Problematic Readings in the JST from the Beginning

This year, I am reading through the Joseph Smith Translation alongside my personal Bible reading. 

Let me start from the beginning on Smith’s alterations that stand out starkly in my mind.

A Revelation Given to Joseph the Seer (June A.D. 1830)

v. 2 – “And God spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name, for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?”

What does endless mean?  (Btw, Dart, Blake’s first two books are in the mail.)

v. 4 –  . . . “but there is no God beside me.” 

I recognize this from Isaiah.  Does this mean that the Father does not recognize the Son as a God like him?

v. 8 – . . . “For, behold, I could not look upon God except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him.”

In his natural state, Moses can look at Satan?  But only in his spiritual state, Moses can look upon the Father?

v. 13 – . . . “Depart hence, Satan; for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.”

Does this mean that Moses does not equally worship the Only Begotten?

v. 23 – . . . “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

Is immortality, resurrection from the grave?  And eternal life, celestial glory?

v. 24 – . . . “And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught, and take many of them from the book which you shall write, behold, I will raise up another like unto you, and they shall be had again among the children of men, among even as many as shall believe.”

Is this predicting Joseph Smith, a prophet like Moses?  Was Moses a restorer of God’s words in the midst of apostasy?

7 comments

  2. “What does endless mean? ”

    Check out Doctrine and Covenants 19 (the first half).

    “I recognize this from Isaiah. Does this mean that the Father does not recognize the Son as a God like him?”

    Perhaps. Check out this website for an interpretation of the phrase “there is no God beside me:” http://en.fairmormon.org/%22No_God_beside_me%22

    “In his natural state, Moses can look at Satan? But only in his spiritual state, Moses can look upon the Father?”

    Yes. Why does this trouble you?

    “Does this mean that Moses does not equally worship the Only Begotten?”

    Perhaps in a sense. Bruce R. McConkie gave a controversial talk on this: http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6843

    “Is immortality, resurrection from the grave? And eternal life, celestial glory?”

    Yup. You nailed that one.

    “Is this predicting Joseph Smith, a prophet like Moses?”

    Yes.

    “Was Moses a restorer of God’s words in the midst of apostasy?”

    That’s not real clear from the text. It could simply be saying they’ll both be prophets of like stature.

    Hope this helps.

  3. Immortality is a free gift to all. Eternal life is another way of saying life in God’s full presence – which not everyone gets.

    Most LDS see that end passage as prophesying of Joseph Smith. But I think there is some confusion as to whether it might instead be referring to Jesus Christ, with Moses as a symbolic foreshadowing of the coming Savior.

    I would say yes, Moses was a restorer of God’s word in the midst of apostasy. The Israelites in Egypt had gone far astray in their slavery. I would imagine very few adhered to the true religion (especially considering how unformed “Judaism” must have been at that point).

    As for whom we worship – you’ve really got to factor in the LDS doctrine of “divine investiture of authority.” The LDS view just won’t make sense until you grasp this particular idea.

  4. divine investiture . . . oh boy, Seth . . . I can’t accept that because of what I am learning about the Christ in John’s Gospel.

    I worship the Christ in His full essence and eternal glory.

    But because of Joseph’s writings, I can now see why some LDS plainly tell me, “I don’t worship Jesus like I worship the Father.”

  6. #2 – I just discovered this awaiting in moderation. WordPress places them there when there is unknown links in the comment. I suppose.

    Thanks Andrew.

  7. I would say the Mormons try to follow Jesus’s example in the Gospels of giving the glory to the Father perhaps over the emphasis Christ receives in Paul’s letters which were addressed to audiences which had to be convinced that Christ was the promised Messiah/Savior of Mankind.

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