Notes: Episode 53, Mormonism (Part 1)
As with every show, I’ll list any corrections or clarifications here. If there’s anything I’ve overlooked, please contact me by email or in the comments and I’ll edit the notes to reflect the new information.
7:25 – The accurate line that’s relevant here is Mark 16:17-18. In recognition of the Mormon preference to the King James Version of the Bible, this reads: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out evils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Most of these charismatic sects focused on things like healing, exorcism, and speaking in tongues, but there are to this day some Pentecostal denominations in the Southern United States that will take up serpents as described.
19:18 – If the idea of a pidgin bible is in any way interesting to you, I’d encourage you to check out www.pidginbible.org. It’s an interesting window into the way non-standard dialects can become standardized over time, especially through something with as much literary significance as the Bible. (People don’t generally think of it as an important piece of literature, but the Bible stands on par with Shakespeare in terms of establishing common idioms, new words, etc.) It’s also interesting in that most people are at least passingly familiar with the Bible in some capacity, giving you a touchstone for better understanding of what you’re reading in pidgin. That specific link is to information on the Hawai’ian pidgin Bible, or as it’s known in its own language, “Da Jesus Book”. If that doesn’t convince you to at least take a peek, I don’t think anything will.
35:04 – The use of “and it came to pass” is actually so prevalent that I’m not the only one who has found that it interferes. There have been editions of the Book of Mormon where the majority of them have been edited out for better readability.
36:12 – There absolutely is an official Book of Mormon app from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and it is free. I also found an illustrated interactive app for kids, a daily reading planner that helps you hit a goal of how much to read in a day, and a “Book of Mormon Golf” app that helps you memorize where verses are located throughout the LDS canon (though none of these are officially sanctioned apps). I even found a Mormon Temple Run clone. People sure do love apps.
