Joe Spencer not only is a professor at BYU, but is the incoming president of the Book of Mormon Studies Association. His latest book, "A Word in Season" discusses Isaiah's different roles and uses in the Book of Mormon. Isaiah is one of my least-favorite books so it was good to talk with Joe about the history of Isaiah interpretation. Joe introduces the concept of an "ideal reader" to discuss how someone from the 19th century might look at Isaiah's role in the Book of Mormon.
Isaiah's reception in the Book of Mormon with an emphasis on the ideal reader.
Joe Spencer teaches at BYU and focuses on Book of Mormon and Latter Day Saints Scripture, with a background in religious education. He is the incoming president of the Book of Mormon Studies Association, replacing Chris Thomas. Chris is a major scholar Pentecostal circles and will be a keynote speaker at an upcoming conference in October in Logan. In Joe's book, "A Word in Season" he creates "the ideal reader" of the Book of Mormon in the 19th century as someone who was familiar with the history of Isaiah interpretation and sympathetic to the translation of the Book of Mormon. The ideal reader was invented by the author to represent a hypothetical person who had no agendas or preconceptions when reading Isaiah and the Book of Mormon.
Interpretation of Isaiah 53 in the Book of Mormon.
Many have noted that Abinadi seems to be Trinitarian in nature. For example, Pentecostal scholar Chris Thomas said it had some "modalistic fuzziness", and Baptist Pastor Kyle Beshears said "Unitarianism sees absolutely no difference between the Father and the Son." Joe responded that Abinadi's words are indeterminate, meaning they can be used in many varying interpretations, which includes both trinity and godhead theology. The text itself is ambiguous and allows for different interpretations, rather than nailing down a specific theological position.
Book of Mormon Trinitarianism
Rick asked Joe if Joseph Smith's translation timeline could show how Joseph Smith evolved from a trinitarian to godhead theology. Joe disagreed with the argument that Joseph Smith's ideas about God evolved within the Book of Mormon. presents a complex and multifaceted understanding of God's nature. Joe noted that there are times when the Book of Mormon goes back and forth between trinity and godhead. Joe believes that the Book of Mormon's portrayal of God as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is not necessarily a progression from a Trinitarian understanding, but rather a distinct and nuanced theology.
Differences between Nephi and Abinadi's Views of Isaiah.
2 Nephi and 3rd Nephi 31 shows a consistent theological picture of Christ coming down in the flesh before and after Christ's birth. Abinadi, however, is quite different. Abinadi's views would quaintly traditional to 19th century readers and used Isaiah only to point towards Christ. Some of 3rd Nephi's portrayal of Isaiah shows a much more radical Jesus.
Speaker 2 highlights the radical nature of Christ's teachings in Isaiah, contrasting with Bennett's more traditional view.
The discussion explores the significance of the gathering of Israel in Mormon theology, with different opinions among Latter-day Saint leaders and writers.
Multiple Isaiah Problem
In a previous interview, Joe stated that he found the "multiple Isaiah problem" in the Book of Mormon is uninteresting and can be explained in other ways, such as revelation. Joe would rather focus on Isaiah's words and meaning in the modern world. Too many focus on the Isaiah problem, and if the two sides can't focus on common ground, the conversation is fruitless. Regardless of origins, there are many things that can be gleaned, and that is much more interesting. Rick noted in a previous interview with Sandra Tanner that she felt there was only one Isaiah, endorsing BYU's view.
The speaker finds it interesting that the Book of Mormon's use of Isaiah is often overlooked in favor of the question of how it relates to the Bible.
Joe believes that understanding how the Book of Mormon reads Isaiah is more intellectually and spiritually interesting.
Even those who don't believe in its divinity can find interesting theological insights. Many biblical scholars are atheists, for example, yet find extremely interesting lessons in the Bible, and the same can be done for the Book of Mormon. Joe noted that the vice president of BOMSA is non-LDS and has made many interesting scholarly conclusions.
Is it time to Update the Bible?
The conversation also touches on the idea of updating the Bible and other LDS scriptures to better understand the words of Isaiah, and the potential challenges involved in such an undertaking. Rick and Joseph discussed the challenges of reading Isaiah in the King James Version and the potential benefits of using updated translations. Dr. Spencer suggests that reading Isaiah in multiple translations can help people understand the text better, and he recommends the NRSV as a good option. If Church leaders decided to use a different English Bible than KJV, that would lead to the challenge of translating and updating the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants as well. The difficulty in understanding Isaiah is not just a translation issue, but also due to the historical context and lack of understanding of what the book is trying to convey. Joe suggests that the Church's slowness to adopt new translations may be due to motivations such as institutional authority and a desire to maintain tradition. Often, modern language editions of Book of Mormon lose original text. Getting scholars to agree on updated language version is tricky. Updating language in the Book of Mormon while preserving original meaning can also be difficult. In addition, modern Bible translators work from original language, a different game than the Book of Mormon which was only published in English.
Book of Mormon theology and scholarship.
Speaker 2 discusses the challenges of analyzing the Book of Mormon's Isaiah passages, including differences between the Book of Mormon and King James Bible versions.
Scholars could help with this analysis, but it's unclear if the church cares about their work.
Speaker reflects on 10 years of writing about Book of Mormon theology, from a lack of interest to a growing field.
Essays gather work done over that time, with introductions explaining the journey and changes in theology.
Speaker explores various topics, including Bible in the Book of Mormon, methodology, and apologetics, with a focus on theological nuggets and fun ideas.
What do you think of updating the Bible? Would it lead to updating the Book of Mormon as well as D&C? Would it help to understand Isaiah's obscure passages? Is that a good or bad thing? What do you think of Joe's historical presentation on how interpretations of Isaiah have changed over time? Do you agree with Joe that the Multiple Isaiah problem overshadows all other discussions of Isaiah?
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