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Apostles and Prophets have counseled us on this matter

Apostles and Prophets have counseled us on this matter

Last updated on: October 28, 2026 at 5:10 pm by Dan Peterson

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Apostles and Prophets have counseled us on this matter 2026-10-28T17:10:20-06:00 Dan Peterson

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A hand-painted still photograph from the 1915 film The Life of Nephi (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

A new YouTube video has been published on the Interpreter Foundation channel that may be of interest to you: “1 Nephi, And What’s More, 2 Nephi: Macro-Parallelism of Nephi’s Literary Diptych,” presented by Lara Buckwalter. It comes from “’For a Wise Purpose in Him’: Perspectives on the Small Plates of Nephi (1 Nephi–Words of Mormon): A Conference in Honor of President Jeffrey R. Holland”:

Within Latter-day Saint consciousness, a great gulf divides the reception of 1 Nephi and 2 Nephi. Whereas the narrative power of 1 Nephi—enshrined in the Primary anthem “Nephi’s Courage”—definitively ritualizes the lived covenant, 2 Nephi is dense enough, as President Oaks famously quips, to stop a bullet. This stark contrast in popular response highlights a fundamental misunderstanding of Nephi’s sophisticated scribal intent. Read through the lens of the Ancient Near East’s elite scribal tradition, the two books—long treated as enigmatically divided and occasionally subjected to alternative divisions—transfigure into a unified literary diptych, governed by Kugel’s “A, and what’s more, B” poetic model. Go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/con… for additional information and the full Conference program.

Near the summit of Jabal Musa (Mount Moses), the traditional location of Mount Sinai
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photograph)

The website of the Interpreter Foundation, famously long dead (in fulfillment of a confidently-issued prophecy), continues to post things. It’s all quite mysterious, really. Today, for example, an article that was written by David Rolph Seely and entitled “The Book of Moses: Exploring the World of the Text” went up:

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses — Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities Volumes I and II, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, David R. Seely, John W. Welch, and Scott Gordon. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/ancient-threads-in-the-book-of-moses/.

“A text is a wondrous thing. Through a collection and arrangement of words, texts are able to create whole worlds as settings for the stories they tell, the characters they describe, and the lessons they teach. The Book of Moses is such a miraculous text.”

“Hurrah for Israel!” Heber C. Kimball (Quinton Kappel) and Brigham Young (John Donovan Wilson), both seriously ill, head off on a mission to England in a scene from the Interpreter Foundation’s 2024 dramatic film Six Days in August.

I’m struck by this report: “Why Elder Rasband just led 12,000 people in ‘Hurrah for Israel’ shout.”

I would like to point out that the historical incident recalled by Elder Rasband in his remarks at Brigham Young University is recreated in the 2024 Interpreter Foundation film Six Days in August. For more information on Six Days in August and its cinematic siblings, please visit the website of The Witnesses Initiative.

A 1977 photograph of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Spencer W. Kimball is seated. Behind him, on the left, is his first counselor, President N. Eldon Tanner. On the right is his second counselor, President Marion G. Romney. (LDS Media Library photo)

On 15 February 1978, the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — which was then comprised of President Spencer W. Kimball and his two counselors, N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney — issued the following “Statement of the First Presidency Regarding God’s Love for All Mankind”:

Based upon ancient and modern revelation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gladly teaches and declares the Christian doctrine that all men and women are brothers and sisters, not only by blood relationship from common mortal progenitors, but also as literal spirit children of an Eternal Father.

The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God’s light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.

The Hebrew prophets prepared the way for the coming of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, who should provide salvation for all mankind who believe in the gospel.

Consistent with these truths, we believe that God has given and will give to all peoples sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation, either in this life or in the life to come.

We also declare that the gospel of Jesus Christ, restored to His Church in our day, provides the only way to a mortal life of happiness and a fullness of joy forever. For those who have not received this gospel, the opportunity will come to them in the life hereafter if not in this life.

Our message therefore is one of special love and concern for the eternal welfare of all men and women, regardless of religious belief, race, or nationality, knowing that we are truly brothers and sisters because we are sons and daughters of the same Eternal Father.

President Dallin H. Oaks (right) greets His Excellency Dr. Mohammad Abdulkarim Al-Issa (left), secretary-general of the Muslim World League, during the opening ceremony of the 2026 G20 Interfaith Forum in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City on Thursday, 15 October 2026. (The copyright of this photograph belongs to Intellectual Reserve Inc. I hope that my use of it here constitutes “fair use.”)

I feel it urgently important to call attention to this document, and to share it yet again, because I’ve been disturbed recently at a distinct recrudescence of anti-Islamic sentiments online — including, in too many cases, from among my fellow Latter-day Saints. I also want to call attention to a brief and simple summary article about Islam that appeared in the April 2018 issue of the Ensign, which was at that time the official monthly magazine of the Church: “Understanding Islam.” The article was written in response to a direct and specific request from the First Presidency that was serving at that time. The First Presidency is, of course, the highest ecclesiastical authority within the Church; the (typically) three apostles who form it are sustained by Latter-day Saints as “prophets, seers, and revelatory.”

Although we have a great deal in common, on several important points Latter-day Saint beliefs are at variance with articles of the Muslim faith. And the Islamic world is certainly not beyond criticism. But members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should be wary of being seduced into anti-Islamic bigotry; Church leaders, including the Prophet Joseph Smith himself, have spoken out against anti-Islamic hate and prejudice since the early days of the Restoration and they continue to do so today: “Pres. Oaks welcomes ‘prominent constellation’ of global religious leaders to Salt Lake City.”

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