Keywords

stick of Joseph, stick of Judah, Bible, Book of Mormon, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mormon studies

Abstract

I wish to pursue two tasks simultaneously in this essay. First, in line with its title, I will address a very old matter of interpretation. I aim to explain as definitively as possible how to make sense of the relationship between Ezekiel 37:15–19, with its talk of the sticks of Judah and Joseph, and the claims of the Restoration, which include somehow connecting the stick of Joseph to the Book of Mormon. Second, in line with the subtitle of this essay, I wish to draw a crucial lesson from the history of how Latter-day Saints have dealt with this issue in the past. Lastly, I will outline some concrete advice about what it means to do apologetics, or what it means to defend the Restoration with the resources of the intellect.