There are other differences, such as the removal of the divine feminine is Jewish religion. People have noted that especially in Nephi’s vision that aspect of God is still present. (You also find it in later works such as the personification of wisdom in some poems)

Edit: I touch on some of that in this post from last year
http://www.timesandseasons.org/index.php/2016/07/what-was-the-nephite-law-of-moses/

If Adam’s speculation is correct and Lehi was in fact worshipping at an alter outside of Jerusalem what kind of historical / theological ramifications would that have given the time period? What might say about the kind of religious practices Lehi was involved in? While not exactly pertinent to Adam’s thesis in this chapter I find this particular observation fascinating.

That is, I see him addressing a theme that is inherently implicit and oblique. Reading scripture in a thoughtful and questioning way, in the manner that he is emulating, is itself a kind of typological enactment of what Lehi is doing–a kind of journey that is not so much about the destination (i.e., “the wilderness”) but about the purification process along the way (i.e., getting distance from one’s daily life and concerns in order to reflect, ponder, and pray).

So, Adam is showing or exemplifying this pattern through this essay, asking questions of a text that itself requires us to go on a kind of hermeneutic, theologically reflective journey in order to answer the natural kinds of questions he’s posing about the text.

I also think his interpretation of the therefores and nevertheless is a nice and interesting insight that corroborates his musings.

Still I really liked the points about the sacrifice type scene. I also really think Adam’s pointed incisively at an issue of mediation within Mormon theology. That in turn might be tied to what we could call the divine hiddenness problem. Why does God give his word through such flawed vehicles. (I recall Moroni complaining about this point in Ether 12) The fact that Lehi gets pointed to a book really does highlight a significant part of our relationship with God and the grace he gives us. In that sense grace is intrinsically mediated and flawed yet simultaneously undeniably from God. Adam’s reading of that scene with Lehi is spot on in that sense.

This all brought up an interesting passage I have been musing over lately, and I would love your thoughts on it. In Moses 6:4-7 we read:

4 And then began these men to call upon the name of the Lord, and the Lord blessed them; 5 And a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration; 6 And by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled. 7 Now this same Priesthood, which was in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also.

After reading it several times it seems to me that the explanatory clause “Now this same Priesthood” refers to the previous subject clause “a language which was pure and undefiled,” i.e. the language of Adam. This language was recorded in a book of remembrance. As I read it, the language of Adam is a priesthood. This brings up several interpretive issues worth exploring about priesthood, language, and writing; noting also that for most of human history the “book of remembrance” was actually the rituals, narrative templates, and cosmologies of the oral cult–priesthoods indeed.

Thought?