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)
