http://www.mormonmonastery.org Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:02:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've written up a post about a passage from Ugaritic literature and the LDS temple over at FaithPromotingRumor. Check it out. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/guestpost-at-fpr/ As time goes by, older and venerated prophets and apostles are inevitably succeeded by new ones. I have a post to put up about President Hinckley and the temple, but I was thinking about changes. We lose much experience and wisdom when someone like President Hinckley passes, but we also ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/brief-thoughts-on-change/ According to this talk by Elder Ballard, many non-LDS confuse LDS temples, tabernacles, and churches. They know that non-LDS aren't allowed to enter, uh, churches? Wait, temples? I know this... Lots of people are confused. So, I will clarify. Local congregations or "wards" (you can find out about what meetings are ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/temple-tabernacle-and-church-whats-the-difference/ For those of us studying the Bible or Ancient Near East, acquisition of German reading skills is a must. (It's often said that German is the most important Semitic language, an insider joke of sorts, since German isn't Semitic.) This new blog, http://ergebung.wordpress.com offers daily practice in what it calls Theological ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/german-practice/ I notice it's been over a year since my last post. During that time, I've made some minor improvements behind the scenes, but I've been largely unavailable to devote as much time as I want to here. Our Spanish translation has completely stalled. However, there are some positive developments. FARMS, BYU Studies, ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/updates-links-and-reports/ 1 Nephi Frederick Axelgard. “1 and 2 Nephi: An Inspiring Whole.” BYUS 26:4 ():53-66. Noel Reynolds. "Nephi's Outline." BOMA, 53-73. Also in BYUS 20:2 ():131-150. Rulon D. Eames. ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/1-nephi-stuff/ Ludlow Daniel H. “The Title Page." FNDF p.19-33. David B. Honey. “Historiography of the Title Page.” JBMS 3:1 Clyde J. Williams. "More Light on Who Wrote the Title Page." JBMS 10:2, 2001. Eldin Ricks. "Book of Mormon- Title Page." EM, 1:??. Sidney B. Sperry. "Moroni the Lonely: The Story of the Writing of ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/book-of-mormon-title-page/ Richard Bennet, "'Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept: Reflections on the 1877 Commencement of the Performance of Endowments and Sealings for the Dead" BYU Studies 44:3 (2005). Summary. A copy may be downloaded from BYU Studies for 2.00 from that page. Prior to 1877, few ordinances for the dead were performed, due to ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/251-richard-bennet-on-endowment-and-ordinances-for-dead/ Richard G. Oman-  "Exterior Symbolism of the Salt Lake Temple: Reflecting the Faith that Called the Place into Being" BYU Studies, Examines the history and symbolism of the SLC Temple- moonstones, starstones, sunstones, jupiter stones, etc. , as well as elevator shafts and other myths about the interior. Summary. Free download from BYU ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/250-richard-oman-slc-temple-exterior-symbolism/ “ ‘The Source of All Good Things’: Hugh Nibley and the Temple.” – Boyd Peterson. Hugh Nibley- A Consecrated Life (SLC: Greg Kofford Books, 2002): 351-363, esp. 355-56. Details Hugh Nibley’s involvement with the Apostles and First Presidency on the “history and significance” of the Endowment at a ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/205-hugh-nibley-on-the-temple/ “‘Not to be Riten’: The Mormon Temple Rite as Oral Canon.”- Kathleen Flake. Journal of Ritual Studies 9.2 (1995):1-21. Kathleen Flake is an LDS professor of American Religious History at Vanderbilt University. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/204-kathleen-flake-on-lds-temple/ Go Forward with Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley –Sheri L. Dew. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996): 176-184. Gospelink (subscription required) Account of President Hinckley’s very personal involvement with the adaptation of film as a medium for the temple. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/203-adaptation-of-film-in-lds-temple-by-elder-hinckley/ While this is indirect, Hugh Nibley’s older articles (such as in Temple and Cosmos or Mormonism and Early Christianity) often refer to the temple ceremony. You can pick up on subtle changes that way. Or, ask an old-timer in the temple sometime. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/202-nibley-on-temple-changes/ Longer and respectful treatment of the same, on his website. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/201-more-from-mike-ash-on-temple-changes/ “Can the Temple Ceremony Change?” – Mike Ash, FAIR paper. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/200-mike-ash-on-temple-changes/ I must admit, I left Gospel Doctrine frustrated almost to the point of anger. Amos is one of my favorite books, and has some really great stuff for discussion, even surface KJV-English stuff anyone should be able to pick up on without a PhD in Hebrew Bible. Instead we talked about... ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/does-god-commit-evil-some-quick-notes-on-amos-3/ Perhaps someone else has already pointed this out, but the Spanish scriptures are now available on the official LDS Website. From scriptures.lds.org, clicking on the language name in the upper-right hand corner of the browser will open a small box that allows you to flip languages. At the moment, ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/spanish-scriptures-appear-on-ldsorg/ Since I lack the time to post frequently, I'm going to begin calling attention to good papers that I think deserve wider circulation. The first is Ed Kimball's "History of LDS Temple Admission Standards" in The Journal of Mormon History, Spring (1998): 135-175. It has recently been made available both on ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/papers-1-the-history-of-lds-temple-admission-standards-and-temple-recommend-questions/ Greg and I have some different takes on things, but his FAIR Conference presentation is still useful. Greg Kearney, "The Message and the Messenger: Latter-day Saints and Freemasonry" 2005 FAIR Conference Presentation   http://www.mormonmonastery.org/257-greg-kearneys-fair-presentation-on-masonry/ We Norte Americano saints often forget that the vast majority of LDS literature is simply inaccessible to most of the Saints, since they don't speak English. Whether the literature is good or bad, from FARMS to Sunstone, from Jack Weyland to Elder McConkie, Eugene England to Orson Pratt, it just  ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/reaching-the-saints-or-spanish-help/ Nick Literski, Review of Clyde Forsberg's Equal Rites: The Book of Mormon, Masonry, Gender, and American Culture. FRB 17:1 (2005):1-10 http://www.mormonmonastery.org/358-literskis-review-of-forsberg/ Greg Kearney, "How does one explain the similarities between Masonic rites and the Temple rites?" FAIR paper. Same comments apply here as to his Mormon Stories podcast above. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/356-kearneys-fair-paper/ An anonymous LDS historian's response to Gerald and Sandra Tanner's Mormonism- Shadow or Reality? This paper was widely circulated when it first appeared in 1977. For the comments on Masonry, see p. 21. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/354-anonymous-lds-historian-on-the-tanners-masonry/ Elder John A. Widtsoe "Whence Came the Temple Endowments?" In Evidences and Reconciliations (Salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1960): 111-113. Reproduced here. Gospelink (subscription required) http://www.mormonmonastery.org/353-elder-john-a-widtsoe-whence-came-the-temple-endowments/ Ben McGuire's chapter on the temple in Mormonism 201 (responding to an antimormon book) from FAIR. The whole article is good, but requires scrolling. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/352-ben-mcguire-on-masonry/ President Anthony W. Ivins. The Relationship between Mormonism and Masonry. Similar caveats as above. Available in .PDF format. (If that link doesn’t work, go here and hunt for it by title or author.) http://www.mormonmonastery.org/351-ivins-on-mormon-masonry/ E. Cecil McGavin, Mormonism and Masonry Older and very outdated source, previous to any of the scholarship listed on this page, in .PDF format. (If that doesn’t work, go here.) http://www.mormonmonastery.org/350-mcgavin-on-masonry/ Nick Literski, an LDS Mason (who used to have an excellent temple site), has a forthcoming book Method Infinite: Freemasonry and the Mormon Restoration on “the role of Freemasonry in the restoration of the gospel. This will begin back in early Vermont days, on up through the late 19th century” ... http://www.mormonmonastery.org/349-literskis-forthcoming-book/ Jeff Lindsay’s FAQ on the subject is probably the best internet resource. It's really quite good (and I'm not just saying that because he links to me, either.) I don’t recommend searching for others on the internet. You'll find more than you're looking for. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/348-jeff-lindsay-on-masonry/ The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship reviewed by FAIR, here. http://www.mormonmonastery.org/347-fair-review-of-mysteries-of-godliness/