A new addition to the Bryce Haymond Translation (BHT). I had already translated it once before, but I added a new translation that suggests other interpretations. There is no one "right" translation. The scriptures are endlessly translatable, because the mystical is essentially ineffable, transcending all words, and so there are perhaps infinite layers of meaning [...]
What was Jesus' first recorded teaching? It may not be what we think.
I suggest that the physical object that Joseph had in his possession was not literally ancient gold plates, but plates of his own creation which talismanically represented the "gold plates" of his visions, aiding his mystical translation of those visions.
A translation where Jesus talks about why he teaches using metaphors and other symbolic tools, like stories, etc.
Paul talks about "Christ" as the One, and persons as the parts that make up that One.
For many people, religious language is failing. New words are being used to refer to similar religious ideas.
We will be discussing how we may reinterpret the ideas of Mormonism (and Christianity) in the light of classic mysticism, interspirituality, modern science, psychology, and other progressive and constructive approaches.
A tradition of a "heavenly book" runs through many traditions, including Mormonism with its "gold plates." What spiritual reality might these traditions be pointing to?
The earliest known account of First Vision may not be the one in 1832, but many esoteric accounts in April-June 1829, in the Book of Mormon text itself.
The "Urim & Thummim" were perhaps Joseph's own eyes, which in a mystical state of consciousness could "see" the visionary "plates." He lost these "gifts" for a time.