Saints Unscripted Interviews Don Bradley / "The Lost 116 Pages"

[smac97]

For my birthday my wife got me Don Bradley's The Lost 116 Pages.  A few hours ago Saints Unscripted posted an interview of Bro. Bradley:

A few notes on the interview:

1. Bro. Bradley introduces himself, including a brief bio of his life.  This includes how during his teens he came across BH Roberts' "Studies of The Book of Mormon," which he notes was a "devil's advocate" approach to The Book of Mormon, and one that Roberts did not intend to have published.

2. He started to be curious about the lost 116 pages when he was in Primary, but then his interest in it grew starting about 15 years ago.  He notes that understanding the narrative structure of the BOM helps us better understand the text, including the lost pages.

3. He kept doing research about the lost portion, and ultimately decided to write a book about it.

4. The book has two parts: 1) the history of the lost pages and 2) the history in the lost pages.  (Note: I'm mid-way through the first part, and it is really interesting.)

5. Regarding the lost portion, there are generally two types of evidence: 1) internal evidence (within the extant BOM text), and 2) external evidence (such as sections 3, 5 and 10 of the D&C, an interview with Joseph Smith, Sr., etc.).

6. Bro. Bradley goes on to extol history has a fascinating topic.

I encourage you all to watch this interview.  Also, have any of you read Bro. Bradley's book?  If so, what are the two 2-3 things you learned from it?

Thanks,

-Smac

 

[Peppermint Patty]

It was a great interview. Thanks Smac. I haven’t read Don’s book yet but I plan on it. I’ve only heard good things about it.

My only complaint is that Don is wearing the same shirt he wears in the Witness film trailer.

Don, please PM me your address and I will send you a couple of different interview shirts. 🙂

[PacMan]

58 minutes ago, smac97 said:

For my birthday my wife got me Don Bradley's The Lost 116 Pages.  A few hours ago Saints Unscripted posted an interview of Bro. Bradley:

A few notes on the interview:

1. Bro. Bradley introduces himself, including a brief bio of his life.  This includes how during his teens he came across BH Roberts' "Studies of The Book of Mormon," which he notes was a "devil's advocate" approach to The Book of Mormon, and one that Roberts did not intend to have published.

2. He started to be curious about the lost 116 pages when he was in Primary, but then his interest in it grew starting about 15 years ago.  He notes that understanding the narrative structure of the BOM helps us better understand the text, including the lost pages.

3. He kept doing research about the lost portion, and ultimately decided to write a book about it.

4. The book has two parts: 1) the history of the lost pages and 2) the history in the lost pages.  (Note: I'm mid-way through the first part, and it is really interesting.)

5. Regarding the lost portion, there are generally two types of evidence: 1) internal evidence (within the extant BOM text), and 2) external evidence (such as sections 3, 5 and 10 of the D&C, an interview with Joseph Smith, Sr., etc.).

6. Bro. Bradley goes on to extol history has a fascinating topic.

I encourage you all to watch this interview.  Also, have any of you read Bro. Bradley's book?  If so, what are the two 2-3 things you learned from it?

Thanks,

-Smac

 

I read it after it first came out. The picture of the U&T with the stones was fascinating. The sleuthing of lost content was also interesting, as were the temple themes. 

[rchorse]

I've read Bradley's book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Usually, I struggle to make it through such books due to the dry, academic writing. But I found this to be very well written and engaging.

[ksfisher]

1 hour ago, Peppermint Patty said:

It was a great interview. Thanks Smac. I haven’t read Don’s book yet but I plan on it. I’ve only heard good things about it.

My only complaint is that Don is wearing the same shirt he wears in the Witness film trailer.

Don, please PM me your address and I will send you a couple of different interview shirts. 🙂

His people must not be keeping track of which shirts he’s wearing for interviews.

[strappinglad]

I read the book some time ago. I enjoyed the history and circumstances around the loss of the manuscript. I was a bit let down by the thinness of what the pages contained. 

I always hoped that the manuscript would be found hiding in some attic trunk somewhere ,but after reading the book I am pretty sure that it is a pile of ash. 

[Hamba Tuhan]

We have a Jewish-American member in our stake (baptised in my old ward) who sounds exactly like Don in accent and intonation. Interesting. I should probably share this with him.

Edited December 14, 2020 by Hamba Tuhan

[RBoylan]

I rarely post here, but yeah, will happily take a break from being a "lurker" to +1 the recommendation of Don's book. It is excellent, and everyone has to read it.

[Rivers]

Read it.  Loved it.  Highly recommend it.  It helps make the Book of Mormon a whole lot more interesting.  

I really enjoyed Don’s discussion  of Mosiah the First and what may have been part of his story.  There’s a whole different exodus story there of which we only get a brief summary in the Small Plates.  

Don also provides some details on the Mulekite exodus.

Fascinating stuff.

I also want to give a shout-out to Saints Unscripted.  They do a lot great work.   

[why me]

I just remember Don being in the church and then out of the church and then back in the church. His re-conversion helped many people, I believe. It was back when history was the main reason for people leaving the LDS church. Don's book helped many understand an aspect of church history more clearly and challenged the critic narrative. It was a wonderful celebration when Don returned.

[Ahab]

On 12/13/2020 at 2:30 PM, Peppermint Patty said:

It was a great interview. Thanks Smac. I haven’t read Don’s book yet but I plan on it. I’ve only heard good things about it.

My only complaint is that Don is wearing the same shirt he wears in the Witness film trailer.

Don, please PM me your address and I will send you a couple of different interview shirts. 🙂

The concept of a "favorite" article of clothing seems like an alien concept to some women.  Obviously you have discovered that Don has a "favorite" interview shirt.  Just accept that it is his favorite and maybe try to find him another one like it.

edited to add:  I also noticed Don has a different hair style than he did the last time I saw him, so apparently he hasn't settled on a favorite hair style, yet.

Edited December 15, 2020 by Ahab

[DonBradley]

On 12/13/2020 at 3:30 PM, Peppermint Patty said:

It was a great interview. Thanks Smac. I haven’t read Don’s book yet but I plan on it. I’ve only heard good things about it.

My only complaint is that Don is wearing the same shirt he wears in the Witness film trailer.

Don, please PM me your address and I will send you a couple of different interview shirts. 🙂

Peppermint Patty,

That is hilarious! And made all the more ironic that I am wearing the very shirt you see me in in this video right now! 

You have quite the eye (and memory!) for clothing styles. So you can certainly send me shirts! 

But on checking the Witnesses trailer I found that while the shirts I wore for these two interviews have the same cut, the shirt I wore for Witnesses filming is a different one than I wore for this podcast. The first one is a cotton shirt that has a Daniel Cremieux logo just below where the camera cuts off while the second is actually a long-sleeved Champion athletic shirt.

I'm not sure why I ended up wearing such similar shirts, but my guess is that it's because green is my best color and maybe both times I was trying to avoid either a short-sleeved shirt or a button-up shirt. That would only leave two options from my current wardrobe, which I shall henceforth dub "Witnesses" and "Saints Unscripted." 🙃

Maybe I need to enlarge the set of styles I wear for these occasions. Are green robes an in thing these days?  😉 

Don

 

[DonBradley]

On 12/15/2020 at 3:55 PM, Ahab said:

The concept of a "favorite" article of clothing seems like an alien concept to some women.  Obviously you have discovered that Don has a "favorite" interview shirt.  Just accept that it is his favorite and maybe try to find him another one like it.

edited to add:  I also noticed Don has a different hair style than he did the last time I saw him, so apparently he hasn't settled on a favorite hair style, yet.

Not a favorite item of clothing, but decidedly a favorite color. 😊

About the hair - oh, that's changed--I've definitely found a favorite hairstyle! I've never been one for keeping up with the latest trends, so it's fortuitous for me that the '20s (1920s) style exemplified by Tommy Shelby in "Peaky Blinders" happens to be popular in the century-later '20s as well. I suspect I'll probably still wear this cut when it goes out of style so I'll go from trendy to old-fashioned without changing a thing, by not changing a thing!

BTW, I am sitting here laughing about my clothes and hair as topics of online conversation. I've never felt more like Lady Gaga! 😆

Don

[DonBradley]

On 12/15/2020 at 3:18 PM, why me said:

I just remember Don being in the church and then out of the church and then back in the church. His re-conversion helped many people, I believe. It was back when history was the main reason for people leaving the LDS church. Don's book helped many understand an aspect of church history more clearly and challenged the critic narrative. It was a wonderful celebration when Don returned.

Aww, thanks, whyme. I was overwhelmed by the welcome I received right here on this board, or, actually, it's predecessor. Over 200 people posted to welcome me back. It moved me to tears. I will never forget that.

Don

[DonBradley]

On 12/13/2020 at 10:23 PM, Hamba Tuhan said:

We have a Jewish-American member in our stake (baptised in my old ward) who sounds exactly like Don in accent and intonation. Interesting. I should probably share this with him.

Wow! That is wild. I have always looked kind of Jewish, especially when I let my hair get long enough to bring out its natural curl, but my only connection genetically to Jewishness is that my kids have Jewish ancestry (through their Mom's side). So, ironically, one of my sons was chosen to be part of the church's New Testament video series because he looks so Jewish, but his Jewish look came from the non-Jewish side of his family - mine! So it's fascinating to hear that I sound like someone Jewish you know.

[DonBradley]

On 12/13/2020 at 5:22 PM, ksfisher said:

His people must not be keeping track of which shirts he’s wearing for interviews.

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Kenngo1969]

On 12/13/2020 at 5:22 PM, ksfisher said:

His people must not be keeping track of which shirts he’s wearing for interviews.

Wait ...   ... Brother Bradley has ... people?  I want people.  How do I get people?  

Edited December 18, 2020 by Kenngo1969

[why me]

12 hours ago, DonBradley said:

Peppermint Patty,

That is hilarious! And made all the more ironic that I am wearing the very shirt you see me in in this video right now! 

You have quite the eye (and memory!) for clothing styles. So you can certainly send me shirts! 

But on checking the Witnesses trailer I found that while the shirts I wore for these two interviews have the same cut, the shirt I wore for Witnesses filming is a different one than I wore for this podcast. The first one is a cotton shirt that has a Daniel Cremieux logo just below where the camera cuts off while the second is actually a long-sleeved Champion athletic shirt.

I'm not sure why I ended up wearing such similar shirts, but my guess is that it's because green is my best color and maybe both times I was trying to avoid either a short-sleeved shirt or a button-up shirt. That would only leave two options from my current wardrobe, which I shall henceforth dub "Witnesses" and "Saints Unscripted." 🙃

Maybe I need to enlarge the set of styles I wear for these occasions. Are green robes an in thing these days?  😉 

Don

 

I am so happy that you have redeemed yourself. I lost two nights of sleep because you may have lost your reputation for being a savvy fashionable guy.

 

[Kenngo1969]

On 12/15/2020 at 5:47 AM, RBoylan said:

I rarely post here, but yeah, will happily take a break from being a "lurker" to +1 the recommendation of Don's book. It is excellent, and everyone has to read it.

While we're at it, your own work doesn't speak badly of you, Brother Boylan!

[Kenngo1969]

On 12/13/2020 at 5:22 PM, ksfisher said:

His people must not be keeping track of which shirts he’s wearing for interviews.

 

On 12/18/2020 at 12:26 AM, Kenngo1969 said:

Wait ...   ... Brother Bradley has ... people?  I want people.  How do I get people?  

And why does that remind me of this? 

 

OK, OK ... I'll stop.  I promise!  (I think )

[Doctrine 612]

Read the book though it was great.

I remember reading journals from past leaders and them talking  about stories that were from the Book of Mormon but not the current Book of Mormon and thought wouldn’t it be cool to gather all those stories to help us understand the lost pages.

 

Don did a great job in doing just that.

 

can’t wait to to read the next book.

[Kenngo1969]

On 12/13/2020 at 3:30 PM, Peppermint Patty said:

It was a great interview. Thanks Smac. I haven’t read Don’s book yet but I plan on it. I’ve only heard good things about it.

My only complaint is that Don is wearing the same shirt he wears in the Witness film trailer.

Don, please PM me your address and I will send you a couple of different interview shirts. 🙂

It's his lucky shirt, Patty!