Isaiah 1-12
Shiloh and Ben finish their discussion of Jesus Christ's visit to the Americas. Christ quotes from both Isaiah and Malachi, and they explore themes from these scriptures using a Beatitude / Sermon on the Mount hermeneutic to more deeply understand both Isaiah and Malachi in seeing God in a new way. Jesus Christ teaches that the Father's purpose of sending Him to earth was "that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me" (3rd Ne 27:14), and we see that Christ's doctrine -- reflective of Jacob's prior desire that "we would to God that we could persuade all men... [to] suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world" (Jacob 1:8) -- calls us all to follow Him to Gethsemane and to Calvary. We suffer for each other in temporal and finite matters what Jesus Christ exampled in spiritual and infinite matters, as we learn more intimately His descriptive call: "What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am" (3rd Ne 27:27). Ben and Shiloh, once again, lament that only 3 pages are dedicated in 4th Nephi to addressing the time of the Zion-type society that occurs after Jesus Christ's appearance. Shiloh imagines sitting down with Mormon one day to ask him why he included so little about this glorious time of righteousness, to which Shiloh imagines Mormon responding: "If you think too little is written in 4th Nephi, perhaps you don't really yet understand all that is in 3rd Nephi." ...
In approaching Genesis 3-4 and Moses 4-5, Ben and Christopher continue their discussion of these creation and fall accounts as temple texts. We are to consider ourselves as Adam and Eve, recognizing our life in their experience in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve are created as ontological equals, as priest and priestess in the presence of God. What is a serpent doing in the Garden and why do our narratives equate the serpent with Satan? What can we learn from the differences between how Adam and Eve converse with God versus how Cain converses with God? ...
The story of Abraham continues with the narrative of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. The ambiguity of the characters and conversations makes interpreting events difficult. Abraham models appropriate hospitality while Lot imitates it. Ben offers a potential historical reading of the Sodom account that might help explain the strange sequence of events. What was the explicit sin of Sodom as opposed to the traditional view? Did God really command Abraham to sacrifice his son? Christopher brings in additional versions of the story from other traditions. Studying these additional versions and the story of Abraham in The Pearl of Great Price opens up a new interpretation. Might we be reading both too much and too little into this story? ...
