Avraham Gileadi - Hewbrew scholar, World War II survivor, former rock band member, convert to the LDS church, excommunicated in 1993 then reinstated back into the church in 1996, and in his own words, "In my case — not a single charge was true or supported by evidence — and all mention of it was expunged from the church’s records."
Intrigued yet?
In 1988 Gileadi published The Book of Isaiah: A New Translation with Interpretive Keys from the Book of Mormon, followed in 1991 by The Last Days: Types and Shadows from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Prominent LDS scholars including Hugh Nibley, Truman G. Madsen and Ellis Rasmussen praised his work, but his argument that the Isaiah prophesies pointed to a human "Davidic king" who would emerge in the last days, apart from Jesus Christ, was controversial. A reviewer in the Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, while praising Gileadi's erudition and the beauty of his translation, noted that Gilead's "...interpretation of Isaiah diverges widely from previous Latter-day Saint commentary on Isaiah, including that of Bruce R. McConkie." Further, the reviewer contrasted McConkie's commentary in The Millennial Messiah with Gilead's interpretation of Isaiah. The Last Days was pulled from the shelves by its publisher, Deseret Book (see source).
With such a fascinating history and quite the adventure of life experiences, I was very intrigued to learn more. Though Avraham's books and presentations about Isaiah are incredible and a must read/watch - this post is actually about his personal story.
Fast forward the video below to exactly 1:34:47 and watch until about 1:50:00 (or longer if you want to hear more). I don't want to give anything away before you watch, but I do want to say that I love how Avraham's story involves obedience to the Lord and I especially love what he shares about what he learned about music. A few years ago, I too read the Forgotten Books of Eden (the apocrypha) and I remember when I came across the part about the children of Cain and the music at the bottom of the mountain, I too felt confirmation about how sneaky Satan is with the power of music - especially in our day. I also believe that the woman who gave him a Book of Mormon was an angel which is why she was so persistent.
I have wanted to do a post about Avraham Gileadi for quite sometime now. There is so much that I love about Avraham's story and it's just an added witness of how the Lord works in our lives. When we are on the path to further light and knowledge, the Lord is there to lead us along. People show up in our lives at just the right time, circumstances unexpectedly change, small miracles lead to greater miracles, and before we know it we are surpassing our own expectations and limits. Hope this inspires!
Mosiah 18:9 - Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as a witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection that ye may have eternal life
Thank you for posting this. I've started to study Avraham's life and can clearly see how his entire life and mission has been orchestrated by our Heavenly Father. He was inappropriately excommunicated by the LDS church in 1993 based on some of his writings for reasons that were lately expunged. Neal A. Maxwell, an apostle at the time (whom I highly admire) was instrumental in reversing that decision based on his wise oversight. Avraham never became bitter and was repbaptized as if it never happened. It should have never happened in my opinion. We all can learn from mortal mistakes and gain greater understanding. Avraham is a man of God who is forwarding the kingdom of God on earth.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. I've started to study Avraham's life and can clearly see how his entire life and mission has been orchestrated by our Heavenly Father. He was inappropriately excommunicated by the LDS church in 1993 based on some of his writings for reasons that were lately expunged. Neal A. Maxwell, an apostle at the time (whom I highly admire) was instrumental in reversing that decision based on his wise oversight. Avraham never became bitter and was repbaptized as if it never happened. It should have never happened in my opinion. We all can learn from mortal mistakes and gain greater understanding. Avraham is a man of God who is forwarding the kingdom of God on earth.
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