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Show Page 53 From a larger perspective, the source of God's glory, in Joseph Smith's words, is intelligence, and the divine imperative to "be instructed more perfectly" in geography, history, and law, as well as in the doctrines of 8 the kingdom, elevated study to a position of increasing theological importance. In searching Hebrew and Egyptian, Joseph Smith sought revelations that would provide a whole view, a synthesis of the fragmented spiritual traditions he felt sure derived from some dispensation ultimately antecedent to all others. Like the Romantics of his day, Joseph pored over the ancient words searching beyond distractions of conventional exegesis to the inspired origins. Orson Pratt began studying Hebrew alongside the Prophet, using books procured by Oliver Cowdery, in November 1835. With the intermittent participation of Warren Parrish, Hyrum Smith, and Frederick G. Williams, the school of the prophets turned into a language course, with only a Hebrew Bible, Lexicon, and Grammar for resources. The English transliterations were not always clear, and apparently Orson valued exactness so much that he engaged the Prophet in "heated argument" over the pro- 9 nunciation of a Hebrew letter. Three weeks later, the disputes ended with the hiring of a noted Hebraist, Joshua Seixas of Hudson, Ohio, to teach the elders an eight-week course in the language. Descended from a prominent New York rabbi, Seixas was one of two Hebraists then teaching in the Western Reserve, and had written two editions of a Hebrew language manual for use in the seminary at Hudson and Oberlin Colleges. He arrived in Kirtland January 26, 1836, and'immediately inaugurated two hour-long sessions each weekday, drilling basic grammar and vocabulary. On February 19, Seixas "graduated" a small group into a "first class;" Orson Pratt, Orson Hyde, Sidney Rigdon, and the Prophet, among others. The only one, however, who received a "certificate of proficiency" from Seixas was Orson |