Episode 18: Of Governments and Laws (D&C 134) – Spencer W. McBride

01/18/17 • 27 min

In November 2014, Smithsonian Magazine named Joseph Smith as the most influence American religious figure of all time. This founder of the Mormon religion also ran for president of the United States during the last year of his life. Though he left a much smaller imprint on the political scene than the religious one, there is one document in our current canonized scripture that is dedicated to enumerating LDS beliefs regarding governments and laws. Ironically, though Joseph Smith would refer to it during his lifetime, he didn't actually author it. What is now D&C 134 was written in 1835 by Oliver Cowdery and Sidney Rigdon and was accepted by common consent in a conference held in Smith's absence. No leader then or now referred to it as direct revelation from God but rather a declaration of principles. The document proved highly adaptable as it was used to protest and support the US government. It was also used in petitions to the US Congress for redress from Missouri persecutions. As part of the Revelations in Context series, McBride shares his insights into this document and its reception and use by early Mormon Apostle Lyman Wight. Spencer W. McBride believes that members will benefit from the study of the past. He maintains that "Mormons will better understand their own religion if they have a deeper understanding of American history, and Americans will better understand their past if they understand the smaller aspect of the Mormon world." Extra Resources: “Of Governments and Laws” (FREE) Pulpit and Nation: Clergymen and the Politics of Revolutionary America (Jeffersonian America) “The 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time” (Free)

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Episode 17: Exploring Near Death Experiences – Brent Top

In 1975, Dr. Raymond A. Moody coined the term "near-death experiences" in his bestselling book Life After Life. Mormons have latched on to this concept, which is not surprising, considering our unique doctrine regarding the afterlife. Dr. Brent Top has researched extensively near-death experiences, especially by those outside of the LDS community. He has identified several common elements to these experiences such as the "life review," encountering loved ones, and spirit communication. Far from fading as a fad, the topic is becoming more and more popular. While Dr. Top finds his studies interesting, he warns of the danger of trying to establish doctrine through experience. He emphasizes what the LDS doctrine is regarding the afterlife rather than anecdotal experiences. He also introduces a concept he coined as the "Apocryphal Principle" to help us evaluate these stories. Extra Resources: Beyond Death's Door: Understanding Near-Death Experiences in Light of the Restored Gospel Glimpses Beyond Death's Door What's on the Other Side? What the Gospel Teaches Us about the Spirit World

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Episode 19: The Book of Mormon as Literature – Grant Hardy

Grant Hardy became intrigued with world religions, especially those of East Asia, as a young missionary. He has researched and written widely on various topics, but his study of the Book of Mormon led him to publish two landmark books that share important insights. In his brief overview to Understanding the Book of Mormon, Hardy gives us ten observations about the Book of Mormon: It is a long book. It is written in a somewhat awkward, repetitious form of English. It imitates the style of the King James Version. It claims to be history. It presents a complicated narrative. It is a religious text. It is basically a tragedy. It is very didactic. It is a human artifact. Its basic structure is derived from the three narrators. It is this last observation that forms the thesis for the majority of his work. Hardy contends that "If you're not seeing the narrators at every turn, you're not really reading the Book of Mormon--because that's how the book is constructed, regardless of who the author(s) may have been." The three main narrators (Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni) each had distinct approaches as they presented history and revelation in their writings. Join Laura Harris Hales as she has an enjoyable back-and-forth with an outstanding Book of Mormon scholar. Download Transcript Extra Resources: Episode 19 Transcript Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide The Book of Mormon: A Reader's Edition LDS Perspectives Podcast Episode 19: The Book of Mormon as Literature with Grant Hardy Laura Hales: Hello. I’m Laura Harris Hales, your host for this episode of the LDS Perspectives Podcast. Today I’m here with Grant Hardy, author of Understanding the Book of Mormon. We will be talking about another strategy to enhance our study of the Book of Mormon. Grant Hardy is a professor of history and religious studies at the University of North Carolina in Asheville. He has a bachelor’s in Ancient Greek from Brigham Young University and a PhD in Chinese language and literature from Yale. He has authored books on diverse topics such as Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo and Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Guide. He’s also edited The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition, Enduring Ties: Poems of Family Relationships, and the Oxford History of Historical Writing, Volume 1. Grant’s “Sacred Texts of the World,” a 36-lecture course for the Teaching Company was released in 2015 and follows his earlier course “Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition.” Grant and his wife, Heather, have two children. Welcome, Grant. Grant Hardy: Thank you. It’s good to be here. Laura Hales: I have a stepson who is fluent in Chinese. How did you get interested in the Chinese language? Grant Hardy: I went on a mission to Taiwan and learned Chinese there and became very interested in Chinese literature and history and philosophy. So the family joke is I went there as a missionary, and they sort of converted me a little bit. I think it happens fairly often. Laura Hales: I think so, too. I have a lot of friends who went to Chinese-speaking missions, and they loved the people and loved the culture. From your bio, it appears that you are intrigued by world religions and those of the Far East, of course, because of China in particular. Can you pinpoint where that interest first developed? Grant Hardy: Sure. It came from the mission. As you know, missionaries are pretty restricted in what they’re allowed to read and study because they’re focusing on missionary work. But in our mission, the mission president said that anything having to do with Chinese culture might be appropriate to help us be better missionaries. I found that Chinese culture was a vast, rich, sort of treasure trove of ideas and heritage and history. I used to get up an hour earlier than the mission rule, so I would have some time to read some Chinese literature and materials.