Saturday, June 11, 2022

Jeffrey S. Krohn: Joseph Smith "literalistically interpreted" James 1:5

  

James 1:5 and the Straightforward, Literal Call to Seek Wisdom

 

. . . According to Cummings, “Joseph Smith took literally the words of James 1;5” (Cummings, “Quintessential Mormonism,” 94). Smith needed clarification because of competing Bible interpretations. However, there appears to be a one-to-one correspondence imposed on the text that was not intended by the author: “wisdom” for Smith was an aid for personal decision-making. Other interpreters, however, note a dissimilar intention by the author. Contextually, wisdom was needed “in order to achieve the programme set out in [Jas] 1:2-4” (See Cheun, Genre, 63). This “programme” was the “maturing toward moral perfection” through afflictions (Dibelius, James, 77). There is a connection between the “perception” of v. 2 concerning “trials of many kinds,” and the need for wisdom and prayer in v. 5, in order to gain the proper perspective. Wisdom was “the lack most critical to remedy,” and was “practical rather than theoretical, enabling not only true perception, but also proper action in the world” (Johnson, Letter of James, 179). Wisdom was for comprehension and correct perception related to the trails and “life’s testings” of v. 2 (See Johnson, Letter of James, 182-84). If these mainstream thinkers are correct in their interpretation of Jas 1:5, then Joseph Smith literalistically interpreted the text. The illocutionary aspect of the text was ignored, for Smith failed to appreciate the author’s intention concerning wisdom amid trials. Although Smith legitimately focused on the verbal meaning of “wisdom,” he neglected the illocutionary force of authorial intention. (Jeffrey S. Krohn, Mormon Hermeneutics: Five Approaches to the Bible by the LDS Church [Eugene, Oreg.: Pickwick Publications, 2022], 63)

 

Blog Archive