Joseph Smith, Mormonism and Enochic Tradition

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Joseph Smith, Mormonism and Enochic Tradition Durham E-Theses Joseph Smith, Mormonism and Enochic Tradition CIRILLO, SALVATORE How to cite: CIRILLO, SALVATORE (2010) Joseph Smith, Mormonism and Enochic Tradition, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/236/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 1 Salvatore Cirillo Research MA Durham University Department of Theology September 30, 2009 Joseph Smith, Mormonism and Enochic Tradition This thesis is a result of my own work. Material from the work of others has been acknowledged and quotations and paraphrases suitably indicated. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any format, including electronic and the Internet, without the author‘s prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. 2 3 CONTENTS CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... 6 PREFACE ..................................................................................................................... 7 ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 10 A UNIQUE ARGUMENT .......................................................................................... 10 Faith in Context ....................................................................................................... 13 History as Theology ................................................................................................. 13 Methodology and Approach .................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................... 17 FOUNDATION AND BACKGROUND .................................................................... 17 1. The Book of Enoch .............................................................................................. 17 1.1 Early Enoch ................................................................................................... 23 1.2 Enoch in Europe ............................................................................................ 25 1.3 Enoch in Britain ............................................................................................. 29 2. The Book of Moses .............................................................................................. 33 2.1 Joseph Smith, Jr. ............................................................................................ 33 2.2 Oliver Cowdery ............................................................................................. 41 2.3 Sidney Rigdon ............................................................................................... 43 2.4 The Book of Moses Examined ...................................................................... 47 3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 49 CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................... 51 ACCESS TO MATERIALS ....................................................................................... 51 1. Nibley‘s Approach to Access .............................................................................. 52 2. Nibley‘s Argument Regarding Access ................................................................ 53 4 2.1 Too Busy to Read .......................................................................................... 54 2.2 The Learned and Disinterested ...................................................................... 61 2.3 The Disdainful Church .................................................................................. 63 2.4 American Libraries and Freethinkers ............................................................ 66 2.5 A Later Appearance ....................................................................................... 73 2.6 Stressing the Point ......................................................................................... 74 2.7 Ignorant No More .......................................................................................... 76 3. Quinn Responds ................................................................................................... 77 4. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 79 CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................... 80 SUBSTANTIAL SIMILARITIES AND INFLUENCE ............................................. 80 1. Nibley‘s Poor Comparisons ................................................................................. 81 2. An Argument for Substantial Similarities ........................................................... 85 2.1. Son of Man ................................................................................................... 86 2.2. Enoch and Noah ........................................................................................... 91 2.3. Mahujah, Mahijah, and Mahaway ................................................................ 94 3. Re-Assessing Authorship ................................................................................... 106 4. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 109 CHAPTER FOUR ...................................................................................................... 110 BEYOND NIBLEY .................................................................................................. 110 1. Smith, Codename Baurak Ale ........................................................................... 111 2. Smith, Codename Enoch.................................................................................... 112 2.1 Smith the Prophet and Priest ....................................................................... 112 2.2 Smith Transformed ...................................................................................... 113 2.3 Smith Ordained ............................................................................................ 115 3. Smith‘s New Jerusalem, Enoch‘s Zion .............................................................. 115 3.1 Zion Defined ................................................................................................ 116 3.2 Zion and Living in America ........................................................................ 117 3.3 Zion and Death ............................................................................................ 120 5 4. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 123 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 124 ENOCH IN MORMONISM EXPLORED ............................................................... 124 This Thesis ......................................................................................................... 125 Future Considerations ........................................................................................ 127 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... cxxxi Books/Journals .................................................................................................... cxxxi Reference ................................................................................................................ cxl Websites ................................................................................................................ cxlii 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my family for their support and encouragement throughout this process, Suzie McCleave, John Scarpaci, Claudia Cirillo, Rocky Payne and Robina and Philip Hutton. I should like to thank Esther Tang and William Bachilla who afforded me the opportunity to pursue an M.A. in the first place. I owe a great deal to Esther and William for their initial assistance with research and special thanks to William for his tireless efforts with editing. I am most grateful to Professors Loren T. Stuckenbruck and Douglas J. Davies for their expertise, keen interest and feedback. Professor Stuckenbruck‘s initial idea to pursue the Mormon perspective on Enoch, his enthusiasm for Enoch and his continued generosity
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