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Discusses earthenware manufacture in antiquity. Points out that some bottles and pottery vessels dug up on the American continent resemble elephants. Also mentions that the discovery of elephant bones in the United States tend to prove the truth of the Jaredite record.
Discusses earthenware manufacture in antiquity. Points out that some bottles and pottery vessels dug up on the American continent resemble elephants. Also mentions that the discovery of elephant bones in the United States tend to prove the truth of the Jaredite record.
Discusses earthenware manufacture in antiquity. Points out that some bottles and pottery vessels dug up on the American continent resemble elephants. Also mentions that the discovery of elephant bones in the United States tend to prove the truth of the Jaredite record.
Quoting a clipping from the Denver Post written by Doctor Baum who had conducted expeditions in the southwestern United States, the author wonders why the archaeologists do not read the Book of Mormon to find answers to their questions about ancient inhabitants of America.
A children’s story of Abinadi preaching to King Noah.
A children’s story of how Alma believed Abinadi and then organized the Church of Christ after preaching in secret to the people.
A children’s story of the angel that appeared to Alma the Younger and the four sons of Mosiah and how they were converted by this experience.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
A children’s story of Ammon teaching among the Lamanites.
A children’s story of Amulek.
A children’s story of Nephi and Lehi and the miracles that took place inside the Lamanite prison.
A children’s story of Nephi and Lehi who were protected by a circle of fire in a Lamanite prison and converted all the Lamanites who were present.
A children’s story of how Nephi asked God to smite the earth with a famine instead of having the people destroyed by the sword so that the people might repent.
A story for children about Gideon who came up with a plan for King Limhi and his people to escape from the bondage of the Lamanites.
A children’s story of Helaman and the two thousand stripling warriors.
The author rewrites, on a child’s level, topics such as Lehi’s vision and journey into the wilderness, Nephi and the brass plates, Nephi building a ship, the faith of Jacob, Abinadi, Alma, Amulek, Ammon, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, Helaman, Samuel the Lamanite, the brother of Jared, and Moroni hiding the brass plates.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
A children’s story of Jacob from the time he was born in the wilderness to his meeting with Sherem, the anti-Christ.
A story for children of Lehi leaving Jerusalem for the promised land.
A children’s story of Mormon up to the time he received the plates.
A story for children about Moroni.
A children’s story of Nephi prophesying of the murder of the chief judge. Many people thought Nephi was guilty, but Nephi shows that the chief judge’s brother, Seantum, actually did it.
A children’s story of Nephi making a new bow to feed his family while they were in the wilderness.
A children’s story of Nephi building a ship to travel to the promised land.
A story for children. Nephi mourned for his people because of their wickedness and the Lord comforted him. Nephi saw the signs and wonders of Christ being born in Jerusalem.
A children’s story of a maid servant of Morianton who warned Moroni of Morianton’s plans, which in turn allowed Moroni to stop the people of Morianton.
A children’s story of Nephi getting the plates of brass from Laban.
A story for children about the Anti-Nephi-Lehies and the 1005 that were killed by the Lamanites after they had taken an oath not to take up weapons against their brethren.
A children’s story of Samuel the Lamanite.
A story for children about three Nephite generals—Moroni, Teancum, and Lehi—during a war with the Lamanites.
A story for children. One of Moroni’s soldiers, during a war with the Lamanites, smote and raised Zerahemnah’s scalp up with his sword, which led to a covenant of peace.
As representatives of Christ, we can work hard to heal the painful legacies of racism that we have inherited, legacies that manifest in new and pernicious ways. Taking this action will help us alleviate the suffering of others. This is what the Savior did for each and every one of us.
Chapter 12 discusses the tradition of “the wandering Jew among the Mormons,” wherein the author cites examples of Mormons seeing one of the Three Nephites or the wandering Jew.
RSC Topics > D — F > First Presidency
Old Testament Topics > Jerusalem
A novel about an Indian’s search for his identity and his encounter with the Book of Mormon.
A novel set in Mexico, detailing the main character’s discovery of the Book of Mormon.
This article is a brief testimony of the truthfulness and value of the Book of Mormon, written by a man who is part Scottish and part Blackfoot Indian.
The second-century physician and philosopher Galen is not known for brevity. Although his writings on medicine are famously verbose and numerous, for centuries they constituted much of the standard syllabi for medical students. About fourteen hundred years ago, one or possibly several professors put together a series of epitomes of Galen’s work. In contrast to Galen’s rambling and argumentative style, these epitomes present the material dryly but clearly, offering systematic categorizations of concepts, symptoms, diseases, and organs. Originally written in Greek, The Alexandrian Epitomes of Galen can also be found in Arabic and Hebrew translations, and the epitomes have had a particularly profound influence on medical literature in the Arab world. This new edition presents the Arabic and English versions side by side, with a fresh, modern, and authoritative translation by scholar John Walbridge. Often cited in medical texts in the following centuries, these epitomes present an admirably clear survey of Galenism as it was understood at the very end of antiquity.
Book review.
Letters responding to C. L. Sainsbury’s letter (July/August issue) seeking inclusion of Nephite history on an international timeline. Contributors contend that no archaeological evidence exists for the Book of Mormon, point out the book’s similarity to the Bible, and enclose the Smithsonian Institution’s statement concerning the Book of Mormon.
Remembering the past is a natural response to situations that might make us sad. So when the hail and the mighty storm shall beat upon our vessels, we can remember those things on which we have built our foundations.
The 45th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium This book is a compilation of essays from the 45th annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium titled Foundations of the Restoration. The keynote address by Robert L. Millet highlights the restoration of plain and precious truths. Readers will learn how we understand LDS history and doctrine, about the beliefs declared in the Articles of Faith and how we apply their truths, about the development of temples and temple ordinances, and about the restoration of true Sabbath worship. Also included are chapters on Church newspaper editor and hymn writer William W. Phelps’s contributions to our understanding of the Restoration of the gospel; the historical development of sustaining members of the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve as prophets, seers, and revelators; and the harmony and counsel needed in their declaring doctrine and making administrative decisions. ISBN 978-1-9443-9407-3
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
RSC Topics > T — Z > Women
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
The supernal doctrines and practices revealed to Joseph Smith about eternal marriage and family relationships are among the most precious truths of the Restoration of the Gospel. However, because the doctrine of “eternal marriage” seemed to fly in the face of the Savior’s own teachings on the subject (see Matthew 22:30; Luke 20:34-35). In this presentation I will address specific questions relating to doctrines such as the new and everlasting covenant, the patriarchal priesthood, priesthood order, and covenants, as well as associated practices that persist to our day. In doing so, I will draw on the rich doctrines revealed in Doctrine and Covenants 132 and 128. I will also discuss the additional line-upon-line unfolding of the doctrines and practices relating to temple ordinances that occurred during the ministry of Wilford Woodruff.
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
RSC Topics > G — K > General Authorities
RSC Topics > D — F > Eternal Life
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sealing
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > L — P > Personal Revelation
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine and Covenants
RSC Topics > L — P > Melchizedek Priesthood
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > Q — S > Relief Society
RSC Topics > T — Z > Women
Abstract: During the last century there has been a prophetic emphasis on the understanding of women and their priesthood power and authority that has been unprecedented since the days of Joseph Smith. Through the use of scripture and teachings of our prophets and leaders of the restoration, this paper seeks to clarify the contemporary role of women in relation to their priesthood power and authority. By integrating the patriarchal priesthood—that priesthood entered into by Eve and Adam, lost during the time of Moses, and again revealed in our day in the Kirtland Temple—with the administrative priesthood found in the public Church and spoken of more traditionally, we can better understand the privileges, powers, and authorities associated with the temple that are critical for our day.
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.
See Barbara Morgan Gardner, “Women and the Priesthood in the Contemporary Church,” in Proceedings of the Fifth Interpreter Foundation Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, 7 November 2020, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Temple on Mount Zion 6 (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2021), in preparation. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-past-present-and-future/.].
Review of Royal Skousen, Robin Scott Jensen, eds., The Joseph Smith Papers: Revelations and Translations Volume 3, Part 1: Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon 1 Nephi–Alma 35 (Salt Lake City: The Church Historian’s Press, 2015). pp 575. $89.99.
Abstract: All of the volumes in the Joseph Smith Papers series are beautifully presented, with important photographic and excellent typographic versions of the texts. This volume continues by providing this treatment for the Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Review of Joel P. Kramer and Scott R. Johnson. The Bible vs. the Book of Mormon.
Review of Earl M. Wunderli, An Imperfect Book: What the Book of Mormon Tells Us about Itself (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2013), 328pp + Appendices, Maps, and Index.
Earl M. Wunderli has written a book that works through the reasons he fell out of belief in the Book of Mormon. These are combined with issues that he has added to his original reasons. His presentation is clearly intended to suggest that what he found compelling will also be compelling to other readers. Should it? This review looks at how his arguments are constructed: his methodology, the logic of the analysis, and the way he uses his sources. Although he argues that it is the Book of Mormon that is the imperfect book, his construction of the arguments makes that designation ironic.
Review of Robert A. Pate. Mapping the Book of Mormon: A Comprehensive Geography of Nephite America.
Abstract: Nephite apostates turned away from true worship in consistent and predictable ways throughout the Book of Mormon. Their beliefs and practices may have been the result of influence from the larger socioreligious context in which the Nephites lived. A Mesoamerican setting provides a plausible cultural background that explains why Nephite apostasy took the particular form it did and may help us gain a deeper understanding of some specific references that Nephite prophets used when combating that apostasy. We propose that apostate Nephite religion resulted from the syncretization of certain beliefs and practices from normative Nephite religion with those attested in ancient Mesoamerica. We suggest that orthodox Nephite expectations of the “heavenly king” were supplanted by the more present and tangible “divine king.”.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Review of Samuel Morris Brown, Joseph Smith’s Translation: The Words and Worlds of Early Mormonism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020). 314 pages. $34.95 (hardback).
Abstract: Samuel M. Brown opens up a new and expansive view of Joseph Smith as a religious thinker. Written for an academic audience, Brown is intentionally dealing with what can be seen and understood about Joseph Smith’s various translations, a term that Brown uses not only for texts, but for concepts of bringing the world of the divine into contact with the human domain. This is a history of the interaction of a person and the world of his thought, from the first text (the Book of Mormon) to the last, which Brown considers to be the temple rites.
Review of Earl M. Wunderli. “Critique of a Limited Geography for Book of Mormon Events.” Dialogue 35/3 (2002): 161–97.
Review of Avram R. Shannon and Kerry Hull, eds., A Hundredth Part: Exploring the History and Teachings of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2023). 374 pages, $29.99 (hardback). Abstract: This volume collects papers published in multiple venues over a wide time span. A diligent researcher might find all of them, but that difficult search has been done. The included papers represent multiple ways of approaching the Book of Mormon and therefore provide the reader with a rounded perspective on how and why a careful reading should be done.
Abstract: The 1985 publication of John L. Sorenson’s An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon presented the best argument for a New World location for the Book of Mormon. For all of its strengths, however, one aspect of the model has remained perplexing. It appeared that in order to accept that correlation one must accept that the Nephites rotated north to what we typically understand as northwest. The internal connections between text and geography were tighter than any previous correlation, and the connections between that particular geography and the history of the peoples who lived in that place during Book of Mormon times was also impressive. There was just that little problem of north not being north. This paper reexamines the Book of Mormon directional terms and interprets them against the cultural system that was prevalent in the area defined by Sorenson’s geographical correlation. The result is a way to understand Book of Mormon directions without requiring any skewing of magnetic north.
Review of Daniel L. Belnap, ed., Illuminating the Jaredite Records (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University / Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2020). 320 pages. Hardback, $27.95.
Abstract: Illuminating the Jaredite Record collects ten papers by different Book of Mormon scholars. This is the second publication from the Book of Mormon Academy at Brigham Young University, a collection of scholars interested in the Book of Mormon. As with the first volume, the authors approach the text from different perspectives and thereby illuminate different aspects of the text.
Review of E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2012), 240 pp. $16.00.
Mormon’s Codex: An Ancient American Book is unquestionably a monument to an impressive career defending, defining, and explaining the Book of Mormon. John L. Sorenson has been for the New World setting of the Book of Mormon what Hugh Nibley was for the Old World setting. From his earliest 1952 publications using anthropology and geography to defend the Book of Mormon to the 2013 publication of Mormon’s Codex, Sorenson has been the dominant force in shaping scholarly discussions about the Book of Mormon in its New World setting. With an impressive 714 pages of text with footnotes, Mormon’s Codex is physically an appropriate capstone to his long publishing career.
Review of Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity, edited by Michael Hubbard MacKay, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Brian M. Hauglid (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2020). 544 pages with index. Hardback, $70. Paperback $45, eBook $40.Abstract: Producing Ancient Scripture is a collection of sixteen detailed essays with an introduction by the editors. This is the first such collection that examines the greater range of Joseph Smith’s translation projects. As such, it is uniquely positioned to begin more sophisticated answers about the relationship between Joseph Smith and both the concept of translation and the specific translation works he produced.
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the first installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the fifth installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Book of Mormon Topics > Literary and Textual Studies > Writing
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the sixth installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Topics > Literary and Textual Studies > Writing
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the seventh installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 4 Nephi
Book of Mormon Topics > Literary and Textual Studies > Writing
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the second installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the third installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the fourth installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]
Book of Mormon Topics > Literary and Textual Studies > Writing
[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the eighth (and final) installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This final installment is the Preface for the book. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]
Abstract: The Book of Mormon is a literate product of a literate culture. It references written texts. Nevertheless, behind the obvious literacy, there are clues to a primary orality in Nephite culture. The instances of text creation and most instances of reading texts suggest that documents were written by and for an elite class who were able to read and write. Even among the elite, reading and writing are best seen as a secondary method of communication to be called upon to archive information, to communicate with future readers (who would have been assumed to be elite and therefore able to read), and to communicate when direct oral communication was not possible (letters and the case of Korihor). As we approach the text, we may gain new insights into the art with which it was constructed by examining it as the literate result of a primarily oral culture.
Gardner examines the timeline and process that Mormon plausibly underwent when he compiled and added to the Book of Mormon. Mormon’s message is the cycle of history—the Messiah will come again.
Nephi was a younger son of a wealthy family. As one who might not inherit his father's business, it is possible that he was trained for another profession. One of the high-status professions open to him would have been a scribe. Beyond the fact that Nephi produced at least three written works (1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, and the nonextant large-plate book of Lehi), there are other evidences in his writing that betray the kind of traning scribes received. His early professional training may have been an important preparation for his later role in establishing his people as a true people of the book.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Review of David G. Calderwood. Voices from the Dust: New Insights into Ancient America.
Review of William L. Davis, Visions in a Seer Stone: Joseph Smith and the Making of the Book of Mormon (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2020). 250 pages with index. $90.00 (hardback), $29.95 (paperback).
Abstract: Visions in a Seer Stone: Joseph Smith and the Making of the Book of Mormon introduces a new perspective in the examination of the construction of the Book of Mormon. With an important introduction to the elements of early American extemporaneous speaking, Davis applies some of those concepts to the Book of Mormon and suggests that there are elements of the organizational principles of extemporaneous preaching that can be seen in the Book of Mormon. This, therefore, suggests that the Book of Mormon was the result of extensive background work that was presented to the scribe as an extended oral performance.
Review of Nephite culture and Society: Selected Papers (1997), by John L. Sorenson
Review of Gerald E. Smith, Schooling the Prophet: How the Book of Mormon Influenced Joseph Smith and the Early Restoration (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2015). pp 305. $19.95.
Abstract: Schooling the Prophet provides a good survey of many early Latter-day Saint doctrines. It suggests that there is a causal link between the Book of Mormon and those doctrines. Sometimes it makes the case; many times it is close but doesn’t quite support the thesis of the book.
Abstract: The Maxwell Institute Study Edition of the Book of Mormon is an important tool for personal and class study of the Book of Mormon. Not only does it provide a better reading experience, it has important features that enhance study.
Review of Grant Hardy, ed. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Maxwell Institute Study Edition (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University / Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2018). 648 pp. $35.00 (paperback).
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Review of Terrence J. O’Leary, Book of Mormon: A History of Real People in Real Places (Pennsauken, NJ: BookBaby, 2020). 274 pages. Softcover, $20.
Abstract: Terrence O’Leary enters the field of books attempting to describe a geographical and cultural background to the Book of Mormon. Placing the action of the text in Mesoamerica, O’Leary explains the Book of Mormon against his understanding of the geography and therefore culture of the Book of Mormon peoples. He begins with the Jaredites, then moves to the Nephites and Mulekites. Along the way, he uses historical data to back up his ideas. While I agree with much of what he has written in principle, his lack of expertise in the cultures of Mesoamerica leads to times when he incorrectly uses some of his sources.
Review of Edwin G. Goble and Wayne N. May. This Land: Zarahemla and the Nephite Nation. and Review of Wayne N. May. This Land: Only One Cumorah! and Review of Wayne N. May. This Land: They Came from the East.
Nephi and Mormon, the two writers responsible for the largest amount of text in the Book of Mormon, both similarly used reference material and quotations in their work. Despite that basic similarity, the way each writer used those references and quotations is quite different.
Abstract: At the end of 2012, Jack M. Lyon and Kent R. Minson published “When Pages Collide: Dissecting the Words of Mormon.” They suggest that there is textual evidence that supports the idea that Words of Mormon 12-18 is the translation of the end of the previous chapter of Mosiah. The rest of the chapter was lost with the 116 pages, but this text remained because it was physically on the next page, which Joseph had kept with him.
In this paper, the textual information is examined to determine if it supports that hypothesis. The conclusion is that while the hypothesis is possible, the evidence is not conclusive. The question remains open and may ultimately depend upon one’s understanding of the translation process much more than the evidence from the manuscripts.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Review of Diane E. Wirth. Decoding Ancient America: A Guide to the Archaeology of the Book of Mormon.
Review of John L. Lunds. Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon: Is This the Place?
Review of Robert A. Rees, A New Witness to the World (Salt Lake City: By Common Consent Press, 2020). 244 pages. $9.95 (paperback).
Abstract: Robert A. Rees has written about the Book of Mormon for over sixty years. In this book are collected sixteen essays that all focus on different aspects of the text of the Book of Mormon, and two that provide a personalized interaction. The topics range from the examination of the spiritual biographies of Nephi and Ammon to the issue of automatic writing as a possibility for the dictation of the Book of Mormon to an essay examining the Nephite 200-year peace.
Review of Heroes from the Book of Mormon (1995), by Deseret Book
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Review of Eric D. Huntsman, Becoming the Beloved Disciple: Coming unto Christ through the Gospel of John (Springville, UT: CFI, an imprint of Cedar Fort, 2018). 176 pages. $19.99.
Abstract: What does the Gospel of John say about discipleship? Does early Christian discipleship matter today? Can coming unto Christ be different for each person? Eric Huntsman offers answers to these questions through his excellent scholarly background in Greek, which lends to crisp exegetic interpretations on the fourth gospel. Even more, Huntsman provides valuable hermeneutic applications for a growing diversified membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Indeed, this book delivers a better understanding of how each child of God uniquely comes to know Jesus Christ.
Instructional aid: chart and explanation of the Book of Mormon’s compilation. Shows who wrote on which plates and how and by whom those plates were subsequently abridged. Gives approximate dates and span of years for each book, and how many chapters and pages they comprise in the current edition of the Book of Mormon.
Abstract: Active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints covenant to obey the law of consecration, and although I have long felt we discuss it too little, more Saints seem to be taking notice. Various historical and doctrinal opinions have been expressed on the law and on the “united order,” including some insightful and some unusual opinions by Kent W. Huff in his book Joseph Smith’s United Order.
Using this book along with the contributions of several other scholars and Church leaders as a basis for discussion, I explore the history, meaning, and future of the “united order” as part of the larger law of consecration. Starting as an eleven-man organization in charge of Church business and operating under consecration principles, the united order — actually called the united firm — transformed into the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to historians, most Church members did not even know of its existence, let alone participate in it. Traditional understanding is that the firm’s consecration model provided the pattern for the Saints to follow. An alternative interpretation, described by Kent Huff, is that the Saints’ only real attempt at a formal consecration effort was for disaster relief. In fact, according to Huff, the Saints in general did not deed their property to the Church as we’ve learned in Church history classes. He further argues that even the former-day Saints in the City of Enoch, the early Christians in Jerusalem, and the Nephites right after Christ’s visit didn’t really have all things in common in the way most of us have imagined. I disagree with this interpretation and provide evidence against it, but I appreciate the historical information and several philosophical insights that Huff provides. Other scholars and historians challenge the widely-held notions that 1) tithing is a lower law, given because the Saints failed to live the full law of consecration, and that 2) a formal form of consecration (the united order) will eventually return. I advocate instead for the traditional understanding of the law of consecration and stewardship as taught by Church leaders, believing it is the path toward both freedom and equality the world is looking for, and I explain why I believe it — or a similar program — will eventually be reinstated.
Certainly throughout our lives we repeatedly have opportunities to step forward and declare, “Here am I!” Some of these times are formal, such as when we receive a mission call, have a temple recommend interview with our bishop, or receive a calling in the Church. . . . Other times may come to us unexpectedly.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
RSC Topics > G — K > Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > G — K > Joseph Smith
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
RSC Topics > Q — S > Restoration of the Gospel
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
How important it is for fathers and sons to work together on the basics in preparing for a mission.
When an Indian’s house burned down and only the Book of Mormon was spared, she bears testimony of the Book of Mormon. “This book has gone through fire for me…Now I am willing to go through fire for it”
Old Testament Topics > History
The symbolism and purpose of Israel’s tabernacle
Old Testament Topics > Temple and Tabernacle
The knowledge of most worth comes first as we learn to place all learning in the context of the gospel of Jesus Christ and seek the gifts of the Spirit as we learn.
Volume 2 in the Occasional Papers Series While many books have been written about the life of Christopher Columbus and his New World discoveries, this one has a different thrust—that Columbus was not just a skilled, courageous sailor but was also a chosen instrument in the hands of God. This book profiles the man from Genoa who apparently yearned from childhood for the seafaring life and who early began to acquire the nautical knowledge and experience that would make him the most widely traveled seaman of his day and would help him rise to the top ranks in that career. ISBN 0-8849-4842-0
The 2010 BYU Church History Symposium How did a church that started with just six official members blossom into a global organization of over fourteen million members? Authors such as Richard L. Bushman, John W. Welch, and Susan Easton Black show how Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other leaders established the foundation upon which the Church was built. According to Welch, the Book of Mormon provides the foundational administrative principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, “not only its doctrines and instructions for personal living but also its many administrative guidelines.” He went on to say, “The administrative character and personality of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has indeed grown directly from the genetic material found in the Book of Mormon.” This book teaches how the individuals throughout Church history were inspired to restore and establish Christ’s Church in the latter days. ISBN 978-0-8425-2785-9
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1820–1844
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1845–1877
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1878–1945
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1946–Present
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
Latter-day Saints may think Church history in Illinois began in 1839 with establishment of the city of Nauvoo. However, important events took place much earlier in the decade. For example, the missionaries to the Lamanites unexpectedly had to cross the state on their trip from Ohio to Missouri. This happened in 1830, ten years before more prominent events took place in the history of the Church in Illinois. This occurrence made Illinois one of only four states to receive missionaries in the year 1830. The Church grew rapidly there, and by 1835 it was likely the fourth largest religious body in the state. This account fills in the ten-year gap of Church history in Illinois using both LDS and non-LDS sources. The book tells the story of the conversion of future Apostle Charles C. Rich. It also talks about the Saints’ involvement in the so-called Mormon War. Other chapters discuss the events of Zion’s Camp, Kirtland Camp, and the Saints’ exodus from Missouri to Quincy, Illinois. ISBN 978-0-8425-2652-4
Volume 5 in the Regional Studies Series New England. The name suggests redcoats and ragged patriots. Yet this area did more than give rise to American freedom; it gave birth to the Restoration. Here, prophets and apostles were born to guide the Church—leaders such as Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, and Heber C. Kimball. Twelve essays take us on a journey through time. We go back to an era when early Apostles canvassed New England to elect Joseph Smith president of the United States. A photo essay offers views of a Mayflowerreplica and of Church history sites. ISBN 0-8425-2583-1
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1820–1844
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
The offering of the gospel first to the Jews then to the Gentiles in ancient days and its latter-day offering first to the Gentiles and then to the Jews
Old Testament Topics > Judah and the Jews
A glossary of archaic words
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
RSC Topics > D — F > Faith
RSC Topics > G — K > Hope
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
How Israel accepted the law but missed the Lawgiver
RSC Topics > A — C > Book of Mormon
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
RSC Topics > G — K > Holy Ghost
RSC Topics > A — C > Conversion
RSC Topics > G — K > Holy Ghost
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sin
RSC Topics > Q — S > Repentance
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sin
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
Review of Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith and Early Christianity (1999), by Barry R. Bickmore
Will we drift along with the downturn, or will we master the moment and right the ship? If we choose drift, the consequences will surely be disastrous. But if we choose mastery, we have the chance to reverse our course and write a whole new chapter in the American story.
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > G — K > Judgment
RSC Topics > T — Z > Urim and Thummim
The 37th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium Awareness of the background and development of Joseph Smith’s revelations allows us to better understand their significance. The 37th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium can help readers gain that knowledge. Written by scholars trained in a variety of fields, the articles are intended to help Latter-day Saints better appreciate the setting in which Joseph received his revelations. This volume will help readers better understand and appreciate the significant roles Joseph Smith’s revelations have played, and continue to play, in the dispensation of the fulness of times. ISBN 978-1-60641-015-8
Surely no subject has captured the attention of men and women like that of death and the life beyond. Millions have sought with Job for answers to the timeless question, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14). And if there is a future state, what is its nature? How best may mortal men and women prepare for it? Indeed, death has ever remained life’s most awesome mystery. In this book, representatives of different Christian sects draw on their distinctive religious traditions to address the topics of death and what lies beyond the grave. ISBN 978-1-9443-9478-3
Review of “The Question of the Validity of Baptism Conferred in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (unpublished), by Luis Ladaria
The 2014 and 2015 BYU Easter Conferences When we actually, really know, understand, and feel of our Savior’s love—we are transformed; we are changed in our understanding of what divine love is. It is the encounter with Christ’s love that causes us to submit our wills and lives to God’s will and way. Our Savior’s love enables us to see ourselves in proper perspective and helps us to see others as God sees them, and to love them as deeply as he loves them. Nothing is more beautiful than seeing new life and renewed life. Hope and healing are centered in the Savior’s encompassing love, and it is the sweetest, the tenderest, and perhaps the most beautiful principle of the gospel. ISBN 978-0-8425-2883-2
Because mortality is a test, we will all experience some dark days that may include grief, illness, disappointment, disillusionment, temptation, confusion, unanswered questions, and pain. The good news is that Jesus Christ promises deliverance from all our mortal suffering and his promises are sure. While we wait for deliverance to come in his time and in his way, Christ’s intimate understanding of our lives, our trials, our hopes, and our heartaches allows him to perfectly succor, strengthen, and refine us. Speaking from the annual Brigham Young University Easter Conferences in 2021 and 2022, authors Marie C. Hafen, Virginia Hinckley Pearce Cowley, Tyler J. Griffin, John Hilton III, Jan J. Martin, and Jennifer Reeder teach and testify of the power of Christ’s deliverance. ISBN 978-1-9503-0423-3
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > T — Z > Temples
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
As a missionary in the Eastern States Mission, Crawford Gates participated in the Hill Cumorah Pageant in 1941. Although he loved the music and considered it appropriate to the Book of Mormon scenes of the pageant, he thought then that the pageant needed its own tailor-made musical score. Twelve years later he was given the opportunity to create that score. Gates details the challenge of creating a 72-minute musical score for a full symphony orchestra and chorus while working full time as a BYU music faculty member and juggling church and family responsibilities. When that score was retired 31 years later, Gates was again appointed to create a score for the new pageant. He relates further experiences arising from that assignment.
Jacob F. Gates relates the interview which his father, Jacob Gates, had with Oliver Cowdery in 1849. In response to Gates’ questions, Oliver Cowdery testified that the Book of Mormon “was translated by the gift and power of God” and that he had received the priesthood by an angel whose hand “I felt…as plainly as I could feel yours.”
A script for a dramatic presentation depicting the conversion of King Lamoni, written to encourage greater interest in the Book of Mormon among the young women of the Church.
A script for a dramatic presentation depicting the conversion of King Lamoni, written to encourage greater interest in the Book of Mormon among the young women of the Church.
A debate between a Mormon apologist and Mormon critic dealing primarily with the Bible and the Book of Mormon. A variety of Book of Mormon issues are discussed, including the Anthon episode, the testimonies of the Book of Mormon witnesses, Bible prophecies and the Book of Mormon, and the use of Egyptian by Book of Mormon writers.
Reports upon a Book of Mormon Conference that was held at Graceland College for young men and women of the RLDS church. The Book of Mormon is a valuable treasure to be shared.
Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shares thoughts and insights about the importance of scripture study in individual spiritual growth.This interview was conducted by LaRene Porter Gaunt, Church Magazines.
Elder Gavarret teaches how to obtain, recognize, and maintain a change of heart.
What a tremendous impact we can make in the lives of so many … when we accept the Savior’s invitation to feed His sheep.
The Lord invites us using various verbs: “Come unto me,” “Follow me,” “Walk with me.” In each case it is an invitation to act.
May we faithfully take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ—by seeing as He sees, by serving as He served, and by trusting that His grace is sufficient.
We are to give up all our sins, big or small, for the Father’s reward of eternal life.
No matter what the outer conditions are, keep spirits high and just persevere. Personal righteousness, responsibility, discipline, and devotion are requirements for final achievements.
Several maps from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries support details of Lehi’s journey as recorded in the Book of Mormon. In 1751, the renowned cartographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon D’Anville became the first to include Nahom (or Nehem), Ishmael’s burial place in the Book of Mormon, in his map of Asia. This map and a 1771 map of Yemen are the basis for most accurate maps of Arabia from 1751 to 1814. The spelling varies among the subsequent maps, with most using either D’Anville’s Nehem or Niebuhr’s Nehhm, but the location of Nahom does not differ between those maps that include Nahom. The mention of Nahom on the finest maps by the greatest cartographers of the times, in a location that corresponds to Lehi’s account, gives credence to Lehi’s travels.
Review of “The Use of Egyptian Magical Papyri to Authenticate the Book of Abraham: A Critical Review” (1993), by Edward H. Ashment.
Idrimi of Alalakh lived in Syria about a century after Abraham and left an autobiographical inscription that is the only such item uncovered archaeologically from Middle Bronze Age Syro-Palestine. The inscription of Idrimi and the Book of Abraham share a number of parallel features and motifs. Some of the parallels are a result of similar experiences in their lives and some are a result of coming from a similar culture and time.
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
Although much attention has been paid to those who have possessed the Joseph Smith Papyri in modern times, relatively little attention has been paid to the ancient owners of the papyri. This lecture examines the ancient owners, the world in which they lived, and their contact with the Book of Abraham.
The fragmentary text on a stele erected at Karnak seems to be connected with the volcanic eruption on Thera. The phraseology in many instances bears uncanny resemblance to the Book of Mormon account of the destruction in the Americas at the time of the crucifixion.
Abstract: Numerous noncanonical accounts of Jesus’s deeds exist. While some Latter-day Saints would like to find plain and precious things in the apocryphal accounts, few are to be found. Three types of accounts deal with Jesus as a child, his mortal ministry, or after his resurrection. The Jesus of the infancy gospels does not act like the Jesus of the real gospels. The apocryphal accounts of Jesus’s ministry usually push a particular theological agenda. The accounts of Jesus’s post-resurrection teaching often contain intriguing but bizarre information. On the whole, apocryphal accounts of Jesus’s ministry probably contain less useful information for Latter-day Saints than they might expect.
This third volume in the series Studies in the Book of Abraham includes nine papers from a FARMS-sponsored conference on the Book of Abraham, one of the canonized works of scripture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Three papers on related subjects are also included. An assumption underlying the papers in this volume is that the Book of Abraham is both an authentic and ancient text. In seeking to illuminate the background of the Book of Abraham from historical, geographical, cultural, scientific, and doctrinal perspectives, these studies deal with three broad themes: astronomy in the Book of Abraham, the Joseph Smith Papyri, and the nature of the Abrahamic covenant. As a whole, the research highlighted in this volume affirms that the Book of Abraham is what it claims to be—an ancient text. This becomes clear, for example, when certain nonbiblical themes reflected in the text are found to abound in extrabiblical traditions from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Review of Written by the Finger of God: A Testimony of Joseph Smith's Translations (1993), by Joe Sampson.
Review of Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon (1997), by Jeffrey R. Holland
In recent years, a large number of ancient writings have been found in and around Israel. While many of these include names found in the Bible and other ancient texts, others were previously unattested in written sources. Some of these previously unattested names, though unknown in the Bible, are found in the Book of Mormon. The discovery of these Hebrew names in ancient inscriptions provides remarkable evidence for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and provides clear refutation of those critics who would place its origin in nineteenth-century America. This article explores several Book of Mormon proper names that are attested from Hebrew inscriptions. Names included are Sariah, Alma, Abish, Aha, Ammonihah, Chemish, Hagoth, Himni, Isabel, Jarom, Josh, Luram, Mathoni, Mathonihah, Muloki, and Sam—none of which appear in English Bibles.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
The verb to seal occurs some 34 times in the Book of Mormon. In most of these instances the verb takes (is followed by) a direct object referring to such things as the law, a book, records, words, an account, an epistle, an interpretation, revelation, the truth, and the stone interpreters. Twice, however, the verb to seal takes a person as a direct object that is qualified by a possessive pronoun: Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. (Mosiah 5:15; emphasis added)
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Review of Jana Riess, The Next Mormons: How Millennials Are Changing the LDS Church (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019). 312 pages. $29.95.
Abstract: Riess’s book surveying the beliefs and behaviors of younger members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was supposed to compare the attitudes of younger generations with those of older generations. Unfortunately, flaws in the design, execution, and analysis of the survey prevent it from being what it was supposed to be. Instead the book is Riess’s musings on how she would like the Church to change, supported by cherry-picked interviews and an occasional result from the survey. The book demonstrates confusion about basic sampling methods, a failure to understand the relevant literature pertaining to the sociology of religion, and potential breaches of professional ethics. Neither the survey results nor the interpretations can be used uncritically.
RSC Topics > G — K > Heaven
Review of The Encyclopedia of Mormonism (1992), edited by Daniel H. Ludlow
Using different methodological approaches and considerations, Thomas Wayment and John Gee each approach the question of whether Paul was speaking to his spouse in Philippians 4:3; their intent is to determine if the question can be answered with any degree of confidence. The related question of whether Paul was ever married is not addressed here, although that issue has been of interest since at least the second century AD and perhaps earlier. Instead, these authors consider only the question of whether a specific noun that is sometimes used to refer to a wife was intentionally used that way by Paul.
Abstract: In this essay John Gee draws a connection between the Egyptian “Book of the Temple” and the book of Exodus, both in structure and topic, describing the temple from the inside out. Gee concludes that both probably go back to a common source older than either of them.[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.
See John Gee, “Edfu and Exodus,” in Temple Insights: Proceedings of the Interpreter Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, “The Temple on Mount Zion,” 22 September 2012, ed. William J. Hamblin and David Rolph Seely (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2014), 67–82. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/temple-insights/.].
Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. So-called biblical scholarship is supposed to be able to differentiate between authors of various texts. A test devised by students for their professor showed some of the flaws of those methods. Though critics complain about the lack of archaeological evidence supporting the Book of Mormon, even the Bible has few archaeological supports.
The plausibility of the attempted offering of Abraham by a priest of pharaoh and the existence of human sacrifice in ancient Egypt have been questioned and debated. This paper presents strong evidence that ritual slaying did exist among ancient Egyptians, with a particular focus on its existence in the Middle Kingdom. It details three individual evidences of human sacrifice found in ancient Egypt. Four different aspects of the attempted offering of Abraham are compared to these Egyptian evidences to illustrate how the story of Abraham fits with the picture of ritual slaying in Middle Kingdom Egypt.
A recent issue of a popular journal on ancient Egypt discusses a number of sheets of gold foil incised with Egyptian writing. These artifacts provide some interesting parallels to the Book of Mormon.
Having studied Janne Sjodahl’s work on the number of plates required for the original Book of Mormon text, John Gee examines the potential drawbacks of Sjodahl’s experiment. He concludes that the size of Miller’s script suffices for Sjodahl’s test.
Abstract: The volume editors of The Joseph Smith Papers Revelations and Translations: Volume 4 propose a theory of translation of the Book of Abraham that is at odds with the documents they publish and with other documents and editorial comments published in the other volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers Project. Two key elements of their proposal are the idea of simultaneous dictation of Book of Abraham Manuscripts in the handwritings of Frederick G. Williams and Warren Parrish, and Joseph Smith’s use of the so-called Alphabet and Grammar. An examination of these theories in the light of the documents published in the Joseph Smith Papers shows that neither of these theories is historically tenable. The chronology the volume editors propose for the translation of the Book of Abraham creates more problems than it solves. A different chronology is proposed. Unfortunately, the analysis shows that the theory of translation of the Book of Abraham adopted by the Joseph Smith Papers volume editors is highly flawed.
The question of where Joseph Smith received the text of the Book of Abraham has elicited three main theories, one of which, held by a minority of church members, is that Joseph translated it from papyri that we no longer have. It is conjectured that if this were the case, then the contents of the Book of Abraham must have been on what nineteenth-century witnesses described as the “long roll.” Two sets of scholars developed mathematical formulas to discover, from the remains of what they believe to be the long roll, what the length of the long roll would have been. However, when these formulas are applied on scrolls of known length, they produce erratic or inconclusive results, thus casting doubt on their ability to accurately conclude how long the long roll would have been.
Abstract: Although unknown as deities in Joseph Smith’s day, the names of four associated idolatrous gods (Elkenah, Libnah, Mahmackrah, and Korash) mentioned in the Book of Abraham are attested anciently. Two of them are known to have connections with the practices attributed to them in the Book of Abraham. The odds of Joseph Smith guessing the names correctly is astronomical.
When Egypt became Christian, it used the Egyptian language to express that Christian identity. It recognized that certain aspects of Egyptian religion fit comfortably with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and other aspects did not fit so well. The vocabulary for aspects that fit well with Christianity, it simply borrowed, often from the Egyptian temple vocabulary. This borrowed vocabulary illustrates what aspects of the Egyptian religion were compatible with Christianity. Come learn about what parts of the Egyptian temple early Christians found compatible with their own religion.
The Greek term often translated as “grace” has a broad range of meaning. Neither Jesus nor the Gospels teach that man is saved by grace alone; Paul is the predominant New Testament writer to use the term. The Protestant concept of grace stems from the time of Augustine. Book of Mormon prophets specify what actions are required to lay hold of the grace of Christ, a boon to be desired.
Old Testament Topics > Flora and Fauna
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sacrifice
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sin
Since the rediscovery of the Joseph Smith Papyri in 1967, the papyri have been the center of conflicting, and often confusing, claims. This full-color, reader-friendly guide contains an overview of the basic facts and major theories about the papyri, along with helpful maps, illustrations, charts, and glossaries of terms and names.
Written by Egyptologist John Gee, this guide reflects not only the latest Egyptological research but also the most recent Latter-day Saint thought about the papyri. It deals with the nature of the papyri, their contents, their provenance, their relationship to the Book of Abraham and the Book of Breathings, current views of believers and detractors, and more.
Review of Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon (1996), by Stan Larson
News reports from 2013 identify the site of Oylum Höyük with both the city of Abraham and the ancient city of Ulišum. The latter has been identified with the Olishem of Abraham 1:10. While the preliminary reports are encouraging, the evidence upon which the archaeologists base their identifications has not yet been published. So while there is nothing against the proposed identifications, they are not proven either.
Transcript of a lecture presented on 3 March 1999 as part of the FARMS Book of Abraham Lecture Series. John Gee recounts the history of the Joseph Smith papyri, their discovery, travels, and eventual translation. Particular attention is devoted to the reconstruction of the papyri and their relationship to the Book of Abraham. The origin and contents of the Book of Abraham and the Kirtland Egyptian Papers are also discussed.
Abstract: In the Book of Mormon, Nephi draws upon his own knowledge of the Jewish people, their culture and language, and the surrounding area to add to his understanding of Isaiah’s words, and commends that approach to his reader. In his book The Vision of All, it is clear that Joseph Spencer lacks knowledge in these topics, and it negatively affects his interpretation of Isaiah. Specifically, this lack of knowledge causes him to misinterpret the role of the Messiah in Isaiah’s teachings, something that was clear to Isaiah’s ancient readers.
Review of Joseph M. Spencer, The Vision of All: Twenty-five Lectures on Isaiah in Nephi’s Record (Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2016). 318 pages. $59.95 (hardback); $29.95 paperback.
Book of Mormon Topics > Criticisms and Apologetics > Book Reviews
Reflections on Hugh Nibley’s work with Egyptian artifacts and papyri, especially the Joseph Smith Papyri.
Hugh Winder Nibley (27 March 1910–24 February 2005) was a gifted writer, a prolific author, a first-class scholar, and, above all, a committed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Review of Raphael Lataster, Questioning the Historicity of Jesus: Why a Philosophical Analysis Elucidates the Historical Discourse (Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2019). 508 pages. Hardback, $210.
Abstract: In a recent book, Raphael Lataster correctly argues that the acceptance of the general premises of New Testament scholarship, exemplified in the writings of Bart Ehrman, brings into question whether Jesus ever existed. Latter-day Saints who are serious about their witness of Jesus Christ need to be aware that acceptance of these presuppositions undermines their witness of the reality of Jesus Christ and his atonement and makes their faith vain. Why Should We Bother?.
When the Book of Abraham was first published to the world in 1842, it was published as “a translation of some ancient records that have fallen into [Joseph Smith’s] hands from the catacombs of Egypt, purporting to be the writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called ‘The Book of Abraham, Written by his Own Hand, upon Papyrus.’” The resultant record was thus connected with the papyri once owned by Joseph Smith, though which papyrus of the four or five in his possession was never specified. Those papyri would likely interest only a few specialists—were the papyri not bound up in a religious controversy. This controversy covers a number of interrelated issues, and an even greater number of theories have been put forward about these issues. Given the amount of information available, the various theories, and the variety of fields of study the subject requires, misunderstandings and misinformation often prevail. The goal with the Introduction to the Book of Abraham is to make reliable information about the Book of Abraham accessible to the general reader. ISBN 978-1-9443-9406-6
This is the first and still the only book-length commentary on the Joseph Smith Papyri. In this long-awaited new edition, with expanded text and numerous illustrations, Professor Nibley shows that the papyri are not the source of the Book of Abraham. Rather than focusing on what the papyri are not, as most commentators have done, Nibley masterfully explores what the papyri are and what they meant in ancient times. He demonstrates how these ancient Egyptian papyri contain a message that is of particular interest to Latter-day Saints.
Abstract: John Gee gives us a sketch of the divine judgment as presented in the gospel of John. “In John’s gospel, the individual is the defendant; Jesus is the judge; the devil is the prosecuting attorney; and the Holy Ghost is the defense attorney.” Somewhat surprisingly, this model “fits more closely the Roman model of judgment than the Jewish one.” He concludes with a lesson for the reader: “Since all will have to stand before the judgment bar, all of us will need to heed the counsel of our defense attorney.”
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.See John Gee, “Jesus’s Courtroom in John,” in “To Seek the Law of the Lord”: Essays in Honor of John W. Welch, ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson and Daniel C. Peterson (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2017), 135–50. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/to-seek-the-law-of-the-lord-essays-in-honor-of-john-w-welch-2/.].
RSC Topics > T — Z > Urim and Thummim
Review of The Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations, Volume 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts, eds. Robin Scott Jensen and Brian M. Hauglid (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2018), 381 pages.
Abstract: Volume 4 of the Revelations and Translations series of the Joseph Smith Papers does not live up to the standards set in previous volumes. While the production values are still top notch, the actual content is substandard. Problems fill the volume, including misplaced photographs and numerous questionable transcriptions beyond the more than two hundred places where the editors admitted they could not read the documents. For this particular volume, producing it incorrectly is arguably worse than not producing it at all.
Review of New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology (1993), edited by Brent Lee Metcalfe.
Analysis of comparative data and historical background indicates that the quotations in Mosiah 7–22 are historically accurate. Further examination of the quotations of Limhi shows that they depend heavily on other sources. This implies some things about the character of Limhi and provides as well attendant lessons for our own day.
Review of Allen J. Fletcher. A Study Guide to the Facsimiles of the Book of Abraham.
Two Egyptian shawabti-figurines, reputedly discovered in Acajutla, El Salvador, in 1914, are likely forgeries. Had they been authentic, they might have helped to establish cultural contact between Egypt and Mesoameria.
Gee shares the results of his twenty-year studies of the Joseph Smith Papyri, discussing matters that are not widely known.
Abstract: In Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, he heavily references Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard. An understanding of both the original Hebrew and the Greek translation in the Septuagint of this passage helps provide greater context and meaning into Jesus’s sermon. In particular, it clarifies Jesus’s commentary and criticisms of both society and those administrators in charge of society, especially of the scribes and those that can be considered false prophets.
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The name Nephi is attested as a Syro-Palestinian Semitic form of an Egyptian man’s name dating from the Late Period in Egypt.
Review of Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (1998), by D. Michael Quinn
Review of D. A. Carson. The Intolerance of Tolerance. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. 186 pp. with indices of names, subjects and scriptures. $24.00 (hardback), $16.00 (paperback).
Review of Kenneth A. Kitchen. On the Reliability of the Old Testament.
Review of Chrsitian Smith. Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults. and Review of Mark D. Regenerus. Forbidden Fruit: Sex and Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers.
Review of Thomas D. Cottle. The Papyri of Abraham: Facsimiles of the Everlasting Covenant.
Abstract: For many theories about the Book of Abraham, the Egyptian Alphabet documents are seen as the key to understanding the translation process. While the original publication of those documents allows many researchers access to the documents for the first time, careful attention to the Joseph Smith Papers as a whole and the practices of Joseph Smith’s scribes in particular allows for improvements in the date, labeling, and understanding of the historical context of the Egyptian Alphabet documents.This essay supports the understanding of these documents found in the other volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers that the Egyptian Alphabet documents are an incidental by-product of the translation process rather than an essential step in that process.
Abstract: While many have written on ancient temples looking at the big picture, John Gee discusses one small detail on a single Egyptian temple from the New Kingdom. He focuses on depictions of Ramses III in and out of the temple of Medinet Habu. Outside the temple and when entering and leaving there are depictions of him wearing sandals. Inside the temple proper the king is always shown barefoot. Ramses III built Medinet Habu only slightly after the time of Moses and as Gee further notes, while not wearing footwear was a clear practice among the Egyptians it is far more explicit in Moses’ encounter with Deity when he is told to remove his “shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Gee observes that contemporary Egyptian temple practice “reflects the commands of God recorded in the Pentateuch,” as well as reflects Moses’ Egyptian background.
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the Latter-day Saint community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.
See John Gee, “‘Put Off Thy Shoes from Off Thy Feet’: Sandals and Sacred Space,” in The Temple: Symbols, Sermons, and Settings, Proceedings of the Fourth Interpreter Foundation Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, 10 November 2018, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2021), in preparation. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-symbols-sermons-and-settings/.]
Problem.
What we have of Jesus’s ministry to the Nephites is an abridged version because the Lord wished to “try the faith of [his] people” (3 Nephi 26:6–13). Dutiful to his charge, Mormon did not provide a full account of Jesus’s teachings, but his son Moroni provided three quotations of portions that his father did not.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Review of By Grace Are We Saved (1989), by Robert L. Millet.
John Gee provides an overview of how the Book of Abraham came to be in the possession of Joseph Smith, and how it was translated by the Prophet. Gee also discusses three aspects of the book that had doctrinal impact on the restoration, particularly in relation to doctrines of premortal existence.
Old Testament Topics > History
Abstract: Shulem is mentioned once in the Book of Abraham. All we are told about him is his name and title. Using onomastics, the study of names, and the study of titles, we can find out more about Shulem than would at first appear. The form of Shulem’s name is attested only at two times: the time period of Abraham and the time period of the Joseph Smith papyri. (Shulem thus constitutes a Book of Abraham bullseye.) If Joseph Smith had gotten the name from his environment, the name would have been Shillem.
Review of Translating the Anthon Transcript (1999), by Stan and Polly Johnson
This article explores what we know about the Joseph Smith Papyri, whether they are connected to the Book of Abraham, and the approaches that Latter-day Saints and non-LDS scholars take when trying to understand such a connection.
Hugh W. Nibley (1910–2005) was arguably the most brilliant Latter-day Saint scholar of the 20th century, with wide-ranging interests in scripture, history, and social issues. The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley comprise nineteen weighty volumes. But he was also one of the most enigmatic observers of the Church. In this volume readers will discover that the personal stories and perspectives behind the scholarship are sometimes even more captivating than his brilliant and witty intellectual breakthroughs. This comprehensive three-part collection of essays sheds fascinating new light on Hugh Nibley as a scholar and a man. Part 1, entitled “Portraits,” contains the first collection of observations—a “spiritual” portrait of Hugh Nibley by his close friend and colleague John W. “Jack” Welch, a description of the physical portrait by Rebecca Everett hanging in the Hugh Nibley Ancient Studies room at Brigham Young University, and a biographical portrait by Hugh himself. Part 2, “Nibley, the Scholar,” contains expanded and updated versions of the almost forgotten audio and video recordings of the BYU Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship lecture series celebrating the centennial of Nibley’s birth in 2010. An additional set of chapters on Nibley’s scholarship rounds out this collection. Part 3, “Nibley, the Man,” includes tributes given by family members and others at Nibley’s funeral service. A series of entertaining personal stories, reminiscences, and folklore accounts concludes the volume.
Abstract: In a response to my review of their Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts volume, the series editors of the Joseph Smith Papers provided feedback and commentary on two important items. There are other, unaddressed issues this rejoinder examines.
Review of The Facsimiles of the Book of Abraham: A Study of the Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri (1990), by James R. Harris; For His Ka: Essays Offered in Memory of Klaus Baer (1994), edited by David P. Silverman; and The Story of the Book of Abraham: Mummies, Manuscripts, and Mormonism (1995), by H. Donl Peterson.
Old Testament Scriptures > Genesis
Review of . . . By His Own Hand upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri (1992), by Charles M. Larson.
Possible scripts for the “reformed Egyptian” referred to in the Book of Mormon include abnormal hieratic and carved hieratic.
Abstract: The Book of Mormon, being an ancient book, was originally written without typographic punctuation and employs verbal punctuation instead. This article looks at the use of “and now” as verbal punctuation in the Book of Mormon. The phrase is used to mark major breaks in the text, not only for chapters but also within chapters of the text. The Book of Mormon usage is borrowed from Classical Biblical Hebrew (the Hebrew used before the exile) and follows the pattern set by pre-exilic Hebrew scribes. While this usage dropped in the Old World after the Babylonian exile as Aramaic replaced Hebrew as the major language spoken, the Book of Mormon preserved the usage until the end of Nephite civilization.
Abstract: One example of verbal punctuation that has a very clear pattern of usage in the Book of Mormon is the term nevertheless. It is used to draw a marked contrast between what the previous text would lead one to expect and what follows it. It is not clear what the ancient antecedent to the term might be and the English term and usage might be an artefact of the translation process. The frequency and usage of nevertheless in the Book of Mormon contrasts with the way that Joseph Smith’s writings use it.
The Book of Mormon was written in a language that was grounded in Hebrew and Egyptian; the people of the Book of Mormon most likely spoke this same language. It is interesting, then, that the Book of Mormon authors periodically included definitions for certain terms that they used in their writing, as if their audience did not understand them. This technique, known as a gloss, suggests that those terms may not have been a part of that ancient language. In an attempt to uncover the true origin of such words, this article dissects the Book of Mormon term Irreantum and delves into its linguistic characteristics to determine whether the term could have originated from Hebrew, Egyptian, ancient South Semitic, or another language.
Abstract: The proliferation of Mormon Studies is surprising, considering that many of the basic questions about the field have never been answered. This paper looks at a number of basic questions about Mormon Studies that are of either academic concern or concern for members of the Church of Jesus Christ. They include such questions as whether Mormon Studies is a discipline, whether those who do Mormon Studies necessarily know what is going on in the Church, or if they interpret their findings correctly, whether there is any core knowledge that those who do Mormon Studies can or should have, what sort of topics Mormon Studies covers or should cover and whether those topics really have anything to do with what Mormons actually do or think about, whether Mormon Studies has ulterior political or religious motives, and whether it helps or hurts the Kingdom. Is Mormon Studies a waste of students’ time and donors’ money? Though the paper does not come up with definitive answers to any of those questions, it sketches ways of looking at them from a perspective within the restored Gospel and suggests that these issues ought to be more carefully considered before Latter-day Saints dive headlong into Mormon Studies in general.
Review of Who Was the Pharaoh of the Exodus? (1994), by Jeff Williams
Review of A Book of Mormon Guide: A Simple Way to Teach a Friend (1988), by Wilford A. Fischer and Norma J. Fischer.
Abstract: In the Book of Abraham, God tells Abraham in Haran, “I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot” (Abraham 2:7). While this initially might appear to be an anachronism, as the chariot is normally thought to have been introduced later, archaeological finds of chariots at the site of Harran predate Abraham by hundreds of years.
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is an undisputed event from history, which makes the cross of Calvary a real artifact from antiquity. What pattern of evidence unites both secular and believing scholars who assert the reality of a wooden cross without any physical, archaeological evidence? Researchers depend upon early source manuscripts to unlock the historical truths for what befell Jesus of Nazareth. The same approach yields compelling results for another undiscovered relic besides the cross: the golden plates procured by Joseph Smith, Jr. Cross-examining source evidence for the golden plates under the same historical method—a minimal facts approach to infer the best explanation of the facts—determines that Joseph Smith, Jr. did, in fact, obtain an ancient record and have it in his possession. A real cross does not guarantee a resurrection and a historian might not conclude the golden plates were translated by the gift and power of God, but this investigative approach points sincere seekers to a core truth. The golden plates are a genuine artifact—as real as the cross of Calvary—even if never seen by another human in the 20th or 21st centuries. The plates shine forth under the pressures of a strict historical method. This illuminates a new pathway for further investigation into the historicity of the restoration utilizing established resurrection research techniques.
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
This massive dissertation, originally over 500 pages in length, is filled with impressive details about the settlement, troubles, and expulsion of the Latter-day Saints from northern Missouri, 1836–1839. Since its approval at BYU in 1965, this doctoral dissertation has remained a standard reference work for serious historians. Carefully written and copiously footnoted, this study draws heavily on timeless primary sources as it probes the leading causes for the Mormon War in Missouri. Rapid colonization and the unique religious teachings and practices of the Latter-day Saints are among the main factors emphasized by Dr. Leland H. Gentry. Shortly after the founding of Kirtland, speculation increased among Church members as to the future location of “Zion,” the “New Jerusalem” spoken of in the Book of Mormon. A little over a year later, in the course of a visit to the extreme western edge of the American frontier, Joseph Smith was informed by the Lord that he was standing upon the very land “appointed and consecrated for the gathering of his saints, . . . the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion.” The urge to get to Zion was strong among the Saints. So intense was the desire of some to settle upon the Land of Promise that they consummated the move in haste and without adequate preparation. Migrating families often found themselves entirely dependent upon the charity of their neighbors. The rapid migrations of so many poor and ill-equipped persons threw the Saints into direct conflict with the older and more established settlers of Missouri. The latter tended to view the rapid influx of Saints as an act designed to secure control of the lands surrounding their homes without legal purchase, a thing far from the heart of any true Saint. Thus while Mormonism had many distinct and unusual features, it had certain elements of affinity with its age. For one thing, it shared the common hope of a perfect society and even inculcated a practical plan for the attainment of the same. It shared the dream of a “Manifest Destiny” for America and turned its attention to the great unsettled West early in its history. Finally it recognized the importance of land in frontier economics and set about to secure as much as was practicable.
Covenant-making and breaking in the Old Testament
The talks collected here represent a synthesis of the secular and the sacred. Through that synthesis, Thomas encourages us to become grown-ups. Goals without Goads is a superior example his approach. In this talk, Thomas urges scholars to add gospel insights to carefully honed, fundamental skills. He argues that as we integrate secular learning and the gospel, we will freely obey God and escape the shackles of selfishness. Such informed obedience to the difference between being an adult and a self-absorbed child. In addition, such obedience provides us the opportunity to experience joy.
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine and Covenants
RSC Topics > T — Z > Temples
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine and Covenants
RSC Topics > T — Z > Vicarious Work
Old Testament Topics > Restoration and Joseph Smith
Perhaps in the struggle to defend religious liberty for our churches and for all Americans, our greatest weapon is neither the voting booth nor the legal brief but the prayers that we and our worshipping communities lift up to Almighty God week after week on behalf of our nation.
Just as both wings are necessary and must be in working order for the dove or the eagle to fly, so too both faith and reason are necessary for the intellectual and spiritual quest and for the intellectual and spiritual life.
Does your pattern reflect exercising faith, seeking to know His will, trusting the Lord, heeding His counsel, and keeping the commandments, even when you cannot suppose what lies ahead?
If there is anything in your life you need to consider, now is the time.
What a great and wonderful plan is the plan of salvation, which … teaches true principles to allow completion of our journey through life.
As you open your mind and heart to feel the Spirit, the Lord in His own time and in His own way will give you the instructions which will bless your life.
From the time the church acquired the property comprising the Hill Cumorah, artist and sculptor Torleif S. Knaphus had often spoken to the Brethren about creating a monument on that hallowed hill. His testimony of the restoration of the gospel created a desire to honor in a tangible way the sacred event of the angel Moroni’s visit to Joseph Smith and Moroni’s eventual transfer of the gold plates to Joseph for translation. This article chronicles Knaphus’s upbringing, artistic development, and conversion to the church. The design and creation of the Hill Cumorah monument were his consuming passion for five years and a rare opportunity to add his testimony to the great latter-day work. He was commissioned to create many statues and bas-reliefs for the church, some of which are featured in a sidebar to this article.
Abstract: The Liahona’s faith-based functionality and miraculous appearance have often been viewed as incongruous with natural law. This paper attempts to reconcile the Liahona to scientific law by displaying similarities between its apparent mechanisms and ancient navigation instruments called astrolabes. It further suggests the Liahona may have been a wedding dowry Ishmael provided to Lehi’s family. The paper displays the integral connection Nephi had to the Liahona’s functionality and how this connection more clearly explains the lack of faith displayed by Nephi’s band during the journey than traditional conceptions of its faith-based functionality.
“Yet I will say with regard to miracles, there is no such thing save to the ignorant — that is, there never was a result wrought out by God or by any of His creatures without there being a cause for it. There may be results, the causes of which we do not see or understand, and what we call miracles are no more than this — they are the results or effects of causes hidden from our understandings … [I]t is hard to get the people to believe that God is a scientific character, that He lives by science or strict law, that by this He is, and by law He was made what He is; and will remain to all eternity because of His faithful adherence to law. It is a most difficult thing to make the people believe that every art and science and all wisdom comes from Him, and that He is their Author.”
— Brigham Young.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Abstract: While later Creedal Christians have come to view “the Ascension” recorded in the first chapter of Acts as a conclusive corporeal appearance of the Resurrected Lord, earliest Christians do not appear to have conceived of this appearance as “final” in any temporal or experiential sense. A careful investigation of canonical resurrection literature displays a widespread Christian belief in continued and varied interaction with the risen Lord relatively late into the movements’ development. Stringent readings of Luke’s account of the Ascension in Acts suggesting that Christ will not return until his second coming fail to consider the theological rhetoric with which Luke conveys the resurrection traditions he relied on in composing his account. Analysis of Luke’s narrative displays that his presentation of these traditions is shaped in a way to stress the primacy of the apostolic Easter experiences in establishing the apostles as authoritative “witnesses” in the early church over and against possible competing authoritative claims stemming from purported experiences with the risen Lord.
RSC Topics > G — K > Humility
The complete Book of Mormon has been translated into Japanese no fewer than three times. The first translation was done by a young American missionary, Alma O. Taylor, the second by Sat Tatsui, the first native Japanese person to undertake the challenge, and the third after World War II by a committee appointed by the First Presidency. The challenges of translating concepts such as God, Spirit, or atonement into a language that shares no linguistic or cultural commonalities with the language of the inspired translation of the Book of Mormon are overwhelming. When attempting to communicate in a culture that does not acknowledge supreme deity or the kinship connection between God and man or life after death, a simple concept such as damnation can be challenging to convey. In addition, dramatic changes have occurred in the Japanese language over past century. The written Japanese language has changed with a rapidity that is unfathomable in English.
The first Latter-day Saint missionaries to Japan encountered formidable language, religious, and cultural barriers. After considerable efforts, Church officials closed the mission in 1924. Later, the gospel was reintroduced in mid-century, when it took root. Since that time, Mormon missionaries have baptized many believers, several missions have opened, auxiliary organizations such as the Relief Society have been instituted, and two temples have been constructed. This volume celebrates the Church’s first hundred years among the Japanese. The articles explore such issues as the Japanese presses’ portrayal of Mormonism and answer questions such as what the historical and cultural challenges are to successful missionary work in Japan; why the Book of Mormon needed to be translated three times in one century; and whether Latter-day Saint converts hail from specific areas based on the region’s religious traditions. The essays in the book let readers witness the expansion and growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints among the Japanese.
The more links you forge with your ancestors through their culture, the richer the legacy you will have to pass along to your own children and grandchildren.
While attempting to determine the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon the author asked many questions, including, “Is the Bible incomplete?” “Was the book of Revelation to be the final word?” “Did the biblical prophets prophesy of the Book of Mormon?” “Are the testimonies of the Three Witnesses true?” Ghormley answers these and other questions.
The greatest joy is in the peace of knowing that we are following the path that leads us to eternal life, that our house is in order, and that we are preparing to meet our Savior.
Let each of us try harder to care for our bodies, to keep them clean and undefiled inside and out and keep our passions and appetites within the bounds the Lord has set. We will feel better and will be able to give more service.
Skilled performance is a very important manifestation of human knowledge. It is a kind of knowledge that improves with use. We begin learning as a novice and gain new capability every time we exercise a skill.
“But the highest and most important use of the mind is to lead us to peace in this life and exaltation in the world to come.”
We cannot keep one foot in the Church and one foot in the world.
Old Testament Topics > Creation
Review of Norman the Nephite's and Larry the Lamanite's Book of Mormon Time Line (1995), by Pat Bagley
The author considers Mormon theology “stupid and retrogressive” and the Book of Mormon to be “dull and prolix in the extreme” After a brief review of the Book of Mormon narrative the author notes the allegedly anachronistic use of King James English and New Testament ideas. The Spaulding theory is evaluated based upon the recent discovery of the manuscript by James Harris Fairchild. The author notes the dissimilarities between the two documents and concludes that Spaulding played no part in the origin of the Book of Mormon.
Larry M. Gibson teaches men of the Church about the central importance of their role as fathers, both now and in eternity.
Heavenly Father believes in plans. He has a plan for the salvation of His children—a specific plan just for you. It is referred to as the plan of happiness because it is designed to bring us happiness in this life and a fulness of joy in the life to come.
The Lord wants every Aaronic Priesthood holder to invite all to come unto Christ—beginning with his own family.
A letter to the editor agreeing with Melodie Moench Charles’s article “The Mormon Christianizing of the Old Testament,” which also appeared in Sunstone.
A conversion story of a young man who became interested in the Church through his friends’ examples and received his testimony after reading the Book of Mormon.
A conversion story of a young man who became interested in the Church through his friends’ examples and received his testimony after reading the Book of Mormon.
In the Lord’s timing, it is not where we start but where we are headed that matters most.
“What Christ knew is that despite the tumult we feel all around us, God will prevail in the end.”
A fictional story for a popular audience. The young Mulek learns about boat building from the prophet Jeremiah. He must learn this to someday build a fieet to sail to the American continent.
A fictional book based upon the exodus of Lehi’s family from Jerusalem and their journey to the promised land, written from the perspective of Lehi’s wife, Sariah.
The Book of Mormon offers four keys essential for understanding Isaiah: (1) the spirit of prophecy or the Holy Ghost; (2) the letter of prophecy or the manner of the Jews; (3) diligent searching of Isaiah’s words; and (4) types, or the idea that events in Israel’s past foreshadow events in the latter days. When we apply these four keys to Isaiah’s writings, a message unfolds there that is immediately applicable and recognizable to Latter-day Saints. The developing spiritual and political shape of the world in which we live parallels precisely the prophetic scenario Isaiah drew up millennia ago.
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
Old Testament Topics > Prophets and Prophecy
This second of two volumes of essays honoring Hugh Nibley includes scholarly papers based on what the authors have learned from Nibley. Nearly every major subject that Dr. Nibley has encompassed in his vast learning and scholarly production is represented here by at least one article. Topics include the sacrament covenant in Third Nephi, the Lamanite view of Book of Mormon history, external evidences of the Book of Mormon, proper names in the Book of Mormon, the brass plates version of Genesis, the composition of Lehi’s family, ancient burials of metal documents in stone boxes, repentance as rethinking, Mormon history’s encounter with secular modernity, and Judaism in the 20th century.
This essay serves as a testimony to modern Israel—the Latter-day Saints—that we are beginning to resemble God’s ancient covenant people in ways that conflict with our high ideals.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Discipleship
Description of a three-day conference where youth acted out the Book of Mormon in order to better understand and gain testimonies of it.
Description of a three-day conference where youth acted out the Book of Mormon in order to better understand and gain testimonies of it.
Abstract: People leave the Church for a variety of reasons. Of all the reasons why people leave, one that has attracted little or no attention is the influence of mental distress. People who experience anxiety or depression see things differently than those who do not. Recognizing that people with mental distress have a different experience with church than others may help us to make adjustments that can prevent some amount of disaffection from the Church. This article takes a first step in identifying ways that mental distress can affect church activity and in presenting some of the things that individuals, friends, family members and Church leaders can do to help make being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints a little easier for those who experience mental distress.
[Editor’s Note: This paper was presented at the 2018 FairMormon Conference in Provo, Utah, August 2, 2018.
To prepare it for publication, it has been source checked and copy edited; otherwise it appears here as first presented.].
Sheet music written in commemoration of the centennial of the year Moroni entrusted the plates to Joseph Smith.
Additional authors: Tad R. Callister, John Gee, Joel A. Flake, and Gerald N. Lund.
This article describes President George Albert Smith’s visit to Mexico City. Several prophecies concerning the Lamanites are quoted to show the importance of the Lamanites in the last days.
The Latter-day Saints must lead out in sanctifying this appointed day each week.
Maybe it is making your next tuition payment, choosing a new roommate, finding a summer internship, or even getting a date for Saturday night. Perhaps, though, your wicked problem is more complex—maybe it is a bit trickier.
Old Testament Topics > Ten Commandments
Pejorative psychological explanation of Joseph Smith. Claims that Joseph Smith “breathed an air saturated with the superstitions of debased forms of Christianity, pervaded with beliefs in signs, wonders and heavenly testimonials and peopled with spirits, angels and devils” Sees the Book of Mormon in this setting. Avers that while Joseph Smith worked on the Book of Mormon, he “appears to have assumed a multiplicity of personalities”
A full list of scripture references used in works written by Hugh Nibley.
All manuscripts cited are in the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
Short, selected bibliography at the end of the book.
Lists two-and-a-half pages of citations of books on the Book of Mormon published before April 1984. Also includes reprints of published book reviews of many of the listed books.
Book of Mormon bibliography arranged alphabetically by author.
Bibliography of books and articles about the Book of Mormon arranged according to subjects.
This one hundred page bibliography of books and articles written about the Book of Mormon is listed according to their date of publication.
The preliminary work for this annotated bibliography.
The Book of Abraham, one of the canonized works of Latter-day Saint scripture brought forth by the Prophet Joseph Smith, has been attacked by critics since its publication in 1842. In Abraham in Egypt, LDS scholar Hugh Nibley draws on his erudition in ancient languages, literature, and history to defend the book on historical and doctrinal grounds. Nibley examines the Book of Abraham’s striking connections with ancient texts and Egyptian religion and culture. He discusses the book’s many nonbiblical themes that are found in apocryphal literature not known or available in Smith’s day. In opening up many other lines of inquiry, Nibley lays an essential foundation for further research on the biblical patriarch Abraham. This enlarged, second edition of Nibley’s classic 1981 work of the same title updates the endnotes, includes many illustrations, and adds several chapters taken from a series of articles in the Improvement Era entitled “A Look at the Pearl of Great Price,” which Nibley wrote between 1968 and 1970.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Review of Eldin Ricks's Thorough Concordance of LDS Standard Works (1995), by Eldin Ricks.
An index sorted by subject.
Reprinted in Hugh Nibley Observed.
Breaking down Hugh Nibley’s attributes into broad categories in order to talk about Bro. Nibley in his own context.
Originally published in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless.
Breaking down Hugh Nibley’s attributes into broad categories in order to talk about Bro. Nibley in his own context.
Reminiscing on Hugh Nibley’s role in helping the author’s conversion to the Church along, and who Bro. Nibley was as a scholar.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing
Review of Alonzo L. Gaskill, Miracles of the Book of Mormon: A Guide to the Symbolic Messages, 2015, Springville, UT: Cedar Fort, 447 pp. + bibliography, appendix of Brief Biographical Sketches of Ancient and Modern Non-LDS Sources Cited, index, etc. Hardbound. $27.99.
Abstract: Author Alonzo L. Gaskill has used his considerable scholarly and spiritual skills to provide the reader with a book that describes and applies to our lives the miracles found in the Book of Mormon, some of which may have slipped the reader’s eyes, mind, and heart.
26 pages, alphabetical ignoring the FARMS ID in left column where available.
Old Testament Topics > Temple and Tabernacle
Old Testament Topics > Temple and Tabernacle
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
A collection of excerpts from Gillum’s journal that mention Hugh Nibley.
This second of two volumes of essays honoring Hugh Nibley includes scholarly papers based on what the authors have learned from Nibley. Nearly every major subject that Dr. Nibley has encompassed in his vast learning and scholarly production is represented here by at least one article. Topics include the sacrament covenant in Third Nephi, the Lamanite view of Book of Mormon history, external evidences of the Book of Mormon, proper names in the Book of Mormon, the brass plates version of Genesis, the composition of Lehi’s family, ancient burials of metal documents in stone boxes, repentance as rethinking, Mormon history’s encounter with secular modernity, and Judaism in the 20th century.
Although Latter-day Saints have a knowledge of the process of repentance, they lack a complete understanding of how the scriptures use the term repentance: repentance consists not only of remorse, confession, restitution, and forgiveness, but a literal changing of one’s entire perspective on life, so that eventually a Latter-day Saint may “repent of having to repent.”
Book review.
Gives a list of Book of Mormon scriptures and their location as quoted and used in the writings of Hugh Nibley.
Review of A Sure Foundation: Answers to Difficult Gospel Questions.
Abstract: Latter-day Saints have always been encouraged to seek the truth wherever it can be found. With the Book of Mormon being written especially to the Lamanites, we can assume that the more we know about Lamanite and Native American culture, the more we can understand, appreciate and gain insights as we read that inspired scripture. In this article the writer has compared examples from Native American culture and history to what we read in the Book of Mormon and experience as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most importantly, as we read through the eyes of a Native American, we can appreciate the divinity and authenticity of the Book of Mormon, since Joseph Smith could not have known Native American culture and history in the way it is described herein.
THE BOOK OF MORMON
AN ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY
THE HAND OF MORMON
UPON PLATES
TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI
Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—.
Jesus Christ and His Atonement are the refuge that we all need, regardless of the storms that are battering our lives.
A cave found in Israel contains ancient inscriptions in Old Hebrew and drawings of human figures and sailing vessels. It contains the name Lei that is an equivalent of Lehi.
We have the same divine origin and the same limitless potential through the grace of Jesus Christ.
This article has been adapted from the author’s book By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion. The author discusses three common understandings of the term revelation: (1) revelation as doctrine, (2) revelation as history, and (3) revelation as inner experience. He suggests that the Book of Mormon introduces a fourth type: revelation as dialogue. This form of revelation allows individuals to have direct contact with God, rather than only through the scriptures, and can be applied to our lives just as it was to the lives of those living in Book of Mormon times.
In this paper, I want to make some tentative observations about the way in which the Book of Mormon has contributed to the fashioning of a particular religious vocabulary, or to be more specific, the disclosure of a particular religious epistemology. I am not arguing that this epistemology necessarily signaled a radical break from Protestantism, or that it conditions a religious vocabulary wholly lacking in Protestant equivalents. Rather, I hope to suggest that the role of the Book of Mormon in framing the concept of prayer and revelation in particular is connected to subtle shades of differences and distinctions which are worth examining. [From the text]
“Jan Shipps noted decades ago that the appearance of The Book of Mormon in 1830 was so shrouded in supernatural claims involving gold plates, “magic spectacles,” and ancient Christians that many non-Mormons “wonder how any intelligent person could ever accept it as true.” One answer may be found in the ways in which the record appropriates and reshapes an extensive language and theology of covenant that would have been powerfully resonant to nineteenth-century readers. The Book of Mormon emerges in the context of the period’s pervasive pseudo-biblicism and, more particularly, within a long tradition of covenantal rhetoric. The book is replete with Midrash-like texts built around Isaiah, aspects of Israelite religion, Jewish protagonists, and temple building. At the same time, the book is introduced by its final editor as an assurance to an American remnant of Israel of “the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off.” The term covenant further occurs almost 200 times— but undergoes particular permutations that endow the concept with recontextualized and therefore new shades of meaning. A consideration of the scripture’s engagement with and reconfigurations of covenant theology can go a long way, then, toward explaining its initial successful reception. The Book of Mormon’s new covenant theology also proves absolutely essential to Smith’s own restoration project—which would consist of implementing his particular vision of the gospel as the “new and everlasting covenant.” Finally, The Book of Mormon serves the essential function of Puritan covenant theology by itself embodying an alternative means of salvational certitude, both in its alleged concrete facticity and in modeling the possibility of personal, dialogic revelation from God to each seeking individual.” [Author]
Royal Skousen’s endeavor to recover the original text of the Book of Mormon is more complicated than it seems because it involves more than simply reproducing the original manuscript. Rather, what Skousen means by “original text” is the very language that appeared on the Urim and Thummim. Every subsequent step, such as Joseph’s reading, his scribes’ understanding and transcribing of that utterance, and Oliver Cowdery’s copying of the manuscript for the printer, exposed the text to the possibility of human subjectivity and error. This paper explains the nature and scope of Skousen’s monumental undertaking and presents some of the methods and reasoning he employs to resolve disputed textual variants in search the Book of Mormon’s original text.
This essay challenges criticism of the alleged origins of the Book of Mormon and argues a common-sense approach to support the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
Joseph Smith was an explorer, a discoverer, and a revealer of past worlds. He described an ancient America replete with elaborate detail and daring specificity, rooted and grounded in what he claimed were concrete, palpable artifacts. He recuperated texts of Adam, Abraham, Enoch, and Moses to resurrect and reconstitute a series of past patriarchal ages, not as mere shadows and types of things to come, but as dispensations of gospel fullness equaling, and in some cases surpassing, present plenitude. And he revealed an infinitely receding premortal past—not of the largely mythic Platonic variety and not a mere Wordsworthian, sentimental intimation—but a fully formed realm of human intelligences, divine parents, and heavenly councils.
The Book of Mormon treats many topics that most nineteenth-century Christians would have been thoroughly familiar with: the fall, atonement, and resurrection, just to name a few. However, the Book of Mormon treats these subjects in a way that would have required such readers to rethink their relationship with the divine, their place in Christian history, and God’s relationship to history. Christ’s visit to the New World, the continuance of the scriptural canon, and abundant personalized revelation all create a text that is both familiar and radical.
I understand that some doubts have arisen in your mind. I don’t know for sure what they are, but I imagine I have heard them before. Probably I have entertained some of them in my own mind. And perhaps I still harbor some of them myself. I am not going to respond to them in the ways that you may have anticipated. Oh, I will say a few things about why many doubts felt by the previously faithful and faith-filled are ill-founded and misplaced: the result of poor teaching, naïve assumptions, cultural pressures, and outright false doctrines. But my main purpose in writing this letter is not to resolve the uncertainties and perplexities in your mind. I want, rather, to endow them with the dignity and seriousness they deserve. And even to celebrate them. That may sound perverse, but I hope to show you it is not.
Joseph Smith ignited something in thousands of men and women that connects them to God and to each other in powerful ways.
Givens first recounts the six visions that Nephi records in the Book of Mormon. He then suggests five themes from these visions: personal revelation, focus on Jesus Christ, wilderness and varieties of Zion, new configurations of scripture, and the centrality of family. Finally, he expands on each of these themes individually, explaining how they are illustrated throughout the Book of Mormon.
Because of the religious diversity in the United States, the different religions have struggled to be tolerant of each other, especially at the time when Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Givens examines this situation and suggests five factors that contribute to the success of new religious movements such as Mormonism.
An important part of discipleship is knowing what questions to ask—and which ones have not yet been adequately answered. From the beginning to recent times, prophets have reminded the Saints that the Restoration is ongoing, not an event. Our purpose in assembling this collection of essays is simple: we wish to celebrate the miracle of continuing revelation, and the promise of more to come, that God will “yet reveal many great and important things.” This means that the essays selected for inclusion represent only a few of the hundreds of possible subjects. Ours is an effort to clarify some of the hazy borders of orthodoxy and to honor the dynamism, the richness, and the possibilities of a Restoration still very much in process of unfolding. Joseph Smith taught, “By proving contraries truth is manifest.” A fuller understanding of truth can come by keeping multiple perspectives in mind and letting them work themselves out in patience and God’s own time, like fruitful leaven. Topics include: What is the nature of God’s progress? Where did Book of Mormon events take place? What is women’s relationship to priesthood? Is God subject to or the creator of eternal law? Will things get better or worse before the Second Coming? Was Jesus married? Is the Song of Solomon scripture? How was the Book of Mormon translated? “We as Latter-day Saints have too often felt sure about things the prophets haven’t actually decided, and about things God seems to have left open for us to reflect on humbly. This breathtakingly honest collection of essays does excellent work to make clear just how much we in fact don’t know. That there’s so much to learn is wonderful news, however. We’ll have to bring all of our minds, and not just all of our hearts, to the task of being earnest disciples.” —Joseph Spencer, author of 1st Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction “This much-needed engagement with . . . interesting theological questions is long overdue.” —Blake T. Ostler, Esq., author of the four-volume Exploring Mormon Thought book series on Latter-day Saint theology
Mormons “reject anti- Semitism as an intrinsically distasteful ideology” This is based on the Mormon interpretation of Ezekiel 37:16-17, which explains that the Book of Mormon is the stick of Joseph and the Bible is the stick of Judah. The Book of Mormon teaches that the “New Jerusalem” will be established on the American continent by Israelites. Descendants of Judah will reestablish Old Jerusalem. The LDS church, according to the Book of Mormon, will concern itself with building the “New Jerusalem” on the American continent.
I testify that by the proper application of our extrarational processes there is a systematic path leading to a high degree of assurance of things hoped for, even knowledge and a surety of divine and spiritual things.
Ordinary men, blessed with the privilege of holding the priesthood of God, may be called upon to do extraordinary tasks and accomplish mighty feats through faith in that sacred power!
Both the Savior and the Prophet Joseph gave their lives in a divine cause.
Five-part series offers a brief sketch of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Claims that the Lord himself visited Joseph Smith on September 21, 1823, and told Joseph that the American Indians were a remnant of Israel and that the record on precious plates was made of brass. Martin Harris was never allowed to see the plates, even though his name appears as one of the Three Witnesses. Parts of the Book of Mormon story resemble the Koran, Paradise Lost, and Spaulding’s manuscript.
RSC Topics > G — K > Joseph Smith
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
Scriptural passages in the Book of Mormon, Bible, and Doctrine and Covenants suggest that forgiven sins may not always remain so. In order to bring safety to the soul one must forgive others and “endure to the end” (1 Nephi 7:69).
RSC Topics > L — P > Prayer
RSC Topics > Q — S > Relief Society
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
Winner of the Steven F. Christensen Best Documentary Award (Mormon History Association), The Diaries of Charles Ora Card are rich historical resources chronicling an important period of Mormon history that historian Thomas G. Alexander called “Mormonism in Transition.” The diaries detail the pioneers’ attempts to make the desert blossom as a rose, including their work on the Logan Temple and Tabernacle. During this era, the Church faced increasing economical and federal legislative pressures. The records accent the everyday struggles of a people; their leadership, both local and Churchwide; and Card’s own capture by the US marshals. “Charles Ora Card is usually remembered for his pioneering leadership of the Mormon settlements in Alberta, Canada, after 1885. But his experience and preparation were anchored in his earlier life in Cache Valley, Utah. Here he served in a number of important civic, educational, and ecclesiastical callings. He superintended the construction of the Logan Tabernacle (1883–77) and the Logan Temple (1877–84) and served as a counselor in the Cache Valley Stake presidency and then as stake president. In these professionally edited twenty-three journals are the records of both the rich history of a Mormon community and also the life experiences of a major contributor to that community.”—David J. Whittaker, curator of Western and Mormon Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, and associate professor of history at Brigham Young University. ISBN 978-0-8425-2609-8
RSC Topics > A — C > Christmas
RSC Topics > D — F > Dating
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > G — K > Honesty
RSC Topics > G — K > Humility
RSC Topics > L — P > Parenting
RSC Topics > T — Z > War
This volume chronicles a group of influential Mormon pioneers and their families who left a mark on their communities, church, and family history. It tells a story of the men and women of the Joseph Godfrey and Charles Ora Card families as they traveled from Liverpool, England; through the eastern U.S. states; Nauvoo, Illinois; and Utah before they are scattered north into Canada. Joseph was a runaway boy who became a mariner, sailing the oceans until he was robbed, losing his life’s belongings at sea. Charles became the founder of Cardston, Alberta, the first Mormon settlement in Canada. These pioneers crossed the Atlantic, rode wagons, and walked barefoot across the plains to Zion. They suffered the temper of angry mobs. They knew the prophets and contemporary apostles. They grew and flourished in the regions of Salt Lake, Weber, Cache Valley; Star Valley, Wyoming; and the prairies of Alberta, Canada. They were simply faithful Latter-day Saints contributing to their communities and their church. Be inspired as you walk in the footsteps of founders of the Mountain West. ISBN 978-1-9443-9425-7
RSC Topics > L — P > Parenting
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
RSC Topics > T — Z > War
RSC Topics > L — P > Parenting
RSC Topics > L — P > Parenting
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
“The journals of James Henry Martineau are comparable the most descriptively written diaries of their period. They shed light on the historical events of the era, the lives of average people, and the impact of Church leaders. At times they read more like a novel than a journal. They are exciting, testimony building, and detailed. The reader will see clearly what Martineau is picturing and feel what he is experiencing. His focus was on his family and his work, while the result is a reflection of a common, yet uncommon, Latter-day Saint pioneer.”—Donald G. Godfrey ISBN 978-0-8425-2697-5
RSC Topics > L — P > Parenting
Book review.
Winner of the Steven F. Christensen Best Documentary Award (Mormon History Association), The Diaries of Charles Ora Card are rich historical resources chronicling an important period of Mormon history that historian Thomas G. Alexander called “Mormonism in Transition.” The diaries detail the pioneers’ attempts to make the desert blossom as a rose, including their work on the Logan Temple and Tabernacle. During this era, the Church faced increasing economical and federal legislative pressures. The records accent the everyday struggles of a people; their leadership, both local and Churchwide; and Card’s own capture by the US marshals. “Charles Ora Card is usually remembered for his pioneering leadership of the Mormon settlements in Alberta, Canada, after 1885. But his experience and preparation were anchored in his earlier life in Cache Valley, Utah. Here he served in a number of important civic, educational, and ecclesiastical callings. He superintended the construction of the Logan Tabernacle (1883–77) and the Logan Temple (1877–84) and served as a counselor in the Cache Valley Stake presidency and then as stake president. In these professionally edited twenty-three journals are the records of both the rich history of a Mormon community and also the life experiences of a major contributor to that community.”—David J. Whittaker, curator of Western and Mormon Manuscripts, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, and associate professor of history at Brigham Young University. ISBN 978-0-8425-2609-8
In June 1834, members of Zion’s Camp discovered skeleton bones that Joseph Smith reportedly revealed as belonging to a “white Lamanite” named Zelph. Many Latter-day Saints have referenced this unearthing as evidence that the Book of Mormon took place in North America, rather than in Mesoamerica. This article explores the significance and reliability of the accounts concerning Zelph’s existence, and it claims that although such a discovery is exciting and insightful, many of the accounts are inconsistent and most of the details surrounding Zelph and his life remain unknown. The skeleton cannot, therefore, provide conclusive evidence for anything, and Latter-day Saints should remember that more important than identifying the location of Book of Mormon events is strengthening their belief in the book’s divinity.
The 2018 BYU Church History Symposium Historians have increasingly examined how economics and business have influenced religion and religious practices, and these examinations have provided better understandings of race, gender, and ethnicity within American religion. This volume highlights the research of fifteen presenters at a BYU Church History Symposium, including keynote addresses by Bishop Gérald Caussé and Sharon Ann Murphy. The remaining essays examine the practice of consecration and cooperation by the Church, specific case studies of business and economics in Utah Territory, and financial issues pertaining to the institutional Church. These essays illuminate topics such as plural marriage, immigration, the Saints’ relationship to the federal government, and the creation and demise of Church programs. The BYU Church History Symposium highlighted that the field of economics and finance have much to offer to Latter-day Saint history. ISBN 978-1-9443-9482-0
RSC Topics > G — K > High Priest
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
Abstract: The Joseph Smith Papers welcomes engagement with its work and gratefully acknowledges the important work of various scholars on the Book of Abraham. Recent reviews in the Interpreter of Revelations and Translations, Volume 4, however, significantly misunderstand the purposes and conventions of the project. This response corrects some of those misconceptions, including the idea that the transcript is riddled with errors and the idea that personal agendas drive the analysis in the volume. The complex history of the Book of Abraham can be understood through multiple faithful perspectives, and the Joseph Smith Papers Project affirms the value of robust, respectful, and professional dialogue about our shared history. [Editor’s note: We are pleased to present this response to two recent book reviews in the pages of Interpreter. Consistent with practice in many academic journals, we are also publishing rejoinders from the review authors, immediately following this response.].
You are part of the Lord’s army. You don’t need to be set apart for that. The call to stand up for the truth is not a Church calling. It is a life calling.
Don’t be the weak link in this beautiful chain of faith you started, or you received, as a legacy. Be the strong one.
If we continue to live as we are living, will the promised blessings be fulfilled?
To receive the witness of the “still small voice” sometimes can have a stronger impact on our testimonies than the visit of an angel.
We all have a “today” to live, and the key to making our day successful is to be willing to sacrifice.
Abstract: The story often referred to as Alma’s conversion narrative is too often interpreted as a simplistic plagiarism of Paul’s conversion-to-Christianity story in the book of Acts. Both the New and Old Testaments appropriate an ancient narrative genre called the prophetic commissioning story. Paul’s and Alma’s commissioning narratives hearken back to this literary genre, and to refer to either as pilfered is to misunderstand not just these individual narratives but the larger approach Hebraic writers used in composing biblical and Book of Mormon narrative. To the modern mind the similarity in stories triggers explanations involving plagiarism and theft from earlier stories and denies the historicity of the narratives; ancient writers — especially of Hebraic narrative — had a quite different view of such concerns. To deny the historical nature of the stories because they appeal to particular narrative conventions is to impose a mistaken modern conceptual framework on the texts involved. A better and more complex grasp of Hebraic narrative is a necessary first step to understanding these two (and many more) Book of Mormon and biblical stories.
The idea of conversion has both a history and a geography.1
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Ancient texts are too often approached using modern assumptions. Among those assumptions obstructing an understanding of ancient texts is the modern emphasis on originality and on writing as intellectual property. Ancient writers relished repetition—stories that were repeated in succeeding generations—over originality. The Bible is full of repeated or allusive stories, and the Book of Mormon often reinscribes this biblical emphasis on repetition. One such biblical reverberation in the Book of Mormon is Nephi’s ocean voyage, which evokes biblical stories of origination: creation, deluge, and exodus. These three stories of beginnings are carefully alluded to in Nephi’s own foundational story, exactly as we would expect to find in an ancient Hebraic text.
Additional Authors: Paul R. Cheesman, Charles Randall Paul, Rex C. Reeve, Morgan W. Tanner, and S. Michael Wilcox.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jarom
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Omni
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Words of Mormon
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 4 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
The Book of Mosiah records events from 200 B.C. to 91 B.C. and is chronologically complex. It is filled with rich religious symbolism and significant political events. The text includes King Benjamin’s address, the records of Zeniff, Alma the Elder, and Mosiah, and the first reference to the Jaredites. Its underlying theme emphasizes deliverance from physical and/or spiritual bondage.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Review of ?Apologetic and Critical Assumptions about Book of Mormon Historicity? (1993), by Brent Lee Metcalfe.
Review of Dan Vogel. Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet.
Abstract: Modern readers too often and easily misread modern assumptions into ancient texts. One such notion is that when the reader encounters repeated stories in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Herodotus, or numerous other texts, the obvious explanation that requires no supporting argument is that one text is plagiarizing or copying from the other. Ancient readers and writers viewed such repetitions differently. In this article, I examine the narratives of a young woman or girl dancing for a king with the promise from the ruler that whatever the dancer wants, she can request and receive; the request often entails a beheading. Some readers argue that a story in Ether 8 and 9, which has such a dance followed by a decapitation, is plagiarized from the gospels of Mark and Matthew: the narrative of the incarceration and death of John the Baptist. The reader of such repeated stories must study with a mindset more sympathetic to the conceptual world of antiquity in which such stories claim to be written. Biblical and Book of Mormon writers viewed such repetitions as the way God works in history, for Nephi asserts that “the course of the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:19), a claim he makes barely after summarizing his father’s vision of the tree of life, a dream he will repeat, expand upon, and make his own in 1 Nephi chapters 11–15 (and just because it is developed as derivative from his father’s dream in some way, no reader suggests it be taken as a plagiaristic borrowing). Nephi’s worldview is part of the shared mental system illustrated by his eponymous ancestor — Joseph, who gave his name to the two tribes of Joseph: Ephraim and Manasseh, the latter through which Lehi traced his descent (Alma 10:3) — for youthful Joseph boasts two dreams of his ascendance over his family members, interprets the two dreams of his fellow inmates, and articulates the meaning of Pharaoh’s two dreams, followed by his statement of meaning regarding such [Page 2]repetitions: “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” (Genesis 41:32). O body swayed to music, O brightening glance, How can we know the dancer from the dance? W. B. Yeats “Among the Schoolchildren”
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Biblical studies take two approaches—historical and literary. The latter focuses on the narrative. This study focuses on the narrative of the Book of Mormon, which is a collection of complex, interwoven texts, a canonical work and an ancient document. The author looks at the methods of those who want to see the Book of Mormon as a nineteenth-century document. This work is reviewed in M.239.
Positivist historiography has always maintained an impermeable boundary between history and literature. But positivism is itself a historical sediment whose time is now past. Recent literary theory and historiography emphasize the continuities between history and literature. Under the domination of historiography by a positivist epistemology (from about 1880 to 1960), history attempted to free itself from its literary heritage. More recently theorists from a number of disciplines have recognized that history, both ancient and modern, has been informed by literary motifs, themes, and strategies. The repetition of the exodus literary pattern, for example, through the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and Christian history does nothing to bring into question the historical status of the events. The exodus patterns evident in Mosiah do not force the Book of Mormon to surrender historical claims just because they also happen to be literary.
Review of Dan Vogel. Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet.
Abstract: Fundamental changes have occurred in the historical profession over the past thirty years. The central revolutionary change is that workers in the historical profession can no longer ignore theory and philosophy of history. A built-in resistance to theory causes historians to abjure philosophical analysis of their discipline at a time when such analysis is recognized to be indispensable. If one doesn’t have an explicit theory, one will appropriate one uncritically, without the felt need to articulate and defend the theory. The dominant theory in history over the past century has been positivism, a conception of disciplinary work that ruled history and the social sciences during the twentieth century but has been stripped of rhetorical and persuasive power over the past three decades. Although positivism has been overwhelmingly rejected by theoretically informed historians, it continues to dominate among the vast majority of historians, who fear adulterating history with philosophical examination. The most common version of positivism among historians is the assertion that the only evidence from the past that is valid is testimony based on empirical observation. This essay focuses on recent comments by Dan Vogel and Christopher Smith, who deny this dominance of positivism in the historical profession, and in Mormon history in particular, by misunderstanding positivism without even consulting the large scholarly literature on the topic that rebuts their assertions. They make no attempt to engage the sophisticated literature on the transformation in historiography and philosophy of history that has made most of history written to standards of the 1970s obsolete and revealed it as ideologically inspired; while at the same time these historical researchers assert their own objectivity by appealing to a conventional wisdom that is now antiquated. This version of positivism is especially hostile to religious belief in general, and in particular to that embodied in the LDS tradition.
The death and burial of Ishmael at Nahom (see 1 Nephi 16:34-39) can puzzle readers who are uncertain about how the story fits into Nephi’s overall account or uncertain about why the incident is included at all. This section, however, is one of those parts of the Book of Mormon that contain hints of a deeper meaning than what appears on the surface. At least one important meaning of the Nahom episode is connected with the word Nahom itself.
Review of Brent Lee Metcalfe. “The Priority of Mosiah: A Prelude to Book of Mormon Exegesis.” In New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, and Review of Edwin Firmage Jr. “Historical Criticism and the Book of Mormon: A Personal Encounter.” In American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon, and Review of Susan Staker. “Secret Things, Hidden Things: The Seer Story in the Imaginative Economy of Joseph Smith.” In American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon
Review of The American Religion: The Emergence of the Post-Christian Nation (1992), by Harold Bloom.
Review of Digging in Cumorah: Reclaiming Book of Mormon Narratives (1999), by Mark D. Thomas
A minor story in the Book of Mormon provides an example of how complex the task of reading the book can be. It also illustrates how much richer our understanding can be when we remember that the Book of Mormon is an ancient record with connections to other ancient records, particularly the Old Testament. In the book of Mosiah, a band of wicked priests hid in the wilderness and kidnapped some young women to be their wives (see 20:1-5). This story can be read as an adventure tale. If looked at carefully, however, it shows the kind of connections between the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament that demonstrate that the Book of Mormon is an ancient book.
Abstract: Modern readers too often misunderstand ancient narrative. Typical of this incomprehension has been the inclination of modern biblical critics to view repetitions as narrative failures. Whether you call such repetitions types, narrative analogies, type scenes, midrashic recurrences, or numerous other names, this view of repeated elements has dominated modern readings of Hebraic narratives for at least 200 years. Robert Alter, who introduced a new yet antique understanding of repetitions in the Hebrew Bible in the 1980s, began to reverse this trend. Such repeated elements aren’t failures or shortcomings but are themselves artistic clues to narrative meaning that call readers to appreciate the depth of the story understood against the background of allusion and tradition. Richard Hays has brought similar insights to Christian scripture. The Book of Mormon incorporates the same narrative features as are present in other Hebraic narrative. The ancient rabbis highlighted the repeating elements in biblical narrative, noting that “what happens to the fathers, happens to the sons.” The story of Moroni’s raising the standard of liberty in Alma 46 illustrates the repetitive expectation by seeing the events of the biblical Joseph’s life repeated in the lives of these Nephite descendants of Joseph. Such recurrence in narratives can, considering the insights of Alter and Hays, reveal richness and depth in the narrative without detracting from the historical qualities of the text.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
A review of David Charles Gore, The Voice of the People: Political Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University, 2019). 229 pp. $15.95 (paperback).
Abstract: David Gore’s book The Voice of the People: Political Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon is a welcome reading of Book of Mormon passages which engage in conversation with the biblical politeia — those parts of the Hebrew Bible that explore the constituent parts of the Israelite governance under judges and kings. Gore asserts that the Book of Mormon politeia in Mosiah is in allusive dialogue not just with the Bible but also the Jaredite experience of kingship in Ether. This allusive (intertextual) feature is present not just in the Book of Mormon but any text (Dead Sea Scrolls, New Testament, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and other writings) in the biblical tradition. The textual connection is conveyed when the biblical Noah is a type and King Noah the anti-type. The same is true of the biblical Gideon, who is a narrative bridge between the period of the judges and the transformation to monarchy; the Book of Mormon Gideon serves a similar typological function, bridging the reign of kings to the period of judges. Our modern notions of federalism and democracy owe much to the biblical legacy of covenant and republicanism, and although the Book of Mormon political structures share some features with modern federalism, the roots of both go deep into the Hebrew Bible. The Book of Mormon politeia, also a branch of that biblical political legacy, requires that readers understand that filiation, and demands awareness of the dialogue between the Book of Mormon and the Bible on the subject, so such reading can enrich our understanding of both Hebraic scriptures.
[Page 2]There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes luminous with manifold allusion. Every sentence is doubly significant, and the sense of our author is as broad as the world.1—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Everything in the universe goes by indirection. There are no straight lines.2—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Review of James E. Faulconer, Mosiah: A Brief Theological Introduction (Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2020). 135 pages. $9.95 (paperback).Abstract: The Maxwell Institute for the Study of Religion has released another book in its series The Book of Mormon: Brief Theological Introductions. This book by James E. Faulconer more than ably engages five core elements of the book of Mosiah, exploring their theological implications. Faulconer puzzles through confusing passages and elements: why is the book rearranged so that it isn’t in chronological order? What might King Benjamin mean when he refers to the nothingness of humans? And what might Abinadi mean when he declares that Christ is both the Father and the Son? The most interesting parts of the introduction to Mosiah are those chapters that sort through the discussion of politics as both Alma1 and Mosiah2 sort out divine preferences in constitutional arrangements as the Nephites pass through a political revolution that shifts from rule by kings to rule by judges. Faulconer asserts that no particular political structure is preferred by God; in the chapter about economic arrangements, Faulconer (as in his analysis of political constitutions) asserts that deity doesn’t endorse any particular economic relationship.
My kingdom is not of this world.
John 18:36
I believe in God, but I detest theocracy. For every Government consists of mere men and is, strictly viewed, a makeshift; if it adds to its commands “Thus saith the Lord,” it lies, and lies dangerously.
C.S. Lewis, “Is Progress Possible”
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8‒9
Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is
impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him;
wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.
Jacob 4:8.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Goheen examines the rhetorical performance of the Tree of Life narrative in the First Book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon. She contextualizes his analysis within the 19th century world of Joseph Smith, Jr. and compares the Tree of Life narrative to a dream that Joseph Smith, Sr. reportedly had.
At the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ and its power to save is a correct understanding of the Father and the Son.
[Our Heavenly] Father’s desire is to provide all of us with the opportunity to receive a fulness of joy, even the fulness that He possesses.
Elder Christoffel Golden teaches that we are getting closer to the Second Coming, a mournful day for the wicked but a day of peace for the righteous.
May we discover anew the divine power of daily prayer, the convincing influence of the Book of Mormon, and true devotion when partaking of the sacrament.
Because of the Restoration and because of a true and fuller understanding of mankind’s origin and destiny, we know that we are not predestined to anything. Each one of us is in fact foreordained unto salvation and exaltation.
I humbly testify and pray that we will always remember Him—in all times, all things, and all places we may be in.
This is Easter Sunday. I reverently witness and solemnly testify of the living Christ—He who “died, was buried, and rose again the third day.”
To belong with God and to walk with each other on His covenant path is to be blessed by covenant belonging.
“I express gratitude and appreciation to each student, faculty, and staff member who is building on BYU’s firm foundation of bedrock virtues, values, and principles while learning appropriately when and how to adapt in changing and challenging times.”
Jesus Christ calls us in His voice and His name. He seeks and gathers us. He teaches us how to minister in love.
Elder Gong teaches that as we follow God’s plan for us, we will find eternal joy with our families. True, enduring joy and eternity with those we love are the very essence of God’s plan of happiness.
At this season of hosanna and hallelujah, sing hallelujah—for He shall reign forever and ever!
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
Promptings from Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost can help us live right now. I am grateful Heavenly Father respects perfectly our agency and at the same time—in circumstances and at times He knows best—also prompts and guides us.
May we each learn to speak and hear His love here, in our hearts and homes, and in our gospel callings, activities, ministering, and service.
Let us reach out and care as our Savior would, especially to those whom we are privileged by love and assignment to minister.
For those who seek, allow, and live for it, the dawn of faith, sometimes gradually, will come or can return.
Elder Gong teaches that the Savior invites us to be good Samaritans who welcome all to His Inn (meaning His Church), where they can find refuge.
An eternal perspective of gospel conversion and temple covenants can help us see rich blessings in each generation of our forever families.
Trust in God and each other brings heaven’s blessings.
Elder Gong invites us to find connection and belonging in God’s family through our family history.
May we learn how to learn by the Spirit; may we choose and decide in time how best to prepare for eternity; may we offer global experience and training to contribute to every nation, kindred, and tongue; and may we seek and rejoice in spiritual strengthening.
A presentation of observations by Dr. Zaki Abdel-Malek and Dr. Sami R. Hanna, who were asked to translate the Book of Mormon into Arabic, on the Book of Mormon as a translation of a semitic language. They found that the book is compatible with the Bible, that Book of Mormon events and culture are compatible with Near Eastern customs, and that the syntax in the Book of Mormon is clearly indicative of Semitic languages and not English.
We can become more powerful in blessing the lives of our Heavenly Father’s sons and daughters, more powerful in serving others.
You may find yourselves in situations where you have to be brave in defending the principles of righteousness even when no one is watching. In such situations, you may draw courage to defend the principles of righteousness from your faith in God and also from your love toward God and your fellow man.
Followers of Christ pattern their lives after the Savior to walk in the light.
One way to come unto Christ is by seeking to learn essential truths with our hearts.
As we come unto Him, God will come to our rescue, whether to heal us or to give us the strength to face any situation.
What are we doing today to engraven in our souls the gospel principles that will uphold us in times of adversity?
Knowledge alone is not enough. We must take time to apply the principles in our lives.
A poem describing the confiict between the Lamanites and Nephites and the final translation of the plates.
Mentions the Book of Mormon and the Mormon belief of Hebrew origins of Native Americans. The writer is not very sympathetic to the Book of Mormon’s claim in this regard, noting that few non-Mormon archaeologists espoused the theory. Alleged anachronisms are also noted, such as the pre-Columbian horse, metallurgy, and nineteenth-century ideas that have since, according to the writer, proved inaccurate.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Women
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
By using our best thinking, by choosing to act with real intent, and by seeking direct revelation from God, we can come to a humble yet firm conviction of the truth of all things.
The prophets of God continually raise their warning voices and lovingly give counsel to strengthen our families and heighten the spirituality of our children. This is a gospel-centered “best practices” book for husbands and wives, fathers and mothers that is founded on prophetic teachings and substantiated by good science. This book will help readers gain new and important insights about our most important responsibilities in time and eternity—our families. By bringing together the “words of wisdom” from both religious sources and from the discoveries of solid research, families can be better equipped in their pursuit of success and happiness. ISBN 978-0-8425-2850-4
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum
RSC Topics > D — F > Eternal Life
RSC Topics > D — F > Eternal Life
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sealing
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
We can easily see Laman and Lemuel as being lost from the start. Almost like stock characters in a novel, they may appear to have little depth or complexity. This simplistic view makes it hard to identify the reasons behind, as well as the consequences of, Laman and Lemuel’s behavior. Consequently, if we do not look for deeper meaning in Laman and Lemuel’s story, we may fail to identify the necessary precepts to avoid the pitfalls they fell into and to which we are vulnerable today. Through a more contextual view of Laman and Lemuel’s lives, we are provided with a set of precepts to help us thrive spiritually in our day. As President Spencer W. Kimball taught, to be “forewarned is [to be] forearmed.” Ultimately, Laman and Lemuel’s lack of faith in and incorrect understanding of God led to their failure to become the righteous sons of God they were intended to be.
RSC Topics > G — K > Humility
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sacrifice
RSC Topics > D — F > Eternal Life
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sealing
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
The 2014 BYU Church History Symposium This volume is a compilation of scholarly papers prepared by presenters at the BYU Church History Symposium entitled The Worldwide Church: The Global Reach of Mormonism. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, was the first keynote speaker. He emphasized the importance of learning our history. Quoting Michael Crichton he stated, “If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.” The second keynote speaker, Terryl Givens, highlighted the universal nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Seventeen other papers by notable historians, scholars, educators, and leaders are included in this volume. ISBN 978-0-8425-2973-0
Answers objections to the Book of Mormon concerning writing styles, quotations from the Bible contained in the Book of Mormon, non-Egyptian words such as “Jesus” and “Christ,” Ezra’s overlooking of Lehi’s writings, and Jesus not acknowledging the fulfillment of Lehi’s prophecies in his own life.
This article explores Shaker Richard McNemar’s life, and his 1831 review of the Book of Mormon. McNemar was involved in the Kentucky Revival movement, converted to Shakerism, and was present when Oliver Cowdery visited the Presbyterians in Union Village, Ohio. The author has also included a transcript of McNemar’s review, which includes a summary of the main points and McNemar’s criticism of the Mormon process of translation.
An historical look at the anti-Masonic and historical factors present in up-state New York in the late 1820s following the murder of William Morgan. The author asserts that the Book of Mormon incorporates these factors into its discussion of the Gadianton robbers. A summary of the arguments for the “Gadianton-Mason” in the Book of Mormon.
The anti-Masonic movement of the 1820s and its influence on the Book of Mormon. Its injunctions against secret societies seen in opposition to Masonry.
An attempt to explain the Gadianton robbers in the Book of Mormon on the basis of events in the late 1820s related to the Freemasons and the murder of William Morgan. Language used in the Book of Mormon to describe the Gadianton robbers is used elsewhere to describe Freemasons.
Shows many similarities between aspects of life in the Mediterranean world and ancient America, including linguistic similarities.
This first of two volumes of essays honoring Hugh Nibley includes scholarly papers based on what the contributors have learned from Dr. Nibley. Nearly every major subject that he has encompassed in his vast learning and scholarly production is represented here by at least one article. Topics include the influence of Nibley, Copts and the Bible, the Seventy in scripture, the great apostasy, the book of Daniel in early Mormon thought, an early Christian initiation ritual, John’s Apocalypse, ancient Jewish seafaring, Native American rites of passage, Sinai as sanctuary and mountain of God, the Qurʾan and creation ex nihilo, and the sacred handclasp and embrace.
A discussion of the Bat Creek Inscription, a Hebrew inscription found in a burial site in Loudon County, Tennessee in 1889.
There are so many opportunities for lifelong learning. If we do our best and seek Heavenly Father’s help, He will strengthen us beyond our natural abilities and help us to learn.
Volume I:
Keynote Overviews
Inspired Origins and Historical Contexts
Volume II
Literary Explorations
Moses 1: Temple Echoes in the Heavenly Ascent of Moses
Moses 6–7: Enoch’s Divine Ministry
“Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses 2020 Conference” (2020)
“Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses 2021 Conference” (2021)
Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses: Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities. Volume 2 (2021)
Volume I:
Keynote Overviews
Inspired Origins and Historical Contexts
Volume II
Literary Explorations
Moses 1: Temple Echoes in the Heavenly Ascent of Moses
Moses 6–7: Enoch’s Divine Ministry
“Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses 2020 Conference” (2020)
“Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses 2021 Conference” (2021)
Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses: Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities. Volume 1 (2021)
A collection of maps of proposed Book of Mormon geographical sites in Mesoamerica and archaeological sites in relation to contemporary locations.
“In our era of heated political discourse, the Book of Mormon makes a surprisingly serious contribution to understanding our social troubles. David Gore argues that this Latter-day scripture invites readers to cultivate a sober, wakeful approach to political discourse. To eschew self-indulgent politics in favor of a politics oriented toward others. Being with others and being for others is never easy. But by shouldering this work to persuade and be persuaded of the good we can make our political situation more prosperous and more enduring.”
Moroni’s concern over scriptural faults or errors was due to the fact that the Book of Mormon plates were written in reformed Egyptian rather than modified Hebrew. Mistakes in the Book of Mormon were corrected using the corrective form of the appositive or followed by the corrective phrase. This appears 69 times in the Book of Mormon but only once in the Doctrine and Covenants and only once in the Bible.
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Review of A Reading Guide to the Book of Mormon (1989), by David H. Mulholland.
The early church was unable to continue once the apostles had departed. Bishops were only local officials and could not speak for the entire church. Beginning with the later second century, philosophy plays an increasingly important role in the church—this appears to be an effect rather than a cause of the apostasy.
Children’s game based on Lehi’s vision (1 Nephi 8).
Children’s pictures of noted Book of Mormon figures that may be cut out and placed in chronological order.
Children’s story of Captain Moroni and Amalickiah, based on Alma 46.
Children’s game based upon the Book of Mormon Liahona.
Retelling of the stripling warrior story for children, with pictures and brief commentary.
Children’s activity to enhance knowledge of Book of Mormon by arranging the books in the correct order.
A polemical work against Mormonism wherein the author favors the Spaulding hypothesis in explanation of its origin.
Iniciada em 2000 pelo decano de Educação Religiosa Robert L. Millet, O Educador Religioso é uma publicação dirigida para satisfazer as necessidades e os interesses daqueles que estudam e ensinam o evangelho restaurado de Jesus Cristo. Para comemorar dez anos da sua publicação, os editores tem selecionado algums dos seus artigos prominentes. Entre os autores estão: Élder Richard G. Scott, Élder Robert D. Hales, Élder David A. Bednar, Élder D. Todd Christofferson, Élder Jay E. Jensen, Élder Tad R. Callister, e Élder Neal A. Maxwell. ISBN 978-0-8425-2775-0
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
This volume explores the possibility that mortality is framed and informed by God’s love in more ways than we normally suppose. We live within the cosmic embrace of God’s love, even when we encounter difficulties. Hence, as the medieval Catholic thinker Catherine of Siena suggested, “All the way to heaven is heaven” because gospel obedience brings joy and, in a perfectly natural way, fits us for the celestial kingdom. In the process we are stretched out along the long arc of God’s love. Our hearts turn to others, and not just to those about us but also to our ancestors and generations yet unborn. As we discover the depths of Christ’s Atonement, our everyday thinking and conduct begin to hum the miracles of God’s love, chief of which is that there is no bottom to that love. ISBN 978-1-9503-0409-7
Review of Richard Dawkins. The God Delusion.
This article is a photographic essay regarding the Joseph Smith Jr. home, where the angel Moroni visited. It includes details of activities outside the home as well as a discussion of the translation of the gold plates.
Presents a history of the events that led to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon using Joseph Smith’s own words and historical accounts of Oliver Cowdery, Lucy Mack Smith, and others. There are facts about the Hill Cumorah and the monument placed there in honor of Moroni, and the translation of the Book of Mormon.
This article consists of a compilation of quotes about the Book of Mormon from the Journal of Discourses. All quotes are from former leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This testimony affirms that Moroni visited Joseph Smith in his room on September 21, 1823, and, among other things, showed Joseph where the plates were hidden. After four years, Joseph received the plates and translated them.
This article tells of the work conducted by Andre K. Anastasiou on a Russian translation of the Book of Mormon.
This article recounts the events of the night of September 21, 1823, when the angel Moroni visited with the Prophet Joseph Smith and first revealed the hiding place of the divine records.
Grant testifies at the Salt Lake Stake Conference, March 13, 1898, that one can know gospel truths and later apostatize through disobedience. Grant reads Oliver Cowdery’s testimony of the Book of Mormon and quotes him as saying that the reason he left the Church was because he had sinned and he hoped to rejoin the Latter-day Saints.
Heber J. Grant writes about reading the Book of Mormon as a boy. Melvin J. Ballard speaks about the book’s purpose of being carried to “all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples.”
In this article, the episode about Hagoth and his sea-venturing ships is quoted from Alma 63 and the theory advanced that the Polynesians descended from Book of Mormon peoples who sailed to Hawaii. It also compares rituals and customs of the ancient Hawaiians with the Israelites.
This article is a challenge to read the Book of Mormon to commemorate the one-hundredth anniversary of the delivery of the plates to Joseph Smith, and a warning against neglecting the scriptures. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, a spiritual guide, and it confirms the truths in the Bible. Testimonies of Parley P. Pratt and B. H. Roberts are included.
This articles discusses how the Book of Mormon points out that through marriage the Nephites united with the Mulekites who were of Jewish descent. Hence the tribe of Joseph (Nephites) mixed with the tribe of Judah (Mulekites) in a union that is presently found among the American Indians.
This page contains a picture of copies of the Book of Mormon and a very short paragraph on a page of a Book of Mormon owned by Hyrum and Joseph Smith with signatures to their testimony.
Nephi’s life and character was a guiding star in Grant’s personal life. Nephi’s example demonstrates the Lord’s power and his fulfillment of promises.
This article is an official announcement regarding a new edition of the Book of Mormon, having a new print type, two columns, chapter headings, book and chapter designations, footnote reference revisions, a synopsis of the chapters, a pronouncing vocabulary, and an index.
An official announcement regarding a new edition of the Book of Mormon, having a new print type, two columns, chapter headings, book and chapter designations, footnote reference revisions, a synopsis of the chapters, a pronouncing vocabulary, and an index.
An official announcement regarding a new edition of the Book of Mormon, having a new print type, two columns, chapter headings, book and chapter designations, footnote reference revisions, a synopsis of the chapters, a pronouncing vocabulary, and an index.
This article is a list of kings, presidents, and statesmen of the world to whom a Book of Mormon has been presented, with the date and name of the presenter.
This series of study guides contains several lessons that address the Book of Mormon and prophecy. It also deals with the Book of Mormon as fulfillment of ancient prophecy, prophecies in the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled, are now being fulfilled, and others that have not yet been fulfilled. Furthermore, it looks at prophecies dealing with the American Indian, the United States, and the Latter-day Saints. The first part covers “the Book of Mormon as a fulfillment of ancient prophecy,” “of prophecies within itself,” and “of modern prophecy.”
This series of study guides contains several lessons that address the Book of Mormon and prophecy. It also deals with the Book of Mormon as fulfillment of ancient prophecy, prophecies in the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled, are now being fulfilled, and others that have not yet been fulfilled. Furthermore, it looks at prophecies dealing with the American Indian, the United States, and the Latter-day Saints. The second part covers “some prophecies in the Book of Mormon already fulfilled,” “now being fulfilled,” and “not yet being fulfilled,”
This series of study guides contains several lessons that address the Book of Mormon and prophecy. It also deals with the Book of Mormon as fulfillment of ancient prophecy, prophecies in the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled, are now being fulfilled, and others that have not yet been fulfilled. Furthermore, it looks at prophecies dealing with the American Indian, the United States, and the Latter-day Saints. The third part covers “prophecies and promises to individuals,” “prophecies with promise to nations and peoples,” and “prophecies in the Book of Mormon not found in any other scripture.”
This series of study guides contains several lessons that address the Book of Mormon and prophecy. It also deals with the Book of Mormon as fulfillment of ancient prophecy, prophecies in the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled, are now being fulfilled, and others that have not yet been fulfilled. Furthermore, it looks at prophecies dealing with the American Indian, the United States, and the Latter-day Saints. The fourth part covers “prophecies and promises to the American Indian,” “to the United States as a nation,” and “to the Latter-day Saints.”
The Old Testament theme of “to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (Samuel 15:22)
This article relates Joseph Smith’s vision of the angel Moroni, his revelation of where the golden plates were hidden, and Joseph’s yearly visits to the Hill Cumorah for instruction.
An account of Clyde B. Crandall and his reasons for trying to read the Book of Mormon in one day: to understand the story in sequence, to prove that reading the Book of Mormon is not a tedious task, and to meet the challenge and accomplish it.
Remarks by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 28, 1854. Reported By: Unknown.
A Discourse by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 2, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the 17th Ward Schoolhouse, Great Salt Lake City, October 2, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 2, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by Elder J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 11, 1855. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 17, 1854. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 2, 1854. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Lecture by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Social Hall, Great Salt Lake City, May, 30, 1855. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 9, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
An Address by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1854. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, September 24, 1854. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1855. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 12, 1856. Reported By: J. V. Long.
A Discourse by Elder Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 19, 1854. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
By President Jedediah M. Grant, at the celebration of the 24th of July, 1856, in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 27, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 21, 1856. Reported By: J. V. Long.
A Discourse by J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, October 26, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by Elder Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Aug. 7, 1853. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 3, 1856. Reported By: J. V. Long.
Chapter 3 of this polemical work against Mormonism is devoted exclusively to the Book of Mormon. The author attempts to discredit Mormon interpretations of Bible prophecy that support the Book of Mormon. He discusses the Anthon episode, problems in the issue of translation, Bible plagiarism and anachronistic usage of biblical material such as the Sermon on the Mount, linguistic problems, the term Bible used 600 years before Christ, New Testament phraseology, Isaiah, lack of scientific evidence, and more. He concludes that the Book of Mormon is not a true history, but a fraud.
A Temple Square guide responds to a letter written by visitors. Reaffirms that “the Book of Mormon, along with the Bible contain the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ” The author uses stories from both the Book of Mormon and the Bible to rehearse the Plan of Salvation in order to assist understanding of the Book of Mormon.
A polemical/evangelical work against Mormonism. The Bible is all- sufficient as a guide to salvation and there is no need for the Book of Mormon. The story of the Jaredite barges is ridiculed. The testimony of Book of Mormon witnesses is rejected. The author questions the use of King James translation language in the Book of Mormon. This is seen as evidence of plagiarism. The author accepts the Spaulding theory for the book’s origin.
At several different symposiums on the Book of Mormon, General Authorities stressed the purpose of the Book of Mormon as a co-witness with the Bible. The Book of Mormon is the “Church’s greatest missionary tool”
Discerning our journey through the world entails, first, choosing specific worthy destinations rather than just drifting somewhere.
ISBN 1-59156-023-3
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
RSC Topics > T — Z > World Religions
In February 1998, five Brigham Young University professors spent more than a week together in southern Oman to collect data for future research projects in the area, which seems to correspond to the end of Lehi’s trail in the Old World. Future research must be performed in a professional manner and seek to reconstruct that part of the world in 600 BC. Botanical, archaeological, chronological, mineralogical, geological, and inscriptional studies in the area would depend on acquiring sponsors in Oman and on the availability of resources.
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > D — F > Family History
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > L — P > Parenting
RSC Topics > T — Z > Trials
Wilford Woodruff told the story of his remarkable missionary success among the United Brethren in the Three Counties of England for many years after his initial meetings with them in the mid-1800s. This book examines how this group of people, along with their friends and neighbors who were also seeking religious truth, were prepared to receive the message of the restored gospel, and how they helped the Church membership grow in the Three Counties. Readers will learn about American and British missionary exploits in this area along with converts’ stories. Finally, the book looks at how current Church members in this area have forged links with the legacy of this amazing time of harvest. ISBN 978-1-9443-9415-8
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > Q — S > Restoration of the Gospel
RSC Topics > T — Z > World Religions
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
Recent finds have renewed consideration of the possibility of transoceanic crossings and Old World infiuence in the New World in pre-Columbian times. A new theory is emerging that looks at three possibilities: the infiuence of the Old World via the Bering Strait, independent origins, and transoceanic crossings.
Explores archaeological trends in Book of Mormon research and finds that past efforts have been naive and have often caused more harm than good. Sets forth a number of myths related to archaeology that need to be dispelled. Holds that the Book of Mormon cannot be proven through scientific means.
A collection of speeches on the Book of Mormon given at a conference at Brigham Young University. Contributors include Sidney Sperry, Ross T. Christensen, Daniel Ludlow, John L. Sorenson, Eldin Ricks, and M. Wells Jakeman. The published presentations are listed under individual authors.
Reviews movements that have characterized LDS archaeological studies since the 1950s. During the 1970s, archaeological studies emphasized elementary historical questions less and anthropological issues more.
Discusses the intent of archaeology, anthropology, and biology in providing evidences to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
Answers the question, to what extent may Quetzalcoatl be identified as a figure of Satan? Satan corresponds to Tezcatlipoca, a twin brother of Quetzalcoatl.
Includes color photographs taken by the author.
Articles introducing Egypt accompanying Nibley’s series “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.”
A compilation of selected articles from the Improvement Era dealing with Book of Mormon topics. Topics include: “Where is the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon?,” “I cannot read a sealed book,” and “The Anthon transcript”
First-person experiences and photographs of Egypt
A first-person description of Hezekiah’s Tunnel
Old Testament Topics > Geography
A first-person description of the ancient city of Petra
A letter from John Green reporting the activities of the mission in New Jersey. The elders had borne testimony concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
This article shows examples of how the missionaries are carrying the gospel to the Indian, Mexican, and Spanish-American people. The Book of Mormon is a great converter because it tells of their ancestry and the beginning of their race.
The coming forth of the Book of Mormon fulfills a prophecy made by David that the truth would spring forth from the earth. It is the record of the “other sheep” spoken of by the Savior. The book fulfills other scriptural prophecies in Ezekiel, Genesis, and Isaiah. There are eleven witnesses as well as Joseph Smith and thousands of others bear testimony of its truthfulness.
Contains details about the 25 writers of the Book of Mormon, including who they were, where and when they lived, what they wrote, and their relationship to each other. Includes photographs of the first edition of the Book of Mormon and an artist’s conception of Nephi obtaining the plates from Zoram.
Warns that the Book of Mormon was authored by Satan. Nephi, who wrote the Book of Mormon, was Satan himself and the book is his own life record. Quotes Book of Mormon passages to show the evil designs contained in the text.
Unravels the mystery surrounding the Spaulding manuscript. After Spaulding claimed to have found the manuscript, translated it, and tried to publish it, it disappeared. After several years it was found and presented to Oberlin College. Greenman claims that Satan wrote the book under the name Fabius.
A list of biblical trees and their symbolic usage
Joseph and Hyrum Smith exemplified leadership as they worked together in organizing and operating the Church, teaching, speaking, and building temples and towns. As leaders, they held firm to their convictions, roused the hearts and minds of men and women in varied walks of life, and left legacies sufficient to stamp them as two of the most remarkable and influential men of the nineteenth century. The stories and examples of their shared leadership illustrate how they honored agency, exerted righteous influence, grew through adversity, forged bonds of obligation and love, governed conflict, and organized through councils. Their examples in this book can help us transform our personal perspective of leadership, lead with an eternal focus, heal and bless others through our leadership, learn and grow by asking authentic questions, share leadership in the home, and lead in the governmental arena. By incorporating these principles in our lives, we can foster more satisfying relationships in our homes, our Church service, and our professional lives. The book concludes with a call for each of us to carry on their legacy, which transcends time and place. Their lives and teachings are filled with lessons and skills we can easily apply today. ISBN 978-0-8425-2754-5
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
A polemical history of Mormonism. Chapters 1- 10 and 41-45 deal with the Book of Mormon and advances the Spaulding theory for the Book of Mormon’s origin, looks at the Anthon denials, and examines external and internal evidences against the Book of Mormon’s authenticity.
A children’s book that summarizes the story of the Jaredites from the Tower of Babylon to their destruction. Includes pictures that can be colored.
A series of five volumes that retell several hundred Book of Mormon stories in a brief, readable format especially suited for teaching children. The five titles are as follows: Jaredite Period, Migration, Reign of Kings, Reign of Judges, and Christ in America
Abstract: By seeing the example of a county prosecutor, I learned that we are never more like the Savior than when we willingly and vulnerably enter the self-created pain of another person’s life.
In this collection of articles Grey Owl, an Indian, tells that he holds sacred the message of hope given in the Book of Mormon to his people. It is their history, it may be read as you would read the wampum or listen to the traditions.
The 2013 BYU Church History Symposium This volume is a collection of essays by prominent LDS scholars–including keynote speakers Richard Bushman and David Holland–that discuss the interest in the ancient world shared by Joseph Smith and the early Latter-day Saints. Topics include Joseph Smith’s fascination with the ancient Americas, his interaction with the Bible, his study of Hebrew and Greek, his reading of Jewish and Christian apocryphal writings, and his work with the Book of Abraham in the context of nineteenth-century Egyptology. Together, these essays demonstrate that Joseph Smith’s interests in antiquity played an important role in his prophetic development as he sought to recover ancient scripture, restore the ancient Church, and bring the Latter-day Saints into fellowship with the sacred past. ISBN 978‐0‐8425‐2966‐2
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Moses Topics > Joseph Smith Translation (JST) > Historicity and Ancient Threads — General Issues
The 42nd Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium The Psalmist asks, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?” This year’s Sperry Symposium discusses ascending into the Lord’s mountain within the context of theophany, ancient temple worship, sacred space, sacrifice, offerings, and hymns and songs in the text of the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon. The scriptures contain a rich treasury of information of how ancient Israelites and the people in the Book of Mormon worshipped God and expressed themselves through ritual and devotions as found in the Psalms. These explorations of ancient temple worship help us to better understand and appreciate latter-day temple and worship traditions. ISBN 978-1-60907-581-1
This article surveys the past and current research on Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village near the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Historical sources and modern explorations show that Huqoq was a small agricultural village during the biblical and postbiblical periods. Formal excavations of the site began in 2011 and have uncovered portions of the ancient village and its synagogue. This article highlights the discoveries made during the first two seasons of excavation (2011-2012), including pieces of a mosaic floor in the synagogue’s east aisle that depict two female faces, an inscription, and an illustration of Samson tying lit torches to foxes (Judges 15:1-5). Because of the rarity of Samson in Jewish art, the religious significance of this mosaic is difficult to explain. However, liturgical texts from late antiquity indicate that some synagogue congregations celebrated Samson as an apocalyptic image and messianic prototype, whose victories against the Philistines fostered hope in the eschatological messiah expected to appear and deliver the Jewish community from foreign oppression.
In the summer of 2016, the editors of Studies in the Bible and Antiquity (Brian Hauglid, Matthew Grey, and Cory Crawford) organized a one-day workshop sponsored by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship to consider the relationship between modern biblical studies and various faith communities who view the Bible as sacred scripture. This workshop, which was held on the campus of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, included essays presented by six outstanding scholars who approached the topic from Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and Latter-day Saint perspectives, and we are pleased to publish the revised versions of these essays in this roundtable forum.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
A teenager in Germany discusses the Book of Mormon in his high school class with positive results.
A teenager in Germany discusses the Book of Mormon in his high school class with positive results.
The abundant opportunities to choose the right that confront us in apparently small ways each day provide the choices that I am talking about. These are the choices that mold character and determine who, at the core, we really are.
Over the course of his forty-year career, S. Kent Brown, professor of religious studies, has taught and inspired thousands of students at Brigham Young University and has produced over one hundred publications and several films in the fields of early Christian, Near Eastern, and Mormon studies. Twenty-four scholars, including Leslie S. B. MacCoull, Robert Millett, and Jacob Neusner, have contributed articles to this volume in honor of Brown. Essay topics include archaeology, biblical studies, Coptic studies, early Christian studies, Islamic studies, Jewish studies, Mormon studies, and Quran studies. In addition to these pieces, the book includes a bibliography of works by Brown himself, a citation index, and a subject index. A wonderful testament to Brown’s legacy as a scholar and teacher, Bountiful Harvest provides a variety of perspectives on a broad range of subjects.
If God is good, why does he permit evil to exist? People through the ages have wrestled with this philosophical question, often called simply “the problem of evil.” The Bible contains one of the earliest works to address it-the book of Job.
Introduction to the current issue.
Introduction to the current issue.
Introduction to the current issue.
The mother tongue of Jesus and his disciples was not Greek or Latin or even Hebrew, but Aramaic, the language of Israel’s Babylonian captors. Aramaic, and in particular the dialect of Syriac, has continued to be spoken by many Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere down to the present time. This Semitic language became the vehicle for a vast body of early Christian literature that expressed Christian theology in singularly Semitic forms. For example, just as the Hebrew prophets expressed themselves primarily in poetry or rhythmic prose, rich with symbolism and analogy, so also early Syriac teachers composed didactic hymns and even their sermons in poetic meter. In contrast to the philosophical theology of western churches, Syriac Christians articulated a symbolic theology that drew on images from nature and scripture to express the Christian mysteries.
The birthplace and spiritual heart of Christian monasticism is the Nitrian Desert of Egypt and the long, shallow valley of Scetis (Wadi el-Natrun). It was to here, from the fourth century onwards, that Macarius the Great and others of the sainted desert fathers retreated from the world, devoting their lives to worship and prayer. While some monks chose to live in isolation as hermits, many others banded together to establish the first monasteries, building churches for worship and libraries for study.
On June 20, 2001, representatives of BYU’s Maxwell Institute, The Catholic University of America (CUA), and Beth Mardutho, a Syriac studies institute, met together to discuss the digital imaging of key holdings in the Semitics/ICOR Library of CUA’s Mullen Library. CUA’s Semitics/ICOR Library houses one of the largest collections in the world of early and rare books on the Christian East. All parties shared a particular interest in early Syriac printed works, both for their continuing value to contemporary Syriac Christian communities as well as to Syriac scholars. Many early printed catalogs, text editions, grammars, lexica, and other instrumenta and studies have never been superseded or replaced. Their rarity and inaccessibility to scholars has long been a serious problem for the field of Early Christian Studies. The faculty and staff of Catholic University recognized this need as well and generously agreed to work with BYU and Beth Mardutho to provide digital access to their collection. BYU and Beth Mardutho entered into a three-way agreement with CUA to scan a broad selection of their Syriac book holdings, with BYU focusing on titles of primarily academic interest and Beth Mardutho on materials of broader interest to the Syriac churches. The results of this Institute project are now avail-able free of cost on the Web as the Brigham Young University & The Catholic University of America Syriac Studies Reference Library (http://www.lib.byu.edu/dlib/cua/).
Two books of scripture used by members of the Church are the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Both present God’s dealings with the human family and both testify of Jesus Christ.
The greatest concept we can study or teach is the plan of redemption—sometimes called the plan of salvation or the plan of happiness. The doctrines of the plan of redemption have more power to bring men to God than any other truth or concept. Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints quickly recognize the following diagram.
RSC Topics > D — F > Death
RSC Topics > D — F > Fall of Adam and Eve
RSC Topics > G — K > Happiness
RSC Topics > G — K > Judgment
RSC Topics > L — P > Plan of Salvation
RSC Topics > D — F > Death
RSC Topics > D — F > Fall of Adam and Eve
RSC Topics > G — K > Happiness
RSC Topics > G — K > Judgment
RSC Topics > L — P > Plan of Salvation
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
The 47th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium While Jesus and his disciples were at or near Caesarea Philippi, Peter testified that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Martha had a similar divine testimony, proclaiming, “I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.” In much the same way, a standard part of Latter-day Saint discourse includes bearing testimony that “Jesus is the Christ,” but what do we mean when we say that Jesus is the Christ? This volume compiles essays given at a BYU Sidney B. Sperry Symposium that uniquely address such questions from a Latter-day Saint perspective, bringing together both biblical scholarship and Restoration insights that invite us to come to Christ and apply gospel teachings to real life. ISBN 978-1-9443-9453-0
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
LDS Scholars respond to a number of objections to the Book of Mormon, i.e., Jesus was born “at Jerusalem,” Book of Mormon parallels with the work entitled View of the Hebrews, the alleged Shakespearean quotation in the Book of Mormon, and the allegation that there are no external evidences in favor of the Book of Mormon. Also compares the Itzas and the Nephites.
A detailed defense of Wells Jakeman’s interpretation of the Stela 5 carving as it relates to Lehi’s vision of the tree of life.
Challenges the competence of the Tanner’s views on general Book of Mormon issues.
Takes issue with the Tanners’ approaches against the Book of Mormon in such areas as the Smithsonian statement, the Anthon transcript, the Kinderhook plates, the “Bat Creek” stone, the Stela 5, and other archaeological interests.
But here’s some bad news: it’s hard work to understand the Constitution. At least it’s hard work if you try to understand what it meant to those who wrote and ratified its provisions. In my view, that is the understanding we must seek.
When we come to have some sense of what Christ has done for us—and, in particular, what He has suffered for us—our natural reaction as children of God is to want to show our gratitude and love by giving our lives to Him, by obeying Him.
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1878–1945
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1946–Present
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1946–Present
RSC Topics > A — C > Consecration
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
RSC Topics > T — Z > Tithing
RSC Topics > T — Z > Welfare
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
This book contains reflections from two groups of scholars who trace their beginnings to the early Saints who built the Kirtland Temple. These scholars come from the two largest branches of the Restoration movement, Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have often found themselves on the opposite sides of many issues. This book is filled with honest, frank conversations between people of the two faiths but also collegiality and friendship. Centered on twelve themes, this dialogue is about bringing together informed scholars from the two churches working together, with goodwill, to accurately understand each other. ISBN 978-1-9503-0431-8
Joseph F. Merrill became the first native Utahn to earn a PhD. Working at the University of Utah, he labored to reconcile the secular world with the spiritual world of his youth. In 1912 he helped establish the first Latter-day Saint seminary at Granite High School. As Church commissioner of education, he helped establish the institutes of religion, with a mission to allow college students to reconcile the secular truths learned in university settings with the truths of the gospel. He created the Religion Department at Brigham Young University and encouraged young scholars to produce professional studies of the Latter-day Saint religion. In 1933 Merrill was called as an Apostle, where he continued his work to modernize the Church. In the final years of his life, Merrill continued to work to show that science and religion could be reconciled. ISBN 978-1-9503-0412-7
The Lord has told us that many things in the Apocrypha are true and many false. The fascination that apocryphal writings generally hold for Latter-day Saints was recognized in a 1983 BYU symposium on this topic addressed by fifteen scholars representing a wide range of expertise. Those addresses are collected in this book.
Book of Moses Topics > Basic Resources > Surveys and Perspectives on Ancient Sources from Outside the Bible
RSC Topics > G — K > Gold Plates
Challenges the theories of the so-called “environmentalists” who declare that the Book of Mormon was a product of Joseph Smith’s nineteenth-century environment. The Book of Mormon cannot accurately be compared to contemporary writings or incidents for it is an ancient text. “The challenge of the Book of Mormon lies elsewhere. It claims to be an ancient book, and it must be examined and criticized in terms of this claim” If the book is indeed an ancient book with Near Eastern origins, it will contain an adequate portrayal of Near Eastern society, law, religion, literary forms, and so on. In light of this Griggs speaks of gold plates and the tree of life.
Volume 1 in the Occasional Papers Series This volume contains the preliminary reports from the 1984 field campaign of the Brigham Young University excavation team at Seila in the Fayum in Egypt. As both this set of reports and those expected from later expeditions will demonstrate, the work done near the Egyptian town of Seila will have a significant impact on further studies of not only Egypt’s Old Kingdom but also the Greco-Roman era. The essays in this volume demonstrate the unusually broad approach to the project this diversity of specialists allowed the team to take. ISBN 0-8849-4680-0
Written by an associate member of the Institute for Ancient Studies at Brigham Young University.
A discussion of Hugh Nibley’s book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri and its contributions to the understanding Latter-day Saints have of the papyri today.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Temples, Cosmos
This essay seems to have been a talk on an April Fools’ Day before its publication in Hugh Nibley Observed.
Comparisons of Hugh Nibley to Socrates.
RSC Topics > L — P > New Testament
RSC Topics > A — C > Bible
Prominent scholars of diverse backgrounds participated in a March 1980 symposium, “Scriptures in the Sesquicentennial,” and brought to it their unique insights into the world of records. This book, a compilation of the addresses, explores some of those records that evidence both the antiquity and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. ISBN 0-8849-4538-3
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Three Book of Mormon articles treated in this volume deal with Moroni, the allegory of the Olive Tree, and external evidences of scriptures.
Let us follow Him: Learn the truth, make promises to live the truth, and do all in our power to keep those promises.
Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others.
While the power of the priesthood is unlimited, our individual power in the priesthood is limited by our degree of righteousness or purity.
Reverberating through all eternity, all creation exults: “In Christ there is always hope.” I know whereof I speak.
“Education is more than preparing for life,” George H. Brimhall once said. “It is life.” His love for education was first instilled in him by his mother. Education became his constant passion, sustaining him through humble beginnings as a Utah pioneer to his pivotal role as president of Brigham Young University. For him, the motivating force behind education was the Latter-day Saint doctrine of eternal progress. As a teacher at BYU and then its president (1904–1921), Brimhall was known as a dynamic orator and as a compassionate administrator whose primary desire was to help students succeed. Brimhall’s faith in and devotion to his religion coincided with his love for learning, and he believed it was BYU’s unique mission to become a university where spiritual education and secular education supported each other. During times of conflict, disappointment, personal tragedy, and great economic uncertainty, Brimhall steadfastly steered the school through the growing pains of its early years toward its unique mission.
I have examined the Book of Mormon as a product of grand symbolic processes that touch on archetypal themes in the collective unconscious and unleash associated energies in the way described by Jung. Though the Book of Mormon’s specific origins can be located in the tensions between European and Indian cultures, it is clear from its farreaching influence that it can also be applied helpfully to issues in hundreds of cultures and without regard to particular historical contexts. Much as Black Elk’s vision of the six grandfathers and the many sacred hoops of the world gave hope and identity to his people, the Book of Mormon has shown a similar ability to bring peace and a sense of belonging to many people in many places. Regardless of one’s reaction to my overarching thesis that the Book of Mormon is best understood as a symbolic history capable of uniting the un-unitable in shamanic balance, I believe there are more important questions to reflect upon than whether the Book of Mormon is literally an translation of an ancient record or literally a product of nineteenth century or psychological influences. These more important questions center on why it is that the Book of Mormon occupies such an important place in the collective psyche of so many. Instead of worrying about its ancient, modern, or psychological origins, we should be asking what it is about the book that has had power to motivate millions of people to spend their time and energy—some even sacrificing careers and fortunes—in efforts to share this book with others.
Believe that you have a divine purpose. Believe that you have unique talents that are unmatched in the world. Work hard and pray. The Lord will help. He will direct you to your best self.
Book of Moses Topics > Selection of Ancient Sources > General Collections and Key Texts
Book of Moses Topics > Selection of Ancient Sources > General Collections and Key Texts
The prophecies of Abinadi in the Book of Mormon, his sacrificial death, and the deaths of his murderers all correlate with Maya rituals and ceremonies. The later order of Nehor, having common elements with the King Noah syncretic religion, also correlates with known Mesoamerican religious practices, one correlation being the Principal Bird Deity and its manifestations. Two other religious traditions, the “Great Spirit” and Amalekites, are derivatives of the Nephite religion.
Ever since the publication of the Book of Mormon, attempts have been made to place it in its geographical setting. Various geographical models are being debated. In a book that is the first of its kind, Jerry Grover, a professional civil engineer and geologist, utilizes geologic and geophysical analysis with clues in the Book of Mormon itself to provide an eye-opening placement of the Book of Mormon in its geologic setting. The book includes extensive details and a professional academic technical analysis of volcanoes, fault systems, meteorology, and unlike many approaches that cherry pick conveniently to fit preconceived ideas, the author takes on and explains and documents all Book of Mormon references to geology and meteorology. The author’s approach is meticulous and scientific. This book is a landmark event in Book of Mormon studies and is a book that must be read by every serious student of the Book of Mormon. The author is dedicating all proceeds from the book to additional scientific geologic and engineering studies to cast further light on the ancient setting of the Book of Mormon.
The origin of Book of Mormon Jaredite names has been an enigma since the publication of the Book of Mormon. In a book that is the first of its kind, Jerry Grover, a professional civil engineer, geologist and translator has been able to reconstruct the Jaredite names from ancient Sumerian. The author’s approach is meticulous and scientific. This book is a landmark event in Book of Mormon studies and is a book that must be read by every serious student of the Book of Mormon and of Mesoamerican studies. The author is dedicating all proceeds from the book to additional scientific studies to cast further light on the ancient setting of the Book of Mormon.
The Olmec civilization has long been considered to be the Jaredite civilization. New evidence is presented here that provides a reliable correlation of chronology between Mesoamerican archaeology and the Jaredite timeline. New etymological and scientific evidence now provides a method of establishing a more detailed geography of the “land northward” referred to throughout the Book of Mormon, the Old World point of departure of the Jaredites, and Olmec cultural elements reflected in the Book of Mormon text.
Jerry Grover explains his methodology and some of his numerical translations from the “caractors” document.
A small scrap of paper entitled “Caractors” that contained characters copied from the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated has remained an enigma for more than a hundred years. Finally, the characters have been successfully translated. In a book that is the first of its kind, Jerry Grover, a professional civil engineer, geologist, and translator, has been able to crack the code of the “reformed Egyptian.” The author’s approach is meticulous and scientific. This book is a landmark event in Book of Mormon studies and is a book that must be read by every serious student of the Book of Mormon and of Mesoamerican studies. The author is dedicating all proceeds from the book to additional scientific studies to cast further light on the ancient setting of the Book of Mormon.
The identification of the mysterious material ziff from the Book of Mormon was a mystery from the time of the initial publication of the Book of Mormon until now. Finally, the linguistic and metallurgical meaning of ziff has been determined. Jerry Grover, a professional civil engineer, geologist, and translator has been able to determine the ancient term for ziff and to define its meaning, both anciently in the Old World and in the New World setting of the Book of Mormon. In addition, a detailed metallurgical analysis of the material and techniques used to construct the Book of Mormon plates has also been completed. The author’s approach is meticulous and scientific. This book is a significant event in Book of Mormon studies and is a book that must be read by every serious student of the Book of Mormon and of Mesoamerican studies. The author is dedicating all proceeds from the book to additional scientific studies to cast further light on the ancient setting of the Book of Mormon.
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorums of the Seventy
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorums of the Seventy
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
RSC Topics > T — Z > War
The period 1960–65 was key to the evolution of the Church because it represented a significant adjustment in approach and direction, particularly from Church headquarters in Salt Lake City. This history focuses on the personalities and programs of the mission presidents and their wives with particular emphasis on Elder A. Theodore Tuttle because the changes that occurred during this period were the product of these men and women. Though the nucleus of the book is Elder Tuttle’s activities, it is not a biography of him but an examination of the history of the Church in South America during these five years. Each mission in South America is discussed in relation to Elder Tuttle’s efforts and some of the issues and concerns of the time. ISBN 978-0-8425-2713-2
Armed with the Spirit, we will do as the missionary does: strive to become an instrument of the Lord to do His work.
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
This article provides “an account of the dedication of the Angel Moroni Monument at Hill Cumorah, near Palmyra, New York,” and discusses the significance of this dedication to the Church.
God knows you and invites you to know Him.
Jesus Christ gave us the Book of Mormon as the instrument to gather scattered Israel.
There is no sin or transgression, pain or sorrow, which is outside of the healing power of His Atonement.
Three months before his death, Joseph Smith established the Council of Fifty, a confidential group that he believed would protect the Latter-day Saints in their political rights and one day serve as the government of the kingdom of God. The Council of Fifty operated under the leadership of Joseph Smith and then Brigham Young. The council’s minutes had never been available until they were published by the Joseph Smith Papers Project in September 2016. This book is a compilation of essays that will give an initial appraisal of how the council’s minutes enhance our understanding of Mormon history during the critical era of the last months of Smith’s life to the trek west. Some fifteen leading Mormon scholars—including Richard Bushman, Richard Bennett, Paul Reeve, and Patrick Mason—narrate and analyze the contributions of the records of the council to key questions. ISBN 978-1-9443-9421-9
Abstract: The Joseph Smith Papers welcomes engagement with its work and gratefully acknowledges the important work of various scholars on the Book of Abraham. Recent reviews in the Interpreter of Revelations and Translations, Volume 4, however, significantly misunderstand the purposes and conventions of the project. This response corrects some of those misconceptions, including the idea that the transcript is riddled with errors and the idea that personal agendas drive the analysis in the volume. The complex history of the Book of Abraham can be understood through multiple faithful perspectives, and the Joseph Smith Papers Project affirms the value of robust, respectful, and professional dialogue about our shared history. [Editor’s note: We are pleased to present this response to two recent book reviews in the pages of Interpreter. Consistent with practice in many academic journals, we are also publishing rejoinders from the review authors, immediately following this response.].
Revelations and Translations, Volume 1: Manuscript Revelation Books, the second out of thirty expected volumes of the Joseph Smith Papers, reproduces in textual and photographic format two books used between 1831 and 1835 to record revelations given through Joseph Smith. This volume marks the first time that scholars and other interested readers will have broad access to these books of revelations. The text includes color-coded transcriptions of the various redactions made by Smith, Cowdery, Williams, and others. The revelations included in the volume consist of both canonical and noncanonical revelations; some of the noncanonical revelations give an intriguing glimpse into the early LDS Church. While this volume will be a great asset to any reader, its full potential may not be realized until the publication of later volumes, which will include a general index, contextual footnotes, and historical introductions to the revelations.
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1878–1945
RSC Topics > G — K > Hope
RSC Topics > Q — S > Restoration of the Gospel
RSC Topics > D — F > Faith
An evangelical booklet that claims that the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible and contains false prophesies.
In this polemical article against the Book of Mormon the author claims that the Spaulding manuscript provided the primary source for the Book of Mormon. Also notes the rediscovery of the unpublished Spaulding manuscript.
Juanita East felt compelled to keep the Book of Mormon she purchased with a box of books at an auction. Years later she was prompted to read it and was converted.
Gunderson argues that “within a significantly brief span of time, Joseph Smith Jr. first produced, proclaimed, and then effectively dismissed the Book of Mormon as the source of authoritative religious doctrine.” He never denied the Book of Mormon, but “he simply stopped using it.” He contends that Joseph Smith “rightly discerned that the Book of Mormon was brought forth by the gift and power of God.” However in his later career, Joseph sometimes tried to press this gift of prophecy “into the service of his own agenda.” When he did that he “became increasingly fallible and Joseph was increasingly left to his own devices and imagination.”
While serving a mission in Nigeria, the Gunells received a referral to the chief of a local tribe. When they went to teach him the discussions they found that he had received a copy of the Book of Mormon from Alice Gunell’s sister, who had also wanted to go on a mission.
While serving a mission in Nigeria, the Gunells received a referral to the chief of a local tribe. When they went to teach him the discussions they found that he had received a copy of the Book of Mormon from Alice Gunell’s sister, who had also wanted to go on a mission.
The author criticizes Dr. Sidney Sperry’s research on the two sticks mentioned in Ezekiel 37:15-23, represented to signify the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The author analyzes these assertions and concludes that Dr. Sperry’s arguments are seriously fiawed. [A.L. & P.H.]
A nonmember’s response to the debate in Dialogue between Dr.&bsp;Sperry and Dr. Snell on the meaning of Ephraim’s sticks
Provides “an unbiased history of the life and times of Oliver Cowdery” Chapter 3 discusses Cowdery as a scribe during the translation of the Book of Mormon and chapter 5 relates his experience of viewing the gold plates.
A biographical treatise on the life of Oliver Cowdery. Presents a discussion of Cowdery during the formative years of the LDS church and his involvement as scribe during the translation process of the Book of Mormon.
Human bones found in caves along the Sac River near Osceola, Missouri, date to “pre-Indian” times, which Gunnell suggests may be of interest to readers of the Book of Mormon.
A biographical treatise on the life of Martin Harris that discusses his personal involvement in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
A polemical work against Mormonism. The author espouses the Spaulding theory to explain the origin of the Book of Mormon and shows that at the time of the publication of the Book of Mormon many theories were afioat regarding the origin of the American Indian.
A manual of lessons for the “Religio-Sunday School,” divided into six courses of study, each containing a lesson plan, with diagrams, lectures, and Book of Mormon and biblical references and questions. Its subjects cover the Book of Mormon and its books, geography, and institutions, and Mormon history and the Zion’s Religio-Literary Society.
The discovery of the ruins of a great city about 60 miles from Isthmus of Panama found to be the oldest known on the American continent may be a Jaredite city that is recorded in the Book of Mormon as having been built by the narrow neck of land. An idol found there resembles Assyrian sculpture hence manifesting a possible Semitic background.
It is the contention of the author that the Hill Cumorah (Nephite) and the hill Ramah (Jaredite) are one and the same, though the location of the hill remains doubtful. The battle that took place at the hill would have been in the Nephite homeland and the hill Ramah was not in New York.
Believes that North America is the “land north” of the Book of Mormon and South America is the “land south” The principle argument advanced is the great length of time (approx. 600 to 200 B.C.) that passed without the large populations of Nephites, Zarahemlaites (Mulekites), and Jaredites discovering one another, suggesting a large territory.
This testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon states that the spirit of God led the reader to a greater understanding of the original inhabitants of the American continent. This knowledge clarified many discrepancies in Christian theology.
1 Nephi 3:37-44 explains how Nephi desired to see the things his father saw. The angel asked if he believed that what his father saw was true. When Nephi replied positively the angel praised him for his faith in the Son of God. Faith and a desire to know the truth of what we hear produces answers to prayers.
Lesson outlines and commentary on the Book of Mormon are provided. Information from the Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, archaeology, and science is used to formulate the commentary.
Thirteen lessons for adult study of the Book of Mormon. Each lesson discusses a portion of the Book of Mormon, giving commentary, questions, evidence that substantiates the text, and the central message.
Examines Isaiah 29:1-6, Deuteronomy 18:22, Revelation 14:6-7, and finds these passages are related. They speak of a sealed book that the speaker believes to be the Book of Mormon.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
Contemporary Mormon interpretive literature emphasizes atrocities found in scripture, with little attention as to whether they are morally defensible (e.g., the near sacrifice of Isaac, the execution by fire of Alma and Amulek’s converts, and the conquest of Caanan). Notes a strain in Mormonism that argues for a God who, in order to strengthen humanity, arranges events that infiict great pain and suffering, especially on the faithful. He then outlines a set of core ethical paradigms. [R.H.B.]
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
A tract that briefly recites the account of Jesus’ ministry to the Lehites. Offers archaeological and other evidences to substantiate the event.
Authors make reference to secular evidences related to the Book of Mormon that are offered by non- LDS scholars in such matters as medicine and astronomy. They also relate the Book of Mormon to passages in Ezekiel 37, Jeremiah 49, Genesis 49, and Isaiah 29.
Late one night in 1823 Joseph Smith, Jr., was reportedly visited in his family’s farmhouse in upstate New York by an angel named Moroni. According to Smith, Moroni told him of a buried stack of gold plates that were inscribed with a history of the Americas’ ancient peoples, and which would restore the pure Gospel message as Jesus had delivered it to them. Thus began the unlikely career of the Book of Mormon , the founding text of the Mormon religion, and perhaps the most important sacred text ever to originate in the United States. Here Paul Gutjahr traces the life of this book as it has formed and fractured different strains of Mormonism and transformed religious expression around the world. Gutjahr looks at how the Book of Mormon emerged from the burned-over district of upstate New York, where revivalist preachers, missionaries, and spiritual entrepreneurs of every stripe vied for the loyalty of settlers desperate to scratch a living from the land. He examines how a book that has long been the subject of ridicule--Mark Twain called it “chloroform in print”--has more than 150 million copies in print in more than a hundred languages worldwide. Gutjahr shows how Smith’s influential book launched one of the fastest growing new religions on the planet, and has featured in everything from comic books and action figures to feature-length films and an award-winning Broadway musical.
The written word is powerful, especially sacred texts. The Book of Mormon, a sacred text indigenous to America, has influenced many readers to make radical life changes. Gutjahr presents a history of this book and the Bible. He points out that in 1830, readers were interested in the Bible and historical writing. The article argues that the Book of Mormon, with its narrative format and linguistic peculiarities, could only be understood within this particular print culture. Literary and cultural historians have paid little attention to this best-seller. Considers the Book of Mormon as one of the most important written texts to emerge in the United States.
This chapter explores Orson Pratt’s significant influence on textual aspects of the Book of Mormon, describing various editions of the book he was directly involved in editing. It emphasizes his attention to ease of access and understanding for readers.
Review of S. Michael Wilcox. House of Glory: Finding Personal Meaning in the Temple, 1995. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. 146 pp. with bibliography and index. $14.99 (paperback).
Abstract: The temple of God is a new experience with any visit, but its wonders are nigh astonishing to someone who has lost the privilege for a long time. Wilcox’s House of Glory is more than a guidebook to the House of God, it is a camera panning from the physical (such as the meanings of symbols and the appearances in and outside of temples) to the intensely personal (like the requirements and rewards of temple work, its ancient history, its powers of protection, and so on). Essentially a book for the experienced temple goer (one no longer stunned by the newness of it all), Wilcox’s prize-winning book fills in the blank spaces and answers questions. And awes the Prodigal Son.
RSC Topics > G — K > Grace
Old Testament Topics > Melchizedek