interpreter<\/em>: Addressing Valedictions,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0written by Kyler Rasmussen<\/a><\/p>\n This post is a summary of the article \u201cToward a Greater Appreciation of the Word Adieu in Jacob 7:27<\/a>\u201d by Godfrey Ellis in Volume 55 of\u00a0Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>. An introduction to the Interpreting\u00a0Interpreter<\/em>\u00a0series is available at\u00a0https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Takeaway:\u00a0<\/strong> Ellis provides an exploration of the use of the word\u00a0adieu\u00a0<\/em>in Jacob 7:27, arguing that the deeper connotations of the French word, which implies a more permanent kind of separation, fits the context of that scripture, with the use of the word fitting both Joseph\u2019s linguistic milieu and the Early Modern English that characterizes the Book of Mormon. That meaning also has implications for the parallelistic structure of that passage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As I\u2019ve done a number of times previously, I represented the Interpreter Foundation this afternoon at a luncheon on the campus of Brigham Young University sponsored by BYU\u2019s College of Religious Education.\u00a0 The luncheon and program honored the winners of the College\u2019s annual student essay contest and its annual student visual arts competition.\u00a0 Various monetary prizes were presented to the winners, as were bundles of booty from Scripture Central, the Mormon History<\/a> Association, and BYU Studies.\u00a0 Among the treasures for each of them was a DVD copy of the Interpreter Foundation docudrama Undaunted: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 But the poor lambs were obliged to listen, first, to brief remarks from each of the organizations represented \u2014 including from, well, me<\/em>.<\/p>\n By the way, here\u2019s something about Brigham Young University that\u2019s worthy of note and that could, arguably, even have been enshrined in the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u00a9:\u00a0 \u201cBYU ranked No. 3 in the nation for producing most U.S. Fulbright Scholars: \u201cMind-expanding and culturally enriching\u201d experience allows BYU professors to study, teach overseas\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n You may perhaps recall that, prior to the call of Elders Gerrit W. Gong<\/a> and Ulisses Soares<\/a> to the Council of the Twelve, the presiding quorums of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> were frequently condemned as too white-bread and too monoculturally American (with the partial exception, of course, of Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who is German).\u00a0 You may also recall that, shortly after his ordination as an apostle, Elder Soares was still criticized as insufficiently Latin American and too white.<\/p>\n The issues aren\u2019t quite the same, of course, but I couldn\u2019t help but remember those criticisms when I read this:\u00a0 \u201cWhy Isn\u2019t Nikki Haley Indian-American Enough?\u00a0 She\u2019s getting subjected to the same garbage criticisms as Clarence Thomas.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Finally, here is a trio of links that were definitely and quite appropriately located in the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u00a9:<\/p>\n \u201cPerspective: Faith is a factor in good mental health. Why are so many people unable to see this?\u00a0 We see what our culture primes us to see, even when it comes to the protective role of religion for LGBTQ youth\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
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