Shiloh and Ben open up a discussion about the scriptural-based idea of “shame” and what it means to “speak our trauma.” The Lord commands the early Saints to “confound your enemies” privately and publicly, and through our faithfulness our enemies’ shame will be demonstrated and “made manifest” (D&C 71:7). There are many things to unpack from this verse alone in how the Lord posits “enemies” and “shame,” but is this verse as simple as it sounds? There are many assumptions that we make in our interpretations that are unwittingly culturally informed. Through modern scholarship, we can see another way that we do this in how we approach the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Was Joseph’s “translation” an actual translation? Did Joseph borrow from modern sources? Was it a combination of both?
Moses 1 and Abraham 3 both give accounts of an experience of God and of God’s creation. Each is a prologue to a corresponding creation account. In this episode, Ben and Christopher raise and answer questions about God’s purposes in creation and how and where humanity finds its place in the cosmos. Moses’ encounter with Satan opens up a discussion about our own psychological experiences. Ben and Christopher lay the foundation in this episode for a discussion of the purpose of the four differing creation accounts in LDS scripture in the next episode. ...
Shiloh and Ben have a discussion concerning the assumptions underlying the principle of forgiveness. What is forgiveness? What assumptions does the false-self make that forgiveness releases us from in manifesting and recognizing the true-self? At least in part, forgiveness is the giving over and releasing of the feelings of anger, resentment, or judgment caused by trauma that we perceive has been inflicted upon us by another. But what does this say to God’s forgiveness? Do we inflict trauma upon God? Or is God’s forgiveness something else entirely? If it is something else entirely, then is there something for us to learn and to expand in how we perceive and utilize forgiveness in our own lives? We often think that we have offended God and that God forgives us for this offense, but to think that God is offended in the same way that we are and forgives for the same reasons that we do causes many complications. Yet, underlying the way we generally speak of God is an implicit perception of an angry, wrathful, and vengeful God that comes against us for our sins, and that we satiate God’s wrath and destruction (e.g., “the burning” as talked about in D&C 64:24) through our obedience that qualifies us for His love. Is this really, however, the best way to understand these scriptures? Is this really what God is trying to communicate with these verses? ...
Isaiah 13-49 ...
