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“Rethinking the Encounter between Jacob and Sherem”

“Rethinking the Encounter between Jacob and Sherem”

Last updated on: November 29, 2022 at 6:10 am by Dan Peterson

“Rethinking the Encounter between Jacob and Sherem” 2022-11-29T06:10:48-07:00 Dan Peterson

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An artist’s representation of the objects associated with the recovery of the Book of Mormon (David A. Baird)

Two new articles have just gone up in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship:

“Rethinking the Encounter between Jacob and Sherem,” written by Loren Blake Spendlove

Abstract: The Book of Mormon story of Jacob and Sherem has been evaluated and interpreted from many different viewpoints over the years. In his retelling of the story, Jacob crafted a cautionary tale of religious hubris and self-importance that can serve as an important lesson for members of the church today. In this paper I use various methodologies to examine the interaction between Jacob and Sherem — including comparative scriptural analysis, semantics, and Hebraic syntax and structural elements — in an attempt to increase our understanding of the relationship between Jacob and Sherem.

“Interpreting Interpreter: There Came a Man,” written by Kyler Rasmussen

This post is a summary of the article “Rethinking the Encounter between Jacob and Sherem” by Loren Blake Spendlove in Volume 54 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

The Takeaway: Spendlove provides a grab-bag of insights into the story of Jacob and Sherem, based on a reframing of common assumptions about language that Jacob employs within that story. These lead him to conclude that Sherem was native to the Nephite community, that he’d had repeated previous conversations with Jacob, and that Jacob’s narrative was carefully crafted, making use of potential parallelism and Hebrew wordplay (e.g., kachash, meaning to deceive or deny; yadah and yada, meaning to know and to confess, respectively).

An artist’s representation of the gold plates of the Book of Mormon

I received this emailed note last night, and I share it with you for your possible interest. I’ve already enjoyed my friend Ralph Hancock’s article, which I hope will be read by both leaders of Brigham Young University and its sponsoring church. (Contrast this opinion piece by a current BYU student that was published on Wednesday in the Washington Post: “Young Mormons aren’t fooled by church support for a gay marriage bill.”)

Welcome, dear readers, to the Fall 2022 issue of SquareTwo! We have an outstanding issue for your reading pleasure.

First, Professor Ralph Hancock of Brigham Young University writes a heartfelt call for greater attention to the core mission of that university: developing the faith of its students. He suggests that, ironically, this means centering the university’s work more closely on God, and not centering primarily around students. Hancock’s analysis and recommendations will surely be required readings for those who love “the Lord’s university.”

Second, one of the trickiest issues in living the Gospel is navigating a relationship with family members who have left the Church and may now even openly fight against it. Holly Hamilton-Bleakley has penned a deeply thoughtful and deeply moving account of how this has affected her own family, and what she has learned from the experience.

Third, Sarah Coyne, Jane E. Shawcroft, Chenae Christensen-Duerden, Lauren A. Barnes, Haley Graver, Moriah Perkins, and Andrew Brindley conduct an empirical investigation of attitudes among members of the Church concerning the principle of modesty and how it is taught. Using two survey instruments, the authors probe whether the manner in which modesty is taught affects one’s feelings, positive or negative, about the body.

Fourth, Amber J. Majeske, Sarah M. Coyne, Chelom E. Leavitt, Alice C. Long study the perceptions of Heavenly Mother among a Latter-day Saint population. Surveying a snowball sample of over 4,000 Latter-day Saints, Majeske and co-authors ask how connected respondents feel to their Heavenly Mother, and also inquire about how often She is discussed in Church or personal settings. The authors also include an extensive appendix with the actual comments received through the survey instrument. We think those who ponder our Mother in Heaven will find much of interest in their results.

Fifth, V.H. Cassler pens a critique of the proposed Fairness for All Act, which has been supported by the Church. How could there be anything wrong with “fairness for all”? Check out her argument, and make up your own mind.

Sixth, Ted Richards raises the question of whether our knowledge of the imminence of Christ’s Second Coming should instill in us the desire to withdraw from the world in anticipation. Is there any real point in involving ourselves in the fight to make the world better?

Seventh, we have a rollicking disagreement amongst our editorial board members concerning the current Readers’ Puzzle on whether members of the Church can or should identify as feminists. You will enjoy reading their comments, and we hope you will add your own.

Eighth, we have a new Readers’ Puzzle concerning the issue of religious accommodation, using as cases in point the proposed Respect for Marriage Act and the proposed Fairness for All Act. We invite you to weigh in with your own perspectives on religious accommodation in the law.

Last, don’t forget our companion blog, The Latterday Crone, penned by our own V.H. Cassler which also features real-time commenting. Check it out for more of the SquareTwo experience you enjoy, now on a more frequent basis!

Enjoy this great new issue of SquareTwo!

Moroni buries the plates of the Book of Mormon in a hill near modern-day Palmyra, New York
(Tom Lovell, LDS.org)

This story is, I suppose, gratifying in some ways. But — please take a look at the statue itself — it makes me, at least, more than a little bit uncomfortable. Perhaps, if my sensibilities had been formed in India, my reaction would be different. But I’m confident that no such statue will ever be erected at Temple Square. I can certainly understand why “Elder Christofferson said that those visiting the dome should understand that the Church of Jesus Christ worships Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, not Joseph Smith.”

“Statue of the Prophet Joseph Smith Unveiled at India’s World Peace Dome: “The greatest aspect of the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith was to bear testimony of Jesus Christ,” Elder D. Todd Christofferson tells students at World Peace University”

Education and Religion

Chenae Christensen-Duerden

D. Todd Christofferson

Haley Graver

Holly Hamilton-Bleakley

Loren Blake Spendlove

Loren Spendlove

Moriah Perkins

Ralph Hancock

Respect for Marriage Act

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