The Westminster Assembly is celebrated for its doctrinal standards and debates on church polity. But how often is the assembly noted for its extraordinary intervention in the pulpit ministry of the Church of England? In God’s Ambassadors , Chad Van Dixhoorn recounts the Puritan quest for a reformation in preachers and preaching and how the Westminster Assembly fit into that movement. He examines the assembly’s reform efforts, tracing debates and exploring key documents about preaching in a way that both highlights disagreements within the assembly’s ranks and showcases their collective plan for the church going forward. Moreover, Van Dixhoorn reveals the rationale behind the assembly’s writings and reforms, both in terms of biblical exegesis and practical theology. Unlike any other book, God’s Ambassadors draws attention to the lengths to which the Westminster Assembly would go in promoting godly preachers and improved preaching. Table of Contents: Part I: Blind Guides and Scandalous Ministers 1. The Call to Reform 2. The Road to Reform 3. "Democratick Annarchie" Part II: A Reforming Assembly 4. Purifying Pulpits: Assembly Examinations 5. The Pastor's Office: Assembly Debates 6. Ordaining Preachers: The Directory for Ordination 7. Directions for Preaching: The Directory for Public Worship Part III: In Theory 8. On Preachers: Godly, Trained, and Ordained 9. On Preaching: The Word of God as the Ordinary Means of Grace 10. On Preaching: Audible and Visible Words 11. On Preaching: Christ-Centered Sermons 12. On Preaching: Christ-Centered Exegesis 13. On Study and Style: "The Spirit's Working" Appendix A: The Duties of a Minister Appendix B: The Directory for Ordination Appendix C: The Subdirectory for Preaching

This is volume 18 of Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture published by The Interpreter Foundation. It contains articles on a variety of topics including: "Cloud Illusions and the Perfect Day," "Viewing the Temple Through Wilford Woodruff’s Eyes," "The 'Fiery Darts of the Adversary' in 1 Nephi 15:24," "'He Did It': A Christmas Message," "Jesus Christ’s Interactions with the Women of the New Testament," "The More Part of the Book of Mormon Is Early Modern English," "Joseph Smith Read the Words," "Untangling Scripture from the Philosophies of Men," "The Case of the {-th} Plural in the Earliest Text," "The Case of Plural?Was in the Earliest Text," "To 'See and Hear'," "Samuel the Lamanite, Christ, and Zenos: A Study of Intertextuality," "The Yoke of Christ: A Light Burden Heavy With Meaning," "The Faith to See: Burning in the Bosom and Translating the Book of Mormon in Doctrine and Covenants 9," "'They Were Moved with Compassion' (Alma 27:4; 53:13): Toponymic Wordplay on Zarahemla and Jershon," and "Onomastic Wordplay on Joseph and Benjamin and Gezera Shawa in the Book of Mormon."