{"id":103503,"date":"2024-01-19T14:13:04","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T21:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=103503"},"modified":"2024-01-19T18:27:58","modified_gmt":"2024-01-20T01:27:58","slug":"heavenly-ascent-in-2-nephi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/01\/heavenly-ascent-in-2-nephi.html","title":{"rendered":"Heavenly Ascent in 2 Nephi?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

"Blake<\/a>

William Blake, \u201cJacob\u2019s Ladder\u201d (1804); Wikimedia Commons public domain image<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Newly published on the website of the Interpreter Foundation:<\/p>\n

\u201cHeavenly Ascent in Jacob\u2019s Writings in Second Nephi: Addressing the Question of What the Plan of Salvation is in the Book of Mormon,\u201d<\/a> written by Skyler R. Smith<\/a><\/p>\n

Abstract: <\/strong>Heavenly ascent describes the process of an individual (or community) returning to the presence of God. Though various elements exist within heavenly ascent literature, general patterns can be discerned. This project uses one such pattern as a hermeneutical tool to examine what can be learned about how Book of Mormon prophets may have understood the plan of salvation. Specifically, Jacob\u2019s understanding of the plan of salvation will be analyzed by examining his writings in 2 Nephi 9\u201310. The evidence from this study suggests that some Book of Mormon prophets (at least Jacob and Nephi) viewed the plan of salvation through the lens of heavenly ascent.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cInterpreting Interpreter<\/em>: A Planned Ascent,\u201d<\/a> written by Kyler Rasmussen<\/a><\/p>\n

\n "

This post is a summary of the article \u201cHeavenly Ascent in Jacob\u2019s Writings in Second Nephi: Addressing the Question of What the Plan of Salvation is in the Book of Mormon<\/a>\u201d by Skyler Smith in Volume 60 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>. All of the Interpreting Interpreter<\/em> articles may be seen at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/category\/summaries\/<\/a>. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter<\/em> series is available at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Takeaway:<\/strong> \u00a0Smith argues that the Book of Mormon makes heavy use of a \u201cheavenly ascent\u201d motif, and that Jacob\u2019s sermons in 2 Nephi 9-10 suggest that he viewed the plan of salvation through the lens of that motif, outlining the means by which we can return to the presence of God.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

"Liincoln<\/a>

The rebaptism of Martin Harris, as depicted in the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s 2021 \u201cWitnesses\u201d theatrical film \u00a0(Still photograph by James Jordan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n***
** ***For supposedly being about on the verge of extinction, the website of the Interpreter Foundation is surprisingly lively. \u00a0Here is another item that recently appeared on it:<\/p>\n

Sacred Time, Sacred Space, & Sacred Meaning<\/em>: \u201c\u201cBy the Blood Ye Are Sanctified\u201d: The Symbolic, Salvific, Interrelated, Additive, Retrospective, and Anticipatory Nature of the Ordinances of Spiritual Rebirth in John 3 and Moses,\u201d<\/a> written by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw<\/a> and Matthew L. Bowen<\/a><\/p>\n

"

Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Sacred Time, Sacred Space, & Sacred Meaning<\/em>, Proceedings of the Third Interpreter Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference \u201cThe Temple on Mount Zion,\u201d 2 November, 2016, edited by Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw. For more information, go to https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/books\/sacred-time-sacred-space-sacred-meaning\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This chapter discusses the symbolism of water, spirit, and blood as they are used in scripture and in the ordinances.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

"I<\/a>

The official movie poster for \u201cFreud\u2019s Last Session.\u201d (Fair use.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I really, really<\/em> want to see this film<\/a>. \u00a0(I just returned from the Middle East on Wednesday evening, though, and what with jet lag and feeling slightly under the weather, my opportunities to go to the theater have been limited thus far. \u00a0But my understanding is that it has only a limited engagement in theaters, so I need to hurry.)<\/p>\n

Have any of you seen it? \u00a0If you have, I would be interested in your opinions of it.<\/p>\n

That said, I\u2019ll still go to see it even if I receive nothing but negative verdicts on the film. \u00a0In case you haven\u2019t noticed it already, I\u2019m an enthusiastic admirer of C. S. Lewis \u2014 within just the past few days, I\u2019ve re-read The Abolition of Man<\/em>, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer<\/em>, and Mere Christianity<\/em> \u2014 and, for that matter, I\u2019ve read my share of Sigmund Freud, as well. \u00a0I know little to nothing yet about this particular production, but I suspect that it may have been inspired by, and perhaps even somewhat based upon, Armand Nicholi\u2019s The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex and the Meaning of Life<\/em> \u2014 a book that I bought immediately after its publication in 2002 and that I liked very much. \u00a0(See my brief discussion of it here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

"The<\/a>

Mount Timpanogos, Utah, looms above Utah Valley, where the Provo campus of Brigham Young University (BYU) is situated. \u00a0(Wikimedia Commons photo by Brian Smith)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I didn\u2019t fall in love with Brigham Young University for the beauty of its campus setting and its natural surroundings. \u00a0But they certainly didn\u2019t make falling in love with BYU more difficult<\/em>. \u00a0I offer you a couple of recent videos \u2014 one (29 seconds long) taken recently, this winter<\/a>, and the other (45 seconds long) taken during this past autumn<\/a> \u2014 that will help you to see why (if you don\u2019t already).<\/p>\n

There were still days even in the waning days of my professorial career when, while I was walking on campus, I would look up at the mountains to the north, east, and south and marvel at their dramatic beauty. \u00a0I enjoy beaches and seascapes, but mountains will get me every time.<\/p>\n

"James<\/a>

I\u2019ve lost track. \u00a0Shouldn\u2019t his second term in the White House be nearing its end by now? \u00a0(Official United States government photograph)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cPodcast: Carefully entering the hall of mirrors created by the \u2018God Made Trump\u2019 video\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

So . . . \u00a0What do you<\/em> make of the God Made Trump<\/em> video? \u00a0Is it serious? \u00a0Is it satire? \u00a0If it\u2019s serious, do you think it appropriate? \u00a0Do you think that it goes too far? \u00a0Does it make you a bit uncomfortable? \u00a0The link that I share immediately above includes the Paul Harvey original (God Made a Farmer<\/em>), the God Made Trump<\/em> remake of that original, and the Lincoln Project\u2019s God Made a Dictator<\/em> response. \u00a0I would be interested in your reactions to them.<\/p>\n

I myself no longer have public political opinions, of course, having been warned against them and, frankly, having paid a not inconsiderable price for holding such opinions in the past. \u00a0I\u2019m told that both God Made Trump<\/em> and God Made a Dictator<\/em> are connected in some way with current American politics. \u00a0But I\u2019m not sure why. \u00a0Isn\u2019t Mr. Trump a reality television personality or something of that sort? \u00a0What does that have to do with politics? \u00a0Heck, I haven\u2019t even decided whether to vote for William Jennings Bryan or for Alf Landon in the next president election. \u00a0I\u2019ll probably just split my vote right down the middle between the Whigs and the Tories.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Newly published on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: \u201cHeavenly Ascent in Jacob\u2019s Writings in Second Nephi: Addressing the Question of What the Plan of Salvation is in the Book of Mormon,\u201d written by Skyler R. Smith Abstract: Heavenly ascent describes the process of an individual (or community) returning to the presence of God. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":103509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2001,1998,56,37125,37122,37128],"class_list":["post-103503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ascension","tag-ascent","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-freuds-last-session","tag-god-made-trump","tag-skyler-smith"],"yoast_head":"\nHeavenly Ascent in 2 Nephi?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"  Newly published on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: "Heavenly Ascent in Jacob\u2019s Writings in Second Nephi: Addressing the Question of What\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/01\/heavenly-ascent-in-2-nephi.html\" 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