...Nature of Revelation

Welcome back everyone! Thank you for your patience today as I struggled with technical difficulties. I learned some important lessons today! While it was frustrating, I could feel your concern and support, which was a remarkable gift.

Reading for next week: Alma 23-28

Sources for additional information as you study:

The new Book of Mormon Central scripture study App--ScripturePlus

The Book of Mormon, by Grant Hardy (a different format with excellent footnotes)

Book of Mormon videos produced by the Church and can be found on the Gospel Library App

bookofmormoncentral.org

pearlofgreatpricecentral.org (a new website by the folks at Book of Mormon Central if you would like support for the study of the Pearl of Great Price)

fairmormon.org

interpreterfoundation.org


President Kerr--Invitation and Blessing

President Kerr opened our year with insightful and inspiriting thoughts and directions. Following are some of his remarks.

He reminded us of the three objectives he outlined for our study last year. The objectives for this year remain the same.

Through study, try to develop:

1. A deeper love and appreciation for the Book of Mormon.
2. A better understanding of the process of receiving revelation.
3. A deep love for our Savior, Jesus Christ.

He reminded us what a great gift and miracle the Book of Mormon is. "Despite 189 years of constant scrutiny and criticism, no one has been able to explain away the Book of Mormon as an inspired text from God."

He taught us not to expect "your revelatory process to be free of difficulty; revelation requires accountability and initiative and at some point the Lord cannot afford to have us be commanded in all things." These patterns can be observed in the lives and stories of the Book of Mormon.

He continued, "The Book of Mormon reveals more about the true nature and characteristic of Jesus Christ that any canonized text that has ever been revealed to man."

He extended an invitation. "For you to receive the full power of this experience, may I invite you to live more obediently. May I invite you to be more righteous in your life. 

And finally he promised blessings. "I bless you that you will have a greater witness that Jesus is the Christ, that Elohim is God our father and that the priesthood keys and the doctrines of the great plan of redemption have been restored. I bless you that you will have a greater witness of the Book of Mormon and of its pivotal role in the gathering of the covenant people in these last days. I bless you that you will have an even greater access to the powers of heaven and the rights and authority of the priesthood. Finally, you will have a greater witness of all those other things that matter to you, having a sure knowledge that because they matter to you they also matter to Father."

I hope we will all deeply consider his thoughts and invitations. Together we will grow in unexpected and marvelous ways. You are all needed in the process of discovery and enlightenment. What an amazing gift it is to be together with the common goal of developing a deeper connection to our Savior. I count myself very blessed to share this experience with you.

"... Nature of Revelation"

Our discussion today came from a presentation I heard at FAIRMormon Conference this past summer. The author is Ben Spackman. Following is his biographical information:

Ben Spackman did ten years of undergraduate (BYU) and graduate work in ancient Near Eastern studies and Semitics (University of Chicago) before moving on to general science (City College of New York). Currently a PhD student in History of Christianity at Claremont Graduate University, Ben’s focus is the intertwined histories of religion, science, and scriptural interpretation; most specifically, he studies the intellectual history of fundamentalism, creationism, and religious opposition to evolution in connection with interpretations of Genesis.

Ben taught volunteer Institute and Seminary for a dozen years in the Midwest, New York, and California, taught Biblical Hebrew, Book of Mormon, and New Testament at BYU, and TA’d a course on “God, Darwin, and Design” at Claremont. He has contributed to BYU Studies, Religious Educator, the Maxwell Institute, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, Religion&Politics, the Salt Lake Tribune, and blogs at benspackman.com (previously at Timesandseasons) where he writes extensively about Gospel Doctrine, evolution, and Genesis, among other things. He has presented lectures, firesides, and papers at various conferences, including the Joseph Smith Papers, the Mormon History Association, the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology, the Maxwell Institute Seminar on Mormon Culture, the Mormon Theology Seminar, Mormon Scholars in the Humanities, BYU’s Sperry Symposium, BYU Late Summer Honors (lecture on Genesis and evolution), and this year, Education Week (Aug 21-24), on Reading the Bible in Context. He is a contributor to BYU’s ecumenical Reconciling Evolution project.

Here is the link to his presentation: fairmormon.org/conference/august-2019/a-paradoxical-preservation-of-faith

I hope you will read and ponder his words. Spackman provides support for this divine-human composite experience, which when understood helps us to develop spiritual resiliency.  Knowing that revelation is a human-divine composite process helps us as we struggle with policies, scripture, revelation, and direction that we may not understand. It provides a framework for our faith and trust in our leaders who receive, interpret and convey revelation to a worldwide population.  It helps us be patient and wait when things don't immediately become clear. We find safety in knowing that revelation is a process between the human and the divine.