Item Detail
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25482
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0
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0
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English
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But I Say Unto You, Who Is Elias?
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New Perspectives in Mormon Studies : Creating and crossing boundaries
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Norman, OK
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University of Oklahoma Press
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145-168
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The author's theological essay begins by addressing a specific question: who was the Elias who appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland, Ohio, Temple on April 3, 1836? More generally, it concerns the nature of Elias in Latter-day Saint tradition, for without a clear understanding of the meaning of the term "Elias," its meaning in the Kirtland vision must remain obscure. The author argues that Elias is best understood to be a spirit person in some ways analogous to the spirit person known as the Holy Ghost, and that the human person filled with the Spirit of Elias whom Smith and Cowdery saw in Kirtland was John the Baptist. In the author's discussion of scripture, he makes use of the interpretive stance of the Latter-day Saints insofar as he understands it, making no claim that this is or should be the understanding of other Christian churches or of historical-critical biblical study. [excerpt from chapter]