Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

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consiglieri
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

Post by consiglieri »

At least Bradshaw managed to prove that producing a 500-page book in only several months does not require the gift and power of God.
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

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consiglieri wrote:
Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:50 pm
At least Bradshaw managed to prove that producing a 500-page book in only several months does not require the gift and power of God.
But only if you have a Spaulding manuscript?
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

Post by Marcus »

Are we suggesting that Peterson and Bradshaw acquired their skill at plagiarism by faithfully following in their beloved Prophets’ footsteps?!
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

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consiglieri wrote:
Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:50 pm
At least Bradshaw managed to prove that producing a 500-page book in only several months does not require the gift and power of God.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

Post by Philo Sofee »

the_narrator wrote:
Tue Nov 29, 2022 10:10 pm
And there are many examples where it seems pretty clear that Bradshaw was copying block quotations from MI. For example, here are two block quotes from MI that Bradshaw seemed to take from MI (right) to use in his book (left). While MI uses them in the main text, and Bradshaw includes them in endnotes, the immediately sequential use of identical block quotes seems to indicate quite clearly that he was lifting them and the research from MI.

Image

Coincidentally(?), DCP did something similar several years ago when he copied a block quote and the introductory text from something I had written for his own FAIR conference paper. (Wherein he also other quotes to me that were by others.)
More on that here: https://loydo38.blogspot.com/2012/08/an ... erson.html
Thank you for sharing your grasp of this. If I may, from a complete amateur point of view, I think if I was in the position of Kofford Books with all this going down, I would get a list of workers at Interpreter and I would never publish any of their submissions again.

I have absolutely loved the quality, the crisp scholarship, the depth of Kofford Books publications, and to let these people mar that reputation with this kind of fiasco would make me want to entirely steer clear of any of them. Kofford Books has no reason, fundamentally, to ever associate with unethical behaviorists like these.

And yessir, I have every intention of continuing to purchase the smorgasbord of excellent publications you put out. Great work, and keep at it.
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

Post by Informant »

IHAQ wrote: One can profit in many ways other than cash.
OH MY! THIS IS SOOO DEEP! WHERE DID UOU COME UP WITH THIS? ARE YOU THE BUDDHA?
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

Post by Philo Sofee »

Just read John Lynch's slobbering review of Bradshaw's absolutely outstanding, spiritually sensitive, scholarly powerhouse, outrageously successful finding ancient parallels Jeff Bradshaw book on Mormonism and Freemasonry. I mean... yeah. :roll:
https://templethemes.net/publications/E ... 20FAIR.pdf
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

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Philo Sofee wrote:
Wed Nov 30, 2022 2:03 am
Just read John Lynch's slobbering review of Bradshaw's absolutely outstanding, spiritually sensitive, scholarly powerhouse, outrageously successful finding ancient parallels Jeff Bradshaw book on Mormonism and Freemasonry. I mean... yeah. :roll:
https://templethemes.net/publications/E ... 20FAIR.pdf
Yes, that is pretty gooey, alright. It also shows how much he owed to Joe and Nick BEFORE Bradshaw popped in to borrow his Masonic library. What this further shows me is how important Joe, Nick, and Cheryl have been to the process of helping scholars understand the significance of Masonry to Mormonism, while apologists have generally obfuscated the issue. The Mopologists couldn’t get greater light and knowledge on their own. They needed the trio that wrote Method Infinite to do the hard work, while Bradshaw stole their work and added the patina of reverential awe to their work to make it more palatable to an apologetic readership.

One thing that really gets me about the way Lynch frames the whole thing, and I find this very unfortunate but telling, is the way he introduces Masonry through the Mason who did a Masonic grip on him in a way that was jarring to him. In that little anecdote, one can summarize the misgivings Mormons have about Masonry. It has this familiar seeming ritual, but it just lacks any Spirit. In other words, Masonry is kind of a dead husk to Mormons, and Joseph Smith injected everything lovely and meaningful into it.

Maybe that is what they need to believe, but Masonry was symbolically rich and spiritually beautiful to begin with. It was one of the great conveyors of religious secrets and esotericism of the kind that Mormonism would have gotten nowhere without. Mormonism IS Masonic. And there is nothing wrong with that. What people don’t seem to understand is that Masonry itself is part of a continuing engagement with antiquity that began in antiquity. It does not matter at all that the particular organization started in the 17th or 18th century. What matters is that it is part of the West’s continuing ritual and spiritual engagement with the past. Mormonism is the very same. Neither tradition is empty or lacking. Both are expressions drawn from the language of Western spirituality and esotericism.

Unfortunately, Mormons really feel the need to exaggerate their specialness and uniqueness. It is almost kind of sickness of the community. This narcissistic obsession with how wondrous and unique Mormonism is is one of the key diseases that is eating away at it and hollowing it out. Look at the 1990 edits of the endowment and subsequent edits of the initiatory. Let’s make this less Masonic! Let’s make people comfortable! And they go about this by taking out some of the more significant symbolic aspects of the ritual. In isolation, and out of conversation with the wider tradition, Mormonism starts to wither away.

People like Lynch and Bradshaw will know, to a limited extent, the cultural richness that lurks behind the surface encounter with the temple most LDS parishioners and leaders have today, but they will cheer as the Brethren continue the process of ruining the whole thing. Few people will read what they write, and even those who do will not really understand the relationship between their tradition and the broader Western esoteric roots that nourished it.

Because apologists insist on keeping it walled off from that conversation to the extent they can.

“OK, it may be that there is Masonic influence, but this is DIFFERENT, and we will show you why this is better and special, whereas the Masonic stuff? Meh, not important except as a historical forerunner or footnote.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Masonry is spiritual, Masonry is esoteric, and Mormonism is Masonic. The degree to which Mormonism remains out of touch from its esoteric roots will be reflected in how it continues to become desiccated.

I don’t mind that Bradshaw, Lynch and others are gaga over the temple. I loved the temple when I was able to go, and I cherish the memory of my experience. What I mind is the need they seem to have of putting the temple in a kind of theological reliquary where its richness is eroded at the very time the buildings proliferate at an astonishing pace. Of course, this has long been the case. People who know nothing of the esoteric roots of Mormonism, the Masonic roots of Mormonism, are poorly equipped to appreciate the full richness of the temple. The last time there were Mormons who really got it was probably in the 19th or very early 20th century. Since that time those few Mormons who educated themselves on the esoteric matters or ancient matters were better off. The LDS Church, however, is an abject failure at helping its members understand the temple.

I guess I should be thankful for the Mopologists and their thievery, because at least its something beyond what you get in the desert of the local ward, stake, or institute building.
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

Post by Gadianton »

Isn't the Mormon attack on masonry Trump's strategy? "Hey! Give those symbols back right now, you stole them from us!"
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Re: Interpreter Drops a Thanksgiving Bomb on Kofford Books

Post by Kishkumen »

Gadianton wrote:
Wed Nov 30, 2022 4:49 am
Isn't the Mormon attack on masonry Trump's strategy? "Hey! Give those symbols back right now, you stole them from us!"
LOL! Now that you mention it . . . .
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
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