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samuel m. brown

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VIDEO—Samuel M. Brown, “To Save the Bible, First You Must Kill It”

September 29, 2017 12:00 AM
Samuel M. Brown’s MI Guest Lecture is now available to watch online: “To Save the Bible, First You Must Kill It: A Book of Mormon Lecture.” WatchSome scholars have referred to Joseph Smith’s 1830 Book of Mormon as “America’s Bible,” as though it was intended to replace the Protestant Bible. What has not yet been much appreciated is the extent to which the Book of Mormon was intended to save the Bible. In this lecture, Samuel M. Brown argues that the Book of Mormon hoped to save the Bible from things like religious voluntarism and the resulting interpretive chaos, from cessationist denial of miracles; it sought to make the Bible credibly American, to make evidential Christianity internally consistent. The Book of Mormon seemed to anticipate higher criticism and the threats posed to the Bible by late modernism. As such, the Book of Mormon is a crucial text of transitional readings of the Bible. It is a lens through which to view changes in biblical authority and interpretation.But, Brown says, in order to save the Bible, the Book of Mormon had to “kill” it; unmasking the nature of scripture—its tentative, regional character, its fundamental inadequacy as a written text. There is strength in weakness. About Samuel M. BrownSamuel M. Brown is Associate Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of Utah and an intensive care physician in the Shock Trauma ICU at Intermountain Medical Center. His award-winning book In Heaven as It Is on Earth: Joseph Smith and the Early Mormon Conquest of Death was published by Oxford University Press in 2012. His other books include Through the Valley of Shadows: Living Wills, Intensive Care, and Making Medicine Human, as well as First Principles and Ordinances: The Fourth Article of Faith In Light of the Temple, part of the Maxwell Institute’s Living Faith series.
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Meridian features Q&A with author Samuel Brown on First Principles and Ordinances

May 05, 2015 12:00 AM
Shaun Maher at Meridian Magazine recently interviewed Samuel M. Brown, author of First Principles and Ordinances: The Fourth Article of Faith in Light of the Temple. I recommend reading the entire interview, but here’s an excerpt to get you started. —BHodges
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[Watch:] Sam Brown discusses First Principles and Ordinances at Benchmark Books

December 01, 2014 12:00 AM
A few weeks ago we announced the release of the new title in our Living Faith books series. Living Faith books are for readers who cherish the things of the Spirit and the life of the mind. They exemplify faith in search of understanding. They offer fresh and faithful perspectives that commend, defend, and explore the faith of Latter-day Saints.
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Sam Brown: "Taking Risks and Talking Plainly"

November 15, 0014 12:00 AM
Samuel M. Brown joins us in this guest post describing his latest book First Principles and Ordinances: The Fourth Article of Faith in Light of the Temple. The book is available now on Amazon.com and at fine Utah booksellers like Benchmark, Deseret Book, King's English, and Zion's Books. This Friday Brown will be at Zion's Books in Provo, Utah to read excerpts and sign copies. BHodges
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Pre-order Samuel Brown's First Principles & Ordinances

November 01, 0014 12:00 AM
Almost from the cradle, Latter-day Saint children are taught the basic principles and ordinances of the gospel: faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Missionaries teach these same things to people who want to know more about Mormonism. Thanks to repeated lessons and talks, they become more and more familiar the longer you're a member of the Church. But familiarity can lead to a peculiar kind of blindness in life and in religion. Proximity can lead to saturation. A fresh approach to otherwise familiar things can bring out their fragrance once again.
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