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Alleged Anachronisms and a Demonstrably False Prophecy

Alleged Anachronisms and a Demonstrably False Prophecy

Last updated on: January 26, 2018 at 1:33 pm by Dan Peterson

Alleged Anachronisms and a Demonstrably False Prophecy 2018-01-26T13:33:28-07:00 Dan Peterson

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Holy Trinity Church in Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon (Wikimedia Commons)
Is this the real Book of Mormon River Sidon?

Continuing with my notes from John W . Welch, et al., eds., Knowing Why: 137 Evidences That the Book of Mormon Is True (American Fork: Covenant Communications, 2017):

“Did Lehi Quote Shakespeare?” (66-67)

Almost immediately after its publication in 1830, some critics pointed out that the Book of Mormon anachronistically quotes from the Shakespearean play Hamlet:

Lehi speaks of the grave, “from whence no traveler can return” (2 Nephi 1:14); Hamlet speaks of death as “the undiscover’d country, from whose bourn no traveller returns” (Hamlet III.i).

Pretty obvious and pretty damning, no?

But the concept that death is a destination from which few come back wasn’t exactly novel in Shakespeare’s day, let alone in Joseph Smith’s. And it’s biblical. See Job 10:20-21, for example.

And Robert F. Smith has cited additional examples from, respectively, the ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts and the ancient Sumerian Descent of Inanna:

“May you not go on the roads of the western ones [the dead]; / They who go on them do not return.”

“Why, pray, have you come to the ‘Land of No Return,’ / On the road whose traveler returns never, / How has your heart led you?”

“Was the Requirement of a ‘Broken Heart’ Known Before the Time of Christ?” (68-69)

We commonly think that, with the atonement offered by Jesus and the cessation, therefore, of animal sacrifices, the “offering” of “a broken heart and a contrite spirit” was instituted as a substitute for the sacrificial liturgy of the ancient temple. But 2 Nephi 2:7 mentions “a broken heart and a contrite spirit” long before the mortal advent of Christ.

Is this a mistake? An anachronism?

Professor Dana Pike points out that it isn’t. Not even close. He cites two passages from the biblical Psalms:

“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 51:16-17)

***

Don’t forget about the Interpreter Radio Show, which will air its third broadcast this coming Sunday, 7 PM to 8 PM Utah time, on K-Talk (1640 AM) and via K-Talk’s website. Not to discourage you or anything, but I myself will be on this week, along with Martin Tanner, Bruce Webster, and Mike Parker.

***

For students and teachers of LDS Gospel Doctrine classes:

“An Old Testament KnoWhy for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 4: ‘Because of My Transgression My Eyes Are Opened’ (Moses 4; 5:1–15; 6:48-62)” [A]

“An Old Testament KnoWhy for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 4: ‘Because of My Transgression My Eyes Are Opened’ (Moses 4; 5:1–15; 6:48-62)” [B]

“An Old Testament KnoWhy for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 5: ‘If Thou Doest Well, Thou Shalt Be Accepted’ (Moses 5-7)” [B]

“An Old Testament KnoWhy for Gospel Doctrine Lesson 5: ‘If Thou Doest Well, Thou Shalt Be Accepted'” [B]

***

And, speaking of death as “the undiscover’d country, from whose bourn no traveller returns”: A new article has appeared in the perpetually near-death Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture:

“Changing Critics’ Criticisms of Book of Mormon Changes”

Which reminds me of the confident prophecy issued five years ago yesterday by a pseudonymous critic on a small, extraordinarily nasty, and mostly atheist ex-Mormon message board:

“By Jan. 1, 2014 Interpreter will be dead. . . . Either totally dead or down to token ‘blog’ style postings.” (Bond James Bond, 25 January 2013)

I don’t think that I’m being premature to suggest that “Bond James Bond’s” prediction may possibly have been slightly incorrect. Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture has now published at least one new article every Friday for 288 consecutive weeks. That “streak” commenced just nine or ten days after the decision was made to establish the Interpreter Foundation in the first place and to launch its journal. We’ve also convened several conferences, published several books, posted scripture roundtables, launched a radio program, and so forth. Of course, we may be about to die and simply too stupid to realize it.

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