Isaiah 13-49
Ben and Shiloh talk about the letters from Joseph Smith to the Church while he was in hiding concerning the new and unique doctrine of baptism for the dead. These letters show an increasing complexity in Joseph’s understanding of the “Mormon Cosmology” and in how the Plan of Salvation operates. By the time these letters were written in 1842, Joseph had already started secretly engaging in the practice of plural marriage (showing that he had been thinking of the eternal nature of men and women and of humanity’s eternal relationships) and had participated in the rites of the newly established Freemasonry lodge in Nauvoo (which added a new layer of symbolism, rite, and ritual than was ever presented to him before). Additionally, the pain and trauma of losing his brother Alvin had strongly impacted Joseph throughout his entire life. Before Joseph was able to obtain the gold plates, Alvin died rather suddenly prior to choosing to be baptized into any local church. At his funeral, William Smith (Alvin’s and Joseph’s brother) wrote that the Presbyterian minister who presided over the funeral had “intimated very strongly that he [Alvin] had gone to hell, for Alvin was not a church member”. Years later, after the Kirtland Temple dedication, Joseph received a vision wherein he saw Alvin in the Celestial kingdom, and Joseph wondered how Alvin could be in heaven given that he had never been baptized. Joseph was instructed in the vision that those who had died without hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ would have the opportunity of hearing it in the next life. As Joseph would later contemplate over certain passages in the Bible (as shown in Section ...
This week the Come Follow Me curriculum omits a few chapters in Genesis. Ben and Christopher discuss these anyway since they touch on important themes. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah in turn all make choices that put their legitimacy as heirs in question. Jacob returns to Bethel to establish a mode akin to temple worship. Isaac dies, and the presence of both Esau and Jacob hints at final reconciliation between the brothers. Joseph’s story begins, interrupted by the narrative of Judah’s impropriety. This contrasts with Joseph’s character and legitimacy as the heir of the birthright of Israel. Joseph is sold into Egypt and the Lord is with him through it all. Joseph’s story is a fundamental narrative underpinning the story of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon and the development of the Latter-day Saint ethos. ...
Shiloh and Ben continue the discussion of the Jaredite narrative, as we segue from the literary epic of chapters 1 - 6 into the political discussion of the the Jaredite kings. Whereas chapters 1 - 6 denote an allegorical process of repentance in how to come to see God and God's nature in new, fresh, and more consistent ways, chapters 7 - 11 speak to the fallout in our own lives when we choose to return to our past, refuse to continue emptying the natural man, and consistently rely upon the arm of flesh for our support. There has been much talk by certain leaders of the Church pertaining to political secret combinations and what they might be in our own day. While political secret combinations make for an important discussion, this singular way at looking at "secret combinations" often fails to (1) find relevance in the majority of people's daily lives (after all, how many people have actually been exposed to explicitly oathbound, secret, murderous societies seeking solely to get wealth and power?), and (2) never fully develops or identifies any meta-narratives that are directly applicable to people's daily lives, their identity, and that frame and underscore the myths, narratives, and stories of their culture, society, and civilization. ...
