A new article of mine just published over at the Interpreter (MormonInterpreter.com). My earlier exploration of dust-related themes in the Book of Mormon has been refined, expanded, and revised through further work and through the peer review process, so I hope it will be more valuable to some of you now. That work has become a three-part series, beginning with the new publication, “‘Arise from the Dust’: Insights from Dust-Related Themes in the Book of Mormon (Part 1: Tracks from the Book of Moses)” by Jeff Lindsay in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 22 (2016): 179-232. It’s also available as a PDF file and a voice recording. 

This first part identifies a variety of new elements that support Noel Reynolds’ hypothesis about the Book of Moses material having influenced the Book of Mormon writers most familiar with the brass plates. To me, that’s plenty interesting in its own right. Finding a potential Hebraic wordplay or two in some of the sections that draw upon Book of Moses themes and dust-related motifs was another surprise for me. The sophistication of the Book of Mormon’s deployment of the ancient motifs related to dust was also quite interesting to me, especially its use of Isaiah’s “rise from the dust” theme (explored more in Part 2 coming this Friday). There’s a good reason why the Book of Mormon serves as a “voice from the dust.”

But there has been much more happening at the Interpreter in recent articles. For example, the new wordplays identified by Matthew Bowen in several different articles ought to raise a few eyebrows. Take a look at the recent works there and then do the world a favor by making a generous donation to keep the Interpreter going.