In the Language of Adam

Reading Scripture Like the Book of Mormon's Visionary Men

By: D. John Butler

Narrated by: David Butler

Nephi puts us on notice in his very first sentence that The Book of Mormon was written by temple worshippers and for temple worshippers. He and the other prophets of The Book of Mormon, who called themselves the visionary men and the peaceable followers of Christ, knew and practiced a mystery, an ordinance by which they ascended through the temple and entered into the presence of God. This ordinance was embodied in a dramatic representation of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden and their return to it, in which initiates played the roles of Adam and Eve or their descendants.

The drama expressed the great doctrines of the visionary men about the purpose of life, the fall and redemption, Adam and Eve’s choice, and Christ’s triumph. It contained the moral commitments of the visionary men, and it taught them spiritual disciplines such as prayer, fasting, washing, and anointing. It brought them to share a feast with the Lord and then to petition at the veil of the holy of holies to be admitted as one of the children of God.

The Nephite prophets used the sights, experiences, furniture, architecture, sounds, and even tastes of their temple experience to inform their writing. In the Language of Adam explores that complex constellation of information as a language--as a symbolic vocabulary for communicating and perceiving important truths. The more we understand about the temple practices of the visionary men, the better we can read The Book of Mormon, as well as the writings of visionary men in the Bible and elsewhere.

©2024 David Butler (P)2024 Plain and Precious Publishing

Top rate awesome!

What a fun book to read. The flow of the book is insightful, scholarly, sits well with the soul and revelatory. I appreciate the significant fruit of the obvious life time of work that allowed for such understanding of the insights that this book is a fruit of. Thank
you so much D. John Butler for this delicious fruit! God bless and keep them coming . ♥️

Heavenly Parents

Can be confusing to follow him on all the twists and turns. How does this information get me close to God?

Fantastically thought provoking

Butler eloquently describes an underlying narrative found throughout scripture which seems to jump off the page only once it is pointed out. With very few necessary examples and many more to eliminate all doubt, the author both informs, entertains, and testifies. The ideas he puts forward are invigorating and demand greater diligence in my own studies. Well done, Brother Butler, and thank you.

Deep Israelite Doctrine

So far , I’m only part way through for the first time, and I know LDS pretty well and this is helping me to understand more about the correlations between early Israelite temple worship and the similarities to modern temple worship. Focusing on much of the symbolism and the similarities.

Thought Provoking & Worth The Time

I found Dave's insights and theories to be plausibly established by both evidentiary and logical conclusions. The study of sacred texts, purposely obscured to protect the information from those not ready to hear it or who would oppose it, is a known approach used by Isaiah and Christ. Dave and his friends have found something marvelous and have unlocked intriguing possibilities of what lies interwoven within the scriptures that, if accurate, could add further light and knowledge to our understanding and lead all who have ears to hear to a closer relationship with our Heavenly Family and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for sharing what you have found, so far....😉

Explains the consistent themes in the scriptures.

Very precious and enlightening. Worth studying often. The author does the heavy translation from the Greek, Hebrew, and other languages of antiquity. Truly remarkable.

resonates with me.

very well articulated hypothesis rings true in a lot of ways. deeper meanings family throughout the book of Mormon and other scriptures and apocryphal literature back up this thesis.

A Welcome Addition

The information and thoughts presented provided rich ground for the Spirit to prepare my mind and heart for many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God

awesome book and incredible things to consider

Butler did a great job reading his own book but I suspect he also edited that recording himself and that's clearly not his forte. totally worth listening to, just ignore the poor edits.

Required LDS Reading

This should be required reading for LDS endowed members! This teaches how to recognize temple symbols in the Book of Mormon such as the correlation between the endowment and the Tree of Life vision of Nephi and also perhaps the Sermon on the Mount. Perhaps many of the “greater things” Nephi mentions may be hidden in plain sight in these familiar stories. Dave takes us on an epic archeolical adventure digging up clues and making possible connections to ancient worship similar to our own temple worship and hints at some deeper truths perhaps waiting for the Saints to discover if we will ask, seek, and knock to know the mysteries of God. Excellent book!! Highly recommend it!