tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post1755432347467262445..comments2023-11-02T07:25:45.884-05:00Comments on Mormanity - a blog for those interested in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The Strength of MosesJeff Lindsayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-79236705991819655252015-10-29T02:03:58.054-05:002015-10-29T02:03:58.054-05:00This is like comparing Tom Sawyer to Huckleberry F...This is like comparing Tom Sawyer to Huckleberry Finn and marveling at their similarities. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-85349389626270595902015-10-28T09:37:05.866-05:002015-10-28T09:37:05.866-05:00How can you ... expound on things found in this bo...<i>How can you ... expound on things found in this book of so-called scripture?</i><br /><br />Expounding on the Book of Mormon woud be so much more meaningful if it could be done on the basis of actual ancient texts in an actual ancient language. How sad, and how convenient, that an angel would take such a treasure away from mankind and leave us only with a modern translation.<br /><br />In the absence of any material evidence to the contrary, Joseph Smith is just another of the many Christian enthusiasts of the Second Great Awakening.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04668073406352787818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-30885636213054107452015-10-28T00:24:39.297-05:002015-10-28T00:24:39.297-05:00How can you even teach an expound on things found ...How can you even teach an expound on things found in this book of so-called scripture? It's indefensible, and so very easy to refute. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-34330892473030422352015-10-24T08:47:15.494-05:002015-10-24T08:47:15.494-05:00I'm interested in the image of Moses, but I...I'm interested in the image of Moses, but I've realized I'm also a bit confused about the premises, here, Jeff. At first you were comparing passages in Nephi to various reconstructed 'documents' within/behind Exodus. These comparisons were interesting literarily, but also as evidence for or against the authenticity of the Book of Mormon as ancient Hebrew history. But now you seem to be making similar comparisons to the Book of Moses, from the exclusively Mormon Scriptures, and calling these correspondences 'a strength' of the Book of Mormon.<br /><br />The Documentary Hypothesis may perhaps still be somewhat speculative around the edges, but even the most revisionist theories still leave Exodus as an undoubtedly genuine ancient text. ('Undoubtedly genuine' doesn't necessarily mean 'historically accurate', of course.) The only question is precisely how ancient various parts of Exodus may be. If the Book of Mormon is under suspicion of having been invented in the 1800's, however, then the Book of Moses lies under the same suspicion. Correspondence between two Books that both came through Joseph Smith will be no surprise to any skeptics. So I'm unclear about the sense in which Nephi echoing Joseph Smith about Moses's strength can count as a strength of the Book of Mormon.James Anglinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18266855639647700167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-2562184690288141292015-10-24T00:00:29.719-05:002015-10-24T00:00:29.719-05:00James, actually, when I first started wondering ab...James, actually, when I first started wondering about the "strong Moses" allusion in Nephi, the image of Moses with his arms raised was one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind, but as more of a counterexample. He needed other people to help hold his arms up: to me, that seemed like an example of physical weakness. The staff might be strong, God's power is certainly strong, but Moses needing physical support to keep his arms up didn't seem like the story Nephi had in mind. But it's certainly open for debate. I do like you idea of seeing how other sources (modern and ancient) treat Moses relative to terms like "strong" and "strength." Jeff Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-40949843006333974052015-10-23T09:39:54.894-05:002015-10-23T09:39:54.894-05:00Interesting point. Thanks, James. Something worth ...Interesting point. Thanks, James. Something worth exploring. <br /><br />By the way, if Arnold Friberg (the artists who did many popular Book of Mormon paintings) did the paintings of Moses, you can bet Moses was rather buff. Jeff Lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08776493593387402607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7139169.post-2900177026662271542015-10-23T07:33:34.234-05:002015-10-23T07:33:34.234-05:00In Exodus 17, Moses has to hold his staff up in th...In Exodus 17, Moses has to hold his staff up in the air, because if he lets it fall, the Amalekites start to win against that Israelites. So the battle depends on Moses's physical strength. When his arms get tired, Aaron and Hur bring a rock for him to sit on, and help to hold up his arms. This is literally the story.<br /><br />That staff is an important prop for Moses. He uses it for some miracles in Egypt. He strikes a rock with it to make water — and it's because he does that one wrong that he dies without entering the Promised Land himself. And when God tells him to part the Red Sea, the directions are to 'raise up your staff and hold out your hand over the sea'. <br /><br />Anyway, the notion that Moses was strong is indeed there in Exodus 17. In traditional iconography, the battle with the Amalekites seems to have gotten conflated with the other stories, so that even Moses's most famous miracle of parting the Red Sea has been painted as if it were a feat of strength performed with the staff. If you Google for images of parting the Red Sea, you can really see this.<br /><br />Was the strength of Moses already a meme in Joseph Smith's day? I don't know. Maybe it was.James Anglinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18266855639647700167noreply@blogger.com