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If the Saints would not leave without their endowment, how did Brigham try to both keep God’s promise and preserve their lives when Nauvoo was no longer safe? Why did so many Saints follow a blunt, sometimes offensive Brigham Young into the wilderness—and what does that fact say to modern people whose faith is shaken by that history? Brigham Young tells the Saints they must leave because it is no longer safe, but members refuse to go without the endowment they were promised. Brigham receives inspiration that they need to complete the temple before they depart for the West. Historian Brett Dowdle traces the westward idea back to Joseph as early as 1838, to Brigham’s March 1845 dream of a mountain refuge, and then Governor Thomas Ford’s April letter warning that the mobs were growing and that Illinois could not protect them. By late August Brigham tells the Saints they have a second goal besides finishing the temple: get ready to leave. Dowdle also addresses a question for people unsettled by Church history: Brigham was sharp-tongued and made enemies, yet most Saints still followed him to Utah and regarded him as a father-figure. The post Becoming Brigham Episode 36: Abandoned Dream, New Hope first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Abstract: James E. Talmage, John A. Widtsoe, and Joseph F. Merrill brought unusually strong scientific training to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, joining the quorum between 1911 and 1931. Tracing their education, scientific work, publications, university leadership, and ecclesiastical service, this paper details how each combined intellectual rigor with religious commitment in distinctive ways. Talmage, a geologist, defended the compatibility of science and faith, accepted geologic time and biological evolution while qualifying human origins, and gained international recognition for his geological work and museum contributions. Widtsoe, trained in chemistry, became an influential agricultural scientist whose research on soils, irrigation, and dry farming achieved worldwide reach while he also helped shape higher education in Utah and Latter-day Saint thought. Merrill, a physicist by training, redirected much of his career toward education, becoming instrumental in developing the Church’s seminary and institute programs while consistently affirming science as a legitimate avenue to truth. Considered together, their careers illuminate the interplay of science, education, and religion in twentieth-century Latter-day Saint leadership, leaving open the broader question of how their scientific backgrounds may have influenced Church culture and policy. The post Scientist Apostles first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

What did Brigham’s letter to the daughter he left behind reveal about how he saw himself as a substitute “father” to the Church? Why did the unfinished Nauvoo Temple become the sharpest dividing line between Brigham Young and Sidney Rigdon? The post Becoming Brigham Episode 35: Why not Sidney Rigdon? first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

In this episode of Conversations with Interpreter, Kevin L. Tolley speaks about his research into temple connections in Jacob’s sermon and especially with Jacob’s use of Isaiah. Dr. Tolley, who is a Coordinator for Seminary and Institutes, has been studying the idea of temples and temple themes in especially the Book of Isaiah, and the connection between the latter part of Isaiah and Psalms and priesthood. This paper, which was presented at a conference on the small plates held in early 2026 at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT, brings that research into conversation with the Book of Mormon. Jacob, Nephi’s brother, was a priest and he gives his famous sermon in 2 Nephi 6–10 at the temple in the land of Nephi. Dr. Tolley intriguingly connects Jacob’s use of Isaiah with his priestly and temple focus. The post Conversations with Interpreter: Kevin Tolley: Temple Themes in Jacob’s Sermon in 2 Nephi first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Abstract: This paper explores the oath sworn by Akish and his followers in Ether 8:13–15 as a possible remnant of ancient Sumerian legal and religious tradition. It draws on comparative evidence from early Mesopotamian oath formulae, including the Vulture Stele of Lagash and other Sumerian contractual texts. The study proposes that the structure of the oath sworn “by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth” reflects a triadic invocation pattern consistent with Sumerian invocations of An, Enlil, and Ki. Modern commentators have noted Moroni’s interpretive Christianization of the Jaredite record. This analysis suggests that, beneath that redaction, the oath preserves linguistic and theological elements traceable to a Mesopotamian origin. The comparison illuminates both the antiquity of Jaredite culture and the deep continuity between Near Eastern oath traditions and Book of Mormon narrative patterns visible in the first recorded formation of a secret combination. The post Were the Jaredites Sumerians or Influenced by Them? Evidence from the Oath of Akish first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Could the sentiments that “it’s cheaper to feed them than fight them” and “this is their home” exist at the same time in the same person who also called Native American life idle and refused to leave the lands in Utah? The post Becoming Brigham Episode 34: Feed Them, Don’t Fight Them first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

How did a stolen shirt turn a mission to the Native Americans into two decades of war? What would Utah history have looked like if the Saints and the Utes had treated sharing and consecration as a conversation instead of a one-way religious task? The post Becoming Brigham Episode 33: From Stolen Shirt to Open War? first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

In the September 7, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our host Terry Hutchinson speaks with guest Jonathan Stapley in a follow-up to his book from Oxford University Press titled Holiness to the Lord: Latter Day Saint Temple Worship. They discuss the book's reception and his two forthcoming projects, a large book on the Salt Lake Temple called Dedication and another to be published by Eerdmans called Inside the Temple. Both to be released in March and both dealing with the temple for new audiences. The post Interpreter Insights Podcast — September 7, 2026 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

In this episode of Conversations with Interpreter, we interview ‘Alisi K. Langi, an assistant professor in faculty of Ancient Scripture at Brigham University-Hawaii, looking at her paper “Throwing Greater Views Upon Jesus Christ and His Gospel Through Named & Unnamed Women in the Small Plates of Nephi.” Doctor Langi’s paper looks at how women are presented in the small plates (1 Nephi through Omni) and especially what it can teach us about Jesus Christ. In this interview, Langi points out that because so few women are mentioned in the small plates, it can be easy to think that they are unimportant to the narrative or among the Nephites, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, as Dr. Langi shows nothing could be further from the truth. The paper under discussion here was written for a conference held at Brigham Young University in Provo. The post Conversations with Interpreter: ‘Alisi K. Langi: Named and Unnamed Women in the Small Plates first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Abstract: According to current scientific understanding, our universe began in an inconceivable explosion of both space and time. And yet the laws that govern it took immediate effect, eventually governing the formation of galaxies and stars, the orbits of the planets, and even the colonization of sterile rock by lichens. If all this isn’t cause for wonder, it’s difficult to imagine what would be. Happily, the restored gospel promises us an unlimited future of learning, exploration, and, well, admiration. The post Glaciers, Plant Succession, and the Sheer Wonder of It All first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

How did Brigham Young’s determination to never again be driven out of his home collide with Native peoples who were being pushed off the rivers and valleys of Utah? Why did a church that sent missionaries to Native Americans so early still end up building forts and fighting battles? The post Becoming Brigham Episode 32: Religious Kindred but Savage Enemies? first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

In the August 27, 2026, 2026 episode of The Interpreter Insights Podcast, our host Terry Hutchinson interviews the President of The Interpreter Foundation, Dan Peterson, about the Interpreter Foundation's past year and upcoming projects. The post Interpreter Insights Podcast — August 27, 2026 first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

How did Brigham Young’s rejection of his father’s harsh discipline shape daily life and family rituals in the Lion House? In what concrete ways did women such as Eliza R. Snow exercise leadership and autonomy under Brigham Young? Why do the historians argue that judging Brigham Young solely by modern standards risks missing both the complexity of his character and the reasons so many people willingly followed him? The post Becoming Brigham Episode 31: Lives of Their Own first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

This episode of Conversations with Interpreter explores Spencer Kraus’s article, “A Closer Look at Transliteration in Divine Translations.” Kraus picks up the question about transliterated words like ziff in the Book of Mormon. Because the Book of Mormon was translated by “the gift and power of God,” it can raise questions about why words like this appear in the Book of Mormon. Kraus convincingly argues that the distribution and types of words that appear in the Book of Mormon are in continuity with transliteration patterns in other ancient texts. As part of this we talk about the implications of Kraus’s research for understanding the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith’s translation project in general. The post Conversations with Interpreter: Spencer Kraus: Transliteration in the Book of Mormon and Other Translations first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.

Abstract: Sidney Sperry identified 2 Nephi 4:15–35 as “Nephi’s Psalm.” Using form-critical analysis, Matthew Nickerson classified it as a personal lament psalm. In this article, I build on biblical turns of phrase, imagery, symbolism, and the archaeological record established by previous scholarship to demonstrate how verses 32–35 constitute Nephi’s movement through gradations of increasing holiness in the temple. Nephi’s movement also exemplifies the use of thematic and rhetorical intensification, a method used by biblical poets. The ordered presentation of temple elements through those four verses suggests intentional artistry rather than random borrowing and affirms the literary sophistication of the Book of Mormon. This article adds to the substantial body of work demonstrating that Book of Mormon authors possessed a sophisticated command of Hebrew literary conventions. The post Progressing through Gradations of Holiness in the Temple: 2 Nephi 4:32–35 as a Hymn Inspired by Ritual first appeared on The Interpreter Foundation.