Vol. 08 No. 3 Religious Educator
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Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel Volume 8 Number 3 Article 34 9-1-2007 Vol. 08 No. 3 Religious Educator Religious Educator Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/re BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Educator, Religious. "Vol. 08 No. 3 Religious Educator." Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel 8, no. 3 (2007). https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/re/vol8/iss3/34 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. THe Re Thoughts on the Trolley L Square Shootings igi iNside THis ISSUE: O us The Power of Student Discovery and Sharing e duca The Dead Sea Scrolls in a Latter-day Context a Historian by Yearning: a conversation with elder Marlin K. Jensen TOR Elder Marlin K. Jensen and David F. Boone • Pe VOL 8 NO 3 • 2007 R The creation: an introduction to Our Relationship to god s P Michael A. Goodman ec T i V es Night of Blood and Horror: Thoughts on the Trolley square shootings Elder Alexander B. Morrison ON TH A Historian by Yearning e Res Old Testament Relevancy Reaffirmed by Restoration scripture Scott C. Esplin TOR Conversation with Elder Marlin K. Jensen ed Teaching Old Testament Laws gO Lauren Ellison s P e L Promoting Peculiarity: different editions of For the Strength of Youth RELIGIOUS STUDIES CENTER • BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Brent D. Fillmore The Power of student discovery and sharing John Hilton III From calvary to cumorah: What Mormon History Means to Me Richard E. Bennett The Next christendom: The coming of global christianity Philip Jenkins The dead sea scrolls: a Roundtable discussion celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of Their discovery, Part 1 Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Donald W. Parry, Dana M. Pike, and David Rolph Seely “[Doctrine and Covenants] section 21 and the command to keep a record were revealed on the day the Church was organized. I think that fact alone evidences the significance Church history ought to merit in our lives.” VOL 8 NO 3 • 2007 R e L i g i O u s s T u d i e s c e NT e R BR i g H a M Y O u N g u N i V e R s i TY Provo, Utah v o l U m e 8 N U m b e r 3 2 0 0 7 ON THE COVER: From its humble beginnings in Peter Whitmer’s log cabin on April 6, 1830, the restored Church has grown to fill the earth. “[Doctrine and Covenants] section 21 and the command to keep a record were revealed on the day the Church was organized. I think that fact alone evidences the significance Church history ought to merit in our lives.” Elder Marlin K. Jensen COVER PHOTO BY JOHN TELFORD iv Editor’s Note Sixty years ago, in 1947, two Ta’amireh shepherds climbed the limestone cliffs above the shores of the Dead Sea searching for a stray goat. One of the shepherds threw a rock into a cave, hoping to scare the goat from its hiding place. Instead the rock shattered something at the bottom of the cave. Mohammed edh-Dhib, a teenager, investigated the strange sound, thinking he may have come upon hidden treasure. But instead of gold or silver, he found ten clay jars. In one were some leather scrolls that he could not read. These scrolls and others found shortly thereafter ended up in the hands of an antiquities dealer in Bethlehem, and the rest is history. The young shepherd could never have realized at the time that his discovery would change the maps of scholarship as much as the Arab-Israeli conflict was changing the political maps of the region. In the end, the scrolls were a stunning treasure after all. To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery, I invited three colleagues to join me in a roundtable discussion on the significance and meaning of perhaps the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century. We are publishing the first installment in this issue, and will follow with the second in the first issue in 2008. We turn our attention from ancient history to the history of the Church by providing an insightful interview with Elder Marlin K. Jensen, Church historian-recorder and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. We follow up Elder Jensen’s interview with a thought- ful essay by Richard E. Bennett, professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU, “From Calvary to Cumorah: What Mormon History Means to Me.” Elder Alexander B. Morrison ponders the improbability of life in a modern world where in a short few moment lives are lost and our sense of safety is shattered. He shares some general principles about life, death, and forgiveness after the February 2007 Trolley Square shooting in Salt Lake City. We also include some other wonderful essays focused on teaching and, in particular, teaching the Old Testament, the CES curriculum for the academic year 2007–8. Near the end of this issue we publish our first contribution from a scholar of another faith, a talk given at BYU by Philip Jenkins, distinguished professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University, looking to the future, “The Next Christendom: The Com- ing of Global Christianity.” So there you have it—an issue dealing with the past, present, and future. Enjoy! Richard Neitzel Holzapfel Editor-in-Chief v Contents The Religious Educator Volume 8 Number 3 • 2007 1 A Historian by Yearning: A Conversation with Elder Marlin K. Jensen Elder Marlin K. Jensen and David F. Boone 15 The Creation: An Introduction to Our Relationship to God Michael A. Goodman 31 Night of Blood and Horror: Thoughts on the Trolley Square Shootings Elder Alexander B. Morrison 39 Old Testament Relevancy Reaffirmed by Restoration Scripture Scott C. Esplin 51 Teaching Old Testament Laws Robert E. Lund 65 Mothers: Heroes, Then and Now Lauren Ellison 75 Promoting Peculiarity: Different Editions of For the Strength of Youth Brent D. Fillmore 89 The Power of Student Discovery and Sharing John Hilton III 101 From Calvary to Cumorah: What Mormon History Means to Me Richard E. Bennett 113 The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity Philip Jenkins 127 The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Roundtable Discussion Celebrating the Sixtieth Anniversary of Their Discovery, Part 1 Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Donald W. Parry, Dana M. Pike, and David Rolph Seely 147 New Publications 149 Upcoming Conferences 151 Staff Spotlight “In looking back, we obtain a sense of identity that enables us to deal successfully with the present and maintain hope for the future.” Elder Marlin K. Jensen Elder Marlin K. Jensen Courtesy of Visual Resources Library © by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. A Historian by Yearning: A Conversation with Elder Marlin K. Jensen Elder Marlin K. Jensen and David F. Boone Elder Marlin K. Jensen is Church historian and recorder and a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. David F. Boone ([email protected]) is an associate professor of Church his- tory and doctrine at BYU. Boone: Elder Jensen, would you begin by telling us of your own life and experiences and what you feel has helped to prepare you in your call- ing as the Church historian and recorder. Jensen: To begin, I’ll acknowledge I’m becoming an old man. I have lived a long time and have personally experienced a lot of his- tory. I grew up in Huntsville, Utah, which is generally best known for being the birthplace of President David O. McKay. He was such a commanding figure in that small community during my youth that my interest in the history of the Church and its leaders was stimulated early on. When I returned from my mission to Germany in 1964, I began to build a modest Church history library. At BYU I majored in German and minored in history, intending at one time to obtain an advanced degree and teach at the university level. However, several experiences at the end of my undergraduate work, including a long conversation I had with Judge Monroe McKay during a horseback ride, convinced me to go to law school. I ended up the next fall at the University of Utah College of Law, where I earned a Juris Doctor degree. My legal training certainly helps with my current assignment. Thinking clearly and rigorously, under- standing the structure of logical (and illogical) arguments, appreciating how words can facilitate or obstruct communication, and being able to weigh evidence are critical legal skills that are also essential to profes- sional historians. 2 The Religious Educator • Vol 8 No 3 • 2007 After law school I pursued what I would call a country law prac- tice, living on a family farm in Huntsville and practicing in Ogden in small firms or on my own for a time. This approach to the practice of law provided a little money but more importantly some freedom. With some of that freedom I bought time and used it to read and involve myself a little in historical endeavors. My legal career lasted nineteen years, and now my service with the Quorums of Seventy has extended to nearly eighteen years. Happily, during this period of full-time Church service, I served for a time more than ten years ago as assistant executive director in the Church His- torical Department and later for several years as the executive director.