John Hall, BYU professor of Classics and Ancient History presided at this session.

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David J. Larsen, PhD student at the University of St Andrews

This is me. As I didn’t take notes during my own paper, I don’t have any to post here. I would post my whole paper, but I am currently trying to clean it up a bit for interested parties who have asked to see it. I will share here the abstract that I submitted to the committee to be selected to present at this session.

Hugh Nibley and the New Year Festival

One of the key features of the late Hugh W. Nibley’s scholarship was his research on and use of the hypothetical annual enthronement festival suggested by scholars to have been celebrated in the ancient Near East (including ancient Israel) annually at the Autumn New Year.  Nibley built on the work of some of the major proponents of this theory in the early 20^th century, including Sigmund Mowinckel, Aubrey Johnson, and S.H. Hooke (of the “Myth and Ritual School”).  Nibley adopted the principles of cultic ritual outlined in the Ancient Near Eastern “patternism” of the time and applied them to many societies, including, ultimately, to cultural/religious gatherings attested in the Book of Mormon.  He suggested at one time that, in his opinion, the rituals of the New Year were “the most convincing evidence yet brought forth for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.”[1] Nibley even suggested that this pattern of ritual preserved in numerous ancient societies may be a prototype, as well, for the great gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman in the last days.[2]

Nibley’s work on the New Year Festival has greatly inspired succeeding generations of LDS students and scholars, leading many to do further research on the topic, both in its ancient settings in the Old World, and in relation to our understanding of the Book of Mormon. Some of these scholars include John Welch, John Tvedtnes, Stephen Ricks, and many others.  Their valuable contributions to LDS scholarship on this subject have been based on the assumption that arguments for the annual New Year Festival are valid.

I propose to address the status quaestionis of the suggested New Year Festival in ancient Israel. To what extent is it reasonable to use this theory as a basis for argumentation? In the last few decades, biblical scholarship has largely distanced itself from the conclusions of the “Myth and Ritual School” and condemned ideas of a universal pattern of ritual across ancient cultures. However, a number of scholars, including John Day, Margaret Barker, J.J.M. Roberts, and Patrick D. Miller, have recently argued in favor of the validity of the general theory.  I will explore what is being said about the New Year Festival in today’s scholarship, and will present an evaluation of Nibley’s work on the subject in light of this analysis.

[2] Hugh Nibley, The Ancient State: The Rulers and the Ruled, edited by Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks (Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 100.

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Please click on “Read More” below to see the rest of the notes!

Frederick M. Huchel, The Frithurex Athenaeum

“How the Lights Went Out: The Loss of the Temple in both Testaments”

Adam and Eve were put in the Garden as the culminating act of the Creation. Adam built an altar — an open-air altar is the temple itself reduced to its essence. Before the ancient temples were built, there were open-air altars.An example is the  open air altar/temple at the Parowan Gap.

The ancient idea behind temple-building is that in doing so, the people would become ben Adam — sons of Adam.

What is a temple? The temple is the house of God. The Greek word for house is “oikos.” (the word also has reference to the household, and the family) The “oikonomia” referred to the management of the house, and also of the environment. We see that this is also the root of ecology — oikologia.

Hugh Nibley talked about “Dispensationism” — a dispensation is a return of revelation, a restoration. The holy order of things cannot survive without revelation from God. Joseph Smith taught that: unto Adam was first given a dispensation, and unto Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elias, John the Baptist, Jesus (Peter, James, John), and finally the dispensation of the fullness of times.

Oikonomia is the administration of everything we do. What is received by revelation is always the same order–the celestial order, the order of Enoch, the only order acceptable to God.

The Temple is present at each dispensation. The temple often begins as an outdoor altar. Temples, whether good or bad, are a scale model of the universe — a sort of observatory.

In the word temple: tem = cutting, crossing point, where the four cardinal regions combine — this is the sacred precinct.  This indicates harmony between terrestrial and celestial realms — an intellectual image of the celestial pattern.

Cosmos = orderly arrangement — from the root meaning to tend, provide for — it relates to man’s dominion. The Cosmos is God’s dominion — he cares for the earth and the heavens. The Cosmos of Scripture/Temple is the ideal universe, God’s universe.

We are given a stewardship — this is man’s dominion. Adam was put in charge of things and commanded to replenish the earth and subdue it — replenish the storehouse of life and take care of the creatures over which he has dominion. Later we read that Adam began to “till” the earth and have dominion — “till’ in place of “subdue”.

What is dominion? Adam is lord over the whole earth — the term “lord” is from “loaf weardian” or “keeper of the bread” — this is the head of the household and is a rendering of Latin dominus — It has to do with the property, the ownership of the lord of the household. Lordship and dominion are the same thing — the head of the household is responsible for the care and comfort of his guests. The lord cooperates with nature as a diligent husbandman.

Adam’s dominion was nothing less than the priesthood — the power to act in the place of God. God created man to be in charge — to act as God had acted before.

Man’s dominion is to become ben Adam, to assume the role of Adam, and covenant to bless the earth and all its creatures — it is a holy calling and responsibility. We live in a stable world and should take only what we need for our own sustenance. Man’s rule ceases where life ceases. The opposite is the dominion of Cain, which entails converting life into property. Whenever we take something living and kill and make it something to sell, we are entering Cain’s dominion. We have a responsibility to take care of creation — this is the work of the temple, to take care of creatures and help them to fulfill their purpose and have joy.

The Temple is the place of creation and the source of life. The structure of the temple was meant to represent the days of creation. The Temple’s importance is in its form and function — it’s form has to do with creation –description of how the world is continually formed and created anew — the ancient Chaos is overcome by God and the ordered Cosmos is created. Anciently, the Temple maintained the creation by renewing it daily — we learn that the great “abomination of desolation” resulted from the altering of the rites of the temple.

Isaiah had a similar vision — the people had broken the everlasting covenant and brought upon themselves destruction – a curse devours the Earth due to disobedience.

Huqqah — “statute, ordinance” — Hebrew for “something engraved, established” — the ordinances of heaven hold the cosmos together. The ordinances of heaven are the ordinances of the temple. The planets cannot deviate one jot nor tittle nor iota from the ordinances or they fall from heaven. They have remained in orbit for millions of years because their ordinances have not changed. This is an example for us.

Barker — By means of the “cosmic covenant” the creation is held in place — it is held in place by a great oath– the oath keeps the sea in check, the sun in its course, etc. They function through a great binding force — a cosmic eternal covenant.  Breaking the covenant releases forces of Chaos.

The German word “Bund” has reference to a binding oath. In Hebrew, bara means “to create” — berit (“covenant”) is associated with binding — Barker argues that the process of creation is a process of binding in the apocalyptic genre. In the Similitudes of Enoch, things are bound by the power of the Name — this is Temple material.

Hugh Nibley knew both the rituals and underlying mythology behind this understanding. God set the ordinances to be the same for ever and ever and set Adam to watch over them. The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood and New and Everlasting Covenant — this is the same covenant as previously mentioned. This “binding” needs to be realized in a temple.

Malachi 4:6 – Heb. shiyb = “turn” — to restore, renew — related to atonement. Atonement = renew, bind together. The Oath and Covenant secure the order of creation, they secure not only the sea, etc., but bind animals, etc., and all of God’s creations together. Malachi said that this must be done or a curse would come upon the earth.

Lord repeated this warning in 1835 — “Ye have strayed from mine ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant”

“Consumption decreed” to make a full end of all nations — this is a return toward Chaos — see the War Revelation to Joseph Smith.

Every creature participates in the great Oath and Covenant — Adam is the guardian of the covenant — he keeps the seals, binding them through his priesthood. If this doesn’t happen, the world turns back towards Chaos.

In the Enoch tradition, Semihaza used the secrets of Creation for wrong purposes and brought Chaos.

Each time the truth is lost, the covenant must be restored — ancestors and posterity are able to be linked together again.

How will the end come? “If the ordinances depart from before me…” — the loss is tied to the behavior of the children of Israel, the keepers of the ordinances — when they change the ordinances, they bring upon them the darkness. We can see in history that the guardians of the temple, like King Josiah, are the ones responsible for changing the ordinances and bring destruction. The earth is defiled because they have transgressed the laws, broken the covenant.

Hugh Nibley became unpopular for speaking out against turning life into money — he taught that this will lead to destruction. We can see this with Josiah, and with the Jews at the time of Jesus — they were selling sacrificial animals in the precincts of the temple itself.

It was the changing of the ordinances and the resulting breaking of the covenant that caused the lights to go out. The Babylonian destruction was the result of God abondoning the people because the leaders of the Jews changed the ordinances and broke the everlasting covenant. Jesus may have been speaking out against the changes in the temple itself (not just money-changing). The Shekinah flickered out because of the stewards of the temple changing its rituals.

Nibley was optimistic about the future — there would be a New Heaven and New Earth — the New Jerusalem. God will come to dwell with his people and wipe away all tears. ”I will make all things new” — the New Jerusalem will be built, Christ will reign, and earth will be renewed — the cosmic covenant will be made anew and the earth will be restored.

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Dana Pike, BYU Professor of Ancient Scripture

Formed in and Called from My Mothers Womb

(Unfortunately, my computer’s batter again went out during Dr. Pike’s presentation. I had to switch to hand-written notes and lost some of the flow of his argument. I really need to get a computer with longer batter life!)

Jeremiah 1:5 — This verse is not merely figurative, which is the common scholarly interpretation. There is a parallel in this verse between “consecration” and “pre-birth knowing” of God.

Btn/rhm — two Hebrew words for “womb.” Rhm is only for females — btn can be for both females and males (signifying “belly”).

God creates people “in the womb” — Ps. 139:13. God opens or closes the womb. God “brings forth” from womb — signifying “causing to live.”

Passages that contain phrase “from the womb”:

Psalm 71:6 — individual is assisted by YHWH from within the womb

–People can be wicked from before birth — Psalm 58:4

(I though I had more notes from Dr. Pike’s paper, but perhaps not… Pike ended up arguing that we should understand Jeremiah 1:5 to mean that God knew Jeremiah before he was created in the womb, but that he was not consecrated until he was actually in the womb. We should not conflate the two ideas to mean that he was both known and consecrated in the pre-mortal realm. I won’t expound on this, but I wonder what would happen to our understanding of this verse if we took “womb” to represent the Holy of Holies, as Margaret Barker does. To be consecrated in the womb, then, would signify being anointed in the Holy of Holies, perhaps sitting on a throne therein. An anointing in this temple setting could be seen as an anointing in heaven. Being brought forth from the womb could signify coming out of the Holy of Holies. I’m not saying that this is definitely how we should understand it, but it would perhaps resolve some of the apparent discrepancies that Pike brings up.)

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Michael Biggerstaff, MA student at Vanderbilt University

Bloodles Sacrifice and the Fulfillment of the Mosaic Law of Sacrifice

In the Book of Mormon, we are told that the Law of Moses was fulfilled in Christ, and that there were to be no more animal sacrifices. If there were to be no more sacrifices, what were the Nephites to make of Jesus’ command for them to sacrifice a broken heart and contrite spirit? Was the law fulfilled or not?

I argue that Christ did not entirely do away with the requirement to sacrifice altogether, but only the material sacrifices were to cease. We are still required today to sacrifice — to become completely sanctified and fulfill Jesus’ command to “become holy even as I am holy.” We need to be holy both with God and with our fellow man.

The true sacrifice was always to be willing to give all to the Lord. We should give to the Lord without grieving — be willing to to give whatever was needed to help the other covenant members of society. We should be willing to sacrifice our time, energy, and strength.

Sacrifice is not just about worship, but also about relationships. Take, for example, the trespass sacrifice — this was meant to reconcile the sinner to God and also the person that they offended. It was meant to repair and maintain relationships.

Isaiah 1 — The people had lost the meaning and purpose of the sacrifice — they needed to return to the Law.

We understand that Christ was identified with the trespass sacrifice. He came to reconcile us to God and to our fellow man. Reconciliation with our neighbor is still a principle that we need today.

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Dustin Naegle, PhD student at Brite Divinity School — Texas Christian University

Approaching Isaiah: Hugh Nibley’s Use of Isaiah in Approaching Zion

There is intense reverence for Isaiah among Latter-day Saints. The Savior directly commands us, in the Book of Mormon, to read the words of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah warns us against the following:

1. The corrupting influence of wealth
2. Ecology
3. War

These are the same things that Nibley warns us against in Approaching Zion. These topics are offensive themes to some, but since Nibley was retiring, he thought it time to share his feelings on them.

Nibley works with the dichotomy of Zion vs. Babylon — Isaiah is key to this imagery.

In the 10th article of faith we are told that we must build up Zion.  However, as depicted in Isaiah 47, we are always falling into the ways of Babylon.

Babylon is Lucifer — he rules over the polluted lands.

We can’t a foot both in Zion and in Babylon.

Wealth and riches are evil — Babylon is against equality. We can’t equate goods with blessings.

Nibley assumes a unity of Isaiah — but we can see that all Scriptures have these common themes. Isaiah does contain many themes that support Nibley’s views. “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” Nibley follows the principle of “liken the scriptures” — in line with many modern scholars.

(Dustin’s paper was excellent and I really don’t do it justice with my scanty notes here. Dustin showed how masterfully Nibley applied the words of Isaiah to our own situation today. Instead of taking a historical approach to the text, as one might expect from Nibley, he applied Isaiah directly to us today.)

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John Welch and Stephen Ricks, Brigham Young University

Hugh Nibley and the Continuing Pursuit of the 40-Day Literature

(Welch and Ricks, as the last presenters, were left with very little time and had to cut their presentation very short — unfortunate as this is a very important topic and I love to hear both of them speak.)

There has been no significant work done on the 40-Day literature since Nibley’s work on it.

We (Welch, Ricks, BYU) are putting together a collection of the available 40-day literature and want to make them available to those interested.

We have found 58 texts that mention this period. They are often related to liturgical themes.

Acts 1:3 — this is the only canonical information we get about Christ’s 40-day ministry.

In the extra-canonical literature, we get the following themes, for example:

• apostolic authority
• missionary service
• prophecies of the suffering of the apostles
• evidences for the resurrection
• prayer circles, gestures of approach and embrace
• understanding that the ritual were going to be altered
• Church in trouble, fragmenting
• pre-mortal existence
• creation
• marriage
• sacred vestments
• Adam & Eve typological
• deification/apotheosis
• heavenly ascent
• harrowing of Hell, redemption of dead

The idea of the 40 day ministry is known in the apocryphal Christian writings. Many scholars avoid this material because they simply don’t like the story — or they don’t take it literally. But this period had top priority among early Christians. The 40-day teaching was known to be lost.

We are looking for people to help us with this project!

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The End of the Presenters

To conclude my notes from SBL, I want to present the material I took down from the two “Latter-day Saints and the Bible” sessions that were held Monday and Tuesday mornings. Because I want to share my notes on these in greater detail, this will be divided into two posts.  The theme was the same for both sessions: the legacy of Hugh W. Nibley.  Most of the presentations from both sessions focused on the work of renowned LDS scholar and Brigham Young University professor Hugh Nibley and how his research has influenced the succeeding generation of LDS scholars and students.   There were some insightful presentations given and survival of Nibley’s legacy among current and future scholars seemed well assured.

Session 1

The first session was presided over by John Welch, BYU Professor of Law and religious scholar. I will present a summary of my notes from each of the speakers.  As always, I am responsible for the content of these notes — they may not reflect fully and/or accurately what the speakers actually said.

Click on the link below for my notes:

Margaret Barker, Old Testament Scholar and Co-Founder of the Temple Studies Group

Unfortunately, Margaret Barker was not able to attend the conference, so her paper was read by Gaye Strathearn of BYU. You can read the full text of Barker’s paper here:

“‘Christian Envy of the Temple’ Revisiting Nibley’s Landmark Paper After 50 Years”

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John F. Hall, BYU Professor of Classics and Ancient History — “When the Lights Went Out: Hugh Nibley on the Passing of the Primitive Church”

John Hall was a student of Hugh Nibley at BYU. Nibley taught much on early Christianity — he mined extensively the Patrilogia, early Christian literature.

Apostles and Bishops in Early Christianity, published as one of the “Collected Works of Hugh Nibley”, was put together by Welch and Hall from what they learned in Nibley’s classes. Nibley had taught a class early on about the office of bishop in early Christianity.

Nibley was influenced greatly by Joseph Smith. He understood well the transformation of primitive church — “the apostasy.”

In The World and the Prophets, Nibley emphasized the difference between sophic and mantic knowledge — in ancient times, there was the understanding that knowledge must come from revelation.

In 2 Thess. 2:3, the Greek text speeks of an apostasia — the KJV translates this as “falling away.”

The Apostasy is usually defined as starting from the death of the Apostles and progressing to the time of Constantine. The negative influence of Greek Platonism is usually claimed as the main culprit – it is argued that the learned bishops were responsible for falling away. Nibley had a much deeper understanding regarding what happened. He argued that the philosophical movement was too late to have been the main cause. Apostasia should be understood to mean “to rebel.” Rebellion is set in a moment of time rather than over centuries. Nibley saw evidence for a time period in the 2nd century known as the “great gap” when this would have occurred.

In this period, Christian groups “fractionated” into multiple groups from one pristine Christianity. There was a notable 2nd century rejection of 1st century teachings and apostolic authority.  In the end, “Orthodox” Christianity triumphed over other factions.

The principle by which we can understand this process is “Dispensationism” — that there is an ongoing cycle in which the world experiences a period of revealed truth, then rejection of that truth, and then eventually a restoration of the revealed truth.

Margaret Barker has spoken of the rejection of First Temple truths, which were later to be restored in Christianity. Christianity was a new, second Israel — a new dispensation. Nibley’s thought puts early Christianity into this milieu.

The Christian historian Eusebius presents a view of Orthodox Christianity as a progressive development of doctrine from its simple beginnings to its full bloom in the 4th century. Bart Ehrman rejects this idea — he emphasizes the early doctrinal divisions in Christianity. Nibley would have seen this as evidence of the severance and fractionation in the 2nd century.

Nibley preceded by a half century these modern ideas.  He published his article ”Passing of the Primitive Church” in vol. 30 of the journal Church History, in 1961. He argued that Jesus himself insisted that the light would be taken away. Early Christian writers knew that this was happening.

Some of the evidences that Nibley brings up to demonstrate this:

1. Declarations of early Christians regarding what they knew was to happen

2. Their strange behavior in light of these expectations

3. Doubts and denials of later church leaders

Nibley rejects the argument used by the Orthodox Church that because it had divine authority it could make whatever changes were necessary. The earliest Christians knew that the Church was meant to fail and that their victory would be on the other side of the veil and at the Second Coming. The following early Christian ideas reflect this view:

1. Rejection motif — Christ said that his teachings would be received by only a few; the apostles would also be rejected and persecuted.

2. Fractionation (not Nibley’s term) — rise in divisions rose as doctrines were changed to try to accommodate the world.

3. Doctrines were to be changed — perversion of some and cessation of teaching other doctrines; beliefs seen as unacceptable to their neighbors were modified.

4. Refusal to reject changes in doctrine

5. No original expectation of church’s survival — there was only expectation of the end time — limited proselyting by early Christians

6. Public relations — the mission of the Church was to save from perishing those who had known Christ — no concern to make new converts –world’s worst public relations

7. Purpose of church — gather and save the faithful, not convert — no missionary organization

8. No societal involvement — no real estate holdings — letters to “sojourning church in…”

9. Erudition became substituted for inspiration — loss of spiritual gifts

10. Rhetorical efforts to explain away the church’s demise and support the idea of its survival — early Christians claim to be surprised by the survival of the church

The Great Gap — an ominous gap — the church that emerged afterwards was much different — a break in the continuity of the early Church. By noting recent research on these topics, we can see that Nibley’s work remains valid and fresh.

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Laurence Paul Hemming, Research Fellow at Lancaster University, Co-Founder of the Temple Studies Group (also a Catholic deacon) — “Hugh Nibley and Attestations of Missing Traditions: The Lost 40 Days”

There is a flair and wit to Nibley’s interpretation. Those new to his work find as much between the lines as in what he has to say.

Theology is reflection on the lived experience of faith — but we are rationalists to our core and want to explore the psychology of religion. We ask ourselves: “How does religion match up to what we know to be true?”  This is the trend today.

The law of prayer should determine the law of belief — what is prayed determines what is to be believed — what is to be believed is based in the apostolic teaching tranferred through rites.

Nibley was both liberated by his scholarship and limited by his assumptions.

Nibley’s paper on the 40 Day literature – Nibley notes that those who acknowledge the 40 day ministry are at a loss to explain it. The teachings were not meant to become popular — it is described as very secret — the last and highest revelation.

The apostles had information that we do not have — there are things that have been lost.  It was an unwritten tradition. Scholars claim that it must not have been of much importance.

There is evidence for a lost oral tradition — a tradition of understanding concerning Melchizedek that was neglected.

The idea that Christian liturgy came from the synagogue is not true — it comes from the temple. There are important relics of what is missing and lost.

It is interesting to note that what I know of LDS temple tradition is very similar to Orthodox liturgical traditions.

The “lived experience of faith” — an investigation of how we must fulfill our faith in God.

What is practiced through priesthood is temple worship. The temple liturgy is the ritual, sacramental life of Eden and approach to and indwelling of the Holy of Holies. Adam was promised that he would be a god — not right now but after many years — this is found in pseudepigraphical texts such as the Testament of Adam. Adam’s work in Eden is clearly the work of the temple — Adam was the first priest, in Eden.

When Adam fell, he fell to the level of the animal, but God allowed him to rise and stand on his feet and work to produce his bread.

I [L. Hemming] have learned to unlock the secrets of my own liturgy through my experiences with Latter-day Saints. Catholic liturgy is preserved as a practice, but not as doctrine — it is retained only as a set of rituals.

Lent, the succession of five Sundays before Easter, was meant to be a 40 day fast — but this is a para-liturgical tradition — a popular tradition attached to a 40-day idea. This was supposed to be a tradition of fasting before baptism.

The number 40 is repeated as a theme in Christianity. The key 40 day period commemorated is between the Sunday of Easter to the celebration of the Ascension. Recall the Book of the Cave of Treasures — the Church is identified with Eden — not the institution, but the ritual, the sacraments — this is when one is to learn how to be unified with Christ. Nibley was aware of the importance of this tradition. This is the preparation for Pentecost. We see in Psalm 68 the Lord enthroned on Sinai; a depiction of Yahweh in His temple. We can see here a ritual re-enactment of the meaning of the Creation.

We should also note the 40 days period between Christmas and the  feast of the presentation of Christ at the temple, Candlemas (Feb 2). On Epiphany, January 6,  we celebrate the visit of Magi, representing the epiphany/theophany/manifestation of Christ to the world.  Epiphany is associated with both the birth and the baptism of Jesus, and also the marriage at Cana. The baptism of Jesus is when he was declared to be the begotten Son of God.

In this 40 day period, we have Jesus taking upon himself the priesthood, being recognized as Son of God and as Melchizedek priest by the Magi. The Psalms (2, 110, etc.) are an essential part of this liturgy. Christ takes possession of Holy of Holies. This is likely key to understanding the 40 day ministry. Christianity is a temple tradition.

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Marco Frenschkowski, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz — “Hugh Nibley and German Biblical Exegesis”

(Unfortunately, my computer’s battery gave out during this presentation, so I had to continue with hand-written notes after missing parts from the middle-section– thus, my notes do not reflect Professor Frenchowski’s full paper)

He is a pastor of a mainstream Protestant Church in Germany and is the only one that he knows of that owns all of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley! He finds reading Nibley strangely rewording. Nibley is an important contributor to inter-religious dialogue and understanding. His errors does not reduce his ability to keep you spellbound.

He doesn’t believe in what Nibley thinks he is doing, but appreciates still what he does do.

For example, Nibley argues: Could a poor farm boy have developed such an amazing work as the Book of Mormon? The answer is yes. This causes us to reflect on all of the marvelous works of literature produced by young, unlearned boys (gives examples of this, and further examples of what Nibley tried to argue).

Nibley wants to convince us of the things he stands for, but foremost he himself wants to know.

We honor Nibley when we contradict him.

There is a danger of looking for evidence wherever it can be found. But then we should be better at looking, like Nibley, at the whole wide field of culture, language, and life behind the texts. Nibley shows that apologetics can be not only erudite but sophisticated and entertaining.  Nibley had no hidden agenda, but was very up-front in his writing. We can say that apologetics is always for the believers, to show them that their beliefs are rational.

Nibley succeeded in bringing Book of Mormon studies to the level of Biblical studies. Nibley knew even the obscure German scholars as well.

Concerning the Book of Mormon, Moses, and Abraham — he (Frenchowski) compares these to other 19th century religious inventions, such as Acts 29, the Book of Jasher, and others. These are modern apocrypha that are comparable to Joseph Smith’s writings, although there are differences.

While we recognize that Nibley had shortcomings, we also recognize that so do we.

If you were not able to attend the symposium, or would like to go back and listen to any of the great presentations, you can do so here.

The session of the symposium that was most in line with my interests was the Saturday Morning session entitled: Priests, Kings, and Temples.

The presentations at that session were the following:

“The Anointing of the Gods: Sanctification and Authority from Egyptian Pharaohs to Hebrew Priest Kings and Beyond” –John F. Hall, Brigham Young University (listen to mp3)

“The Ezekiel Mural at Dura Europos and the Mysteries of Aaron, Moses, and Melchizedek” — Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Independent Scholar, Florida; David Larsen, PhD student, University of St Andrews (listen to mp3)

“Kingship and Seer Stones: A Comparison of European Regalia and Scriptural Accounts of the Urim and Thummim and Liahona” –Paul Callister, University of Missouri-Kansas City (listen to mp3)

This symposium celebrates the 50th anniversary of BYU Studies and will have a very broad range of presenters and topics.  Of special interest (to me, anyways):

Jeffrey Bradshaw will be presenting on Saturday morning at 9:35am (in the N. Assembly room). His paper is called “The Ezekiel Mural at Dura Europos and the Mysteries of Aaron, Moses, and Melchizedek.” I worked with him a bit on this project and I can tell you that it is very exciting material.

Also, in that same session, starting at 9am, John Hall (BYU professor of Classics) will be giving a presentation entitled “The Anointing of the Gods: Sanctification and Authority from Egyptian Pharaohs to Hebrew Priest-Kings and Beyond.” I heard a version of this paper in London at the Temple Studies Group conference and it was awesome.  You can see my notes on it here.

I also recommend Lynn Wilson‘s paper at 1:35pm in the same room. Lynn did her PhD in Theology at Marquette University and is a great scholar. I heard her speak at SBL two years ago and she has done some very interesting research.

There are many other papers that look very interesting. I just wish I could be there! If you are planning to attend, it would probably be good to register at their website (registration is free and open to the public). See their website below.

The following is some more specific info regarding the symposium, copied from their official website: http://byustudies.byu.edu/symposium.aspx

Title: “Of Things Both in Heaven and in the Earth” D&C 88: 78, 79

When: March 12–13, 2010

Where: Hinckley Alumni Center on Brigham Young University campus in Provo, Utah

What: To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, BYU Studies is holding a special symposium on Friday, March 12, and Saturday, March 13, in the beautiful Hinckley Alumni and Visitor’s Center at Brigham Young University. The theme, which captures the mission statement of BYU Studies, is drawn from D&C 88:78–79, “Of Things Both in Heaven and in the Earth.” The event is free and open to the public. A preliminary schedule is available at byustudies.byu.edu.

Three plenary sessions and four blocks of concurrent sessions, from 9:00 am on Friday until 3:00 pm on Saturday, will feature more than fifty fascinating presenters. A poster session, scheduled for Friday afternoon, will highlight recent research from a variety of disciplines by both seasoned professors and younger scholars.

The three plenary speakers are Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Professor of Church History and Doctrine and publications director of the Religious Studies Center at BYU; Van C. Gessel, Professor of Japanese and former Dean of the College of Humanities at BYU; and George S. Tate, Professor of Humanities and Comparative Literature and former Dean of Undergraduate Education at BYU. Holzapfel will share new discoveries about Wilford Woodruff’s 1897 recorded testimony concerning Joseph Smith and the succession in the Church presidency. Gessel will examine the challenges of introducing Christian vocabulary into non-Christian cultures. Tate will give a behind-the-scenes look at his work on the 1918 influenza pandemic and the 1918 revelation that became Doctrine and Covenants 138, recently published in BYU Studies and the Ensign.

According to Welch, those who come will have the chance to meet “other like-minded individuals who enjoy exploring a variety of topics” along with several BYU Studies authors. “This symposium will help involve readers in the academic experience,” explains Welch.

Contact: For questions or comments, contact BYU Studies at

(801) 422-6691 or at byustudies_symposium@byu.edu

Can’t Attend? We will be blogging this event on March 12th and 13th. We will post summaries of each session shortly after they end, so if you are not in the area and cannot attend you can follow our blog posts. Some sessions will also be recorded for later broadcast as well. Check back on this page for links to our blog.

–Additional Information

Directions

Parking

–Schedule links

PDF of entire schedule

Wednesday

Friday morning

Friday afternoon

Saturday morning

Saturday afternoon

Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism – Sunday 4pm

April De Conick

Star Gates: What Were the Gnostics Doing?

The Peratics (perasai, Greek for “Transcendentalists”) say:

We alone have known that genesis is necessary and (we alone have known) have know the roads by which humans have entered into the cosmos. We have been instructed precisely so we alone can pass through and treverse over the perishable. Hip. Ref. 5:16.1

We generally think that Gnostics didn’t know astrology, that it wasn’t a scientific knowledge – W. Forester (in his collection of Gnostic texts) failed to translate the chapter on astrological statements – he evidently considered them not relevant to Gnosticism.

We must become acquainted with ancient cosmology (cosmic architecture) to understand what the Gnostics were doing.

Earth is the navel of the cosmos – in the middle of the earth is a pole (axis mundi) — the earth is stationary and the various  celestial spheres revolve around it.

The sublunar realm includes

• The Earth
• Tartarus
• The Skies
• The Firmament

The Heavens include:

• the seven planetary spheres
• one zodiacal sphere
• these were considered to be deities

The zodiac band crosses the horizon and is divided into twelve units–zodiacal signs. The stars wander below zodiacal band. Each zodiac sign was a “place” or “house”. Each of the planets rules over a particular sign.

Egyptian Decans (groups of stars) – had 36 divisions instead of 12 – each was a deity – 72 spirits for every 5 degrees of the zodiac for a total of 365 gods.

The Egyptian system was merged into the Greco-Roman system. There were seven main rulers whose houses have a number of assistants. These assistants became demons and the fallen angels. They needed to be regularly appeased with acts of magic.

The skies were populated by demonic archons for the Gnostics. In their view, the Jewish creator god (demiurge) was a powerful, but angry god.

A common Gnostic belief existed that there are paths that allow for a journey out of cosmos into heavens beyond – these stem from a mix of Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, Christian religions. The Gnostics claimed to know certain  greetings, prayers, and secret words that were necessary to pass through the “stargates” into the heavens. For example, they were required to know and give the correct names of all gods that they would have to pass by.

They knew of three journeys that one would have to undertake:

–1^st journey is through the sublunar realm and Hades, beginning at the soul’s release from the body

–2^nd jouney is through the several planetary spheres and the zodiac, beginning at the star or planet gate

–3^rd journey is through the transcosmic realm beginning at the star or planet gate

In the first journey, the individual would have to pass through waters of Tartarus before reaching the heavens.

One must pass the “twelve controlled pyramid” – the guardians of the zodiac. He/she goes through a  gate in the zodiac pyramid which Chronos and assistants guard.

Ou, Aoai, Ouo, Ouoab –  are the first four names of assistant guardians (the fifth name isn’t given).

–Soclam (= Egyptian Osiris) guards hours of the night

–Uno (Isis) guards hours of the day

Why did the Peratics write down the names of gods/demons? These were the deities that soul would initially meet after death. They have the charge of judging the dead on their journey to Hades – they control the fate of the soul after death and before re-embodiment.

The “hymn” of the guardian controls a chasm filled with water in the deepest depths of Tartarus

–Book of Suburbs ? –- the soul is escorted to a chasm – there are two chasms on the left and two on the right. The left go to prison, the right go to heaven. If you are allowed to take the chasm on the right, you journey four days until you reach a pillar of light, then go up the pillar to heaven. Those going down the chasm on the left end up drinking from the forgetful river.

Chronos is understood as a likeness of the Red Sea that one must cross before reaching heaven. The Gnostics had passwords, names, and seals necessary to cross the waters and enter the gate that opens up to Zodiac.

Book 4 of Pistis Sophia – the gates of hell open and release prisoners when certain signs of the zodiac align – souls enter the zodiac before being embodied again. These gates are located at intersection of milky way and the zodiac or at different zodiacal signs.

Sometimes the focus is on planetary gates – the sun and moon, etc. Sometimes the journey is described as an ascent through the sun and descent through the moon or vice versa. The descent through the several planets to the earth involves a series of changes from the  spiritual body to the physical.

On the way one has to get past Chronos and his five assistants and the five chasms. This involves offering prayers to persuade them to let you past.

The planetary spheres are likened to the “desert” of Israel. On the way, one meets fiery serpents who attack the individual. These are also symbolized as stars who want to return them to the world and to their body – the stars are like serpents. In order to pass by these unharmed, one must gaze to the top of the planetary spheres to the constellation “Draco the Serpent”, who is Christ. Draco is located at the roof of the cosmic dome – he started this pattern of ascent and descent. He gets power from the Father and passes it to humans.

The Father is above Draco and is the source of his powers. In some traditions, the Demiurge is the evil god who transfers heavenly powers to earth. Draco is also the river that flows out of Eden and flows to heaven.

Knowing the secrets of Draco causes rebirth and ability to travel to realm of the Father – one must go through Draco/Christ  –you are drawn up like a magnet through him.

Chronos must be crossed and the individual must pass through his gate into the Zodiac. The stars and planets must be overcome and then the individual must travel up the tail of Draco to his mouth and then be spit out into the heavens. Then he/she can travel to the realm of the Father, which is far above the heavens in his own realm.

After the presentation, in the discussion period, this question was asked by BYU professor John Hall:

John Hall – As I listened to your presentation, there is a correspondence on every point with the ancient Egyptian cult. Has ancient Egyptian religion been kept alive in Gnostic tradition?

April DeConick – Yes, I do believe so. The names of the deities are preserved.  Egyptian and Greek myths are both preserved in Gnosticism – its a synthesis of all these national religions.

(I take responsibility for the contents of these notes. They are but my own paraphrasing of what she said in her presentation, and are missing a good amount of the detail she put into it. Hopefully these notes help provide, in a small way, some of the great insights that she meant to pass on.)