Sunday, April 12, 2020

The Use of the Old Testament by New Testament Authors and Similar Interpretive Approaches by Latter-day Saints


Here are some parallels between the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the resurrection of Jesus from a post on twitter by a Latter-day Saint (handle “hankrsmith”):

Like Christ, the Book of Mormon:

-came out of a stone tomb with an angel present

-had 11 witnesses (3 & 8 witnesses)

-was cared for by a man named Joseph (Arimathea/Smith) & was seen by Mary (Whitmer)

-is rejected by the religious elite

-shows the way to salvation

Now, I am not stating that these parallels between the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and Jesus's resurrection is proof or strong evidence. However, it did remind me of how many Evangelicals will apply one rule to the New Testament authors and their use of the Old Testament and some parallels LDS tend to draw between the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and Old Testament figures. How so? Take the use of Hos 11:1 by Matthew in Matt 2:15. Evangelicals will argue that while applying historical-grammatical methods of exegesis, Jesus and his family are not prophesied of in Hosea, using senses plenior and/or Messianic exegesis and/or some different approach, Matthew is excused from what would be labelled eisegesis if used by Latter-day Saints (and belief in the inerrancy of the autographs is defended/accepted).

If the New Testament authors can use such methods of interpretation, critics of LDS appeals to the same in and of itself should not be dismissed, such as purported (and often, very implicit) hints of prophecies of Joseph Smith and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon (on this, see Joseph Fielding McConkie, His Name Shall Be Joseph: Ancient Prophecies of the Latter-day Seer [1980]; cf. his article Joseph Smith as Found in Ancient Manuscripts).