Our Gathering March 30, 2017 was a special evening
of Fellowship, Food, Jewish/LDS Inspiration and Music
for our Jubilee (50th) year.
The keynote "fireside" speaker:
Dr. Matthew L Bowen of BYU Hawaii
Dr. Bowen's very enlightening talk was based on his 2014 article
“What Thank They the Jews”? (2 Nephi 29:4):
A Note on the Name “Judah” and Antisemitism
His presentation included many scriptures relating to the Lord's attitude to Jews in the long term. Look for "Spring 2017...." in the YouTube LatterDaySaintsAndJews Channel. Dr. Bowen's presentation, with slides, is "Spring 2017 - Part 2 - Dr. Matt Bowen....".
Dr. Bowen graciously shared the slide deck of this valuable message; here: What Thank Ye The Jews.
See also his Interpreter Foundation 2014 article “What Thank They the Jews”?
(2 Nephi 29:4): A Note on the Name “Judah” and Antisemitism.
We had a great turnout (148), with friends from Alaska, Kansas City, Arizona, and Seattle. The evening was ALL wonderful! Warm friends were greeted and friendships were made. Brother Downing, who had been employed as a cantor in a synagogue, sang a beautiful song for us, and Brother Hatch played a very moving song he composed in the Jewish style.
We elected Chelsea Woodruff to succeed Marlena Baker as President, with Julie Gardner as 1st VP and Daniel Baker as 2nd VP. Marlena is Secretary; Russell Spencer and Mitch Moling are added as board members.
The presidency is to be praised for recovering so well from a two-day notice of required location change, aided by other members such as Daniel Rona who ensured that anyone coming to the old announced location were redirected. On a one time basis, we gathered in the 19th Ward building; the historic Salt Lake Stake Center is overused.
The fireside talk was again given in the cultural hall, due to video recording of the evening which cannot be done in the chapel. Our wireless microphone system helped audience members hear the questions and comments made by other members.
Background: Dr Bowen holds an Assistant Professorship in Religious Education at BYU Hawaii. He teaches ancient and restored scriptures, is the recipient of six Nibley Fellowship Awards, and an frequent contributor to MormonInterpreter.com. Dr. Bowen is on the Advisory Board for Book of Mormon Central, the Board of Editors for Interpreter Foundation, and the Editorial Board for Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.
In addition to several articles, Dr Bofwen authored the book "Name as Key-Word: Collected Essays on Onomastic Wordplay and the Temple in Mormon Scripture" - (Description on Amazon)