The "specimen of some of the 'pure language'"

On May 26, 1835, W. W. Phelps wrote a letter to his wife Sally Phelps and appended to the letter "a specimen of some of the 'pure language'". Will Schryver has been kind enough to post an image of the specimen over at MADB. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)



You may notice that the specimen is laid out more or less the same way as the Egyptian Alphabet documents that were produced a few months later, in July, 1835. You may also notice that some of the content of the specimen is adapted from a March, 1832 revelation titled "A Sample of pure Language," recently published as part of the Joseph Smith Papers.

For more on the relationship of these various documents, see my paper in the latest issue of the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal.

My Favorite Joseph Smith Revelation

Below I've copied the text of my favorite Joseph Smith revelation, from H. Michael Marquardt's book The Joseph Smith Revelations: Text and Commentary (pages 231-232). (It's also in the new Joseph Smith Papers volume.)

Why is this my favorite revelation? Well, partly because Joseph "Sang [it] by the gift of Tongues & Translated". This brings back warm memories of my experiences as a Pentecostal. Singing in tongues can be a pretty powerful experience, especially if you're improvising harmony with a dozen or so other people. It's controlled chaos-- which, I think, is why it feels like such a spiritual and miraculous event. In order to harmonize with those around you, you have to listen to them carefully and synchronize yourself with their voices and rhythms. And yet at the same time, you're letting your conscious awareness of your surroundings fade into the background. This semi-conscious harmonizing feels like a channeling of divine energy and a spiritual, mystical union with your fellow singers. And you're making beautiful music at the same time. In the Joseph Smith revelation below, by the way, there is a lovely lyrical quality even to the English interpretation.

Another reason I get excited about this revelation is its statement that Adam "emenated [sic] and came down from God." I've always been a sympathizer with Neoplatonism, mostly because I find the arguments for monism compelling, and Neoplatonism is one of the most ancient and best-developed monistic systems. So to find Joseph Smith using the distinctively Neoplatonic language of emanation is highly interesting to me.

In any case, here's the text:

Sang by the gift of Tongues & Translated

age after age has rolled away, according to the sad fate of man, countless millions for ever gone at length the period of time has come that oft was seen by a prophetic eye and writ[t]en too by all holy men Inspired of the Lord

a time which was seen by Enoch of Old at a time when he stood upon the mount which was called the Mountain of God as he gazed upon nature and the corruption of man and mourned their sad fate and wept and cried with a loud voice and heaved forth his sighs Omnipotence Omnipotence O may I see thee - and with his finger he touched his eyes and he saw heaven he gazed on eternity and sang an Angelic song and mingled his voice with the heavenly throng Hosan[n]a Hosan[n]a the sound of the trump around the throne of God echoed and echoed again and rang and reechoed until eternity was filled with hi[s] voice

he saw yea he saw and he glorified God the salvation of his people his City caught up through the gospel of Christ

he saw the beginning the ending of man he saw the time when Adam his fath[er] was made and he saw that he was in eternity before a grain of dust in the ballance was weighed

he saw that he emenated and came down from God he saw what had passed and then was and is present and to come

therefore he saw the Last days the Ang[e]l that came down to John and the Angel that is now flying having the everlasting gospel to commit unto men - which in my soul I have received and from death and bondage from the Devil I[']m freed and am free in the gospel of Christ and I[']m waiting and with patience I[']ll wait on the Lord Hosan[n]a loud sound the trump come eternity to ring hosan[n]a forever I[']m waiting the coming of Christ a mansion on high a celestial abode a seat on the right hand of God

Angels are coming the Holy Ghost is falling upon the saints and will continue to fall the saviour is coming yea the Bridegroom prepar[e] ye prepare yea the cry has gone forth go wait on the Lord the Angels in glory will soon be descending to join you in singing the praises of God the trump Loud shall sound the dark vail soon shall rend heaven shall shake the earth shall tremble and all nature shall feel the power of God, gase ye saints gase ye upon him, gase upon Jesus hosan[n]a loud sound the trump his church is caught up

hosan[n]a praise him ye saints they stand at his feet behold they are weeping they strike hands with Enoch of Old they inherit a city as it is writ[t]en the City of God. Loud sound the trump, they receive a celestial crown hozan[n]a the heaven of heavens, and the heavens are filled with the praises of God Amen

Given Frebruary 27 - 1833

How the heck did this not make it into the Doctrine and Covenants?

CMSSA Spring 2010 Student Conference

The Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association is putting on its biannual student conference again this Spring. So... get those proposals in, and start saving your pennies for gas money to get here in April!

CMSSA Biennial Student Conference: Call for Papers

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The Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association invites papers on any aspect of Mormonism. We particularly encourage submissions regarding this year's conference theme:

"What Is Mormon Studies? Transdisciplinary Inquiries into an Emerging Field"

April 23-24, 2010
Claremont Graduate University

Keynote speaker: Jan Shipps, Professor Emerita, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

Given the new academic chairs that have been established in Mormon Studies, and the conferences, courses, and programs of similar designation around the world, we are entitled to ask "What is Mormon Studies," and who studies such a field? Thanks to such interest in Mormonism, the academy now faces, among others, two significant lines of inquiry.

First, Mormonism's complexities suggest how this religious movement likely resists categorization. Is Mormon Studies a viable new field? Is it even a viable conceptual option for academic examination?

Second, from an academic standpoint, those who study Mormonism will in large part determine what Mormon Studies becomes and how it proceeds. What are the various competing visions for what should be studied and advanced under this rubric? What various aspects of Mormonism will/should be considered appropriate or germane to investigation? What aspects will/should be eliminated from academic inquiry?

As this comprehensive exploration potentially ranges through all disciplines and is therefore a trans- or interdisciplinary endeavor, we invite papers from all possible fields of academic inquiry in exploring these important questions.

Preference is given to student papers. Abstracts of 1000 words or less should be submitted no later than December 31, 2009. Authors will be notified of acceptance by January 31, 2010. Please send submissions or questions to:

conference at claremontmormonstudies dot org

My JWHA Article

The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal arrived today, with my article "The Dependence of Abr. 1:1-3 on the Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar" inside. It's very exciting to see my name in print! I can't say I'm happy with all the editorial decisions that were made. Their overall effect on the syntax and flow may have been more bad than good, and in at least one place a sentence was reworded so that its meaning was distorted. I guess I should have asked to see proofs before it went to press. But such are the hazards of publication, I suppose, and I'll take what I can get. I'm very pleased that my piece was accepted.

A quick summary of the major points:

1) Joseph Smith was the primary author of the Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar, although his scribes came along for the ride as participant-observers.

2) The Alphabet and Grammar was not reverse-engineered from the Book of Abraham, as some have claimed. Rather, Abraham 1:1-3 was created by cobbling together a number of Alphabet and Grammar entries. This was done prior to September 1835.

3) A few other verses in the Book of Abraham also borrow from the Grammar, but apparently the use of the Grammar as a translation key quickly petered out because it was too laborious.

Among the highlights of the paper, we find:

1) The name for Egypt given by the Grammar is a nineteenth-century Egyptianization (Ah=meh=strah) of Josephus's Hellenization (Mestre) of the Hebrew name (Mizraim) for Egypt (anciently called Kemet).

2) Joseph Smith's parents strongly implied that the idea of using an Egyptian alphabet as a translation key was initially designed for use with the Book of Mormon.

3) Smith was already experimenting with creating an Adamic alphabet prior to the arrival of the papyri in Kirtland. The Egyptian Alphabet follows roughly the same plan as a May, 1835 "specimen of some of the 'Pure Language'", and in fact incorporates material from that earlier document.