Unit 6
Who may the planet Kolob best symbolize?
Jesus Christ
How was Joseph's translation of the Bible accomplished?
- bought king James version of the bible in 1838 - didn't use seer stones or compare Greek or Latin text. He also didn't try to change passages to match the Book of Mormon phrasing. This translation wasn't an attempt to return the Bible to its original form. It was done to interpret biblical passages for the saints
What are the facsimiles in the Pearl of Great Price, and what can they represent?
- 1. is a deliverance scene, with Abraham being faithful and miraculously saved by the Lord. - 2. is about eternal knowledge. It is a hypocephalus—meaning "under or beneath the head." A hypocephalus is an oval or circular object that Egyptians placed under the head of their dead. It represented the eye of Horus, the sun god, and portrayed knowledge relating to resurrection and life after death. - 3. judgment scene. This is explained in the Pearl of Great Price as "Abraham sitting upon Pharoah's throne" (figure 1), and he "is reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king's court." This scene may be a symbolic future representation of Abraham becoming exalted and sitting upon a throne in heaven
How many changes did Joseph Smith make to the Bible, and how many of those changes are included in the Latter-day Saint Bible today?
- 3410 - one-third
How did we get the Pearl of Great Price, and when was it canonized?
- Apostle Franklin D. Richards compiled the Pearl of Great Price while serving as president of the British Mission. The book was widely used as the Church grew, and in 1880 Church leaders voted it into the canonized standard works. - 1880
Where did the Book of Abraham come from?
- Chandler made his way to Kirtland, Ohio. There, he offered four of the mummies and two rolls of papyrus for sale. Joseph was immediately interested - Egyptian papyri
What is the Abrahamic covenant?
- POSTERITY "His posterity would be numerous (see Genesis 17:5-6 (Links to an external site.); Abraham 2:9 (Links to an external site.); 3:14 (Links to an external site.)). - PRIESTHOOD "His seed, or descendants, would receive the gospel and bear the priesthood (Links to an external site.) (see Abraham 2:9 (Links to an external site.)). - PROPERTY "Through the ministry of his seed, 'all the families of the earth [would] be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal' (Abraham 2:11 (Links to an external site.))."
What does it mean that Joseph Smith "translated" the Bible?
- an act of . . . interpretation - 'transmission,' having reference to copying, editing, adding to, taking from, rephrasing, and interpreting. - help better understand the gospel
What types of changes to the Bible did Joseph Smith make?
- clarification - correcting errors - addition - explanation - deletion - removing contradiction - modern application - grammatical changes - no changes
What was the process of acquiring and printing the JST?
- first publication was in the Times and Seasons - Emma Smith kept it after JS death--> RLDS - grad student Robert J Matthews studied the JST - with permission from RLDS, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints put some in footnotes in the bible
When was the Book of Abraham translated?
- in early July and late November of 1835. Even so, it's not entirely clear how much he translated then or in later years. - In the spring of 1842, Joseph published translations from the Book of Abraham in the Church's Nauvoo newspaper, Times and Seasons
How does the JST contribute to the restoration of truth and the education of Joseph Smith?
- it was a way the Lord tutored and education JS - directly impacted D&C sections (i.e. city of Zion in Moses-- JS gathered saints in Ohio implemented law of consecration) - D&C and JST are interwoven
By what names have Joseph's Bible translation been known?
- new translation - inspired translation - JST
What are some of the academic challenges and responses to the Book of Abraham?
- the truthfulness of the Book of Abraham can't be settled by relying on academic debate. The book's status as scripture lies in the eternal truths it teaches and the powerful spirit it conveys. - Only after humble study and sincere prayer can we receive a witness from the Holy Ghost regarding the truthfulness and doctrinal importance of the Book of Abraham
Why was Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible considered to be open ended?
- though extensive, was not exhaustive - Because Joseph Smith's biblical "translation" implies a revelatory "interpretation," it is possible that additional changes would have been made by Joseph Smith if he had lived longer and as new needs arose for Joseph to render plainer translations for the Saints - "If the prophet should translate the bible forty thousand times over . . . yet it should be different in some places every time, because when God speak, he always speaks according to the capacity of the people.
What main gospel themes are present in the Book of Abraham?
The Book of Abraham portrays three moments of divine intervention in Abraham's life that comport with the broad strokes of the biblical account. But it makes of those strokes a very different picture. It begins with Abraham as a seeker after the blessing of his prophet-patriarch fathers. It climaxes with his obtaining the blessings of land, priesthood, and progeny that informs Israel's self-understanding; it concludes with a moment of instruction into divine cosmology that gives purpose to the previous two events
What does it mean that Abraham desired the "blessings of the fathers"?
priesthood covenants and power they received—the priesthood covenants of exaltation