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Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
We want to come unto Christ because it is only in Him and through Him that we can return to the Father.
By the gift and power of the Holy Ghost, you can be guided in your trip through life.
The Lord invites us to come out of the cold danger of worldliness and into the warmth of His light.
Develop the divinity that is within you. Don’t dull the brightness of the spirit you came with from heaven. The Lord needs your goodness and your influence in this world.
Daughters of God know that it is the nurturing nature of women that can bring everlasting blessings, and they live to cultivate this divine attribute.
You have all you need to stand strong and firm and true because you have the Lord on your side.
Heavenly Father has a plan for His children and … families are the central part of that plan.
A woman of faith trusts God. … She knows of His interest in her life. She knows that He knows her. She loves His words and drinks deeply of that living water.
An interview with artist, teacher, businessman, and Egypt guide Elhamy Naguib.
Elhamy is an Egyptian artist and teacher with 45 years of professional experience. He works in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, graphic and interior design, and wooden toys. He is the owner of Graffiti Artistoys, a graphic arts studio located in Maadi, Cairo, Egypt. He also owns a workshop for the production of educational toys and materials, and is co-owner of Box of Wonders (Sandouq el Agab), a shop selling folk-inspired wooden toys and automata in Fustat, Cairo.
Elhamy recently moved to Los Angeles, California, to be near his children (and adorable grandchild) and looks forward to exploring new opportunities.
An interview with artist, teacher, businessman, and Egypt guide Elhamy Naguib.
Elhamy is an Egyptian artist and teacher with 45 years of professional experience. He works in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, graphic and interior design, and wooden toys. He is the owner of Graffiti Artistoys, a graphic arts studio located in Maadi, Cairo, Egypt. He also owns a workshop for the production of educational toys and materials, and is co-owner of Box of Wonders (Sandouq el Agab), a shop selling folk-inspired wooden toys and automata in Fustat, Cairo.
Elhamy recently moved to Los Angeles, California, to be near his children (and adorable grandchild) and looks forward to exploring new opportunities.
Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, delivered in the Assembly Hall Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 20, 1881. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, March 8, 1885. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, June 7, 1885. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, August 29, 1880. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 15, 1881. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, Continued from Page 376, Journal of Discourses, Vol. XXII, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 15, 1881. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, delivered in the 16th Ward Meetinghouse, Sunday Afternoon, March 7, 1880. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, delivered in the 13th Ward Meetinghouse, Salt Lake City, November 23, 1879. Reported By: John Irvine.
The unique and magnificent thing about a BYU education is that in addition to being taught truths that we are meant to question, we are also taught far more important truths that we need not doubt. These truths are simple: God loves us, He sent His Son to save us, and He wants all of His children to be happy.
Faith will help us to safely climb the gospel path, overcome every challenge of mortality, and return to the majestic presence of our Heavenly Father.
Just like a fish needs water, you need the gospel and the companionship of the Holy Ghost to be truly, deeply happy.
In making this choice, please remember the father who sought healing for his son. The Savior reminded him that belief, or faith, was key. Said He, ”If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
My invitation today is simple: share the gospel. Be you and hold up the light.
The issues tying the United States and the Middle East together are not simple. From oil, to terrorism, to Isis, Vali Nasr explains why maintaining interactions with the Middle East is crucial at this time.
The promise of complete and perfect forgiveness is made to everyone—in and through the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ.
I don’t know if anything in this world could bring more happiness and joy than to know that our children know the Savior.
Old Testament Topics > Old Testament: Overviews and Manuals
The Maxwell Institue is currently making efforts to update the work of Donald Parry, Jeanette Miller, and Sandra Thorne, who prepared the volume A Comprehensive Annotated Book of Mormon Bibliography (1996). This earlier work is now available at the Maxwell Institutes website (see http:/ /publications.mi.byu.edu/book/ a-comprehensive -annotated-book-of-mormon-bibliography/), and updates will also be made available on the Institute’s website. To assist in this effort, the editors of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies have decided to include in each issue of the Journal a bibliography of scholarly work published on the Book of Mormon during the previous year. We have therefore made efforts to discover all work of an academic nature published during 2016 for inclusion in the following bibliography. The work has been undertaken primarily by Matthew Roper and Alex Criddle.
The Maxwell Institute continues to make efforts to collect bibliographical information for all writings of a scholarly nature focused on the Book of Mormon in a substantial way. The work for this year’s bibliography has been undertaken by Amanda Buessecker. The editors would again like to encourage readers of the Journal to send information regarding any publications of a scholarly nature focused on the Book of Mormon that have escaped our attention. These can be sent to jbms@byu.edu.
Balli, Tyler. “LDS Hispanic Americans and Lamanite Identity.” Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel 19/3 (2018): 92-115. Belnap, Daniel L. “The Abinadi Narrative, Redemption, and the Struggle for Nephite Identity:’ In Abinadi: He Came Among Them in Disguise, edited by Hopkin, 27-66.
Excerpts from the Deseret Evening News of 25 May 1903 report on a convention at which Book of Mormon geography was discussed.
The Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of the Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of The Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of The Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of The Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of The Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Journal of The Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
On 25 January 1928, President Heber J. Grant wrote a letter to a young woman in which he shares his love for the Book of Mormon and his testimony of its divinity.
Polemical tract stating that Joseph Smith is so closely tied to the Book of Mormon that if one were proved false, it would prove the other false. Finds that the origin of the Book of Mormon lies in the Spaulding manuscript. Provides historical accounts by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and others concerning the first vision and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Demeans the idea of the three Nephite disciples who are claimed to still live.
In a work designed for youth the author looks at several theories regarding who first discovered America. Considers Columbus, Huishen, St. Brendan, Leif Ericsson, John Cabot, Norsemen, the Nephites—but does not provide a conclusion.
Author rewrites in poetic version the entire Book of Mormon, employing both rhythm and rhyme.
A polemical article against the Book of Mormon attempting to refute statements made by early Mormons regarding the Anthon episode, and also attempting to show that the ‘reformed Egyptian’ characters on the transcription that Martin Harris presented to Anthon were a forgery.
A polemical article, attempting to demonstrate that the Mormon account of Martin Harris’s visit to Anthon was false and that the characters on the Anthon transcript were a forgery.
A polemical work attempting to discredit the Book of Mormon. The writer wonders why Joseph Smith did not simply reproduce the lost 116 pages if they had in fact been given by inspiration. Deals also with the Spaulding manuscript.
A polemical tract against the Book of Mormon. The writer enumerates several anachronisms in the Book of Mormon and discusses the characters on the Anthon transcript, the Anthon denial, the phrase “and it came to pass,” and related matters. He advocates a Spaulding origin for the Book of Mormon and attempts to discredit Mormon efforts to link biblical prophecies to the Book of Mormon.
Quotes David Whitmer and John Hyde Jr. to show that Joseph Smith used a “peep stone” to receive revelation and to translate the Book of Mormon. Finds that those closest to Joseph, particularly David Whitmer, state that some revelations were of God and others were not.
A polemic that claims that the Doctrine and Covenants contradicts the Book of Mormon because the former says that no one on earth could translate the Book of Mormon characters, yet the Book of Mormon says that the three Nephite disciples were still alive.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Temples, Cosmos
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Joseph Smith Papyri, Book of Breathings, Book of the Dead, Facsimiles, Egyptology, Hypocephalus
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
To avoid money’s corrupting influence, we must love only God and our fellowman and embrace only virtue as the defining and motivating force in our lives.
A presentation of the Book of Mormon to young children. The stories of the Book of Mormon are dramatized and told in a simple language.
Parts 2-3 feature Book of Mormon stories for youth, with illustrations.
Let us go forward in faith, confidence, and virtue, serving with Christ to help save our families and all of our Heavenly Father’s children.
I believe we are placed on this earth to be sanctified. The Lord has declared that His work and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” May we focus more consciously on acting in holiness and make it a habit of practice while becoming more mindful of the moments and opportunities in our lives.
Attempts to link the Book of Mormon with the Spaulding manuscript. Joseph Miller, an acquaintance of Spaulding, recollected reading about the Amalekites marking their foreheads with red.
The Holy Spirit is the conduit through which you can feel how much your Father in Heaven loves you and how Jesus Christ, through His Atonement, desires to change both your mud and sand to rock and to be your sure foundation.
The sixteen interviews in this volume tell the stories of remarkable men and women who have made careers out of researching, writing, and teaching about the past. Friends and colleagues conducted these conversations over a decade or so. All were subsequently published in the Mormon Historical Studies journal or Religious Educator periodical, and now are brought together as a single book of personal essays. As we review and reflect on the personal lives and remarkable careers featured in this volume, we sense that many of these historians feel that they were prepared or given a definite sense of mission. Both editors, who are becoming foremost Church historians in their own right, have been the beneficiaries of many mentors in the field and the recipients of a remarkable heritage of Mormon historians who have taken them under their wings and helped them become contributors to the telling of LDS history. ISBN 978-0-8425-2890-0
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1845–1877
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > T — Z > War
Described as “the most traveled man in the Church,” Andrew Jenson had been a lifelong globetrotter since his emigration from Denmark to Utah as a young boy in 1866. Although Jenson’s lifelong interest in the whereabouts of ancient Nephite and Lamanite ruins propelled him to visit the remote areas of Latin America, he returned with a powerful impression that the Latter-day gospel should be spread south, beyond the borders of Mexico. Jenson’s letters help readers better understand some of the events and experiences that seemingly led to the twentieth-century reopening of the South American Mission in 1925 by Church leaders. This book covers this important chapter from Jenson’s life and church history, which has rarely been told in over seven decades and is heretofore virtually unknown by most Mormon historians. ISBN 978-0-8425-2851-1
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
Since 1990 the LDS International Society has hosted an annual conference on the globalization of Mormonism at Brigham Young University. Noted speakers such as President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Elder John K. Carmack addressed topics including Joseph Smith and the world, missionary work in a global village, humanitarian outreach and the Latter-day Saints, Church education initiatives in an era of globalization, and international challenges facing the Church. Global Mormonism in the 21st Century offers an unprecedented view of how a fledgling American church continues to mature into a significant international religious movement. ISBN 978-0-8425-2696-8
The 2011 BYU Church History Symposium This book features the winner of the Mormon History Association’s Best International Article Award, Ronald E. Bartholomew’s essay “The Role of Local Missionaries in Nineteenth-Century England.” Just as the risen Christ charged his Apostles, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” he also charged his latter-day followers to do likewise. Using the Prophet Joseph Smith as his instrument, the Lord created his missionary system early in the Restoration. The Prophet received many revelations regarding missionary work and its urgency. Over the years, policies and procedures of missionary work have varied and grown a great deal, but it is always done under the direction of the Lord. The missionary system today is founded on principles based on revelation. The Church has used every righteous means available to take the gospel to the world, and the ways and means continue to expand. The outreach of the Church through missionary work is nothing short of amazing. This volume focuses on the growth and development of Mormon missionary work since the early days of the Restoration. ISBN 978-0-8425-2821-4
The Autobiography of Andrew Jenson, first published in 1938 by the Deseret News Press in Salt Lake City, Utah, tells the personal story of a Danish Mormon convert who eventually served as Assistant Church Historian of the LDS Church for over forty years. The author mined his voluminous personal journals and assembled Church records to tell the story of the Restoration of the gospel since the 1850s when he arrived in Utah as a European immigrant. Through his synthesized research, writing, and reflections, readers come away with deeper appreciation for the men and women whose lives constitute Mormon history. Jenson told their stories together with his life experiences, creating an important window into the Mormon past. ISBN 978-1-944394-00-4
Called to the Japan Mission at age eighteen, Alma O. Taylor and his parents would have been shocked had they known his mission would last nearly nine years. Alma, the eighteen-year-old lad, would return a twenty-seven-year-old man, having served one of the longest continuous missions in Church history. For eight and a half years (August 1901–January 1910), Alma worked with intense fervor, keeping a detailed journal of his experiences and impressions. Alma’s journal recaptures early Mormonism in Japan through the eyes of a young missionary. The body of this book is devoted to making his writings available for the first time to all those interested in the foundational events of the Church in Japan. Alma’s many accomplishments included learning both the spoken and written Japanese word; assisting in the translation of missionary tracts, Church hymns, and the Book of Mormon; serving as president of the Japan Mission from his early to late twenties; opening new proselyting areas throughout Japan; and finding, teaching, converting, and strengthening many of the early Japanese Saints. Shortly before Alma left his mission, he recorded his feelings about his final year in Japan: “During the year I have had many experiences some the most pleasant in life and some the most bitter that humans are called upon to experience. . . . Great is the debt of gratitude I owe to the Lord for His many blessings.”
In 1974, President Spencer W. Kimball called for Latter-day Saints to “lengthen our stride.” When he delivered this landmark address, he encouraged all Latter-day Saints to think bigger, broader, and bolder about the ongoing globalization of the Church. Since President Kimball’s clarion call, the geographical distribution and facial complexion of the Church spread and evolved. The still largely Intermountain West Church that President Kimball began to lead in 1974 looked very different from the Church four decades later. Ongoing global growth continues to be one of the Church’s greatest opportunities (and challenges), just as President Kimball anticipated. This book is a compilation of addresses presented to the LDS International Society, a group that meets to discuss and share their best thinking about the past, present, and future of the global Church. ISBN 978-1-9443-9424-0
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1878–1945
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
RSC Topics > T — Z > Worship
On September 6, 1888, three Church history missionaries—Andrew Jenson, Edward Stevenson, and Joseph S. Black—left on a fact-finding mission to the Church’s historic sites in Missouri, Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Iowa, spending a majority of their time visiting the sacred sights of the Restoration. The observations they made were the subjects of a lengthy correspondence to the Deseret News. These letters were later compiled into a pamphlet entitled The Infancy of the Church. Their writings allowed the Saints in the west to vicariously experience the early days of the Restoration and reconnect with their pioneer ancestry. Some notable historical themes from their observations include a desire for the establishment and redemption of Zion and the promise that righteous Saints would be restored to their lands to build up Zion. ISBN 978-0-8425-2960-0
Volume 8 in the Regional Studies Series When most Latter-day Saints conjure up images of Church history, their minds are filled with pictures of the sacred sites and peoples of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Utah. But years before Brigham Young declared the Salt Lake Valley to be the site of future gathering in 1847, Church members had already pushed even further west into the Pacific Basin frontier. William Barratt made his way to Australia on a mission in 1840. Addison Pratt and his evangelizing companions arrived in the Society Islands in 1844, the year Joseph Smith was martyred in Illinois. And during the early 1850s, when Saints in the Utah Territory were clawing for their physical survival in American’s Great Basin, missionaries enjoyed proselyting success among the native Sandwich Islanders in today’s Hawaii. Clearly, the Pacific Isles have played a major—and early—role in the unfolding of the Restoration. In preparation for the 2008 BYU Church History and Doctrine Department’s regional studies tour to the Pacific Isles, faculty members were invited to research and write on the peoples and places of Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Australasia. Topics include the introduction of the gospel to Tubuai, the influence of Jonathan Napela in Hawaii, the receptivity of Tongans to the gospel, the Oahu Tabernacle, the contributions of educational missionaries to Kiribati, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s performances in the Pacific Islands, and the destruction fire in the Apia Samoa Temple, among others. Contributors are Reid L. Neilson, Arnold K. Garr, Fred E. Woods, Michael A. Goodman, Matthew O. Richardson, R. Devan Jensen, Dennis A. Wright, Megan E. Warner, Cynthia Doxey, Lloyd D. Newell, Richard O. Cowan, Scott C. Esplin, and Kip Sperry. ISBN 978-0-6152-0037-8
Joseph Smith taught, “Don’t let a single corner of the earth go without a mission.” In response to the Prophet’s counsel, years later, Brigham Young and his counselors in the First Presidency planned a special missionary conference in 1852. At this conference, one hundred Latter-day Saint men were called to proselytize in distant lands—the largest cohort of full-time elders in the church’s three-decade history. This book tells the stories and adventures of eight men called to Wales, Prussia, Gibraltar, the Cape of Good Hope, the Sandwich Islands, China, Siam, and Australia. These faithful missionaries left their families, possessions, and newly settled homes in the West to “seek to fulfill the initial obligation given to that church in the very opening of the New Dispensation, namely, to preach the gospel of the kingdom to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” ISBN 978-1-9443-9472-1
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
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.
What was the heritage of Jenson’s expedition to Mormondom abroad? How did his two-year fact-finding mission help shape the balance of his life and the Latter-day Saint historical enterprise? Jenson’s global tour was an unprecedented adventure in Latter-day Saint history. Through his own hard work and the seeming hand of Providence, historian Andrew Jenson found his niche as a laborer in the cause of the Restoration. He pursued the goal of collecting and writing comprehensive, accurate, and useful histories of the Church with a rare passion. Acquiring, documenting, and publishing Church history was not purely a scholarly or historical pursuit for him—the untiring Danish-American believed it was a spiritual labor with eternal ramifications. He devoted his adult life to enlarging the institutional memory of the Church and protecting what he considered to be the sacred records of the final dispensation. ISBN 978-0-8425-2820-7
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
The Lord has provided me some specific tender mercies over the years to give me comfort and at least partial answers to these questions. These tender mercies did not come at once, but in hindsight I can see they came when I needed them. Importantly, they came at times and in ways that have helped to build my testimony that God knows me and is personally mindful of me.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Welfare
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
Review of Step by Step through the Book of Mormon: The Story in Scriptures? A Geographical, Cultural, and Historical System of Understanding (1996), and Step by Step through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary, Part 1?Through the Wilderness to the Promised Land (1996), by Alan C. Miner
Review of Light from the Dust: A Photographic Exploration into the Ancient World of the Book of Mormon (1993), by Scot Facer Proctor and Maurine Jensen Proctor.
Analyzes the features of several stone heads discovered in Veracruz and speculates that they might belong to the Jaredite culture. A map, table, and pictures are supplied.
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
RSC Topics > T — Z > Women
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
Catalogs several charges against the Mormons including the Spaulding connection to the Book of Mormon. Shows in detail how this explanation is untenable. Discusses Book of Mormon witnesses.
Weighs the probabilities of the viewpoints of Martin Harris and Charles Anthon with regard to their interview concerning the Book of Mormon characters.
Treats the possibility of errors existing in the Book of Mormon. Points out that revelation coming through human media is bound to be imperfect, by the very nature of human weakness. Shows areas where mistakes might have been made by Mormon the compiler, and Joseph Smith the translator. Discusses anachronisms and affinities with the Bible in phraseology. Considers Joseph Smith’s method of translating. Concludes that the Book of Mormon is a divine record.
Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
All missionaries, younger and older, serve with the sole hope of making life better for other people.
Every Latter-day Saint may merit personal revelation.
Whether full-time missionaries or members, we should all be good examples of the believers in Jesus Christ.
I leave my love and blessing upon you, that you may feast upon the word of the Lord and apply His teachings in your personal lives.
Begin with the end in mind. Shape your own destiny. Remember that the development of your career, your family, and your faith in God is your individual responsibility—for which you alone will be held accountable.
Peace is a prime priority that pleads for our pursuit.
In a most miraculous and singular way, the Book of Mormon teaches us of Jesus Christ and His gospel.
I thank God and His Son, Jesus Christ, for the Restoration and its power to propel a magnificent wave of truth and righteousness across the earth.
[The] proclamation on the family helps us realize that celestial marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other relationship.
Old Testament Topics > Covenant [see also Ephraim, Israel, Jews, Joseph]
Old Testament Topics > Covenant [see also Ephraim, Israel, Jews, Joseph]
President Nelson testifies of the power of faith in Jesus Christ to help us overcome life’s challenges. He suggests five ways to develop stronger faith.
Jesus descended below all things in order to rise above all things. He expects us to follow His example. Yoked with Him, we can rise above all challenges, no matter how difficult they may be.
May we dedicate and rededicate our lives to serving God and His children—on both sides of the veil.
Individual worthiness requires a total conversion of mind and heart to be more like the Lord.
This address was given at the 1993 Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago, Illinois, 2 September 1993.
Jesus Christ invites us to take the covenant path back home to our Heavenly Parents and be with those we love.
Jesus Christ directed us to call the Church by His name because it is His Church, filled with His power.
When we realize that we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of us.
President Nelson talks about the reopening of temples and announces plans to construct new temples.
Grand as it is, planet Earth is part of something even grander—that great plan of God. Simply summarized, the earth was created that families might be.
Old Testament Topics > Creation
Old Testament Topics > Creation
The wise use of your freedom to make your own decisions is crucial to your spiritual growth, now and for eternity.
There is great power in a strong partnership. True partners can achieve more than the sum of each acting alone. With true partners, one plus one is much more than two.
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
The gospel of Jesus Christ is filled with His power, which is available to every earnestly seeking daughter or son of God.
[The] responsibility to endure is uniquely yours. But you are never alone. I testify that the lifting power of the Lord can be yours.
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
Old Testament Topics > Joseph and Asenath
Old Testament Topics > Moses
Truth, covenants, and ordinances enable us to overcome fear and face the future with faith!
Also pivotal to God’s plan is the family. In fact, a purpose of the plan is to exalt the family.
President Nelson teaches about the importance of temples and announces plans to build more temples. I promise that increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can.
Today I should like to distill and discuss the essence of these experiences and entitle that essence “Four Lessons from One Life”—the life I have lived thus far.
We help to gather the elect of the Lord on both sides of the veil.
Our inborn yearnings for family connections are fulfilled when we are linked to our ancestors through sacred ordinances of the temple.
I bless you with peace and increasing faith in the Lord.
“A commitment to endure to the end means that we will not ask for a release from a call to serve.”
Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son.
President Russel M. Nelson leads a Hosanna Shout in the April 2020 General Conference.
The foundation of one’s individual faith, if anchored firmly to eternal truth, allows each of us to reach upward with an eternal perspective.
“Your precious identity deserves your precious integrity! Guard it as the priceless prize that it is.”
We announce a significant restructuring of our Melchizedek Priesthood quorums to accomplish the work of the Lord more effectively.
Three steps in the process of forging a monumental life from its base are neatly tucked in the verses of our song—I’ll go, I’ll do, I’ll be.
Faith, repentance, baptism, a testimony, and enduring conversion lead to the healing power of the Lord.
Sinless and flawless as Jesus was in mortality, we should remember that he viewed his own state of physical perfection as being yet in the future (see Luke 13:32). Even he had to endure to the end. Can you and I be expected to do any less?
When the focus of our lives is on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives.
Old Testament Topics > Adam and Eve [see also Fall]
Old Testament Topics > Women in the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > Adam and Eve [see also Fall]
Old Testament Topics > Women in the Old Testament
Our prayers follow patterns and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. He taught us how to pray.
Your desire to obey will be enhanced as you remember and reflect upon what you have felt these past two days.
Day after day, on your path toward your eternal destiny, increase your faith. Proclaim your faith! Let your faith show!
We all need guidance through life. We obtain it best from the standard works and teachings of the prophets of God.
Because the Father and the Son love us with infinite, perfect love, and because They know we cannot see everything They see, They have given us laws that will guide and protect us.
Remember, glorious as this physical tabernacle is, the body is designed to support something even more glorious—the eternal spirit that dwells in each of our mortal frames. The great accomplishments of this life are rarely physical. Those attributes by which we shall be judged one day are spiritual.
I plead with you today to counter the lure of the world by making time for the Lord in your life—each and every day.
We will implement a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others.
We will minister in His name, with His power and authority, and with His loving kindness.
To increase your wisdom and stature, you will exercise your agency. You will choose your teachers and your role models. Choose them wisely.
A new era of family history work has arrived.
President Russell M. Nelson speaks at the 192nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 2-3, 2022. President Nelson teaches that now is the time to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now is the time to prepare to meet God. Tomorrow may be too late.
Marriages would be happier if nurtured more carefully.
We are to seek, in every way we can, to hear Jesus Christ, who speaks to us through the power and ministering of the Holy Ghost.
It is time for a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.
Let us put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ into action!
Thank the Lord for these sisters who—like our Heavenly Father—love us not only for what we are but for what we may become.
President Nelson testifies that we can overcome the world and find rest, by the power of Jesus Christ, which we access through our covenants. Find rest from the intensity, uncertainty, and anguish of this world by overcoming the world through your covenants with God.
You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.
Those who enter the temple are also to bear the attribute of holiness. … We can acquire holiness only by enduring and persistent personal effort.
When ordained to an office in the priesthood, you are granted authority. But power comes from exercising that authority in righteousness.
Dear brothers and sisters, please fill your minds with worthy sights and sounds. Cultivate your precious gift of the Holy Ghost. Protect it as the priceless gift that it is. Carefully listen for its quiet communication. You will be spiritually stronger if you do.
President Nelson shares five ways we can create spiritual momentum: make and keep covenants, repent, learn about God, seek miracles, and end conflict.
President Nelson teaches that we must stand in holy places and share the gospel with the world.
Are we willing to pray, fast, study, seek, worship, and serve as men of God so we can have priesthood power?
Please make this conference a time of feasting on messages from the Lord through His servants.
Indeed this is a time for reflection on activities of the past, and for resolution pertaining to the future. This evening is a real milestone—the first Sabbath day of new semester, of a new year, and of a new decade.
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
A repentant soul is a converted soul, and a converted soul is a repentant soul.
In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.
Simply summarized, life’s greatest blessings will come to us if our love of Jesus Christ is rooted deeply in our hearts.
Russell M. Nelson teaches how we can make the Sabbath a delight through strengthening family ties, doing family history work, and serving others.
In God’s eternal plan, salvation is an individual matter; exaltation is a family matter.
Scriptures of the Restoration do not compete with the Bible; they complement the Bible.
Our greatest joy comes as we help our brothers and sisters.
I express gratitude for our senior missionaries. They are young in spirit, wise, and willing to work.
Our family is the focus of our greatest work and joy in this life; so will it be throughout all eternity.
I’m extending a prophetic plea to you, the women of the Church, to shape the future by helping to gather scattered Israel.
We need an example—someone to show us how spiritual capacity can be developed. I have selected as a model … President Gordon B. Hinckley.
As you exercise faith in the Lord and His priesthood power, your ability to draw upon this spiritual treasure that the Lord has made available will increase.
Living in accord with these twelve standards will help us be worthy standard-bearers of the Lord. Then we can be his means of serving our fellowmen.
We should pray in accord with the will of our Heavenly Father. He wants to test us, to strengthen us, and to help us achieve our full potential.
Whenever any kind of upheaval occurs in your life, the safest place to be spiritually is living inside your temple covenants!
When you read the Book of Mormon, concentrate on the principal figure in the book—from its first chapter to the last—the Lord Jesus Christ.
How much better it would be if all could be more aware of God’s providence and love and express that gratitude to Him.
Gratefully add to your list of blessings thanks for the covenant—the Abrahamic covenant—by which you will be vital and precious participants in God’s promise to bless all the nations of the earth through that choice seed.
Old Testament Topics > Covenant [see also Ephraim, Israel, Jews, Joseph]
Your choices will determine where you will live throughout eternity, the kind of body with which you will be resurrected, and those with whom you will live forever.
The great privilege of studying God’s creations builds in its students a reverence for life and a testimony that we are literally created by Deity.
Now, let me share a thought for you graduates. You are entering a new phase of life…with this transition in the pursuit of your formal education, you need to continue to focus on becoming the person the Lord needs you to be.
Who are we? We are children of God. Our potential is unlimited. Our inheritance is sacred.
Make your focus on daily repentance so integral to your life that you can exercise the priesthood with greater power than ever before.
President Nelson welcomes us to general conference, notes how the Lord is hastening His work, and invites us to remove debris from our lives so that we can be more worthy.
President Nelson affirms the Lord’s teachings about abuse and testifies that God is the source of all truth. God is the source of all truth. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints embraces all truth that God conveys to His children.
If you look at your life prayerfully, I believe you will see many ways in which the Lord has been guiding you through this time of hardship.
The adjustments we will now announce are intended to help young men and young women develop their sacred personal potential.
Review of Dominions of the Gadiantons (1991), by Robert Marcum.
Points out two different findings in Mexico that show how archaeology converges with the Book of Mormon. The two excavations uncovered a Maya Codex in a city close to San Salvador and a lost fort found in Guatemala.
A large engraved stone with hieroglyphics and a picture of a fully clothed man was discovered in the Acula River, southeast of Veracruz, Mexico in 1986. Many scholars believe the hieroglyphics represent an earlier version of the Maya language, probably Olmec.
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
During the time the Latter-day Saints lived in Nauvoo, John Stephens and Frederick Catherwood published Incidents of Travel in Central America, an illustrated report of the first discovery of ancient ruins in Central America by explorers. These discoveries caused great excitement among the Saints, and subsequently five editorials appeared in the Times and Seasons commenting on what these meant for the church. Although the author of the editorials was not indicated, historians have wondered if Joseph Smith penned them since he was the newspaper’s editor at the time. We examined the historical evidence surrounding the editorials and conducted a detailed stylometric analysis of the texts, comparing the writing style in the editorials with the writing styles of Joseph Smith, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff—the only men involved with the newspaper during the time the editorials were published. Both the historical and stylometric evidence point toward Joseph Smith as the most likely author of the editorials. Even if he did not write them alone, he took full responsibility for the contents of the newspaper during his editorial tenure when he stated, “ I alone stand for it.”
One of the issues that swirls around discus- sions of Book of Mormon geography is the rightful place the editorials in the 1842 Times and Seasons must take. The story of the editorials begins with Joseph’s receipt of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood’s Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chaipas, and Yucatan, published in 1841. In early 1842, the Times and Seasons published several enthu- siastic articles that drew attention to the discoveries of Stephens and Catherwood in Central America and compared them favorably with the Book of Mormon. Two of these articles were signed by the editor, while three other articles were unsigned. Historical sources indicate that the Prophet Joseph Smith served as editor of the paper for all of the issues published between March 1 through the October 15, 1842. During this time, however, apostles John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff assisted the Prophet in his work in the printing office. Since these articles were not specifically signed by Joseph Smith, some have questioned whether the Prophet wrote them himself, or if someone else wrote them, with or without his approval.
Genealogies, family stories, historical accounts, and traditions … form a bridge between past and future and bind generations together in ways that no other keepsake can.
Our ability to seek, recognize, and reverence the holy above the profane, and the sacred above the secular, defines our spirituality.
There is an expanding gulf between the standards of the world and those of the gospel and kingdom of God, and … living prophets will always teach the standards of God.
Let us quietly and resolutely press forward to the Savior, having faith that He cares about us and has the power to heal and save us.
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.
Exactly how did the scriptures enter the framework of Judaism? In what way, when, and where, in the unfolding of the canon, were they absorbed and recast, and how did they find the distinctive role they played from late antiquity onward?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Bible > Old Testament
Book of Moses Topics > Selection of Ancient Sources > General Collections and Key Texts
In this book’s four brilliant approaches to the Jewish stress on extending both the vision and the Law of Moses (Torah) to every phase of life, Jacob Neusner points to the kinships of the two traditions: Learning is a form of devotion to God. The Temple and its ritual exercise of purity was the common concern of the ancient Pharisees and was the most systematic Jewish attempt at intense symbolic infusion of intelligence and light. In the absence of the Temple, after AD 70 observant Jews sought to extend the temple purification process to their own homes and then restructured their ritual into “acts of loving-kindness” and patient study not only of the meaning but the structure of Torah. Today the Mishnah is the continual revelation “element” of Jewish study, open-ended and adaptive and bringing into focus the incidents and acts of all-inclusive religious life. ISBN 0-8849-4350-X
RSC Topics > T — Z > Worship
A shorter version of this article appeared as “Can Judaism Survive the Twentieth Century?“ Tikkun 4, no. 4 (July–August 1989): 38–42.
An explanation of what conditions favor the formation of religious systems, with particular attention to the condition of Judaism in the twentieth century.
Abstract: Since 1829, various theories about the production of the Book of Mormon have been proposed. Modern scholarship has moved away from the idea that Joseph Smith actually translated ancient engravings into English. Two books, A Man That Can Translate and Infinite Goodness, propose a “neo-orthodox” view, offering evidence that Joseph did translate ancient engravings into English. Recent reviews in the Interpreter of these two books significantly misunderstand and misrepresent the argument. This response corrects some of those misconceptions. [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 a rejoinder from the author of those reviews, immediately following this response.]
Reader is asked to match a scriptural reference in Mosiah with nine different hypothetical situations. An activity for youth.
A new proselytizing method is to put your testimony in the front cover of the Book of Mormon along with your picture. Examples are given.
An instructional aid for young people. A program is presented whereby a person may read the entire standard works in four-and-one-half years by reading one chapter a day.
Refers to an article in the June, 1892 issue of Popular Science Monthly by S. Newberry, whose description of ancient civilizations of Latin America harmonize with information in the Book of Mormon.
Equality and charity are two expressions of the same principle—both require humility and meekness; both are central to the message of the Book of Mormon. With distinct clarity, the Book of Mormon teaches over and over again that “all are alike unto God,” and this simple truth is the antidote for many of the pride problems that keep people from coming unto Christ and from extending service and love to all of His children. Whenever an individual or a nation achieves greatness in the Book of Mormon, it is because the people are free with their substance and treat each other as equals. In contrast, the many tragic pitfalls of pride that the Book of Mormon outlines can be traced to a person or persons withholding charity and thinking they are above another. Alma’s deep sorrow was because of the “great inequality among the people, some lifting themselves up with their pride, despising others, turning their backs upon the needy and the naked and those who were hungry, and those who were athirst, and those who were sick and afflicted”. In the kingdom of God, righteousness and devotion are what matter—not prestige, power, or possessions. Love, compassion, and abundance of heart characterize the real Christian, not acquisitiveness and selfishness. The Book of Mormon declares that the true Saints of God are those who put “off the natural man” and become “new creatures” in Christ—”submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love”.
RSC Topics > A — C > Charity
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
The Lord’s message to you today is the same message He sent through His angels so long ago: “Fear not.” He can say that because He knows more than we do. He sees what we cannot see. He knows what is coming, and, in the eternal scheme of things, it is not as bad as we may think.
RSC Topics > D — F > First Presidency
RSC Topics > G — K > High Priest
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
RSC Topics > L — P > Obedience
This volume takes a fresh look at the history, people, and places in Washington, DC, that have affected the Church. Beginning with Joseph Smith’s earliest interactions with the federal government in the 1830s, the Church’s progress has been shaped by leaders and members interacting in Washington. This volume is filled with essays on many topics about the Church’s history, people, and places in the nation’s capital. It also chronicles many of the Saints and statesmen who have worked to bring the Church out of obscurity and onto a national and international stage. ISBN 978-1-9503-0403-5
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
Tour the historic sites of Salt Lake City from the comfort of your own home. This full-color book includes a virtual tour DVD. Both the book and the DVD explain the historical and modern significance of each site. The authors guide the DVD tours with descriptions and details of historic sites. Also look for the travel-size companion book, Salt Lake City, Ensign to the Nations, Walking Tours. ISBN 978-0-8425-2671-5
This travel-size companion to the larger Salt Lake City, Ensign to the Nations takes the tourist on three distinct walking tours of Salt Lake City. The first tour is of the Temple Square area. The second tour is of the Pioneer Business District, and the third tour is of the Capitol Building and Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum area. Each tour offers explanations of historical and modern significance of sites. ISBN 978-0-8425-2670-8
So you see, the rigorous change required by the gospel of Jesus Christ is not meant to be disheartening or exhausting; it is exciting and exhilarating! The plan of salvation is the ultimate adventure.
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
RSC Topics > Q — S > Repentance
RSC Topics > G — K > Justice
One of our most sacred responsibilities is to help our children come to know deeply and specifically that Jesus is the Christ.
Brother Newman reiterates the importances of teaching like the Savior in the Church and in our homes.
Found in the “Faith” section of the journal.
An explanation of what questions Hugh Nibley would ask and what types of things he would look for in his studies.
This article discusses how George Q. Cannon, who established The Western Standard newspaper for the purpose of publishing items of interest to Latter-day Saints, published the Book of Mormon in the Hawaiian language, which received a great deal of opposition from members of the Church in San Francisco.
Abstract: How long did it take Nephi to compose his portions of the “small account?” Careful text analysis and data mining suggest that “Nephi’s” texts may have been composed across periods as great as forty years apart. I propose a timeline with four distinct periods of composition. The merits of this timeline are weighed, and some thoughts are explored as to how this timeline alters the reader’s perceptions of Nephi. The net effect is that Nephi becomes more sympathetic, more personable, and more relatable as his record progresses and that the totality of Nephi’s writings are best understood and interpreted when the factor of time is considered. .
Abstract: Did Nephi intentionally use chiasmus in his writings? An analysis of fifteen multi-level chiasm candidates in Nephi’s writings demonstrates a high statistical probability (99%+) that the poetic form was used intentionally by Nephi but only during two specific writing periods. This finding is buttressed by further analysis, which reveals a clear and unexpected literary pattern for which Nephi seems to have reserved his usage of chiasmus. The nature of obedience is a major theme in Nephi’s writings, and he regularly employed chiasms to explore the topic early in his writings. After a period during which he discontinued use of the technique, he returned to the poetic device toward the end of his life to signal a significant shift in his thoughts on the topic of obedience.
Abstract: Scholars have recently suggested that The Teachings of Silvanus, a text from Nag Hammadi Codex VII, is the product of several authors with the earliest portion dating to the late first or early second century and the latest portion to the third or early fourth century. Silvanus’ provenance, therefore, allows this single document to serve as a potential microcosm evidencing the change and alteration of early Christian thought and doctrine. Latter-day Saints have long contended that the Restored Gospel is more closely aligned with the earliest strains of Christianity vis-à-vis the creedal form. Through the lens of Silvanus, Latter-day Saint and Calvinist positions are evaluated relative to the early and late Silvanus authors and are found to be most compatible with the early and late portions of the text, respectively.
Originally presented as remarks for Hugh Nibley’s funeral.
Covers much of Hugh Nibley’s life from his time in graduate school to him becoming a teacher at BYU.
This chapter was reprinted with permission from Alex Nibley and Hugh W. Nibley’s Beyond Politics (2013).
Hugh Nibley’s son talks about Bro. Nibley’s political stances, traditions, and tendencies to be merciful in political situations.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Politics, Social Issues
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.
This is taken from a talk given with memories of Hugh Nibley by his son Alex at Hugh Nibley’s funeral.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
This chapter helps to distinguish between myth, ritual, and history, especially as they connect with Egyptian annual year-rites.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ritual Patterns, Great Year-Rites, Universal Gospel Culture
Republished in 2000 in a second edition with new materials and illustrations as Abraham in Egypt, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 14.
Nibley examines the Book of Abraham’s striking connections with ancient texts and Egyptian religion and culture.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Considered by many to be a classic in LDS literature, this new edition of Abraham in Egypt [published in association with the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS)] contains all the material from the first edition as well as additions from Nibley’s 1968–70 Improvement Era series “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.”
In 1968–70, Hugh Nibley wrote a series of articles for the Improvement Era titled “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.” Brother Nibley asked that some of these articles be made into chapters to be added to Abraham in Egypt. These new chapters are what constitutes the new edition; no changes were made to the original chapters. For the articles, Nibley drew from many Jewish and rabbinical sources, while his work in the first edition was based on Egyptian material.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Old Testament Topics > Symposia and Collections of Essays
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh Nibley discusses how Abraham was an ordinary man who held no office and worked no miracles, and yet he was one of the greatest minds of the last forty centuries. Nibley discusses Abraham’s relationship with the temple and gives an overview of the ancient temple. He also shows how the Book of Abraham answers what Nibley calls the “terrible questions”: Where do I come from? Why am I here? How does the universe figure in the gospel? How did it all begin, and how will it all end? Nibley argues that the vision given to Abraham in the Book of Abraham contains stage directions indicating that the vision is dramatized, and the Book of Abraham includes the script.
Transcript of a lecture presented on 6 April 1999 as part of the FARMS Book of Abraham Lecture Series.
Hugh Nibley discusses how Abraham was an ordinary man who held no office and worked no miracles, and yet he was one of the greatest minds of the last forty centuries.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, 445–82.
Here, Nibley identifies elements of the creation drama that appear in the book of Abraham and elsewhere in the ancient world.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ordinances
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ritual Patterns, Great Year-Rites, Universal Gospel Culture
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Here, Nibley identifies elements of the creation drama that appear in the book of Abraham and elsewhere in the ancient world.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ordinances
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ritual Patterns, Great Year-Rites, Universal Gospel Culture
Hugh Nibley read a paper with the title “Acclamatio” at the annual meeting of the Southwest Archaeological Foundation in San Diego, California, in 1941.
In this essay, Nibley draws on materials he collected at the beginning of his career on the politics of ancient mobs and draws parallels with contemporary events, including anti-Mormon sentiments.
This paper includes many quotations from Brigham Young and the scriptures.
It is very important for Latter-day Saints to keep pace, more or Less, with the fast-moving developments in the fields of Bible and related studies. By failing to do this we run the risk of laboring to accommodate our religion to scientific and scholarly teachings that have long since been superceded, altered, or completely discarded.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
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
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Joseph Smith Papyri, Book of Breathings, Book of the Dead, Facsimiles, Egyptology, Hypocephalus
An article about being in the world but not of the world.
This is a manuscript dealing with authority and the councils, possibly related to the 155-page manuscript that became the volume Apostles and Bishops in Early Christianity, which focuses more on the office of Bishop.
Part of a weekly lecture series featured on KSL radio.
A discussion about liberty and ancient beliefs involving such.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
An edited version of a part of a weekly lecture series featured on KSL radio.
A discussion about liberty and ancient beliefs involving such.
7 pages.
A talk in which ancient and modern ordinances are compared, and the notes therein.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
The Ancient State is a thought-provoking examination of aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments from various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
Original article.
These are comments about the roles of ancient temples in general, with an emphasis on Mesoamerican temples as centers of religion, culture, the arts, and world view.
“Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify?” (1994)
“Chapter 14: Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify?” (1989)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Reprint of the 1972 Ensign article.
These are comments about the roles of ancient temples in general, with an emphasis on Mesoamerican temples as centers of religion, culture, the arts, and world view.
“Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify?” (1972)
“Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify?” (1994)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
This article first appeared in the Ensign (September 1972), 46–49. It was reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8, 265–73.
These are comments about the roles of ancient temples in general, with an emphasis on Mesoamerican temples as centers of religion, culture, the arts, and world view.
“Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify?” (1972)
“Chapter 14: Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify?” (1989)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Classical Studies, Egyptian Studies
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
“In any bibliography of present-day studies on the Christian religion, historical or doctrinal, the word eschatology looms large. . . . What is eschatology?”
“However deplorable the maladjusted state of mind called ‘eschatological’ may be, there can be no denying that it was the prevailing attitude of the early Christians.”
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
An edited version of an incomplete typescript.
Old Testament Topics > Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha [including intertestamental books and the Dead Sea Scrolls]
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Also circulated as “Teachings from the Dead Sea Scrolls.”
A survey of teachings in a large number of apocryphal, pseudepigraphal, and patristic writings.
“Unrolling the Scrolls—Some Forgotten Witnesses” (1967)
“Unrolling the Scrolls—Some Forgotten Witnesses” (1986)
Old Testament Topics > Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha [including intertestamental books and the Dead Sea Scrolls]
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
Old Testament Topics > Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha [including intertestamental books and the Dead Sea Scrolls]
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ordinances
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Much can be learned from the New Testament and other early Christian sources about the powers, duties, and desired attributes of those who originally held the offices of apostle and bishop. Catholics claim that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, and Eastern Orthodox Christians assert that he was the first bishop of Antioch. But does either position reflect the apostolic or episcopal offices completely or correctly? What was the role of bishops, and what was their relationship with apostles in the early Christian church? Hugh Nibley sheds light on this challenging and intriguing topic.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Book of Mormon archaeologists have often been disappointed in the past because they have consistently looked for the wrong things. We should not be surprised at the lack of ruins in America in general. Actually the scarcity of identifiable remains in the Old World is even more impressive. In view of the nature of their civilization, one should not be puzzled if the Nephites had left us no ruins at all. People underestimate the capacity of things to disappear and do not realize that the ancients almost never built of stone. Many a great civilization has left behind not a single recognizable trace of itself. We must stop looking for the wrong things.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics > Archaeology, External Evidences, Geography
Can also be accessed at https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sba/vol2/iss1/5.
Hugh Nibley, late professor of ancient history and religion at Brigham Young University and one of the foremost scholars of the ancient world in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, discussed the Rule of the Community in an appendix to his 1975 book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri. The Joseph Smith Papyri is an initiatory text; the Rule of the Community is both an initiatory text, enumerating details for entrance into the Essene community at Qumran, and a covenant document, listing elements in the covenant made between God and individuals entering the Essene community at Qumran. This piece is an excerpt from the appendix of his text mentioned above and outlines the various aspects of this Rule of the Community as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QS).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
A discussion of evidence of the Book of Mormon’s authenticity.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
The Book of Mormon is so often taken to task by those calling themselves archaeologists that it is well to know just what an archaeologist is and does. Book of Mormon archaeologists have often been disappointed in the past because they have consistently looked for the wrong things. We should not be surprised at the lack of ruins in America in general. Actually the scarcity of identifiable remains in the Old World is even more impressive. In view of the nature of their civilization one should not be puzzled if the Nephites had left us no ruins at all. People underestimate the capacity of things to disappear, and do not realize that the ancients almost never built of stone. Many a great civilization which has left a notable mark in history and literature has left behind not a single recognizable trace of itself. We must stop looking for the wrong things.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics > Archaeology, External Evidences, Geography
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
A 36-page typescript, with an additional 8 pages of figures.
Since 1989, the Review of Books on the Book of Mormon has published review essays to help serious readers make informed choices and judgments about books and other publications on topics related to the Latter-day Saint religious tradition. It has also published substantial freestanding essays that made further contributions to the field of Mormon studies. In 1996, the journal changed its name to the FARMS Review with Volume 8, No 1. In 2011, the journal was renamed Mormon Studies Review.
A review of A Guide to the Joseph Smtih Papyri (2000) by John Gee.
This volume contains diverse essays, including Nibley’s “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price,” a three-year series of lengthy articles from the Improvement Era. According to Nibley, “Until now, no one has done much more than play around with the bedizening treasury of the Pearl of Great Price. They would not, we could not, make of the Book of Abraham an object of serious study. The time has come to change all that.”
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
An Approach to the Book of Mormon was mentioned by Marvin S. Hill in an essay entitled “The Historiography of Mormonism,” Church History 28/4 (December 1959): 418–26. Hill seems to have preferred to account for the Book of Mormon with what he called “the Smith hypothesis,” which is the attempt to understand the Book of Mormon as a product of Joseph’s presumably fertile imagination coupled with an unusual responsiveness to his own environment. Hill introduced his comments on Nibley’s work by observing that the conflict between Gentiles and Latter-day Saints is also evident among historians, who are “generally divided into two distinct groups, forging a cleavage of sentiment which is evident in the debates over the origin of the Book of Mormon” (418). According to Hill, the issue “of primary importance is the nature of that unique American scripture, the Book of Mormon. Acclaimed by the faithful as a sacred history of a Christian people in ancient America, the book has been labeled a fraud by non-believers.” “The case for the Latter-day Saints,” Hill acknowledged, “has been stated often, but with no greater sophistication than that exhibited by Hugh Nibley of Brigham Young University in his Approach to the Book of Mormon” (1957). He reviews the culture of the ancient Near East to find that in theme, the details of its narrative, and its use of place and proper names, the Book of Mormon is authentic. He states that the marks of genuine antiquity in the record could not have been imitated by anyone in 1830. However intimate his knowledge of ancient history may be, certain difficulties exist in his argument. He cites many phenomena that seem as much American as they do ancient and exaggerates the significance of details that are hazy or all but lacking. Invariably he handles his topic in an authoritarian fashion, never indicating that some points may be open to question (418).
Hill’s effort to show that “many phenomena,” which Nibley thinks are typical of the ancient Near East, “seem as much American as they do ancient” is supported by citing pp. 140, 202–16, 339, and 348 in Nibley’s book. Hill did not indicate what on those pages supports his assertions, and those pages seem to have been drawn almost at random from Nibley’s book (see 425, n. 3). Hill disagrees with Nibley’s having conceived Lehi as a merchant and also about his drawing parallels between the community at Qumran and “the society described in Alma 23” (see 425, n. 4).
An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1964)
An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1988)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Originally published in 1957.
This edition contains a “Preface to Second Edition” by Hugh Nibley and one new chapter, entitled “Strange Ships and Shining Stones,” which is reproduced from a 1959 publication. The questions appended to each chapter in the 1957 edition have been deleted and the pagination of the two editions is different.
An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957)
An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1988)
Originally published in 1957 as a Melchizedek Priesthood manual. A revised edition of the book was published under the same title by the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the lesson manual for the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums in 1957; a second edition was printed by Deseret Book in 1964; and it was reprinted in 1976 in the Classics of Mormon Literature series.
An Approach to the Book of Mormon is Dr. Hugh Nibley’s classic work on the Book of Mormon. A gifted scholar with expertise in ancient languages, literature, and history, Nibley shows numerous details in the Book of Mormon narrative to be in accord with cultural traits of the Middle East.
An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957)
An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1964)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
A collection of miscellaneous essays on Zion and related topics.
Approaching Zion is LDS scholar and social critic Hugh Nibley’s most popular book. More accessible than many of his scholarly works, it is replete with Nibley’s trademark humor and startling insights into history, religion and life.
Most of the essays in this book were originally delivered as speeches. In Approaching Zion, Hugh Nibley gives thinkers reason to believe and believers something to think about.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon
This is the manuscript of an essay submitted to the Instructor, rejected, and circulated with two letters, both dated 16 September 1965, one addressed to “Dear Brother” (1 page) and the other addressed to “Mr. W.” (5 pages).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Archaeology
An edited version of the manuscript of an essay submitted to the Instructor, rejected, and circulated with two letters, both dated 16 September 1965, one addressed to “Dear Brother” (1 page) and the other addressed to “Mr. W.” (5 pages).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Archaeology
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Reprinted in The Ancient State: The Rulers and the Ruled, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 10.
A study showing how prehistoric hunters used marked arrows to mark territory, then applied the same techniques to come to the creation of a centralized state in historic times.
Originally printed as an article in Western Political Quarterly.
A study showing how prehistoric hunters used marked arrows to mark territory, then applied the same techniques to come to the creation of a centralized state in historic times.
Perhaps same as Gillum’s “Alaska: Joseph Smith’s Contributions: Scriptural, Institutional, Doctrinal, and Historical.” 19 pages, d.s., n.d. (given in Alaska after March 1983).
A talk in which the accomplishments of Joseph Smith are set forth and defended. Contributions mentioned include the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the restoration of the priesthood, and temples.
Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham: Articles from BYU Studies. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
A review of a piece by Wallace Turner arguing against the authenticity of the Joesph Smith Papyri and the Book of Abraham, and a defense of the papyri and book themselves.
Originally printed as an article in BYU Studies.
A review of a piece by Wallace Turner arguing against the authenticity of the Joesph Smith Papyri and the Book of Abraham, and a defense of the papyri and book themselves.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
A review of ancient apocryphal texts describing the ascension and cosmic tour of a religious figure and his subsequent return to earth to reveal his findings (consider, for example, the Book of Abraham).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Republished in King Benjamin’s Speech Made Simple and Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple.
A look into what makes King Benjamin’s address to his people not only an assembly but also an atonement.
“Assembly and Atonement” (1999)
“Assembly and Atonement” (2008)
Originally published in King Benjamin’s Speech: That Ye May Learn Wisdom.
A look into what makes King Benjamin’s address to his people not only an assembly but also an atonement.
“Assembly and Atonement” (1998)
“Assembly and Atonement” (2008)
Originally published in King Benjamin’s Speech: That Ye May Learn Wisdom.
A look into what makes King Benjamin’s address to his people not only an assembly but also an atonement.
“Assembly and Atonement” (1998)
“Assembly and Atonement” (1999)
A four-part series that emphasizes that the Book of Mormon teaches the correct principles of the Atonement. The power of resurrection is provided only by the Savior. Only the Book of Mormon teaches the fulness of the truth of the Atonement, why life is as it is, and how one may approach God to be at one with him. Since all fall short, the blood sacrifice of the Savior was the indispensable step. Atonement is both individual and collective and so God’s people must be “of one heart and one mind.” “The Atonement is one of the grand constants in nature.”
Part one of a four-part series that emphasizes that the Book of Mormon teaches the correct principles of the Atonement.
The power of resurrection is provided only by the Savior. Only the Book of Mormon teaches the fulness of the truth of the Atonement, why life is as it is, and how one may approach God to be at one with Him. Since all fall short, the blood sacrifice of the Savior was the indispensable step. Atonement is both individual and collective and so God’s people must be “of one heart and one mind.” “The Atonement is one of the grand constants in nature.”
Part two of a four-part series that emphasizes that the Book of Mormon teaches the correct principles of the Atonement.
The power of resurrection is provided only by the Savior. Only the Book of Mormon teaches the fulness of the truth of the Atonement, why life is as it is, and how one may approach God to be at one with Him. Since all fall short, the blood sacrifice of the Savior was the indispensable step. Atonement is both individual and collective and so God’s people must be “of one heart and one mind.” “The Atonement is one of the grand constants in nature.”
Part three of a four-part series that emphasizes that the Book of Mormon teaches the correct principles of the Atonement.
The power of resurrection is provided only by the Savior. Only the Book of Mormon teaches the fulness of the truth of the Atonement, why life is as it is, and how one may approach God to be at one with Him. Since all fall short, the blood sacrifice of the Savior was the indispensable step. Atonement is both individual and collective and so God’s people must be “of one heart and one mind.” “The Atonement is one of the grand constants in nature.”
Part four of a four-part series that emphasizes that the Book of Mormon teaches the correct principles of the Atonement.
The power of resurrection is provided only by the Savior. Only the Book of Mormon teaches the fulness of the truth of the Atonement, why life is as it is, and how one may approach God to be at one with Him. Since all fall short, the blood sacrifice of the Savior was the indispensable step. Atonement is both individual and collective and so God’s people must be “of one heart and one mind.” “The Atonement is one of the grand constants in nature.”
Originally published as “Lesson 3—An Auspicious Beginning“ in 1957.
The note of universalism is very strong in the Book of Mormon, while the conventional views of tribal and national loyalties are conspicuously lacking. This peculiar state of things is an authentic reflection of actual conditions in Lehi’s world. Lehi, like Abraham, was the child of a cosmopolitan age. No other time or place could have been more peculiarly auspicious for the launching of a new civilization than the time and place in which he lived. It was a wonderful age of discovery, an age of adventurous undertakings in all fields of human endeavor, of great economic and colonial projects. At the same time the great and brilliant world civilization of Lehi’s day was on the very verge of complete collapse, and men of God like Lehi could see the hollowness of the loudly proclaimed slogans of peace (Jer. 6:14, 8:11) and prosperity (2 Ne. 28:21). Lehi’s expedition from Jerusalem in aim and method was entirely in keeping with the accepted practices of his day.
May be similar to “Translation.” 12 pages of notes from a presentation given 11 February 1975 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Some thoughts on what makes translation authoritative, and what that means.
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
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Originally published in the Improvement Era as a two-part series.
A look into Babylonian folklore and ritual, written as a story about three students and their professor; also a comparison of Babylonian folklore and Jaredite records, also comparing ritualistic elements and less religious aspects of both records.
“The Babylonian Background, 1” (1956)
“The Babylonian Background, 2” (1956)
Later published with the second part as a chapter in Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 5.
A look into Babylonian folklore and ritual, written as a story about three students and their professor.
Later published with the first part as a chapter in Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 5.
A comparison of Babylonian folklore and Jaredite records, also comparing ritualistic elements and less religious aspects of both records.
Reprinted in Mormonism and Early Christianity, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 4.
A note from author Hugh Nibley: “The rapid amassing of primary source works and auxiliary documents at Brigham Young University through the purchase of large collections and sets both in this country and abroad has made it possible for the first time to examine the Latter-day Saint position with reference to many ancient and valuable texts, which has been the custom of Christian scholars in general either to pass by in silence or to interpret arbitrarily. This article is in the nature of a preliminary survey dealing with a subject that has meant little to church historians in the past but on which in recent years a surprising amount of evidence has been brought to light.” Portions of Nibley’s position on baptism for the dead were briefly described and then rejected by Bernard M. Foschini, in “‘Those Who Are Baptized for the Dead,’ 1 Cor. 15:29,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 13/1 (1951): 52–55, 70–73. Foschini offered a treatment of the language used by Paul and tried to explain away his apparent reference to baptism for the dead in a 96-page series appearing in five numbers of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly—12/3, 4 (July, October 1950): 260–76, 379–88; 13/1, 2, 3 (January, April, July 1951): 46–79, 172–98, 278–83.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Baptism for the Dead
Originally printed as a series in the Improvement Era.
A note from author Hugh Nibley: “The rapid amassing of primary source works and auxiliary documents at Brigham Young University through the purchase of large collections and sets both in this country and abroad has made it possible for the first time to examine the Latter-day Saint position with reference to many ancient and valuable texts, which has been the custom of Christian scholars in general either to pass by in silence or to interpret arbitrarily. This article is in the nature of a preliminary survey dealing with a subject that has meant little to church historians in the past but on which in recent years a surprising amount of evidence has been brought to light.” Portions of Nibley’s position on baptism for the dead were briefly described and then rejected by Bernard M. Foschini, in “‘Those Who Are Baptized for the Dead,’ 1 Cor. 15:29,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 13/1 (1951): 52–55, 70–73. Foschini offered a treatment of the language used by Paul and tried to explain away his apparent reference to baptism for the dead in a 96-page series appearing in five numbers of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly—12/3, 4 (July, October 1950): 260–76, 379–88; 13/1, 2, 3 (January, April, July 1951): 46–79, 172–98, 278–83.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Jewish History > Bar Kochba
Compiled in Compiegne, France (at the end of World War II) using J. G. Hava, Arabic-English Dictionary for the Use of Students (Beirut: Catholic University Press, 1921).
Reprinted in Old Testament and Related Studies, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 1.
A controversial examination of evolution and the Latter-day Saint view on creation and the various roles of Adam.
Old Testament Topics > Adam and Eve [see also Fall]
Old Testament Topics > Creation
Old Testament Topics > Science and Religion
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Evolution, Origin of Humankind
Originally presented as a talk given on 1 April 1980 at Brigham Young University.
A controversial examination of evolution and the Latter-day Saint view on creation and the various roles of Adam.
Old Testament Topics > Adam and Eve [see also Fall]
Book of Moses Topics > Basic Resources > Perspectives on Science and the Book of Moses
Old Testament Topics > Creation
Old Testament Topics > Science and Religion
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Adam, Eve
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Evolution, Origin of Humankind
Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12.
An essay expounding on one Brother Bush’s study about the explanations behind people of color receiving the priesthood.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrine and Covenants > Sections > Official Declaration 2
Originally printed in Dialogue.
An essay expounding on one Brother Bush’s study about the explanations behind people of color receiving the priesthood.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrine and Covenants > Sections > Official Declaration 2
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Language > Sophic , Mantic, Revelation, Reason
A talk originally given on 26 October 1973 to the Pi Sigma Alpha society in the Political Science Department at BYU.
An argument that political action is desirable, even in an imperfect world, under the condition that it be the pursuit of the common good by reasonable discussion. But such conditions are not often found in the politics of man, which turn out to be instances of force and fraud fueled by money and the desire for power and gain.
“Beyond Politics” (2004)“Beyond Politics” (2011)
“Beyond Politics” (2011)
A talk originally given on 26 October 1973 to the Pi Sigma Alpha society in the Political Science Department at BYU.
In most languages, the Church is designated as that of the last days, so this speech—which is only a pastiche of quotations from its founders—is unblushingly apocalyptic. Did our grandparents overreact to signs of the times? For many years, a stock cartoon in sophisticated magazines has poked fun at the barefoot, bearded character in the long nightshirt carrying a placard calling all to “Repent, for the End is at Hand.” But where is the joke? Ask the smart people who thought up the funny pictures and captions: Where are they now?
“Beyond Politics” (1974)
“Beyond Politics” (2011)
“Beyond Politics” (2011)
A talk originally given on 26 October 1973 to the Pi Sigma Alpha society in the Political Science Department at BYU.
Politics defined as the self-interested activity of the city of man is opposed to the ways of the city of God, resulting in conflicting obligations. God’s hand is evident in virtuous governments and laws, but human institutions inexorably deteriorate. Fateful developments are reviewed, including man’s refusal to repent. Final relief of woes lies beyond politics in the next world.
“Beyond Politics” (1974)
“Beyond Politics” (2004)
“Beyond Politics” (2011)
This talk was given on 26 October 1973 to the Pi Sigma Alpha honor society in the Political Science Department at Brigham Young University. It first appeared in BYU Studies 15/1 (1974) and was reprinted in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless (Provo, UT: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1978) and in the second edition of that volume in 2004. It is reprinted here with minor technical editing.
In most languages, the Church is designated as that of the last days, so this speech—which is only a pastiche of quotations from its founders—is unblushingly apocalyptic. Did our grandparents overreact to signs of the times? For many years, a stock cartoon in sophisticated magazines has poked fun at the barefoot, bearded character in the long nightshirt carrying a placard calling all to “Repent, for the End is at Hand.” But where is the joke? Ask the smart people who thought up the funny pictures and captions: Where are they now?
“Beyond Politics” (1974)
“Beyond Politics” (2004)
“Beyond Politics” (2011)
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Part 1 of a series on the similarities and issues between religious texts.
An article highlighting the issues that arise when comparing documents.
Part 2 of a series on the similarities and issues between religious texts.
Beginning as a continuation of part 1 of the series, this article dives more into rituals and ceremonies done in ancient times, specifically by kings and rulers, that line up with Book of Mormon rituals and ceremonies.
Part 3 of a series on the similarities and issues between religious texts.
Dr. Nibley continues with the windows that the Book of Mormon opens on strange and forgotten customs and traditions that are just now being brought to light.
Part 4 of a series on the similarities and issues between religious texts.
As new documents are discovered, the comparative study of the Book of Mormon goes forward. We continue a brief glance at some of the more important scrolls that have not yet appeared in book form nor been translated into English
Part 5 of a series on the similarities and issues between religious texts.
The scholarly study of the Book of Mormon goes forward with the discovery of ancient documents. We continue a brief glance at some of these which have not yet appeared in book form nor been translated into English.
This satirical talk was read by Nibley perhaps as early as 1965.
“Bird Island” was a satirical lecture on some of the excesses and weaknesses of archaeology and theories of Book of Mormon geography. A version was submitted to a collection meant to be a bicentennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence. It was rejected by the editors.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Humor, Satire
Satirical lecture on some of the excesses and weaknesses of archaeology and theories of Book of Mormon geography.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
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.
A stimulating comparison and analysis of the Apocalypse of Abraham and the Testament of Abraham, presenting the two traditions and offering others that have specif relevance to the Book of Abraham.
Old Testament Topics > Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha [including intertestamental books and the Dead Sea Scrolls]
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Joseph Smith Papyri, Book of Breathings, Book of the Dead, Facsimiles, Egyptology, Hypocephalus
Nibley’s own translation of an Egyptian funerary text.
This is Nibley’s translation of the most famous parallel version of the Egyptian text once in the possession of Joseph Smith. Cf. Richard A. Parker, “The Book of Breathings (Fragment 1, The ‘Sensen’ Text, with Restorations from Louvre Papyrus 3284),” Dialogue 3/2 (1968): 98–99; and Klaus Baer, “The Breathing Permit of Hôr: A Translation of the Apparent Source of the Book of Abraham,” Dialogue 3/3 (1968): 109–34. The hieratic text of P. Louvre 3284 is reproduced in BYU Studies 11/2 (1971): 154–56. **Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri
Originally published as a manuscript of a talk given at the regional meeting of the Society for Biblical Literature in Denver, Colorado, in 1974.
Lecture notes regarding Mesoamerican ruins, pre-Columbian, American races, Cumorah, and the disappearance of ancient cultures. Lecture on Mesoamerican ruins and pre-Columbian peoples, with two maps. See the note provided by the editor to Nibley’s “Freemen and King-men in the Book of Mormon,” in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8:378 n. 4.
Hugh Nibley addresses issues that cause people to question the historicity of the Book of Mormon. He gives evidence to support the claim that people inhabited the American continent for centuries before the arrival of the Nephites, that the Hill Cumorah was not too far away for Moroni to reach, and that the “fulness of iniquity” described in the Book of Mormon has much evidence in extant art from that time.
Reprinted in a 1970 Improvement Era article.
“The average man,” wrote the great A. E. Housman, “believes that the text of ancient authors is generally sound, not because he has acquainted himself with the elements of the problem but because he would feel uncomfortable if he did not believe it.” The Book of Mormon has enjoyed no such popular support. Indeed, the “average man” would like nothing better than to see it thoroughly exposed once and for all; it has made him feel uncomfortable for over a century. What is holding up the show? The earliest version of Nibley’s theory that a portion of the meaning and the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon can be uncovered and tested by drawing upon the literary remains of the Near East. This essay contains Nibley’s initial speculation on possible links between Book of Mormon names and Egyptian etymologies. The series drew the attention of Wesley Walters, who drafted a statement concerning its contents, a statement which was signed by William F. Albright in 1949. Since that time the Reverend Walters has been an anti-Mormon polemicist.
Originally printed as a 1948 Improvement Era article.
Book of Mormon proper names are related to Egyptian etymologies.
Hugh Nibley discusses the military strategy and tactics of the wars in the Book of Mormon compared to other modern and ancient warfare.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
Reprinted as a chapter in The World and the Prophets, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 3.
Radio talk on the Book of Mormon as a witness of continuing revelation and God’s dealings with mankind.
Originally given as a radio address.
A chapter on the Book of Mormon as a witness of continuing revelation and God’s dealings with mankind.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
The following statement was written on request for a journal that is published in eight languages and, therefore, insists on conciseness and brevity: “Teaching a Book of Mormon Sunday School class ten years later, I am impressed more than anything by something I completely overlooked until now, namely, the immense skill with which the editors of the book put the thing together. The long book of Alma, for example, is followed through with a smooth and logical sequence in which an incredible amount of detailed and widely varying material is handled in the most lucid and apparently effortless manner. Whether Alma is addressing a king and his court, a throng of ragged paupers sitting on the ground, or his own three sons—each a distinctly different character—his eloquence is always suited to his audience, and he goes unfailingly to the peculiar problems of each hearer.Throughout this big and complex volume, we are aware of much shuffling and winnowing of documents and informed from time to time of the method used by an editor distilling the contents of a large library into edifying lessons for the dedicated and pious minority among the people. The overall picture reflects before all a limited geographical and cultural point of view: small, localized operations, with only occasional flights and expeditions into the wilderness; one might almost be moving in the cultural circuit of the Hopi villages. The focusing of the whole account on religious themes, as well as the limited cultural scope, leaves all the rest of the stage clear for any other activities that might have been going on in the vast reaches of the New World, including the hypothetical Norsemen, Celts, Phoenicians, Libyans, or prehistoric infiltrations via the Bering Straits. Indeed, the more varied the ancient American scene becomes—as newly discovered artifacts and even inscriptions hint at local populations of Near Eastern, Far Eastern, and European origin—the more hospitable it is to the activities of one tragically short-lived religious civilization that once flourished in Mesoamerica and then vanished toward the northeast in the course of a series of confused tribal wars that was one long, drawn-out retreat into oblivion. Such considerations would now have to be included in any ‘minimal statement’ this reader would make about the Book of Mormon.”
“The Mormon View of the Book of Mormon” (1967)
“Chapter 13: The Mormon View of the Book of Mormon” (1989)
Journal of the Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture Volume 19 Issue 1 (2010)
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Even after forty years of research, new insights are still to be found in the Book of Mormon. Examples come from the episode at the waters of Sebus, wordprinting, Enos and the princes of India, Isabel as a Phoenician name, the Zoramites as dissenters, and clear statements about God and man, riches, economics, and repentance.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
Originally presented as a talk given at the Sunstone 1988 Book of Mormon Lecture Series, 10 May 1988, at the Fine Arts Auditorium, University of Utah.
Even after forty years of research, new insights are still to be found in the Book of Mormon. Examples come from the episode at the waters of Sebus, wordprinting, Enos and the princes of India, Isabel as a Phoenician name, the Zoramites as dissenters, and clear statements about God and man, riches, economics, and repentance.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
Nibley argues that if Joseph Smith was not telling the truth when he provided the world with the Book of Mormon, then he recklessly exposed his forgery and fraud to public discovery. In the course of his argument, Nibley complains about what is currently being called “parallelomania.” Everywhere in Book of Mormon criticism, as well as in the scholarly world generally, various parallels are noted, and simplistic explanations are made to flow from those supposed parallels. With the Book of Mormon, the end result is that, with those who study nineteenth-century materials and who read English literature, the tendency is to leap to the conclusion that they have discovered the sources upon which Joseph Smith presumably drew in fabricating the Book of Mormon; they are then quick to condemn the book as a forgery, or, when sentimental attachments to the Mormon community remain, they see the fabrication of fiction as a kind of inspiration, or at least as potentially inspiring, thus providing a novel and competing theory of what constitutes divine revelation.
Originally published as an article in Milennial Star.
Nibley argues that if Joseph Smith was not telling the truth when he provided the world with the Book of Mormon, then he recklessly exposed his forgery and fraud to public discovery. In the course of his argument, Nibley complains about what is currently being called “parallelomania.” Everywhere in Book of Mormon criticism, as well as in the scholarly world generally, various parallels are noted, and simplistic explanations are made to flow from those supposed parallels. With the Book of Mormon, the end result is that, with those who study nineteenth-century materials and who read English literature, the tendency is to leap to the conclusion that they have discovered the sources upon which Joseph Smith presumably drew in fabricating the Book of Mormon; they are then quick to condemn the book as a forgery, or, when sentimental attachments to the Mormon community remain, they see the fabrication of fiction as a kind of inspiration, or at least as potentially inspiring, thus providing a novel and competing theory of what constitutes divine revelation.
Originally published as an article in The Instructor.
Historical fiction about the possible thoughts on a day in the life of the twelve-year-old Nephi in Jerusalem.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Places > Old World > Jerusalem
Reprinted in CWHN 8:207-11. Historical fiction about the possible thoughts on a day in the life of the twelve-year-old Nephi in Jerusalem.
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
Historical fiction about the possible thoughts on a day in the life of the twelve-year-old Nephi in Jerusalem.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Places > Old World > Jerusalem
Republished in Approaching Zion, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 9.
This lecture discusses the Saints and the law of consecration.
Originally presented as a lecture given on 8 November 1984, at Brigham Young University, in the Spheres of Influence lecture series entitled “Breakthroughs 84.”
This chapter discusses the Saints and the law of consecration.
Reprinted as a chapter in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 11.
A dive into Brigham Young’s ongoing battle with the devil.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
Originally printed as an article in The Young Democrat.
A dive into Brigham Young’s ongoing battle with the devil.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Leaders and Managers
Originally presented as a talk delivered on June 6, 1967.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Leaders and Managers
Originally presented as an address delivered on June 7, 1967.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Government, Politics
With characteristic energy, Hugh Nibley describes the character of Brigham Young and discusses his teachings. The issues explored in this essay include the problem of evil and the power of the devil, temptation and necessary opposition, consequences of sin, and truth obtained by the light of Christ.
4-page typescript of an address delivered on 9 June 1967.
An exploration into how Brigham Young fits the role of a theologian.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > Theology
Like Brigham Young, the educator, we should seek to educate ourselves in a wide variety of spiritual and secular fields in order for us to progress.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning
6-page typescript of a talk. Reprinted as an article in To the Glory of God and as a chapter in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
An exploration into how Brigham Young felt about the environment.
“Brigham Young on the Environment” (1972)
“Brigham Young on the Environment” (1994)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
Originally presented as a talk given on April 21, 1971.
An exploration into how Brigham Young felt about the environment.
“Brigham Young on the Environment” (1971)
“Brigham Young on the Environment” (1994)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
Originally presented as a talk given on April 21, 1971.
An exploration into how Brigham Young felt about the environment.
“Brigham Young on the Environment” (1971)
“Brigham Young on the Environment” (1972)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
A 41-page typescript of an address delivered on 7 June 1967.
Hugh Nibley discusses what made Brigham Young a leader and a statesman.
This could be Gillum’s “Mormons and the Environment” (a 23-page transcript of a talk given 19 September 1987); cf. “Man’s Dominion,” “Brigham Young on the Environment,” and “Stewardship of the Air.”
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints presents Hugh Nibley’s reflections on the thoughts of Brigham Young on politics, education, leadership, and the environment. The timeliness of Brigham’s counsel on these topics will quickly become apparent to readers, as will the unique insights that Nibley adds. This volume will amuse, provoke, challenge, and, above all, educate.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
Talk given to the Cannon-Hinckley Club on 19 May 1987. This talk was delivered at various other places during 1987. A sequel to Nibley’s lecture entitled “Work We Must, But the Lunch Is Free,” originally given on 20 April 1982.
Originally presented as a talk given to the Cannon-Hinckley Club on May 19, 1987.
Reprinted in Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass: The Art of Telling Tales about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 11.
Explains how Joseph Smith’s critics in the 1840s and Fawn Brodie rewrote Joseph’s story to suit their perceptions of the Book of Mormon and the First Vision.
Originally a four-part series in the Improvement Era, running from July to November 1961.
Explains how Joseph Smith’s critics in the 1840s and Fawn Brodie rewrote Joseph’s story to suit their perceptions of the Book of Mormon and the First Vision.
Originally published as part of the Improvement Era series A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price, running from January to April 1968.
An attempt to put to rest rumors and claims that the Book of Abraham and its accompanying facsimiles are false or fiction.
Reprinted in Approaching Zion, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 9. 407–21.
Originally presented as a lecture given on 7 November 1985 at BYU as part of the Spheres of Influence lecture series.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
When Hugh Nibley first wrote The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, he wrote it for an audience that understood things both Egyptian and Latter-day Saint. It was an audience that at the time did not exist. For the bemused audience that did find the book, many failed to comprehend it. Many of Nibley’s readers have supposed that, like Nibley’s other works, it was designed to be read straight through and have expressed frustration at the difficulty of doing so. Only the first few chapters are designed to be read in this manner. The rest of the book is a commentary on a particular text, Papyrus Louvre N. 3284, which Nibley introduced in his early chapters. If the reader desires to know a bit more about a particular passage in the text, he or she should go to the appropriate place in the commentary.
In 1967, when the Joseph Smith papyri were found in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and purchased by the Church, Latter-day Saints eagerly sought the original document from which the Book of Abraham was derived. At the same time critics of Joseph Smith eagerly sought evidence to refute the Prophet’s claims. Among apologists and critics alike, many have assumed that one particular document, called a Book of Breathings (Joseph Smith Papyri X and XI), was the source of the Book of Abraham. This article was written in response to such claims.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Dr. Nibley stresses that our knowledge of the ancient world will remain forever tentative.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, 238–51.
The talk is essentially a commentary on certain portions of the Gospel of Matthew.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Part 2 of “Souvenirs from Lehi’s Jerusalem,” which was submitted to the Ensign. Subtitled, “A Comparison of the Old World Early Christian ‘Forty-day Ministry’ Story with the New World 3 Nephi Accounts.”
This is a version of the material published as the second part of “Two Shots in the Dark: 1. Dark Days in Jerusalem; 2. Christ among the Ruins,” in Book of Mormon Authorship: New Light on Ancient Origins, ed. Noel B. Reynolds (Provo, UT: RSC, 1982), 103–41. A version of this essay has been reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8:407–34.
A comparison of the Old World early Christian “forty-day ministry” story with the New World 3 Nephi accounts.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Characters > Jesus Christ
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Forty-Day Ministry
Originally printed as an article in the Ensign.
A comparison of the Old World early Christian “forty-day ministry” story with the New World 3 Nephi accounts.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Characters > Jesus Christ
Reprinted in When the Lights Went Out, 1970.
“Christian Envy of the Temple Part 2” (1960)
“Christian Envy of the Temple” (1987)
Originally printed as a two-part article written for Jewish Quarterly Review.
“Christian Envy of the Temple” (1959)
“Christian Envy of the Temple Part 2” (1960)
Reprinted in When the Lights Went Out, 1970.
“Christian Envy of the Temple” (1959)
“Christian Envy of the Temple” (1987)
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17.
EDITORS NOTE: With Christmas still fresh in our memories, Professor Hugh Nibley, in this article especially prepared for the readers of the Millennial Star, gives us an interesting insight into what the world looks for in the celebration of Christmas. Nibley briefly looked into the question of whether it is possible that the bewildering profusion of Christmas observances might contain, among other things, a latent longing for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Birth, Christmas
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Childhood
Originally printed as an article in Millennial Star.
Professor Hugh Nibley offers an interesting insight into what the world looks for in the celebration of Christmas. Nibley briefly looked into the question of whether it is possible that the bewildering profusion of Christmas observances might contain, among other things, a latent longing for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Introduction: The following article from Hugh Nibley, written more than half a century ago, is a timely reminder of the contrast between empty holiday exuberance and the prospect of authentic Christmas cheer that can be provided only by the good news of “a real Savior who has really spoken with men.”
This article originally appeared in Millennial Star 112/1 (January 1950), 4-5. It was reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, edited by Stephen D. Ricks. The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 17 (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2008), 121-124. Footnotes below have been added by Interpreter.
Hugh Nibley assembles statements by non-LDS scholars on the identity of Jesus, the rediscovery of the church, eschatology (the study of last things), authority, revelation, Israel, liturgy, the survival of the church, and the Vatican excavations.
Originally printed in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957).
Long before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, Robert Eisler called attention to the existence of societies of ancient sectaries, including the early Christians, who fled to the desert and formed pious communities there after the manner of the order of Rekhabites (Jeremiah 35). More recently, E. Kdsemann and U. W. Mauser have taken up the theme, and the pope himself has referred to his followers as “the Wayfaring Church,” of all things. No aspect of the gospel is more fundamental than that which calls the Saints out of the world; it has recently been recognized as fundamental to the universal apocalyptic pattern and is now recognized as a basic teaching of the prophets of Israel, including the Lord Himself. It is the central theme of the Book of Mormon, and Lehi’s people faithfully follow the correct routine of flights to the desert as their stories now merge with new manuscript finds from the Dead Sea and elsewhere. And while many Christian communities have consciously sought to imitate the dramatic flight into the wilderness, from monastic orders to Pilgrim fathers, only the followers of Joseph Smith can claim the distinction of a wholesale, involuntary, and total expulsion into a most authentic wilderness. Now, the Book of Mormon is not only a typical product of a religious people driven to the wilds (surprisingly we have learned since 1950 that such people had a veritable passion for writing books and keeping records) but it actually contains passages that match some of the Dead Sea Scrolls almost word for word. Isn’t that going a bit too far? How, one may ask, would Alma be able to quote from a book written on the other side of the world among people with whom his own had lost all contact for five hundred years? Joseph Smith must have possessed supernatural cunning to have foreseen such an impasse, yet his Book of Mormon explains it easily: Alma informs us that the passages in question are not his, but he is quoting them directly from an ancient source, the work of an early prophet of Israel named Zenos. Alma and the author of the Thanksgiving Scroll are drawing from the same ancient source. No wonder they sound alike.
“Chapter 16: Churches in the Wilderness” (1989)
“Churches in the Wilderness” (2004)
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Dead Sea Scrolls
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Originally printed in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957).
Long before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, Robert Eisler called attention to the existence of societies of ancient sectaries, including the early Christians, who fled to the desert and formed pious communities there after the manner of the order of Rekhabites (Jeremiah 35). More recently, E. Kdsemann and U. W. Mauser have taken up the theme, and the pope himself has referred to his followers as “the Wayfaring Church,” of all things. No aspect of the gospel is more fundamental than that which calls the Saints out of the world; it has recently been recognized as fundamental to the universal apocalyptic pattern and is now recognized as a basic teaching of the prophets of Israel, including the Lord Himself. It is the central theme of the Book of Mormon, and Lehi’s people faithfully follow the correct routine of flights to the desert as their stories now merge with new manuscript finds from the Dead Sea and elsewhere. And while many Christian communities have consciously sought to imitate the dramatic flight into the wilderness, from monastic orders to Pilgrim fathers, only the followers of Joseph Smith can claim the distinction of a wholesale, involuntary, and total expulsion into a most authentic wilderness. Now, the Book of Mormon is not only a typical product of a religious people driven to the wilds (surprisingly we have learned since 1950 that such people had a veritable passion for writing books and keeping records) but it actually contains passages that match some of the Dead Sea Scrolls almost word for word. Isn’t that going a bit too far? How, one may ask, would Alma be able to quote from a book written on the other side of the world among people with whom his own had lost all contact for five hundred years? Joseph Smith must have possessed supernatural cunning to have foreseen such an impasse, yet his Book of Mormon explains it easily: Alma informs us that the passages in question are not his, but he is quoting them directly from an ancient source, the work of an early prophet of Israel named Zenos. Alma and the author of the Thanksgiving Scroll are drawing from the same ancient source. No wonder they sound alike.
“Churches in the Wilderness” (1989)
“Churches in the Wilderness” (2004)
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Dead Sea Scrolls
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Originally printed in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957).
Long before the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, Robert Eisler called attention to the existence of societies of ancient sectaries, including the early Christians, who fled to the desert and formed pious communities there after the manner of the order of Rekhabites (Jeremiah 35). More recently, E. Kdsemann and U. W. Mauser have taken up the theme, and the pope himself has referred to his followers as “the Wayfaring Church,” of all things. No aspect of the gospel is more fundamental than that which calls the Saints out of the world; it has recently been recognized as fundamental to the universal apocalyptic pattern and is now recognized as a basic teaching of the prophets of Israel, including the Lord Himself. It is the central theme of the Book of Mormon, and Lehi’s people faithfully follow the correct routine of flights to the desert as their stories now merge with new manuscript finds from the Dead Sea and elsewhere. And while many Christian communities have consciously sought to imitate the dramatic flight into the wilderness, from monastic orders to Pilgrim fathers, only the followers of Joseph Smith can claim the distinction of a wholesale, involuntary, and total expulsion into a most authentic wilderness. Now, the Book of Mormon is not only a typical product of a religious people driven to the wilds (surprisingly we have learned since 1950 that such people had a veritable passion for writing books and keeping records) but it actually contains passages that match some of the Dead Sea Scrolls almost word for word. Isn’t that going a bit too far? How, one may ask, would Alma be able to quote from a book written on the other side of the world among people with whom his own had lost all contact for five hundred years? Joseph Smith must have possessed supernatural cunning to have foreseen such an impasse, yet his Book of Mormon explains it easily: Alma informs us that the passages in question are not his, but he is quoting them directly from an ancient source, the work of an early prophet of Israel named Zenos. Alma and the author of the Thanksgiving Scroll are drawing from the same ancient source. No wonder they sound alike.
“Churches in the Wilderness” (1988)
“Chapter 16: Churches in the Wilderness” (1989)
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Dead Sea Scrolls
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Mahaway, Mahujah, Mahijah
Published as “The Circle and the Square” in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond THis Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12.
Originally an unpublished manuscript.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Symbolism
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Authority
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Responding to an inquiry from a member of a different faith about why the Book of Mormon was translated into the English of the King James Version of the Bible, Nibley discusses the use of biblical language in contemporary society, citing in particular the language of prayer and the use of King James English in the translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This article also serves as a platform for Nibley to discuss other issues raised about the Book of Mormon, especially in reference to the King James version of the Bible.
Nibley’s response to a query was printed in the Church News section of the Deseret News, 29 July 1961, 10, 15. It was reprinted in Saints’ Herald 108 (9 October 1961): 968–69, 975.
Responding to an inquiry from a member of a different faith about why the Book of Mormon was translated into the English of the King James Version of the Bible, Nibley discusses the use of biblical language in contemporary society, citing in particular the language of prayer and the use of King James English in the translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This article also serves as a platform for Nibley to discuss other issues raised about the Book of Mormon, especially in reference to the King James Version of the Bible.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Reprinted in CWHN 8:49-53. Relevant to 1 Nephi 13:11-12, this brief article gives historical evidence showing that Columbus was moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
Relevant to 1 Nephi 13:11–12, this brief article gives historical evidence showing that Columbus was moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Characters > Christopher Columbus
Originally printed in The Instructor.
Relevant to 1 Nephi 13:11–12, this brief article gives historical evidence showing that Columbus was moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Characters > Christopher Columbus
A verse-by-verse commentary.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Reprinted as “Some Notes on Cultural Diversity in the Universal Church” in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12, 541–49.
A response to a paper read by Noel B. Reynolds entitled “Cultural Diversity in the Universal Church” as part of the symposium on the “Expanding Church” held as part of the centennial celebration of BYU.
Hugh Nibley defends Joseph Smith as a prophet by refuting so-called “evidence“ set forth about the origin of the Book of Abraham.
Reprinted combined with part two in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
The good and bad sides of comparing the Book of Mormon to other works.
Reprinted combined with part two in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
The good and bad sides of comparing the Book of Mormon to other works.
A combination of two articles originally published in the Improvement Era’s series titled “Mixed Voices“ on Book of Mormon Criticism, which ran October–November 1959.
The good and bad sides of comparing the Book of Mormon to other works.
Reprinted combined with part one in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
The good and bad sides of comparing the Book of Mormon to other works.
Reprinted combined with part one in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
The good and bad sides of comparing the Book of Mormon to other works.
A conclusion to the World of the Jaredites series.
A conclusion to the Stick of Judah and the Stick of Joseph series.
A conclusion to the New Approaches to Book of Mormon Study series.
A conclusion to the Joseph Smith Story series.
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
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Reprinted in An Approach to the Book of Abraham, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 18.
A conclusion to the series A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.
Originally printed in the Improvement Era in the series A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.
Originally written as a conclusion to the series A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.
Hugh Nibley has gathered a collection of statements from Church Fathers and modern scholars that acknowledge that views concerning God changed. The early church was based on the Hebrew Bible but churchmen were later influenced by the arguments of different philosophers.
Part of a series in the Improvement Era, entitled The Way of the Church.
The second article of the series, addressing the idea that controlling the past controls the present, and the latter controls the future.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Part of a series in the Improvement Era, entitled The Way of the Church.
The first article of the series, beginning with a question and going into evidence to answer the question.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Part of a series in the Improvement Era, entitled The Way of the Church.
The third article of the series, describing what censorship has done to the Bible and what that means for readers.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Part of a series in the Improvement Era, entitled The Way of the Church.
Authority is created by people who want that particular authority in place.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Part of a series in the Improvement Era, entitled The Way of the Church.
Power lies in translation, but there are also follies that go with it.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Part of a series in the Improvement Era, entitled The Way of the Church.
The follies of translation continue, and the ups and downs of electronic translators.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17.
An informal interview conducted by Mary L. Bradford, Gary P. Gillum, and H. Curtis Wright.
Originally published as an article in Dialogue.
An informal interview conducted by Mary L. Bradford, Gary P. Gillum, and H. Curtis Wright.
Hugh Nibley discusses the military strategy and tactics of the wars in the Book of Mormon compared to other modern and ancient warfare.
Republished in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
There has always been criticism of the leaders of the Church. This talk is about why the criticism exists and particularly what Joseph Smith had to say about some of it.
Originally presented as a talk given on 18 August 1989 at the CES conference held at Brigham Young University.
There has always been criticism of the leaders of the Church. This chapter is about why the criticism exists and particularly what Joseph Smith had to say about some of it.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
Why it’s a good thing that the leaders of the Church are amateur clergy, not paid professionals.
Originally printed as an article in the New Era.
Why it’s a good thing that the leaders of the Church are amateur clergy, not paid professionals.
Select bibliography of LDS research on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
An address originally given on 5 July 1962 to the Seminary and Institute faculty assembled at BYU.
Hugh Nibley answers some questions about the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
Originally presented on 5 July 1962 to the Seminary and Institute faculty assembled at BYU.
Hugh Nibley answers some questions about the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Included as part of the foreword to The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
s.s., 3 pages. Reprinted in Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life (2002), 427–30. Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, 142–47.
Sterling M. McMurrin was at the time working on a book of essays on Mormon philosophy and had apparently invited Nibley to contribute an essay. The book that McMurrin had in mind was never published. In his letter, Nibley proclaims to his scholarly antagonist that his “present religious mood is an all-out literalism.”
Originally a widely circulated letter to Sterling M. McMurrin, 23 August 1967.
Sterling M. McMurrin was at the time working on a book of essays on Mormon philosophy and had apparently invited Nibley to contribute an essay. The book that McMurrin had in mind was never published. In his letter, Nibley proclaims to his scholarly antagonist that his “present religious mood is an all-out literalism.”
In a portion of a chapter of a book put out by the Manti Temple Centennial Committee celebrating the hundredth anniversary of that edifice, Nibley interprets the decorations found on six numbered “artifacts” in the Manti Temple (for example, door hinges and handles).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Symbolism
Reprinted in Approaching Zion, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 9.
Social commentary on reminding the Saints of the good things God has blessed them with and the law which must govern the use of such gifts; several addresses of this nature were given in 1982 and thereafter.
Originally presented as a talk given in Denver in February or March 1982.
Social commentary on reminding the Saints of the good things God has blessed them with and the law which must govern the use of such gifts; several addresses of this nature were given in 1982 and thereafter.
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.
The conclusion to the series, this article goes into the details of ancient saints and apostles and their stances on baptism for the dead.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
This chapter discusses periods past and future in which the gods come together to save mankind and bring them to godhood.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Dispensations, Axial Times
Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12.
This is the published version of the first of several exchanges between Nibley and Sterling M. McMurrin. The exchange was held on 23 March 1955 under the sponsorship of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Utah. McMurrin’s address, “Religion and the Denial of History,” is published on pp. 5–21, although Nibley spoke first.
Originally published in a pamphlet from the Great Issues Forum in 1955.
This is the published version of the first of several exchanges between Nibley and Sterling M. McMurrin. The exchange was held on 23 March 1955 under the sponsorship of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Utah. McMurrin’s address, “Religion and the Denial of History,” is published on pp. 5–21, although Nibley spoke first.
Reprinted in The World and the Prophets, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 3.
Originally presented as a radio program as part of the Time Vindicates the Prophets series in 1962.
The “A” file is very good but only covers about 30 minutes while the “B” file covers 45 minutes but has pretty poor quality.
The “A” file is very good but only covers about 30 minutes while the “B” file covers 45 minutes but has pretty poor quality.
During 1978, 1979, and 1980, Hugh Nibley taught a Doctrine and Covenants Sunday School class. Cassette recordings were made of these classes and some have survived and were recently digitized by Steve Whitlock. Most of the tapes were in pretty bad condition. The original recordings usually don't stop or start at the beginning of the class and there is some background noise. Volumes vary, probably depending upon where the recorder was placed in the room. Many are very low volume but in most cases it's possible to understand the words. In a couple of cases the ends of one class were put on some space left over from a different class. There's some mixup around D&C90-100 that couldn't be figured out so those recordings are as they were on the tapes.
As we seek to understand the belief and practices of the earliest Christians, we find ordinances and doctrines quite familiar to the restored gospel.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Reprinted in Mormonism and Early Christianity, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 4.
An assessment of the various infancy materials about the childhood of Jesus.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Childhood
Originally published as an article in The Instructor.
An assessment of the various infancy materials about the childhood of Jesus.
An address delivered to the BYU Tri-Stake Fireside
A discussion of what then newly discovered papyri mean for the history of Christianity.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Prayer Circles
Hugh Nibley begins by showing the interrelatedness of ancient records, regardless of their origin, a phenomenon called “pattemism.” He proposes that Joseph Smith presented the world with authentic ancient records. The Prophet brought forth many of the same concepts that are found in ancient temple libraries, such as the council in heaven during the premortal period, the casting out of Satan, the doctrine of the “two ways,” the fallen nature of mankind, and the need for a redeemer. Accompanying the doctrines is a body of rites or ordinances, and Nibley gives special attention to the Nag Hammadi documents.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Early Christians and the Temple
Reprinted in Mormonism and Early Christianity, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 4, 45–99. Also reprinted in LDS Views on Early Christianity and Apocrypha: Articles from BYU Studies, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Draws upon a host of sources and shows certain parallels between an early Christian form of prayer and that of the Latter-day Saint prayer circle.
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (1987)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (2010)
Originally published as an article in BYU Studies in 1978.
Draws upon a host of sources and shows certain parallels between an early Christian form of prayer and that of the Latter-day Saint prayer circle.
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (1978)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (2010)
A practice that was eventually condemned by the church because of its Jewish affinities—being found, for example, in the Testaments of Abraham and Job and in the writings of Philo—the prayer circle has a long and complex history in Christian practice. This practice was considered one of the “ mysteries” and therefore was protected from all who weren’t initiated. For the initiated participants, this was a very sacred practice, which demanded unity between all those involved. The prayer circle, generally referred to as a “ dance,” often included hymns, prayers for the living and the dead, and gestures that would prepare the participants for heavenly visitations.
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (1978)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (1987)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle: Sidebar, Coptic Liturgical Text” (2010)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle: Sidebar, Minutes of the Second Council of Nicaea in ad 787” (2010)
This text, from a Christian “Book of Breathings,” highlights the importance of the prayer circle in early Christian worship.
Patriarch Tarasius and various bishops and monks condemn the Acts of John, in which an account of the early Christian prayer circle is recorded.
Reprinted in Immortality: Famed Discourses on Eternal Progression and Future Existence and The World and the Prophets, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 3.
“Easter and the Prophets” (1974)
“Easter and the Prophets” (1987)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Resurrection, Easter
This essay was reprinted in The World and the Prophets, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 3
“Easter and the Prophets” (1954)
“Easter and the Prophets” (1987)
Originally presented as a radio program as part of the Time Vindicates the Prophets series in 1962.
“Easter and the Prophets” (1954)
“Easter and the Prophets” (1974)
Originally printed as “Educating the Saints: A Brigham Young Mosaic“ in BYU Studies in 1970.
The compelling mystique of those franchise businesses that in our day have built up enormous institutional clout by selling nothing but the right to a name was anticipated in our great schools of Education, which monopolized the magic name of Education and sold the right to use it at a time when the idea of a “School of Education” made about as much sense as a class in Erudition or a year’s course in Total Perfection. The whole business of education can become an operation in managerial manipulation. In “Higher Education,” the traffic in titles and forms is already long established: The Office, with its hoarded files of score sheets, punched cards, and tapes, can declare exactly how educated any individual is, even to the third decimal. That is the highly structured busywork which we call education today. But it was not Brigham Young’s idea of education. He had thoughts which we have repeated from time to time with very mixed reception on the BYU campus. Still, we do not feel in the least inclined to apologize for propagating them on the premises of a university whose main distinction is that it bears his name.
Originally printed as “Educating the Saints: A Brigham Young Mosaic“ in BYU Studies in 1970.
The compelling mystique of those franchise businesses that in our day have built up enormous institutional clout by selling nothing but the right to a name was anticipated in our great schools of Education, which monopolized the magic name of Education and sold the right to use it at a time when the idea of a “School of Education” made about as much sense as a class in Erudition or a year’s course in Total Perfection. The whole business of education can become an operation in managerial manipulation. In “Higher Education,” the traffic in titles and forms is already long established: The Office, with its hoarded files of score sheets, punched cards, and tapes, can declare exactly how educated any individual is, even to the third decimal. That is the highly structured busywork which we call education today. But it was not Brigham Young’s idea of education. He had thoughts which we have repeated from time to time with very mixed reception on the BYU campus. Still, we do not feel in the least inclined to apologize for propagating them on the premises of a university whose main distinction is that it bears his name.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning
Reprinted as “Educating the Saints” in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless, 1978, and in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
The compelling mystique of those franchise businesses that in our day have built up enormous institutional clout by selling nothing but the right to a name was anticipated in our great schools of Education, which monopolized the magic name of Education and sold the right to use it at a time when the idea of a “School of Education” made about as much sense as a class in Erudition or a year’s course in Total Perfection. The whole business of education can become an operation in managerial manipulation. In “Higher Education,” the traffic in titles and forms is already long established: The Office, with its hoarded files of score sheets, punched cards, and tapes, can declare exactly how educated any individual is, even to the third decimal. That is the highly structured busywork which we call education today. But it was not Brigham Young’s idea of education. He had thoughts which we have repeated from time to time with very mixed reception on the BYU campus. Still, we do not feel in the least inclined to apologize for propagating them on the premises of a university whose main distinction is that it bears his name.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning
Questions and answers given at an unknown time and place.
Answers the following questions: “What is the Prophet’s attraction to Egypt?”; “Why have the vast majority of people never known the Gospel?”; “What is the relationship between the Osiris myth and the Abraham story?”; “What is the pattern we must follow to become sons of God, to gain eternal life?”; “How do the three Facsimiles relate to that pattern?”; “What specifically is the Hypocephalus?”; and “What is the appeal of Light to the Egyptians? What does the Sun represent?” —from Gary Gillum
A combination of five articles from the Improvement Era series There Were Jaredites (February–June 1956).
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 1 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 2 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 3 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 4 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 5 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
In the tradition of Approaching Zion, this book represents Nibley at his best. It is loaded with stunning insights on the temple, trenchant social commentary, and fascinating autobiographical details.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley
Discusses the eschatological theories of the early Christian church. Intended to be included in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
Reprinted in Enoch the Prophet, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 2.
Discusses the book of Enoch and its relationship with the Pearl of Great Price.
“Enoch the Prophet” (1976)
“Enoch the Prophet” (1986)
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Reprinted in Enoch the Prophet, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 2.
Discusses the book of Enoch and its relationship with the Pearl of Great Price.
“Enoch the Prophet” (1975)
“Enoch the Prophet” (1986)
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Originally presented as a lecture given 22 November 1975 for the Pearl of Great Price Symposium at Brigham Young University.
Discusses the book of Enoch and its relationship with the Pearl of Great Price.
“Enoch the Prophet” (1975)
“Enoch the Prophet” (1976)
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
In the Book of Moses, part of the Latter-day Saint scriptural canon known as the Pearl of Great Price, are what the Prophet Joseph Smith entitled “extracts from the prophecy of Enoch.” These scriptures, says the eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, “supply us with the most valuable control yet on the bona fides of the Prophet. . . . We are to test. . . . ‘How does it compare with records known to be authentic?’ The excerpts offer the nearest thing to a perfectly foolproof test—neat, clear-cut, and decisive—of Joseph Smith’s claim to inspiration.”
In Enoch the Prophet, Dr. Nibley examines and defends that claim by examining Joseph Smith’s translations in the context of recently discovered apocryphal sources.
This book contains a collection of various comparisons of the Enoch materials in the Book of Moses with the Slavonic and Ethiopic Enoch texts and other related materials and lore from antiquity, showing the possibility that Joseph Smith’s book of Enoch could be authentic ancient text.
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Symposia and Collections of Essays
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Reprinted in Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 5.
Discussions of the book of Enoch and its relationship to the Book of Abraham and other ancient texts and folklore.
Originally printed as an article in the Improvement Era series There Were Jaredites.
Discussions of the book of Enoch and its relationship to the Book of Abraham and other ancient texts and folklore.
The final article in the Improvement Era series Since CUmorah: New Voices from the Dust.
A summary of the Since Cumorah series, and some final thoughts.
Originally published in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957).
“There is no more authentic bit of Oriental ““culture-history” than that presented in Nephi’s account of the brothers’ visits to the city. Because it is so authentic, it has appeared strange and overdrawn to western critics unacquainted with the ways of the
East and has been singled out for attack as the most vulnerable part of the Book of Mormon. It contains the most widely discussed and generally condemned episode in the whole book, namely, the slaying of Laban, which many have declared to be unallowable on moral grounds and inadmissible on practical grounds. It is maintained that the thing simply could not have taken place as Nephi describes it. In this lesson, these objections are answered.
“
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Places > Old World > Jerusalem
Drawing from the very best of Hugh Nibley, this collection of excerpts feels more like a guided tour through a brilliant mind than a quote book. Arranged thematically, it covers the highlights of Nibley’s best thinking and writing on everything from the Creation through ancient people, times, and documents, to modern-day prophets and righteous living today. Two features give great insight into the man and his life’s work: a very personal life sketch about Hugh Nibley written by his grandson, and an introduction about Nibley’s contribution to LDS literature and scholarship, his unique dynamic within the Church, and his abiding testimony. With highlights drawn from nearly 10,000 pages of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, The Essential Nibley shows how Nibley continues to give thinkers something to believe in and believers something to think about, even today.
Reprinted under the title “The Forty-day Mission of Christ: The Forgotten Heritage,” in When the Lights Went Out, 1970.
How apocryphal texts shed some light on the Forty Days mentioned in Acts 1:3.
Originally printed as “Evangelium Quadraginta Dierum“ in Vigiliae Christianae.
How apocryphal texts shed some light on the Forty Days mentioned in Acts 1:3.
Hugh Nibley shares some of the words of Brigham Young that demonstrate his unique character and his devotion to the goal of eternal life for the Saints.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > Plan of Salvation, Terrible Questions > Exaltation and Eternal Life
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
Originally presented as a keynote address given on 11 April 1991 at the Associated Students Awards Assembly at Brigham Young University.
Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12, and Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless, 2nd ed.
When dealing with apocryphal texts, scholars can discount doctrines and themes that appear once or twice. However, themes that run consistently through many or most of the texts should be seriously considered. One such theme is that of a council in heaven in which a plan was presented and the opposition toward that plan. This article details the presence of these themes in ancient texts among various cultures.
“The Expanding Gospel” (1992)
“The Expanding Gospel” (2004)
Originally printed in BYU Studies (1965) and Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless, 2nd ed.
When dealing with apocryphal texts, scholars can discount doctrines and themes that appear once or twice. However, themes that run consistently through many or most of the texts should be seriously considered. One such theme is that of a council in heaven in which a plan was presented and the opposition toward that plan. This article details the presence of these themes in ancient texts among various cultures.
“The Expanding Gospel” (1965)
“The Expanding Gospel” (2004)
Originally printed in BYU Studies (1965). Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12.
Moses takes us back to the beginning, but which beginning? Nothing in the restored gospel is more stimulating to the inquiring mind than the infinitely expanded panorama of time and space it spreads before us. Our existence is viewed not as a one-act play, beginning with instantaneous creation of everything out of nothing and ending with its dissolution into the immaterial nothing from which it came (as St. Jerome puts it), but as a series of episodes of which, for the present, we are allowed to view only a few. The play has always been going on and always will be: the man Adam played other roles and was known by different names before he came here, and after his departure from mortal life, he assumes other offices and titles. Even in this life, everyone changes from one form to another, gets new names and callings and new identities as he or she plays his or her proverbial seven parts, always preserving identity as the same conscious living being. The common religion of the human race centers around that theme: the individual and the society pass from one stage of life to another not by a gradual and imperceptible evolution but by a series of abrupt transformations, dramatized the world over in rites of passage, of which birth and death are the prime examples, coming not unannounced but suddenly and irresistibly when the time is ripe. Other passages, as into puberty and marriage, follow the same pattern. In such a perspective of eternity, the stock questions of controversy between science and religion become meaningless. When did it all begin; can you set a date? Were there ever humanlike creatures who did not belong to the human race? (There still are!) How old is the earth? the universe? How long are they going to last? What will we do in heaven forever? And so on. Nothing is settled yet, not only because the last precincts are never heard from in science and their report always comes as a shocker but because we are far from getting the last word in religion either. For us the story remains open-ended, at both ends, in a progression of beginnings and endings without beginning or end, each episode proceeding from what goes before and leading to the next. The Absolutes of the University of Alexandria, of which the doctors of the Christians and the Jews were completely in the thrall from the fourth century on, simply do not exist for Latter-day Saints. Instead of that, they have a much bigger book to study; it is time they were getting with it.
“The Expanding Gospel” (1965)
“The Expanding Gospel” (1992)
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Originally published as a lesson in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957).
The Latter-day Saint claim that Ezekiel’s account of the Stick of Joseph and the Stick of Judah is a clear reference to the Book of Mormon has, of course, been challenged. There is no agreement among scholars today as to what the prophet was talking about, and so no competing explanation carries very great authority. The ancient commentators certainly believed that Ezekiel was talking about books of scripture, which they also identify with a staff or rod. As scepters and rods of identification the Two Sticks refer to Judah and Israel or else to the Old Testament and the New. But in this lesson we present the obvious objections to such an argument. The only alternative is that the Stick of Joseph is something like the Book of Mormon. But did the ancient Jews know about the Lord’s people in this hemisphere? The Book of Mormon says they did not, but in so doing specifies that it was the wicked from whom that knowledge was withheld. Hence it is quite possible that it was had secretly among the righteous, and there is actually some evidence that this was so.
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Ezekiel
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
Originally published as a series of Improvement Era articles titled A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price. “Facsimile No. 1: A Unique Document“ appeared as parts 5 and 6 of the series.
Hugh Nibley dives into the evidence of the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, specifically Facsimile 1, and how arguments against its authenticity hold no authority against the evidence.
Originally published as a series of Improvement Era articles titled A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price. “Facsimile No. 1: A Unique Document“ appeared as part 8 of the series.
A look at Egyptian evidence of the authenticity of Facsimile 1.
Republished as a chapter in An Approach to the Book of Abraham, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 18.
A response by Nibley to a criticism of the historicity of the Book of Abraham by Edward H. Ashment at the Sunstone Theological Symposium at the University of Utah on 24–25 August 1979.
Originally published as an article in Sunstone in 1979.
A response by Nibley to a criticism of the historicity of the Book of Abraham by Edward H. Ashment at the Sunstone Theological Symposium at the University of Utah on 24–25 August 1979.
“Fact and Fancy in the Interpretation of Ancient Records.” 55 pp.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness:Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17.
A conversation between Hugh Nibley, some of his family members, Truman G. Madsen, and Neal A. Maxwell (among others).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Bibliographies
Originally presented as a 63-minute video and accompanying transcript.
A conversation between Hugh Nibley, some of his family members, Truman G. Madsen, and Neal A. Maxwell (among others).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Devil’s Dilemma
In this informal lecture, Hugh Nibley proposes that exploring the explanations of the facsimiles was not timely in Joseph Smith’s day, but the 1960s opened avenues for serious investigation. He reviews some of the mythical details in the Egyptian account of the premortal council. He also cites examples of Egyptian truisms that relate to Hebrew wisdom literature.
Full transcript.
Has the time come to know the meanings of figures 12–20 in Facsimile 2? Hugh Nibley responds.
See also the series entitled “Censoring the Joseph Smith Story,” published in 1961 in the Improvement Era. Compare with “Censoring the Joseph Smith Story” in Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 11.
Nibley sets forth various reasons for believing that there had been suppression of the story of the initial vision of Joseph Smith by his enemies between 1820 and 1838.
Originally published as a lesson in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957).
To appreciate the setting of much of Book of Mormon history, it is necessary to get a correct idea of what is meant by “wilderness”. That word has in the Book of Mormon the same connotation as in the Bible and usually refers to desert country. Throughout their entire history, the Book of Mormon people remain either wanderers in the wilderness or dwellers in close proximity to it. The motif of the Flight into the Wilderness is found throughout the book and has great religious significance as the type and reality of the segregation of the righteous from the wicked and the position of the righteous man as a pilgrim and an outcast on the earth. Both Nephites and Lamanites always retained their nomadic ways.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17.
Reprinted as a foreword to Eugene England’s book. See also Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17.
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham, articles from BYU Studies. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Some thoughts on a fragment of parchment kept in the Church Historian’s Office.
Originally presented as a talk given in the 1980s at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
Captain Moroni was a man of peace. This chapteranalyzes war, government, management, the political tactics and strategies of Amalickiah, and the constant struggle between those who follow the ways of righteousness and those who promote wicked political agendas. Includes notes about similar political problems in ancient Mesoamerican societies.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
Captain Moroni was a man of peace. This talk analyzes war, government, management, the political tactics and strategies of Amalickiah, and the constant struggle between those who follow the ways of righteousness and those who promote wicked political agendas. Includes notes about similar political problems in ancient Mesoamerican societies.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Reprinted in Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life, Boyd J. Peterson, Sandy, UT: Greg Kofford Books Inc, 2002, 56.
Hugh Nibley, late professor of ancient history and religion at Brigham Young University and one of the foremost scholars of the ancient world in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, discussed the Rule of the Community in an appendix to his 1975 book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri. The Joseph Smith Papyri is an initiatory text; the Rule of the Community is both an initiatory text, enumerating details for entrance into the Essene community at Qumran, and a covenant document, listing elements in the covenant made between God and individuals entering the Essene community at Qumran. This piece is an excerpt from the appendix of his text mentioned above and outlines the various aspects of this Rule of the Community as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QS).
Exhibition catalog. Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12.
Originally printed as an exhibition catalog.
Talk given at the services for Donald M. Decker on 11 August 1982.
A series of haunting reflections on the stages of life and the meaning of the experiences that each affords an individual as they pass from one stage to another, including death.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > First Principles > Repentance
Originally presented as a talk given at the services for Donald M. Decker on 11 August 1982.
A series of haunting reflections on the stages of life and the meaning of the experiences that each affords an individual as they pass from one stage to another, including death.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > First Principles > Repentance
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
“Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences. This report includes excerpts from the Expository Times by Nibley in the form of a G-2 Report. 14 pages, s.s., 1984. Most excerpts deal with the state of Christianity in 1983 and 1984.
““Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
Two topics or reports are included. Includes various quotations from the Expository Times on Old Testament biblical research. See “New Age of Discovery” in Since Cumorah, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 7.“
G-2 Reports—a series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences. “Years ago it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called “G-2 Report”) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
““Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
“The Religious Picture”: Changes in the religious world and in scholarship concerning religion are illustrated by numerous quotations from various writers.“
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
““Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
Changes in religious scholarship further illustrated. Quotations are arranged under headings such as “Revelation,” No Longer a Dirty Word,” “Neo-orthodoxy,” and “Science.”“
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
“Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
““Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
This report is a summary of the teachings of the early church fathers on the nature of God.“
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
“Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
““Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
Including such topics as no more infallible books, more revelation needed, the language problem, the textual problem, Paul quotes the ancients, the statue of John, the historical Jesus, and the present impasse.“
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
“Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
“Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 2
A series of handouts prepared in the fifties and early sixties for distribution to various audiences.
““Years ago, it was my custom to communicate to the General Authorities in an occasional brash and self-appointed newsletter (called a ‘G-2 Report’) items of interest dealing with new discoveries which I considered significant. My boldness was not ill-received.” —Quoting a letter from Nibley to Elder Bruce R. McConkie, 2 October 1979.
Topics include the flood, the patriarchal age, the Old Testament as history, the Old Testament in its Near Eastern setting, patterning, language of the Old Testament, and the integrity of the text.“
This was the Commissioner’s Lecture delivered in 1972.
An examination of writing as a gift from God and as a vehicle for the preservation and communication of knowledge of divine things.
“The Genesis of the Written Word” (1973)
“Genesis of the Written Word” (1992)
“Genesis of the Written Word” (2004)
Reprinted from the Commissioner’s Lecture Series, 1972.
An examination of writing as a gift from God and as a vehicle for the preservation and communication of knowledge of divine things.
Genesis of the Written Word (1973)
“Genesis of the Written Word” (1992)
“Genesis of the Written Word” (2004)
Reprinted from the Commissioner’s Lecture Series, 1972.
An examination of writing as a gift from God and as a vehicle for the preservation and communication of knowledge of divine things.
Genesis of the Written Word (1973)
“The Genesis of the Written Word” (1973)
“Genesis of the Written Word” (2004)
Reprinted from the Commissioner’s Lecture Series, 1972.
An examination of writing as a gift from God and as a vehicle for the preservation and communication of knowledge of divine things.
Genesis of the Written Word (1973)
“The Genesis of the Written Word” (1973)
“Genesis of the Written Word” (1992)
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Mathematics, Geometry
A contribution to the continuing debate over the Joseph Smith Papyri and the historical authenticity of the Book of Abraham.
Republished in Approaching Zion, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 9.
Nibley interviews himself on the moral advice contained in the Book of Mormon.
Originally presented as a talk given on 13 March 1979 at Brigham Young University.
Nibley interviews himself on the moral advice contained in the Book of Mormon.
This packet consists of a collection of translated statements by ancient Greek philosophers concerning their perceptions of divinity. It quotes Thales, Anaximander, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and others on such abstract concepts as Absolute, causes, the One, the Nous (mind), and the uncreated.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Reprinted in Approaching Zion, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 9, 524–53.
Originally presented as a talk given on 9 October 1987 to the UEA retired teachers association at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
A look into how and where anti-Mormon sources get their ideas and information, and how to protect against them.
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
A look into how and where anti-Mormon sources get their ideas and information, and how to protect against them.
Originally published in the Improvement Era in July 1959.
A look into how and where anti-Mormon sources get their ideas and information, and how to protect against them.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness:Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17.
Joel Erik Myres was married to Nibley’s granddaughter, Natalie Mincek.
Originally presented as a talk at Joel Erik Myres’ funeral.
Joel Erik Myres was married to Nibley’s granddaughter, Natalie Mincek.
Originally published in Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, 1978. Reprinted in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament, 2005.
Hugh Nibley dives into the book of Isaiah and how wonderful its teachings are, though they are occasionally difficult to comprehend.
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1978)
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1986)
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (2005)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Isaiah
Also published in ASBYU Academics Presents: Outstanding Lectures, 1978–79, Provo, UT: BYU Press, 1979. 71–88, and reprinted in Old Testament and Related Studies, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 1, 215–37.
Hugh Nibley dives into the book of Isaiah and how wonderful its teachings are, though they are occasionally difficult to comprehend.
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1979)
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1986)
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (2005)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Isaiah
Originally published in Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, 1978. Reprinted in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament, 2005.
Hugh Nibley dives into the book of Isaiah and how wonderful its teachings are, though they are occasionally difficult to comprehend.
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1978)
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1979)
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (2005)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Isaiah
Originally published in Sidney B. Sperry Symposium, 1978.
Hugh Nibley dives into the book of Isaiah and how wonderful its teachings are, though they are occasionally difficult to comprehend.
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1978)
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1979)
“Great Are the Words of Isaiah” (1986)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Isaiah
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, 271–311.
Originally presented as an address delivered on 12 March 1986 as part of the Ramses II International Lecture Series.
Exactly at noon on the winter solstice of 1964, the writer stood at the entrance of an artificially extended cave at the place then called Raqim (now Sahab), a few miles south of Amman. He stood with Rafiq Dajani, brother of the minister of antiquity for Jordan, who had just begun important excavations on the spot and duly noted that the sun at that moment shone directly on the back wall of the cave—a feat impossible at any other time of the year. The ancient picture of a dog painted on the cave wall had dimly suggested to the local inhabitants and a few scholars in an earlier generation the story of the dog who guarded the Cave of the Seven Sleepers (which title hundreds of caves claimed), but nobody took it very seriously. Beneath Byzantine stones, older ruins were coming to light, suggesting that the place may have been another Qumran, a settlement of early Christian or even Jewish sectaries of the desert; the region around was still all open country, mostly bare rocky ground. There it was, the beginning of an excavation that might turn up something exciting. Professor Dajani had read the article below in manuscript form and obligingly took me to the place, where I took some pictures, which were published in the Improvement Era. Compare those pictures with what you find there today! Twelve years later, I returned to the spot with a tour group in excited anticipation of the wonders I would now see laid bare. What we found was that the excavations, far from being completed, had actually been covered up, all but the cave; on the spot was rising the concrete shell of a huge new mosque, and a large marble slab before the cave proclaimed in Arabic and English that this was the Cave of the Seven Sleepers. The spot was being converted into a major Muslim shrine; our Christian Armenian guide was worried sick that there would be an incident and, at first, hotly refused to stop the bus anywhere near the place. Naturally, I went straight for the cave and was met at the entrance by a venerable Mullah and his assistant, who were selling candles. I said I wanted to see the holy dog, and they led me to the back of the cave, where the wall was completely covered by a large old commode, through the dirty glass windows of which they pointed out some ancient brown bones and their prize: the actual jawbone of the holy dog. A relic had usurped the place of the picture. So there it was: what had been a few scattered ruins, lying deserted and completely ignored on the heath, was now being promoted as a booming cult center, rapidly foundering in the encroaching clutter of suburban real estate enterprises. To a student of John Chrysostom, nothing could be more instructive; it had taken just twelve years to set up an ancient and hopefully profitable center of pilgrimage. So you see, all sorts of things go on in the haunted desert, as this article will show.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Dispensations, Axial Times
Reprinted in Ancient State: The Rulers and the Ruled, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 10.
How most modern traditions come from ancient ones, and why and how.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ritual Patterns, Great Year-Rites, Universal Gospel Culture
Originally published in Western Political Quarterly (1951).
How most modern traditions come from ancient ones, and why and how.
Reprinted in Old Testament and Related Studies, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 1, 1–19.
Solving the problem of historicity of the Bible: how it came around, and what to do about it.
Originally presented as an address given on 19 June 1956 to the seminary and institute faculty at Brigham Young University.
Solving the problem of historicity of the Bible: how it came around, and what to do about it.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
This transcript is a brief commentary on Doctrine and Covenants 109, the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple. Hugh Nibley describes the temple as a meeting place that is set off from the world. It is a location where we are invited to have clear, receptive intellects and enjoy heightened spirituality. We experience an atmosphere of purity in contrast to the pollution of the world.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17.
A discussion of temples, especially the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple.
Originally published in Temples of the Ancient World, 1994.
A discussion of temples, especially the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple.
Also published by the Harold B. Lee Library Forum Committee and the Friends of the BYU Library in 1980 as a 15-page leaflet. Reprinted in Approaching Zion, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 9, 149–77. The lecture was originally part of the Sesquicentennial Lectures on Mormon Arts.
In this lecture, the foundations of the kingdom are discussed, ending with a passionate plea for building Zion.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Mahan Principle
Originally published as an article in Dialogue (1979).
In this lecture, the foundations of the kingdom are discussed, ending with a passionate plea for building Zion.
Reprinted in Approaching Zion, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 9, 178–201.
An examination of the blessing and cursing formulas found in the Deuteronomic materials in the Old Testament, with applications for our day.
Originally presented as an address given in March 1982 in St. George, Utah.
An examination of the blessing and cursing formulas found in the Deuteronomic materials in the Old Testament, with applications for our day.
Reprinted in The Ancient State: The Rulers and the Ruled, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 10.
Nibley traces some interesting parallels in educational matters and especially in campus unrest in the decade after 1960 with the medieval world. — Midgley
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning > Brigham Young University (BYU)
Originally published in BYU Studies (1969).
Nibley traces some interesting parallels in educational matters and especially in campus unrest in the decade after 1960 with the medieval world. — Midgley
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning > Brigham Young University (BYU)
A penetrating satire on the foibles of typical anti-Mormon publications. Learn how authors of anti-Mormon materials use specific strategies to convince readers of their trustworthiness, knowledge, and lack of bias. Essentially a preview of Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass: The Art of Telling Tales about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 11 (1963).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Brigham Young > Criticsms and Apologetics > Thomas B. Stenhouse
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Joseph Smith > Criticisms, Apologetics > Fawn Brodie
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Reprinted in CWHN 8:243-58. Lists over twenty Book of Mormon points that may have seemed ridiculous in 1830 but that “appear very different” in light of modern scholarship, including transoceanic voyaging, gold plates, steel, elephants, coins, names, literary and ritual patterns, execution, modes of prophecy and revelation.
Originally printed in the Milennial Star (1963).
Lists over twenty Book of Mormon points that may have seemed ridiculous in 1830 but that “appear very different” in light of modern scholarship, including transoceanic voyaging, gold plates, steel, elephants, coins, names, literary and ritual patterns, execution, and modes of prophecy and revelation.
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
Lists over twenty Book of Mormon points that may have seemed ridiculous in 1830 but that “appear very different” in light of modern scholarship, including transoceanic voyaging, gold plates, steel, elephants, coins, names, literary and ritual patterns, execution, and modes of prophecy and revelation.
Originally printed in BYU Today (1980).
An interview in which cosmological issues are discussed.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Science, Evolution
This prayer given by Hugh Nibley at a devotional assembly is a plea for the Father’s spirit and a humble recognition of the great limits of human knowledge, judgment, and faith.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Published as Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price.
Dr. Hugh W. Nibley, professor emeritus of ancient scriptures at Brigham Young University, gave the following twenty-six lectures in an honors class on The Pearl of Great Price. This class was videotaped in the Maesar Building during winter semester 1986 and the text was then transcribed and is included here in this book.
These lecture notes discuss the history of humanism from the Sophists to Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare. Hugh Nibley emphasizes the fallacies of such a philosophy. Humanism is a substitute for religion when religion goes sour, and as such, humanism is dogmatic, careerist, and intolerant.
This essay was first written in 1958 for the dedication of the London Temple. It was later printed as What Is a Temple? The Idea of the Temple in History (1963 and 1968), “What Is a Temple?“ in The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives (1984), and “What Is a Temple?“ in Mormonism and Early Christianity, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 4.
Those Christian Church Fathers, especially of the fourth century, who proclaim the victory of Christianity over its rivals constantly speak of the Church as the competitor and supplanter of the Synagogue, and modern authorities agree that in ritual and liturgy the Christian Church grew up “in the shadow of the Synagogue.” This is a most significant fact. While the Temple stood, the Jews had both its ancient ordinances and the practices of the Synagogue, but they were not the same. The Temple was unique, and when it was destroyed, the Synagogue of the Jews did not take over its peculiarly sacred functions—they were in no wise authorized to do so.
What Is a Temple? The Idea of the Temple in History (1963)
What Is a Temple? The Idea of the Temple in History (1968)
“The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives” in The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives (1984)
Mormonism and Early Christianity (1987)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
What are the answers to war and peace for Latter-day Saints? Does the Lord suggest a position to be taken by members of the Church? Hugh Nibley answers.
Originally published as an Ensign article (July 1971).
What are the answers to war and peace for Latter-day Saints? Does the Lord suggest a position to be taken by members of the Church? Hugh Nibley answers.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13 (1994).
An examination of how the Saints should understand involvement in politics, among other things, drawing upon the examples of Paul and Daniel.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Government, Politics
Originally presented as a talk published in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13 (1976).
An examination of how the Saints should understand involvement in politics, among other things, drawing upon the examples of Paul and Daniel.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Government, Politics
Reprinted as “An Intellectual Autobiography: Some High and Low Points“ in Hugh Nibley Observed. Originally published in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless.
Hugh Nibley’s search for things of import by the decades, and what he discovered.
“An Intellectual Autobiography: Some High and Low Points” (2004)
“An Intellectual Autobiography: Some High and Low Points” (2021)
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, and in
Hugh Nibley’s search for things of import by the decades, and what he discovered.
“An Intellectual Autobiography” (2008)
“An Intellectual Autobiography: Some High and Low Points” (2021)
Originally in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless: Classic Essays of Hugh Nibley.
Hugh Nibley’s search for things of import by the decades, and what he discovered.
“An Intellectual Autobiography: Some High and Low Points” (2004)
“An Intellectual Autobiography” (2008)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Biographies, Reviews of Biographies, Biographical Essays, Biographical Remarks
Interview by Lin Ostler Strack.
This is a very rough transcript of Nibley’s contributions to a panel discussion about ancient writing, scientific methodology, and testing of the Book of Mormon.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
An answer to the Deutero-, Trito-Isaiah question using the Book of Mormon
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.
Not all the footnotes containing the citations for the supporting texts and explanations were published with this essay.
A discussion of the religious and cultural impact of Egypt, Babylon, and other neighbors on events in Israel.
Examines three approaches to the Book of Abraham: ask the experts; examine Joseph Smith’s work in some broad and general aspects; and take a closer look at some particulars. Part 1 constitutes the first 8 pages and Part 2 the remainder of the manuscript. These materials were circulated in response to inquiries concerning the debate over the authenticity of the Book of Abraham, with a cover letter addressed to “Dear Brother, Sister, Friend,” which discussed the charges brought against the Book of Abraham by Dee J. Nelson, who advertised himself as a trained Egyptologist and a Latter-day Saint. Nibley raises questions about Mr. Nelson’s credentials, which were later shown to be bogus. For an exhaustive debunking of Mr. Nelson and his attack on the Book of Abraham, see Robert L. and Rosemary Brown, They Lie in Wait to Deceive, vol. 1, ed. Barbara Ellsworth, rev. ed. (Mesa, AZ: Brownsworth, 1982). For an example of uncritical use of Mr. Nelson’s “work” on the Book of Abraham, see Fawn M. Brodie’s “Supplement” to No Man Knows My History, 2nd ed. (New York: Knopf, 1971), where, preliminary to an attack upon Nibley’s views on the Book of Abraham (424), the reader is urged (on 423) to consult “Mormon scholar Dee Jay Nelson’s translation, The Joseph Smith Papyri, Parts I and II, and Joseph Smith’s Eye of Ra (Salt Lake City: Modern Microfilm, 1969).” Brodie and others anxious to find “authorities” who would assert that the Book of Abraham was fraudulent and hence that Joseph Smith had been involved in crafting false historical documents made somewhat uncritical use of both of Nelson’s essays.
A treatment of the role and symbolic power of Jerusalem for Christians. This was also circulated in pamphlet form by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Cf. the various versions of Nibley’s talk on the Lachish letters.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh Nibley speaks about the history and theology surrounding the highly coveted city of Jerusalem and the hope for peace there one day.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
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.
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.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Reprinted in An Approach to the Book of Abraham, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 18.
This essay contains Nibley’s views on the Book of Abraham presented in the form of questions and answers.
Originally printed in An Approach to the Book of Abraham (2009).
This essay contains Nibley’s views on the Book of Abraham presented in the form of questions and answers.
Originally published as a series called “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
Shows ways in which the Book of Mormon was out-of-sorts with the nineteenth century and, thus, not just another book of that time.
“Just Another Book? Part One” (1959)
“Just Another Book? Part Two” (1959)
“Just Another Book? Part Two, Conclusion” (1959)
Third of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
Shows ways in which the Book of Mormon was out-of-sorts with the nineteenth century and, thus, not just another book of that time.
Third of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
Shows ways in which the Book of Mormon was out-of-sorts with the nineteenth century and, thus, not just another book of that time.
Fourth of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
Shows ways in which the Book of Mormon was out-of-sorts with the nineteenth century and, thus, not just another book of that time.
Fourth of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
Shows ways in which the Book of Mormon was out-of-sorts with the nineteenth century and, thus, not just another book of that time.
Fifth of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
Shows ways in which the Book of Mormon was out-of-sorts with the nineteenth century and, thus, not just another book of that time.
Fifth of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
Shows ways in which the Book of Mormon was out-of-sorts with the nineteenth century and, thus, not just another book of that time.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Joseph Smith Papyri, Book of Breathings, Book of the Dead, Facsimiles, Egyptology, Hypocephalus
First of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
A witty exposé of anti-Mormon methods of Book of Mormon criticism.
First of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
A witty exposé of anti-Mormon methods of Book of Mormon criticism.
Originally published as a series called “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
A witty exposé of anti-Mormon methods of Book of Mormon criticism.
“Kangaroo Court” (1959)
“Kangaroo Court: Part Two” (1959)
Second of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
A witty exposé of anti-Mormon methods of Book of Mormon criticism.
Second of the series “Mixed Voices“: A Study in Book of Mormon Criticism in the Improvement Era.
A witty exposé of anti-Mormon methods of Book of Mormon criticism.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Ancient Texts > Lachish Letters
Old Testament Scriptures > Jeremiah/Lamentations
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > History
Reprinted as “The Lachish Letters,” in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8. 380–406.
Suggests connections between the Lachish letters written at the time Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and events associated with Lehi’s departure. Includes political pressures on prophets, types of proper names, and a possible identification of Mulek.
Old Testament Scriptures > 1 & 2 Kings/1 & 2 Chronicles
Old Testament Scriptures > Jeremiah/Lamentations
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > History
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Old Testament Scriptures > Jeremiah/Lamentations
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > History
In this short series of communications, Hugh Nibley expresses his philosophy that “the function of the poet is to hold one’s head while he pukes.”
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8, 498–532.
The Book of Mormon’s message of Christ specifically is to “show”—and “convince”—by a bulwark of historical evidence through which the doctrine must be considered. The ascension motif—“righteous man rising above the wicked world by supplicating God”—is repeated over and over. It is symbolic and warns mankind to spiritually break away from his real enemy, himself, in the world of sin.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Eschatology, Last Days
Reprinted in CWHN 8:498-532. The Book of Mormon’s message of Christ specifically is to “show” and “convince” by a bulwark of historical evidence through which the doctrine must be considered. The ascension motif—righteous man rising above the wicked world by supplicating God—is repeated over and over. It is symbolic and warns mankind to spiritually break away from his real enemy, himself, in the world of sin.
Originally published in Sunstone (1988).
The Book of Mormon’s message of Christ specifically is to “show”—and “convince”—by a bulwark of historical evidence through which the doctrine must be considered. The ascension motif—“righteous man rising above the wicked world by supplicating God”—is repeated over and over. It is symbolic and warns mankind to spiritually break away from his real enemy, himself, in the world of sin.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Eschatology, Last Days
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, 196–227.
Hugh Nibley discusses the last days based on his own thoughts and actively avoiding quotes from others (unless they pop up from memory).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Eschatology, Last Days
Originally published in The Disciple as Scholar: Essays on Scripture and the Ancient World in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson.
Hugh Nibley discusses the last days based on his own thoughts and actively avoiding quotes from others (unless they pop up from memory).
Reprinted in Approaching Zion, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 9.
Originally presented as a talk.
Topics include Utah, the economy, the dangers of money, and Nibley’s grandfather Charles W. Nibley.
“Twenty-three years ago on this same occasion, I gave the opening prayer, in which I said: ‘We have met here today clothed in the black robes of a false priesthood.’ Many have asked me since whether I really said such a shocking thing, but nobody has ever asked what I meant by it. Why not? Well, some knew the answer already, and as for the rest, we do not question things at the BYU. But for my own relief, I welcome this opportunity to explain: a ‘false priesthood’?”
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning > Brigham Young University (BYU)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Leaders and Managers
True leaders are inspiring because they are inspired, caught up in a higher purpose, devoid of personal ambition, idealistic, and incorruptible.
Reprinted in Personal Voices: A Celebration of Dialogue and Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
The editors, while correcting an inaccurate citation, did not allow Nibley’s own translation—“Choke on a gnat and gulp down a camel”—to stand.
“Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift” (1987)
“Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift” (1994)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Leaders and Managers
Originally published in Dialogue (1983).
The editors, while correcting an inaccurate citation, did not allow Nibley’s own translation—“Choke on a gnat and gulp down a camel”—to stand.
“Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift” (1983)
“Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift” (1994)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Leaders and Managers
Originally published in Dialogue (1983).
The editors, while correcting an inaccurate citation, did not allow Nibley’s own translation—“Choke on a gnat and gulp down a camel”—to stand.
“Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift” (1987)
“Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift” (1983)
Also called “Sacrament Prayers; Implications of the Sermon at the Temple.“
Finishing up the last few elements in the Sermon at the Temple and considering some implications.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Understanding the Sermon at the Temple; Zion Society.“
It seems that there are wide-ranging implications for our lives and for our understanding of the Book of Mormon, other scripture, the temple, and a lot of other things as a result of our understanding of the Sermon at the Temple.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 4 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Zion Society.“
Every book in the Book of Mormon is the most marvelous in the world, but this is really something. They’re all like this, but this is a particularly important book. Of course, I’m referring to that miraculous work, 4 Nephi.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 4 Nephi
Also called “Prayer; Peace; Prosperity.“
A continuation of the previous lecture on 4 Nephi.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 4 Nephi
Also called “Church Growth and Decline; Mormon Leads the Nephites.“
We’re following the sad declension by which the earthly paradise in 4 Nephi declined into the type of living hell which we find in many part of the world today. this is one of the most valuable texts we have in the world. There’s nothing like it. It shows us step by step exactly how it happens.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 4 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mormon
Also called “Conflicts between the Nephites and Lamanites.“
From now on we really plunge into the depths.
Also called “Wickedness in War.“
The whole book of Mormon is a haunting book. It can’t leave you alone. The questions are, are the Nephites stubbornly bent on doing the wrong thing? What is this everlasting harping on repentance? What is the wickedness that the Nephites must repent of?
Also called “Extinction of Moroni’s People; Roman Satire; Spiritual Gifts.“
Here you’ll notice Moroni takes up the story. He picks up the record at his father’s command and takes over the record at this time. This has all happened after Cumorah. This is about A.D. 401, so this is fifteen years after Cumorah. He writes the rest of Mormon’s book.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mormon
Also called “The Book of Mormon and the Ruins.“
You can’t be neutral about the word fo the Lord. You can’t laugh it off exactly, and you can’t argue with it and get angry. No, just despise it. We don’t even consider that stuff. The only way you can reject it is to despise it.
Also called “The Epic Literature of the Book of Ether.“
Ether left his tracks in the sand, but it was the brother of Jared that left most of them.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Ether
Also called “The Book of Mormon and the Dead Sea Scrolls.“
Now we are going to talk about the Book of Mormon and the Jews in the light of the new discoveries (the Dead Sea Scrolls).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Dead Sea Scrolls
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 2
Also called “Struggle for Power.“
Everybody was moving around. (The first few minutes of this lecture were not recorded.)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Ether
Also called “The Boats of the Jaredites.“
In cartoons, the bad guys are bad because they’re fighting the good guys, and teh good guys are good because they’re fighting the bad guys. That’s the only reason that’s ever given. Well, that’s the story of the Jaredites, isn’t it: the good guys and the bad guys fighting with no in-betweens. We’ll see more of that here.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Ether
Also called “Formula of Faith, Hope, and Charity; Gifts.“
In Moroni 1:1, Moroni tells us that he’s writing an appendix to the Book of Mormon. He hadn’t intended to write any more, but he had some time on his hands. He ended it with the Jaredites. That’s where it should end, back there, showing that they suffered the same things. Well, I’m going to skip to just the high points here, and then I may go back to some others.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Moroni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 4
A discussion about the Tree of Life.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 1
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
We were noting that chapter ten of 1 Nephi deals with the Jaws. Chapter eleven does something else. Chapter twelve deals with the New World version: Israel in the New World, the Book of Mormon people. Chapter thirteen deals with the Gentiles and the whole world; it takes the world view.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 1
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Also called “The Liahona and Murmurings in the Wilderness.“
We start out with the last place to look if we want to find information. It starts out, “I returned to the tent of my father.“
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 1
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Now, we’ve got the seventeenth chapter, the seventh verse, when the Lord says, you will make a boat: “Thou shalt construct a ship.“ He didn’t have time to scout around for the necessary metals. The Lord told him, I can tell you where to get them. We said they were adept in ores: where to find ores, and how to make the bellows.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 4
Also called “’Encircled . . . in the Arms of His Love’: Oneness with God and the Atonement.“
We start out with 2 Nephi, and we really get into some pretty deep stuff.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 2 Nephi
We are on the second chapter of 2 Nephi, perhaps the hardest chapter in the book. It’s about the Law of Moses.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 2 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 3
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 4
Also called “Lehi’s Family: Blessings and Conflict.“
2 Nephi 3 is a genealogical chapter, and it has strange phenomena in it which occur in genealogy all the time.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 2 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 1
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Moses
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Adam, Eve
Also called “Jacob’s Teachings on the Atonement and Judgment.“
The Book of Mormon was hand-delivered by an angel. There’s every evidence that it was, so let’s look at it.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 2 Nephi
An introduction to Hugh Nibley’s Teachings of the Book of Mormon class.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses
We have come to those chapters where Nephi talks about Isaiah. He gives his explanation in chapter 25, and that’s what interests us.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 2 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 5
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Cain
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Mahan Principle
Now, Nephi is in his prophetic vein, and he is going to take us all the way.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 2 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Adam, Eve
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
We are on 2 Nephi 29. The Lord is talking about when He sets His hand again in these last days the second time to recover His people. There are no “God’s privileged people.“ He loves one as much as the other.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 2 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 1
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 2
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Also called “Rejecting the Word of God.“
We are on 2 Nephi 32, and are things going downhill fast. Here’s the first generation that has already gone bad, and Nephi is just terribly depressed. He ends on a down note, and then his brother Jacob takes it up.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 2 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Jacob
We’re on the book of Jacob. I’ve decided that more than any book in the Book of Mormon this has the ring of absolute truth, historical and everything else.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Jacob
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 8
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Noah, Ham, Shem, Japheth
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Also called “The Olive Tree; The Challenge of Sherem.“
In the fourth chapter of Jacob he rings the gong in verses 13 and 14. What he is talking about here is absolutely basic. Notice that verse 13 is one philosophy of life, and verse 14 is the other philosophy of life.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Jacob
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Enos
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > New Testament > Books > Matthew
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Eschatology, Last Days
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jarom
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Omni
Also called “The Struggle of Enos.“
Enos is an important book. It’s just one chapter, you notice, but what a chapter!
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jarom
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Omni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Enos
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Jarom
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Omni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Words of Mormon
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Also called “The End of the Small Plates; The Coronation of Mosiah.“
Well, now we’ve got to the point where in one verse they take care of the history of a larger people than the Nephites. It simply says they crossed the ocean and landed here, and that was that.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Words of Mormon
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Omni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Words of Momon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
What we have here is a very good lesson on the subject of fear and trembling.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
King Benjamin’s speech and why it’s important, part 1.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
There are certain things about the Book of Mormon that we must notice at the beginning to get off on the right foot. . . . The opening of the Book of Mormon concerns our people, and it concerns also our world. To start, this lecture looks at the biographical nature of 1 Nephi and moves on to Nephi’s heritage and legacy.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Also called “Kingship; Covenants.“
A discussion about Mosiah 6 and what it has to do with Mosiah’s kingship and the covenants the Nephites made after King Benjamin’s speech.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Stable Civilizations; The Search for the Lost Colony.“
We come to chapter 7 now. The Book of Mormon tells us things we don’t like to be told. If it told us only what we wanted to hear, of course, we wouldn’t need it. But that’s the only part of the scriptures we are willing to accept. Well, here we go.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Ammon and Limhi; The Record of Zeniff.“
We are on chapter 8 of Mosiah, and it is absolutely staggering what’s in here. We can’t stop for everything, but nevertheless it’s jammed in here.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “War and Defenses.“
We are on Mosiah 10:8, and things begin to happen that have a familiar ring. They try again here. Zeniff sent out his spies, and [the Lamanite king] is watchful and doesn’t miss a thing. This attack doesn’t go so well, but notice the situation and how they do it.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Abinadi’s Message.“
We are on chapter 12 of Mosiah where Abinadi comes among them. He gains entrance in disguise, and once in the midst of them, he throws off the disguise. That is a common device of the prophets.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “The Fulness of the Gospel; Human Nature.“
We are told that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel. That has often been challenged. Does it have everything in it? Well, what is the gospel? What is a fullness of the gospel?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Abinadi and Alma.“
Now with Mosiah 17 comes a series of extremely interesting and significant stories. He really pours it on here. After Abinadi gave his sermon, what was the reaction? “The king commanded that the priests should take him and cause that he should be put to death.” And it’s very obvious why.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “King Noah; The Daughters of the Lamanites.“
King Noah is one of the most clearly drawn characters in the Book Mormon. He is drawn as a great artist would do it, by what he does and not by what he says. It’s very subtle throughout the Book of Mormon here.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Dealing with Enemies; Kingship.“
We are on chapters 20 and 21 of Mosiah, on the important subject of how to deal with an enemy in just about every situation that comes up. It’s marvelous how these things are analyzed here. You get the impression that it really was carefully edited.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Amulon and Alma.“
Now we come to one of the most satisfying parts of the Book of Mormon. This is what historiography should be. It’s full of drama, personality, and all sorts of things.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Geopolitics and the Rule of Tyrants, 600 B.C.“
There is nothing more rmarkable about the Book of Mormon than its cultural history. It is loaded with details that give us an insight into the culture of a particular people. It describes three distinct cultures, and it describes them vividly. A look into why 600 B.C. is considered by historians to be the “pivotal year“ and what that means for the Book of Mormon.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Adam, Eve
Also called “Believers and Apostates.“
Mosiah 26 is an enormously important chapter, and the first verse is very impressive. Well, the first thing we notice is the tremendous speed with which things move in the Book of Mormon. This generation was alive in the time of King Benjamin, and all that has happened. It impresses one how much has happened in how short a time.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Alma’s Conversion; Mosiah’s Translating.“
Now this story about Alma’s conversion and confrontation with the angel is immensely important. It’s as important as anything in the Book of Mormon, and it’s directly applicable to us. These things concern us very closely. The issue to be decided is this: Which world shall we take seriously? What kind of name will we give the real one?
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Also called “Treatise on Power; Priestcraft.“
We are in Mosiah 29:34 where he is talking about the king. These chapters are a magnificent treatise on power; that’s the thesis here. You won’t find a better one anywhere.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Mosiah
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Escapes; Wealth.“
Who does the escaping? and from what?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Alma and Amlici.“
Things had been going very bad with the church because of Nehor, who had taken all the people away. They all thought they were the true church. Nehor did, and Alma did, too. A man by the name of Amlici thought he could “cash in” on the Nehor movement. He wanted to go all the way, become extreme right wing, and make himself king. So we have two factions facing each other.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “From Prosperity and Peace to Pride and Power; The Atonement.“
In the fifth year of the reign of the judges all that fighting and terrible stuff happened. Now we are in the sixth year, and everything is going pretty well. In the sixth year there were no contentions, for once. Of course there were no contentions; they were suffering too much from the setback in the wars.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Rededication and Restitution; The Atonement.“
Now here’s the situation we have in Alma 5. Both Alma and his father had been having a constant struggle, as you know, to keep the Nephites in the path of duty. They were always drifting away, as Israel does. Could the two Almas be to blame? Were they too severe?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Good and Evil; Foretelling Christ’s Birth.“
Now we’re on that long fifth chapter of Alma. In verse 53 he gets specific on something. You’ll notice in verses 40 to 43 he talks in general terms about evil and good. Verse 40: “For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil [well, what is he talking about?]. . . . I speak in the energy of my soul.” Here he’s specific; he tells what he’s talking about in verse 53: “Can ye lay aside these things, and trample the Holy One under your feet; yea, can ye be puffed up in the pride of your hearts [now this is when he talks specifically about being evil]; yea, will ye still persist in the wearing of costly apparel and setting your hearts upon the vain things of the world, upon your riches?”
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Zeezrom and Lawyers.“
Alma 10 is the legalistic chapter. It’s on legalism and lawyers. It packs a real wallop and shows immense insight.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “The Plan of Salvation.“
Alma 12 is perhaps the hardest chapter in the Book of Mormon. It’s the one that separates us farthest from the world. We are talking about free will, Adam’s fall, etc.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
One thing to make a hort remark about is the evidence for the Book of Mormon. They talk so much about archaeological evidence that always comes up where the Book of Mormon is mentioned. If you want proof of the Book of Mormon, you must go to the Old World. You won’t find it in the New World.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 3
Also called “Alma, Amulek, and Zeezrom; Ammon among the Lamanites.“
The hardest test of all is holding back. It’s not blowing up or doing violence. This is where the Latter-day Saints historically have been repeatedly tested and stood up to the test very well. The times they didn’t go to war were the times they always won. Then the other times when they blew their tops, it was not so good. Alma is being tested here in the jail to the breaking point.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “War; Ammon and King Lamoni.“
You may ask why we are getting stuck on this trivial episode about the waters of Sebus, but it’s a very important part of the Book of Mormon, and a very important part of warfare.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “King Lamoni.“
We’re on Alma 19. These chapters that follow have a number of unusual things happening in them. But in other ages these things were not so unusual; they were sort of routine. These things sound quite fantastic in the Book of Mormon.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “War.“
We have a long way to go, but there are some things that are much too important to miss. What we want to get now, just to begin with, is this general situation that seems so confused—this confused situation of battles, etc., in these chapters following Alma 22.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Alma and Korihor.“
Now, if there ever were authentic and inspired passages in the Book of Mormon it’s these chapters we have come to in Alma. We really have something there. Nothing in the whole wide spectrum covered by the Book of Mormon is more significant than what is laid out in Alma 30–35.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Mission to the Zoramites.“
The Book of Mormon doesn’t dabble around, as historical romances and things like that do. It’s really to the “nitty gritty.” In this chapter 34, Alma is speaking to the other Zoramites.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Alma Addresses His Sons.“
Now we have come to Alma’s addresses to his three sons. Each is a very different character.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Periodic Extinctions.“
Well, we obviously are living at the end of an age when things are going to change. We have to do something about it. What’s the handbook? What do we do? I panic when I read things like this. One answer comes—the Book of Mormon. You may think that’s a paradox, but it isn’t. We’ll see what the Book of Mormon is going to tell us.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “A Review of Book of Mormon Themes.“
I thought that since we are going to begin with Alma 46 and since I have not been looking especially at the Book of Mormon all summer, and neither have you, a review might be in order.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Also called “Book of Mormon Themes; Apostasy.“
We were talking about these recurrent themes in the Book of Mormon.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Insights from Lehi’s Contemporaries: Solon and Jeremiah.“
Lehi and his great contemporaries started a lot of chain reactions. We don’t mention them just because they were interesting curiosities, or anything like that, but because we are still living on their capital.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 3
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Also called “The Title of Liberty; The Dead Sea Scrolls; The Flag of Kawe.“
We are on Alma 46. I said it before and I say it again. If this was all Joseph Smith ever left us, it would be very powerful evidence to his being a true prophet. It starts out on a theme that has become painfully obvious today.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Evidence of the Authenticity of the Book of Mormon.“
The prodigality of Alma 46 leaves my poor old noggin bemused. I don’t know how to handle it. I made a list last night of sixteen points of evidence it brings out, any one of which would be enough to write a book about. Just now before the class a question occurred to me, and it is very important for us to answer it here. Is our main interest here proving the Book of Mormon? No. What is our main interest in the Book of Mormon? Learning more about its message.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “The Garment of Joseph; Religious Brotherhoods.“
We were talking about the battles and the scrolls. We are told in Alma 46:20 that Moroni waves his banner and summons the people to maintain this title upon the land, entering into a covenant with the Lord. They make a covenant, and they not only come under the banner but they also sign their names. They sign all their names.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Religious Brotherhoods; The World (Babylon); Nomadic Warlords.“
In Alma 47 it becomes clear that there are different kinds of civilizations we are dealing with. We said last time that there are four different kinds. Why should there be four? Throughout the world—down at Lincoln Beach and all over South America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa you will find petroglyphs, and the commonest of all petroglyphs is this. That’s the quadrata. What do you think this stands for? It’s the sign of the cosmos. How do you think the most primitive people would be aware of the fact that it should be divided into no less than four parts? Those people are aware of it being on the earth because they look at the sky. What do you learn from the sky? In what direction does the sun rise? The sun goes down in the west and it comes up again in the east. Everybody notices that, you know. But today you’ll notice an interesting thing.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Tragedy and Suffering in the Scriptures.“
Now we are on chapter 47 and some interesting phenomena emerge. You think everything will be an anticlimax after 46, don’t you? Well, you’re wrong. There are no anticlimaxes in the Book of Mormon, at least not many of them.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Warfare; World War II Memories.“
Now we have chapter 48. Do you think this going to be a letdown? This is on another subject, and it’s a “dilly.” It’s on war. Why do we have to bother about that? We’re beyond that sort of barbarism today, aren’t we? Well, I think I can save trouble by reading the introduction to a section on war.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Abraham; Clausewitz’s Rules of War; World War II Memories.“
You’re perfectly free to read the Book of Mormon anytime you want to, as fast as you want to. That’s not the idea. I’m pointing out a few things which you would overlook, which you wouldn’t see. These are important things, I think. I know you’ve overlooked them, because I’ve overlooked them for sixty years.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Clausewitz’s Rules of War.“
We ask why dwell on the savagery of ancient wars, of all things, in this enlightened age? The answer is because we haven’t changed one bit. It’s exactly as it was before. I came out by the same door wherein I went. This is one of the great lessons of the Book of Mormon—that we don’t improve, we don’t get any better at all. Today most men are as dense as they have ever been, and no matter how far back you go in time, you’ll find people just as enlightened as any alive today. The picture never changes; the balance never changes. That’s a sweeping statement, but it’s true.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Clausewitz’s Rules of War; World War II Memories.“
“I don’t want to get morbidly engaged with this military stuff, but it has got me quite excited. We were talking about the “fog of war.” The main reason is that the Book of Mormon sets this forth so beautifully, so clearly, so succinctly. One hundred and seventy pages is quite an essay on war, but it
treats every aspect. It doesn’t leave anything untouched and it’s marvelous. Everything is in context. If you keep your eyes open, you’ll see this.“
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “World War II Memories.“
Well, the major earthquake on October 17, 1989, shows us certainly that things can get rough in this enlightened age. Of course, later on the Book of Mormon has a great deal to say about that sort of happening. Now we are dealing with the war sort of happening. We don’t want to linger on it too long, though the Book of Mormon, we notice, spends a lot of time on it. There’s a reason for that. As I said, we can read the Book of Mormon anytime, but there are some things that must be pointed out here.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Souvenirs from Lehi’s Jerusalem.“
Lehi had full baggage. Remember, his people were especially prepared to transfer the culture from one world to the other. We want to find out first what happened to Jeremiah because that’s very much in the story of Lehi. The reason we are bringing this up is that there are some marvelous documents that have appeared “out of the blue“ right from Lehi’s day.
Old Testament Scriptures > Jeremiah/Lamentations
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 4
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 2
Also called “The Prevalence of Warfare.“
What kind of religious book is this that goes on telling us who moved where and what forces go where? Why the purely technical side? Well, these are the games men play, and there’s a purpose for putting them in here. Why these games? Is this to be the nature of our probation, waging battle?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Formal Rules of Warfare.“
What does the word paradox come from? What does it mean? We use the word a lot. It has a double meaning.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Bar Kochba.“
What we’re supposed to do is read the Book of Mormon, isn’t it? So we are doing it. Wait a minute. Are we stuck in the mud of an eternal battlefield here? It looks that way, doesn’t it? I’m trying to break loose. I jumped the gun last time in my eagerness to bring it to a close, but this is a very important part, how wars close.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Also called “Book of Mormon Names.“
The plot thickens now as we get closer and closer to home. We are in Alma 62. Of course, Moroni was very, very glad and relieved to receive Pahoran’s letter. I wonder if he felt cheap or something when he found out he had been completely wrong after all the shouting, raving, and ranting against Pahoran. His heart was filled with exceedingly great joy to find out that he wasn’t a traitor, as he thought he was. He really jumped the gun that time. But at the same time “he did also mourn exceedingly.” Moroni is something of a manic-depressive, isn’t he? He’s an overachiever, he’s a military genius, and he only lives a very short life. He just wears himself out, I think. He’s that sort of person. We get these beautiful character delineations in the Book of Mormon. We learn that things are often wrong with the world, but [we should] be careful how we place the blame. We don’t want to do things like that.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Helaman
Also called “Geography and Ecology.“
We’re in the first chapter of Helaman, and we’ve just come to Coriantumr’s exploit where he marched right into Zarahemla. The reason he could do it is because there was so much social unrest in Zarahemla. This Coriantumr was the leader, and he was appointed leader by the son of Ammoron who was the brother of that rascal Amalickiah. Tubaloth is a nephew of Amalickiah, and he was put in charge of things, but he put Coriantumr in charge.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Helaman
Also called “Apostasy; The Gospel and World Religions.“
We begin with Helaman 3:30: “And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.” To sit down—it uses that a number of times in the Book of Mormon. Remember, you’re invited to go into the tent and sit down—have place with us. What he’s talking about is the old Mosaic law, which was abolished after Lehi left Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed. It was never the same after that. These people were familiar with the old custom—that going in and sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is very important.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Helaman
Also called “Crime; Secret Societies; Egyptian Mythology on the Origin of the World.“
We are on the sixth chapter of Helaman now. It is one of those epoch chapters; it’s like chapter 46 and others. If this was all we had of the Book of Mormon, it would be enough to attest to its authenticity right down to the ground. This is a chapter on crime. It starts out happily and then suddenly things go sour.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Helaman
Also called “Modern Wickedness; Cain and the Origin of Secret Combinations.“
The Nephites were getting rich so they didn’t need wars anymore. They were rather happy about it. With riches of the world they hadn’t been stirred up to bloodshed nationally, so they got rich and were stirred up to private bloodshed. Their wars are lowered to a private level now. They are going to start doing that sort of thing, and then we get our prime time, as I mentioned before. “. . . to commit secret murders, and to rob and to plunder, that they might get gain.”
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Helaman
Also called “Great Rulers in History.“
In the sixth chapter the Nephites have gotten wicked again. Remember, the Lamanites wiped out the Gadiantons simply by preaching the gospel to them. That may seem extravagant to us. But the Nephites went on getting more and more wicked, and then see what happened. Why did they do this? Because they didn’t work at being righteous. You have to fast and pray and things like that. The Lord had blessed them, and this is the reason. They liked prosperity.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Helaman
Also called “The Hopi Indians; The Druze; Wisdom Literature; The Copper Scroll; The Chilam Balam.
When the Aztecs came to the valley of Mexico, and I quote, “their cities’ need for firewood was already denuding the valley of Mexico of trees. An epic famine . . .” We are going to have an epic famine here today, aren’t we—great famines and deforestation? What we find is steadily advancing drought in these chapters of Helaman; it’s very clearly indicated. All the clues are there, and they all fit together so beautifully, like this one: “An epic famine in the year one of the rabbit decimated the Mexican people. Their empire might well have fallen before they could employ the arts of the wheel or the bronze.” We don’t know about these other things. But how about these merchants going around when they got prosperous? They learned a thing or two from the Nephites, started to make money, and got rich. Does that mean they had to be wicked?
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Helaman
Also called “The Days of King Zedekiah: ’There Came Many Prophets.’“
Nephi has the four qualities that Matthew Arnold attributes to Homer. The Book of Mormon has them; I don’t know anything else that has them. If you were to be asked, “What is the significance of the Lachish Letters for the Book of Mormon?“ They are immensely important.
Old Testament Scriptures > Jeremiah/Lamentations
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 3
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 4
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 4
Also called “The Hopelessness in Wickedness; The Twelve Apostles at Far West, Missouri, April 1838.“
Now, we’re beginning to learn a lesson that these Book of Mormon people were having a hard time learning—that things do change. It’s not always going to be the same. They thought it was, you know.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Helaman
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Rhetoric.“
Now the standard explanation today of all this misunderstanding that’s been going on between the Nephites, the Lamanites, the Zoramites, the Gadiantons, and all the rest of them—we would say piously is a lack of communication, wouldn’t we? They certainly aren’t communicating, and so we have a masterpiece of communication. This third chapter of 3 Nephi is the great letter. It’s really a lesson in communications. It’s typical of the official communique of our day. It’s smooth, it’s convincing, it’s conciliatory—and it’s totally false, as we’ll soon find.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Byzantine Civilizations and Zion; Secret Combinations.“
Well, we’re in the sixth chapter of 3 Nephi, and everybody says at this point, “Well, this is where I came in. You mean we’ve got to go through this again?” As it starts out, you notice everything is lovely at the beginning.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Great Catastrophes.“
Why do we go into such detail about the earthquake and storm? Well, it’s very accurate; it describes a typical one. But there’s a point to all this—a point to showing that all nature, all the earth, is in tremendous uproar. This is going to be followed by more uproar, and then suddenly comes the voice of the Lord. But first we have to see that the earth is dependent on him.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “The Lord Teaches His People.“
Notice what happens. The Savior comes to them. If you were writing this, it would be the biggest challenge of all when you came to the big climax—the Lord finally comes. Now what does he do? What does he say? Does he just repeat the New Testament? Well, he does and a lot more too.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “The Joy of the Lord’s Visit
We should notice some things here, such as the theme of the other sheep in 3 Nephi 16. Notice, suddenly it broadens out immensely. The other sheep all must be considered. Every individual in the whole world is going to get the full treatment. Here we see the earth from space, as one world, in this 16th chapter here, with all these other tribes. Then why is Israel so small in that case?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “The Horse in the Americas; War and Prosperity.“
Why is 3 Nephi 6:1 a good place to begin a story? It ends one phase; it ends the war. It’s the end of an epic, and we begin a new phase.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Style of Writing in the Book of Mormon; Pride, Gain, and Power.“
To start out I should ask a question. What do you notice in the first two verses of 3 Nephi 6? What do they have in common? What particular stylistic use do you find in the opening sentences of these two verses?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Government; Families and Tribes.“
A strange thing has happened, you see, very disturbing. Everything was going so well. They’d come through a terrible time; then everything was going too well. It all “came up roses”; everything was happy. Then we’re told in 3 Nephi 6:5 that things couldn’t be better. There was nothing to keep them from being completely happy. There were no economic, social, or any other kinds of problems except in themselves—that was the only trouble. And almost immediately things started going bad. It tells us the cause of it was what? We’ve already seen that. But in that case, what do you do? Isn’t that a remarkable parallel to things now?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Conversion; Signs and Destruction.“
3 Nephi 7:14 talks about the splinter groups that always take place. You’re always going to find them, and they’re characteristic. This is the way it happens. You notice how rich this verse is.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Let’s review quickly the first book of Nephi.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > Plan of Salvation, Terrible Questions > Preexistence, Premortal Life
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 3
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 4
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 4
Also called “Destruction and Blessings.“
Now we’re really getting in over our heads here. This chapter nine is pretty deep stuff. See, the Lord in the aretalogy tells us that he’s been doing all the destroying that’s been going on here. But first of all, what is the theme of the Book of Mormon? The theme of the Book of Mormon is, of course, salvation in Jesus Christ. But what is its historical message? What is its particular message to us? Remember, Parley P. Pratt wrote A Voice of Warning about the Book of Mormon. What’s it warning us against?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “The Early Christians; The FIve Gospels.“
The whole Book of Mormon is centered on one focal point, isn’t it? It’s like a burning glass centered with ferocious concentration on one single point. What is there in chapters 9 and 10 of 3 Nephi that points that out? One little word keeps hammering away, repeating and repeating. The whole Book of Mormon is just centered on one person, isn’t it? And who is that? Christ.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Resurrection; The Forty-Day Ministry; Reality.“
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts show what remarkable fact about the resurrection toward which everybody had looked forward, which was to be the great climax of human history? When it actually happened, what was the reaction of most people to it, including members of the Church and apostles? Did they say, “Hooray, hooray, it has happened at last?” When somebody told them about it, what did they say? You’d expect them to be dancing in the streets.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Physical and Spiritual Bodies; Anthropism.“
There’s a difference between being naughty and being vicious and rancorous. It goes back to this marvelous idea we have in 3 Nephi. To the Christian world, Adam’s fall was the sin. There was everything nasty and vile that followed it. The world had become so nasty, corrupt, and decayed that Christians decided that having a body means being vile. You don’t have to, you know.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Christ’s Ministry and Teachings.“
This sixth chapter—isn’t it something? Didn’t it just knock you off the Christmas tree? What’s the remarkable thing about it? I think it’s the most powerful editorial for us in the whole Book of Mormon, probably. I say that about every chapter, but this one really does it. This one covers all the ground. You’ll notice it starts out with a model society. They’ve been through a long war and suffered terribly. They return as a model society. They reform very wisely. They rehabilitate the enemy and all this sort of thing and begin immense prosperity. And then they start becoming spoiled. Then business becomes everything, and they’re divided into classes. Then, lo and behold, you get a secret government, the lawyers take over, and everything collapses. That’s the sixth chapter—what a marvelous cycle! It’s probably the most condensed cycle. Is it the story of American capitalism? Well, read it carefully; it’s very condensed. There’s an awful lot in it, but the next chapter does just like it. And what is the result of that?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Christ’s Membership; Christ’s Ministry.“
The editor of a Catholic journal told me in a letter that Joseph Smith was merely repeating the New Testament in 3 Nephi—it’s just the same old story. Well, what would you say to that? What did Jesus Christ say about that? He explained why he was telling them those things, and what did he say? Remember, he said, these are the same things which I taught the Jews in Jerusalem. Now, here’s the question. Would you expect him to teach something different?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Resurrection; The Forty-Day Ministry; Blessing the Children.“
The apostles made lost writings, a lot of them, and they are very rich. I notice that I cite fifty to a hundred of them here in this article, just dealing with the resurrection, that were not known or published in Joseph Smith’s day. Why do you think they weren’t widely published by the Christian world? They are the oldest writings we have, incidentally. The oldest Christian writings we have nearly all talk about the resurrection and nearly all have the heading “The Things Which the Lord Taught the Disciples in Secret after the Resurrection.” Why didn’t the Christian world preserve them? Well, it did—under cover.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “The Sermon at the Temple; Law and Covenant.“
We all know the Sermon on the Mount—that’s Matthew 5–7. The Sermon at the Temple is in 3 Nephi 11–18. It is a monumental text. It is one of those texts that acts as a “Grand Central Station,” a switchboard through which almost everything else in the Book of Mormon sooner or later will pass.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “Christ at the Nephite Temple.“
Turn your attention to the content of the message of Jesus in the first part of the Sermon at the Temple. This is a sobering, deeply spiritual experience that the Nephites there at the temple in Bountiful were blessed to participate in. I am always humbled whenever I approach this text. As King Benjamin said, these texts are here that we can relive the experiences that those people were blessed to experience.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “The Beatitudes; Christ’s Teachings.“
We continue our probing and developing of the hypothesis that the Sermon at the Temple provides us with temple-rich material which when viewed in a covenant-making context takes on new and important meanings and significance. I would like to continue to test this hypothesis in terms of looking at each of the elements in the text to see if they can be understood in this way.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
Also called “In the Wilderness.“
The Book of Mormon is a handbook; it’s everything. It’s all in there, far more than you think.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > Plan of Salvation, Terrible Questions > Preexistence, Premortal Life
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 3
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Chapters > Abraham 4
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 4
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Johnston, a staff reporter for the Deseret News, conducted a series of interviews concerning the reading habits of prominent Utahns. This was the eighth in the series. Nibley listed, as his favorite books, the following: (1) Shakespeare, Complete Works; (2) Book of Mormon; (3) Homer, Odyssey; (4) Goethe, Faust; (5) Gaius Petronius, Satyricon; (6) Jean Froissart, Chronicles. Nibley also said that by age thirteen, he knew Macbeth by heart and tried to learn Hamlet but found it too long.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Here we discuss Lehi’s personal contacts with the Arabs, as indicated by his family background and his association with Ishmael, whose descendants in the New World closely resemble the Ishmaelites (Bedouins) of the Old World.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Here we see that Lehi was a typical great man of one of the most remarkable centuries in human history, and we also learn how he was delivered from the bitterness and frustration that beset all the other great men of his time.
Virtually all that is known of the world in which Lehi is purported to have lived has been discovered within the last hundred years, mostly within the last thirty. How does this information check with that in the book of 1 Nephi? A classic reflection on Lehi’s world in Arabia: poetry, tree of life, family affairs, politics, imagery, travel, tents, and foods. One of the first attempts to test the Book of Mormon against known geographical and cultural details in the regions where Lehi probably traveled in the Old World.
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1952)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1980)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites. An unedited reprinting of the original version (1987)
Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites (1988)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
The bulk of these materials appeared in the Improvement Era between 1950 and 1952. The original illustrations and some other materials were not included in the book.
“Lehi in the Desert” (1950)
“The World of the Jaredites” (1951)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1980)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites. An unedited reprinting of the original version (1987)
Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites (1988)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Contains a new comprehensive index by Gary P. Gillum.
“Lehi in the Desert” (1950)
“The World of the Jaredites” (1951)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1952)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites. An unedited reprinting of the original version (1987)
Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites (1988)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
“Lehi in the Desert” (1950)
“The World of the Jaredites” (1951)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1952)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1980)
Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites (1988)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh Nibley is probably still best known for his groundbreaking investigations into the ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of Lehi and of the Jaredites. Those classic studies are contained in this volume—the first of several books to appear in the volumes of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley that deal with the Book of Mormon.
“Lehi in the Desert” (1950)
“The World of the Jaredites” (1951)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1952)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1980)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites. An unedited reprinting of the original version (1987)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Old Testament Topics > Symposia and Collections of Essays
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Discusses Lehi’s eloquence an dsuggests that while it may appear at first glance to be most damning to the Book of Mormon, on closer inspection, it provides striking confirmation of its correctness.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
This lesson is devoted to pointing out the peculiar materials of which Lehi’s dreams are made, the images, situations, and dreamscenery which though typical come from the desert world in which Lehi was wandering. These thirteen snapshots of desert life are submitted as evidence for that claim.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
This is a general introduction to the lessons. It declares the purpose of the course as being to illustrate and explain the Book of Mormon, rather than to prove it. In many ways the Book of Mormon remains an unknown book, and the justification for these lessons lies in their use of neglected written materials, including ancient sources, which heretofore have not been consulted in the study of the Book of Mormon. In spite of the nature of the evidence to be presented, the average reader is qualified to pursue this course of study, though he is warned to avoid the practice common among the more sophisticated critics of the Book of Mormon of judging that book not in the light of the ancient times in which it purports to have been written but in that of whatever period the critic himself arbitrarily chooses as the time of its production. The Book of Mormon must be read as an ancient, not as a modern book. Its mission, as described by the book itself, depends in great measure for its efficacy on its genuine antiquity. After stating this purpose, the present lesson ends with discussion of the “Great Retreat” from the Bible, which is in full swing in our day and can only be checked in the end by the Book of Mormon.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Laban is described very fully, though casually, by Nephi and is seen to be the very type and model of a well-known class of public official in the Ancient East. Everything about him is authentic. Zoram is another authentic type. Both men provide food for thought to men of today: both were highly successful yet greatly to be pitied. They are representatives and symbols of a decadent world. Zoram became a refugee from a society in which he had everything, as Lehi did, because it was no longer a fit place for honest men. What became of “the Jews at Jerusalem” is not half so tragic as what they became. This is a lesson for Americans.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
To appreciate the setting of much of Book of Mormon history it is necessary to get a correct idea of what is meant by wilderness. That word has in the Book of Mormon the same connotation as in the Bible and usually refers to desert country. Throughout their entire history, the Book of Mormon people remain either wanderers in the wilderness or dwellers in close proximity to it. The motif of the Flight into the Wilderness is found throughout the book and has great religious significance as the type and reality of the segregation of the righteous from the wicked and the position of the righteous man as a pilgrim and an outcast on the earth. Both Nephites and Lamanites always retained their nomadic ways.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
The Israelites always looked back upon the days of the wandering in the wilderness as the true schooling of the Chosen People and the time when they were most nearly fulfilling the measure of their existence. The concept of man as a wanderer and an outcast in a dark and dreary world is as old as the records of the human race. The desert has always had two aspects, that of refuge and asylum on the one hand, and of trial and tribulation on the other: in both respects, it is a place where God segregates and tests his people. Throughout the history of Israel, zealous minorities among the people have gone out into the wilderness from time to time in an attempt to get back to the ways of the Patriarchs and to live the old Law in its purity, fleeing from Idumea or the wicked world. This tradition remained very much alive among the early Christians and is still a part of the common Christian heritage, as can be seen from numerous attempts of Christian groups to return to the ways of Israel in the desert. Only the restored Church of Jesus Christ, however, has found itself in the actual position of the ancient saints, being literally driven out into the desert.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
As outcasts and wanderers, the Nephites took particular pains to preserve unbroken the records and traditions that bound them to their ancestors in the Old World. Special emphasis is laid in the Book of Mormon on one particular phase of the record; namely, the care to preserve intact that chain of religious writing that had been transmitted from generation to generation by these people and their ancestors “since the world began.” The Book of Mormon is a religious history. It is specifically the history of one religious community, rather than of a race or nation, beginning with the “people of Nephi,” who became established as a special minority group at the very beginning of Book of Mormon times. The Nephite prophets always preached that the nation could only maintain its integrity and its very existence by remaining a pious religious society. Alma founded a church based on religious traditions brought from the Old World: it was a Church in the Wilderness, a small group of pious dissenters who went forth into the desert for the purpose of living the Law in its fullness. This church was not unique among the Nephites; other “churches of anticipation” flourished in the centuries before Christ, and after Christ came many churches carrying on in the apocalyptic tradition.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
The mystery of the nature and organization of the Primitive Church has recently been considerably illuminated by the discovery of the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls. There is increasing evidence that these documents were deliberately sealed up to come forth at a later time, thus providing a significant parallel to the Book of Mormon record. The Scrolls have caused considerable dismay and confusion among scholars, since they are full of things generally believed to be uniquely Christian, though they were undoubtedly written by pious Jews before the time of Christ. Some Jewish and Christian investigators have condemned the Scrolls as forgeries and suggest leaving them alone on the grounds that they don’t make sense. Actually they make very good sense, but it is a sense quite contrary to conventional ideas of Judaism and Christianity. The Scrolls echo teachings in many apocryphal writings, both of the Jews and the Christians, while at the same time showing undeniable affinities with the Old and the New Testament teachings. The very things which made the Scrolls at first so baffling and hard to accept to many scholars are the very things which in the past have been used to discredit the Book of Mormon. Now the Book of Mormon may be read in a wholly new light, which is considered here in lessons 14, 15, 16, and 17.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Alma’s church in the wilderness was a typical “church of anticipation.” In many things it presents striking parallels to the “church of anticipation” described in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Both had gone forth into the wilderness in order to live the Law in its fullness, being dissatisfied with the official religion of the time, which both regarded as being little better than apostasy. Both were persecuted by the authorities of the state and the official religion. Both were strictly organized along the same lines and engaged in the same type of religious activities. In both the Old World and the New, these churches in the wilderness were but isolated expressions of a common tradition of great antiquity. In the Book of Mormon, Alma’s church is clearly traced back to this ancient tradition and practice, yet until the recent discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, no one was aware of its existence. We can now read the Book of Mormon in a totally new context, and in that new context, much that has hitherto been strange and perplexing becomes perfectly clear.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
In the light of the Dead Sea Scrolls, all the Apocryphal writings must be read again with a new respect. Today the correctness of the 91st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants as an evaluation of the Apocrypha is vindicated with the acceptance of an identical view by scholars of every persuasion, though a hundred years ago, the proposition set forth in the Doctrine and Covenants seemed preposterous. What all the apocryphal writings have in common with each other and with the scriptures is the Apocalyptic or eschatological theme. This theme is nowhere more fully and clearly set forth than in the Book of Mormon. Fundamental to this theme is the belief in a single prophetic tradition handed down from the beginning of the world in a series of dispensations but hidden from the world in general and often confined to certain holy writings. Central to the doctrine is the Divine Plan behind the creation of the world that is expressed in all history and revealed to holy prophets from time to time. History unfolds in repeating cycles in order to provide all men with a fair and equal test in the time of their probation. Every dispensation, or “Visitation,” it was taught, is followed by an apostasy and a widespread destruction of the wicked, and ultimately by a refreshing or a new visitation.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
This lesson is on an unusual theme. The Book of Mormon story of Moroni’s “Title of Liberty” gives valuable insight into certain practices and traditions of the Nephites, which they took as a matter of course but which are totally unfamiliar not only to the modern world but to the world of Biblical scholarship as well. Since it is being better recognized every day that the Bible is only a sampling (and a carefully edited one) of but one side of ancient Jewish life, the Book of Mormon must almost unavoidably break away from the familiar things from time to time, and show us facets of Old World life untouched by the Bible. The “Title of Liberty” story is a good example of such a welcome departure from beaten paths, being concerned with certain old Hebrew traditions which were perfectly familiar to the Nephites but are nowhere to be found either in the Bible or in the apocryphal writings. These traditions, strange as they are, can now be checked by new and unfamiliar sources turned up in the Old World and are shown to be perfectly authentic.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
In Nephi’s description of his father’s eight years of wandering in the desert, we have an all but foolproof test for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. It can be shown from documents strewn down the centuries that the ways of the desert have not changed, and many first-hand documents have actually survived from Lehi’s age and from the very regions in which he wandered. These inscriptions depict the same hardships and dangers as those described by Nephi and the same reaction to them. A strong point for the Book of Mormon is the claim that Lehi’s people survived only by “keeping to the more fertile parts of the wilderness,” since that is actually the custom followed in those regions, though the fact has only been known to westerners for a short time. Nephi gives us a correct picture of hunting practices both as to weapons and methods used. Even the roughest aspects of desert life at its worst are faithfully and correctly depicted.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
A valuable passage about fire-making in 1 Nephi furnishes the perfect clue to the nature of Lehi’s contacts in the desert. He avoided all contact whenever possible. This behavior is perfectly consistent with the behavior of modern Arabs and with known conditions in the desert in Lehi’s day. The whole story of Lehi’s wandering centers about his tent, which in Nephi’s account receives just the proper emphasis and plays just the proper role. Another authentic touch is Lehi’s altar-building and sacrificing. The troubles and tensions within Lehi’s own family on the march, and the way they were handled and the group led and controlled by Lehi’s authority are entirely in keeping with what is known of conditions both today and in ancient times. The description of the role and the behavior of women in 1 Nephi are also perfectly consistent with what is known of actual conditions from many sources.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
“The Book of Mormon can and should be tested. It invites criticism, and the best possible test for its authenticity is provided by its own oft-proclaimed provenance in the Old World. Since the Nephites are really a branch broken off from the main cultural, racial, and religious stock, that provenance can be readily examined.” In case one thinks the Book of Mormon has been adequately examined in the past, it is well to know that today all ancient records are being read anew in the light of new discoveries. In this lesson we discuss some of the overthrows of the last decades that make it necessary to undertake the thoroughgoing re-evaluation of ancient records, including the Bible. The old evolutionary interpretation is being re-examined, while in its place is coming the realization that all ancient records can best be understood if they are read as a single book.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Long ago Sigmund Freud showed that dreams are symbolic, that they take their familiar materials from everyday life and use them to express the dreamer’s real thoughts and desires. Lehi’s dreams have a very authentic undertone of anxiety, of which the writer of 1 Nephi himself seems not fully aware; they are the dreams of a man heavily burdened with worries and responsibilities. The subjects of his unrest are two: the dangerous project he is undertaking and the constant opposition and misbehavior of some of his people, especially his two eldest sons. It may be instructive for the student to look for these two themes in the dreams discussed here. This lesson is devoted to pointing out the peculiar materials of which Lehi’s dreams are made: the images, situations, and dream-scenery, which, though typical, can only come from the desert world in which Lehi was wandering. These thirteen snapshots of desert life are submitted as evidence for that claim.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
One of the most revealing things about Lehi is the nature of his great eloquence. It must not be judged by modern or western standards, as people are prone to judge the Book of Mormon as literature. In this lesson, we take the case of a bit of poetry recited extempore by Lehi to his two sons to illustrate certain peculiarities of the Oriental idiom and especially to serve as a test-case in which a number of very strange and exacting conditions are most rigorously observed in the Book of Mormon account. Those are the conditions under which ancient desert poetry was composed. Some things that appear at first glance to be most damning to the Book of Mormon, such as the famous passage in 2 Nephi 1:14 about no traveler returning from the grave, turn out on closer inspection to provide striking confirmation of its correctness.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
In this lesson, we test certain proper names in the Book of Mormon in the light of actual names from Lehi’s world, unknown in the time of Joseph Smith. Not only do the names agree but the variations follow the correct rules, and the names are found in correct statistical proportions, the Egyptian and Hebrew types being of almost equal frequency, along with a sprinkling of Hittite, Arabic, and Greek names. To reduce speculation to a minimum, the lesson is concerned only with highly distinctive and characteristic names and to clearly stated and universally admitted rules. Even so, the reader must judge for himself. In case of doubt, he or she is encouraged to correspond with recognized experts in the languages concerned. The combination of the names Laman and Lemuel, the absence of Baal names, the predominance of names ending in -iah, such facts as those need no trained philologist to point them out; they can be demonstrated most objectively, and they are powerful evidence in behalf of the Book of Mormon.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
In the writer’s opinion, this lesson presents the most convincing evidence yet brought forth for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Very likely, the reader will be far from sharing this view, since the force of the evidence is cumulative and based on extensive comparative studies that cannot be fully presented here. Still the evidence is so good, and can be so thoroughly tested, that we present it here for the benefit of the reader who wishes to pursue the subject further. Since Gressmann, Jeremias, Mowinckel, and many others began their studies at the start of the century, a vast literature on the subject of the Great Assembly at the New Year and the peculiar and complex rites performed on that occasion has been brought forth. Yet nowhere can one find a fuller description of that institution and its rites than in the Book of Mormon. Since “patternism” (as the awareness of a single universal pattern for all ancient year rites is now being called) is a discovery of the last thirty years, the fact that the now familiar pattern of ritual turns up in a book first published almost 130 years ago is an extremely stimulating one. For it is plain that Mosiah’s account of the Great Year Rite among the Nephites is accurate in every detail, as can be checked by other year-rites throughout the world.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
The Latter-day Saint claim that Ezekiel’s account of the Stick of Joseph and the Stick of Judah is a clear reference to the Book of Mormon has, of course, been challenged. There is no agreement among scholars today as to what the prophet was talking about, and so no competing explanation carries very great authority. The ancient commentators certainly believed that Ezekiel was talking about books of scripture, which they also identify with a staff or rod. As scepters and rods of identification the Two Sticks refer to Judah and Israel or else to the Old Testament and the New. But in this lesson, we present the obvious objections to such an argument. The only alternative is that the Stick of Joseph is something like the Book of Mormon. But did the ancient Jews know about the Lord’s people in this hemisphere? The Book of Mormon says they did not, but in so doing specifies that it was the wicked from whom that knowledge was withheld. Hence it is quite possible that it was had secretly among the righteous, and there is actually some evidence that this was so.
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
In this lesson, we pick out some peculiar items in the Book of Ether to show how they vindicate its claim to go back to the very dawn of history. First, the account of the great dispersion has been remarkably confirmed by independent investigators in many fields. Ether, like the Bible, tells of the Great Dispersion, but it goes much further than the Bible in describing accompanying phenomena, especially the driving of cattle and the raging of terrible winds. This part of the picture can now be confirmed from many sources. In Ether, the reign and exploits of King Lib exactly parallel the doings of the first kings of Egypt (entirely unknown, of course, in the time of Joseph Smith) even in the oddest particulars. The story of Jared’s barges can be matched by the earliest Babylonian descriptions of the ark, point by point as to all peculiar features. There is even ample evidence to attest the lighting of Jared’s ships by shining stones, a tradition that in the present century has been traced back to the oldest versions of the Babylonian Flood Story.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has brought to light the dual nature of ancient Judaism, in which “the official and urban Judaism” is pitted against the more pious Jews “intent on going back to the most authentic sources of Jewish religion . . . in contrast to the rest of backsliding Israel” (Moscati). The official Judaism is the work of “intellectuals” who are not, however, what they say they are, namely seekers after truth, but rather ambitious men eager to gain influence and followers. The Book of Mormon presents a searching study of these people and their ways. There is the devout Sherem, loudly proclaiming his loyalty to the Church and his desire to save it from those who believe without intellectual proof. There is Alma, who represents the rebellion of youth against the teachings of the fathers. There is Nehor, the Great Liberal, proclaiming that the Church should be popular and democratic, but insisting that he as an intellectual be given special respect and remuneration. There is Amlici, whose motive was power and whose tool was intellectual appeal. There is Korihor, the typical Sophist. There is Gadianton whose criminal ambitions where masked by intellectual respectability. For the Old World an exceedingly enlightening tract on the ways of the intellectuals is Justin Martyr’s debate with Trypho, and also an interesting commentary on the Book of Mormon intellectuals whose origin is traced directly back to the “Jews at Jerusalem.”
A commentary on the “intellectuals” of the official Judaism and suggests that they were not seekers after truth but were rather ambitious men eager to gain influence and followers.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Crime has a conspicuous place in the Book of Mormon. It is organized crime and for the most part singularly respectable. Here we trace the general course of criminal doings in the Book of Mormon, showing that the separate events and periods are not disconnected but represent a single great tradition. Petty crime is no concern of the Book of Mormon, but rather wickedness in high places. The Book of Mormon tells us how such comes into existence and how it operates, and how it manages to surround itself with an aura of intense respectability and in time to legalize its evil practices. Finally, the whole history of crime in the Book of Mormon is directed to our own age, which is described at the end of the book in unmistakable terms.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
The long summary at the end of this chapter tells what it is about. It is a general picture of Nephite culture, which turns out to be a very different sort of thing from what is commonly imagined. The Nephites were a small party of migrants laden with a very heavy and complete cultural baggage. Theirs was a mixed culture. In America, they continued their nomadic ways and lived always close to the wilderness, while at the same time building cities and cultivating the soil. Along with much local migration attending their colonization of the new lands, these people were involved in a major population drift towards the north. Their society was organized along hierarchical lines, expressed in every phase of their social activity.
Beginning with a mobile defense, the Nephites soon adopted the classic system of fortified cities and strong places, their earth-and-wood defenses resembling those found all over the Old World. Settled areas with farms, towns, and a capital city were separated from each other by considerable stretches of uninhabited country. The greatest military operation described in the Book of Mormon is the long retreat in which the Nephites moved from one place to another in the attempt to make a stand against the overwhelmingly superior hereditary enemy. This great retreat is not a freak in history but has many parallels among the wars and migrations of nations. There is nothing improbable or even unusual in a movement that began in Central America and after many years ended at Cumorah.
Discusses the Nephite strategy for defense and compares it with wars and migrations of nations throughout time.
The note of universalism is very strong in the Book of Mormon, while the conventional views of tribal and national loyalties are conspicuously lacking. This peculiar state of things is an authentic reflection of actual conditions in Lehi’s world. Lehi, like Abraham, was the child of a cosmopolitan age. No other time or place could have been more peculiarly auspicious for the launching of a new civilization than the time and place in which he lived. It was a wonderful age of discovery, an age of adventurous undertakings in all fields of human endeavor, of great economic and colonial projects. At the same time the great and brilliant world civilization of Lehi’s day was on the very verge of complete collapse, and men of God like Lehi could see the hollowness of the loudly proclaimed slogans of peace (Jer. 6:14, 8:11) and prosperity. (2 Ne. 28:21.) Lehi’s expedition from Jerusalem in aim and method was entirely in keeping with the accepted practices of his day.
A discussion of Lehi’s beginnings, including what the world Lehi knew was like and how it was on the verge of collapse. It shows that Lehi’s expedition was entirely in keeping with the accepted practices of his day.
There are many indications in the book of First Nephi that Lehi was a merchant. That title meant a great deal in Lehi’s day; there is ample evidence that the greatest men of the ages engaged in the type of business activities in which Lehi himself was occupied. But along with that, these same men were great colonizers, seekers after wisdom, political reformers, and often religious founders. Here we see that Lehi was a typical great man of one of the most remarkable centuries in human history, and we also learn how he was delivered from the bitterness and frustration that beset all the other great men of his time.
“Here we see that Lehi was a typical great man of one of the most remarkable centuries in human history, and we also learn how he was delivered from the bitterness and frustration that beset all the other great men of his time.
“
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Only within the last few years has it been realized that the ancient Hebrews were not the primitive agricultural people that scholars had always supposed they were, but among other things that they were always very active in trade and commerce. Their commercial contracts reached for many hundreds of miles in all directions, which meant an extensive caravan trade entailing constant dealings with the Arabs. In Lehi’s day the Arabs had suddenly become very aggressive and were pushing Jewish merchants out of their favored positions in the deserts and towns of the north. To carry on large-scale mercantile activities with distant places, it was necessary for merchants to have certain personal and official connections in the cities in which they did business; here we mention the nature of such connections. Jewish merchants were very active in Arabia in Lehi’s day, diligently spreading their religion wherever they went and settling down not only as tradesmen in the towns but as permanent cultivators and colonizers in the open country. Lehi’s activity in this regard is more or less typical and closely resembles that of his predecessor Jonadab ben Rekhab.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Here we discuss Lehi’s personal contacts with the Arabs, as indicated by his family background and his association with Ishmael, whose descendants in the New World closely resemble the Ishmaelites (Bedouins) of the Old World. The names of Lehi and some of his sons are pure Arabic. The Book of Mormon depicts Lehi as a man of three worlds, and it has recently become generally recognized that the ancient Hebrews shared fully in the culture and traditions of the desert on the one hand and in the cultural heritage of Egypt on the other.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
The Book of Mormon insists emphatically and specifically that Lehi had acquired at least a veneer of Egyptian culture. Only within the last few decades have students come to appreciate the intimate cultural ties between Egypt and Palestine in Lehi’s day. Here we note some of the discoveries that have brought about that surprising realization. Though Lehi’s loyalty to Egypt seems mainly cultural, there is a good deal in the Book of Mormon to indicate business ties as well. Here we present two documents describing business dealings between Egypt and Palestine in ancient times: the one depicts the nature of overland traffic between two regions, the other gives a picture of trade by sea. That Lehi was interested also in the latter type of commerce is apparent from the prominence of the name of Sidon in the Book of Mormon.
From Nephi we learn that the Elders of the Jews were running things and that these Elders hated Lehi. From other sources, it is known that Jerusalem at the time actually was under the control of the Sarim, an upstart aristocracy that surrounded and dominated the weak king and hated and opposed both the prophets and the old aristocratic class to which Lehi belonged. This accounts for Nephi’s own coldness toward “the Jews at Jerusalem.” Among the considerable evidence in the Book of Mormon that identifies Lehi with the old aristocracy, the peculiar conception and institution of “land of one’s inheritance” deserved special mention. Also the peculiar relationship between city and country has now been explained, and with it the declaration of the Book of Mormon that Christ was born in the land of Jerusalem becomes a strong argument in support of its authenticity. Another significant parallel between the Book of Mormon and the political organization of Jerusalem in Lehi’s day is the singular nature and significance of the office of judges. The atmosphere of Jerusalem as described in the first chapters of the Book of Mormon is completely authentic, and the insistence of Nephi on the greatness of the danger and the completeness of the destruction of Judah has recently been vindicated by archaeological finds.
Nephi tells us a great deal about conditions in Jerusalem in his day. Lessons 8, 9, and 10 take a closer look at the city on the eve of its overthrow.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
There is no more authentic bit of Oriental “culture-history” than that presented in Nephi’s account of the brothers’ visits to the city. Because it is so authentic it has appeared strange and overdrawn to western critics unacquainted with the ways of the East, and has been singled out for attack as the most vulnerable part of the Book of Mormon. It contains the most widely discussed and generally condemned episode in the whole book, namely, the slaying of Laban, which many have declared to be unallowable on moral grounds and inadmissible on practical grounds. It is maintained that the thing simply could not have taken place as Nephi describes it. In this lesson, these objections are answered.
Published by FARMS in 1984, indexed as N-LES, as part of the Nibley Archive, 13 pp.
Discusses the Book of Mormon and Lehi to give a better view of how the future might view our day.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Characters > Lehi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Ancient Near East History
The great men of the sixth century believed in contemplation and in action, and they weren’t afraid to ask God for revelation. Lehi, Solon, Thales, Buddha, Confucius, Lao Tze, Zarathustra, and Pythagoras are discussed as contemporaries living in an important and booming “axial” era, the seminal 6th century B.C.
Discusses the Book of Mormon and Lehi to give a better view of how the future might view our day.
CD, 80 minutes. Hugh Nibley, scholar, educator, and lecturer, has been delighting and motivating Latter-day Saints for decades. A prolific writer, a keen and witty observer, and a relentless critic of the worldly, he has led Church members of all ages to deeper understanding and commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Widely recognized as one of the foremost scholars in the LDS Church, Nibley combines a powerful intellect with humility and spiritual greatness. He has encountered both students and colleagues, to continue to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). Lessons on the Atonement will increase your understanding of this all-important subject.
This concerns pollution of Geneva Steel in Orem.
A letter of protest about the South Campus Area Master Plan signed by Hugh and Phyllis Nibley and other individuals.
Miscellaneous comments in a panel discussion on the arts. With Eliot Butler, Robert Rees, Dennis Smith, and Eugene England (arbitrator), “BYU Faculty Panel.”
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Analysis of the Liahona, especially in light of Arabic divination arrows. Proposes an etymology for this name.
Circulated under the title“Literary Style of the Book of Mormon Insured Accurate Translation.“
The Church News received a letter from an interested non-member of the Church making the inquiry about why the Prophet Joseph Smith, in translating the Book of mormon, did not use contemporary English instead of using the “King James English” as found in the Bible. The Church News forwarded the letter on to Dr. Hugh Nibley, and this is his reply.
The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days. The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics > Literary Style
Reprinted in CWHN 8:212-18. Discusses why the Book of Mormon uses King James English to communicate effectively with Joseph Smith’s audience.
Reprinted in Mormonism and Early Christianity, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 4. 370–90.
In his volume The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment, Nibley describes in great detail initiation and ritual and coronation procedures among the Egyptians. The appendix in this book includes temple-related lectures of Cyril of Jerusalem and other early documents. In the present essay, Nibley provides a context for this study and his many others, which, almost without his being aware of it, have formed the background of his temple preoccupation over three decades. He shows how incredibly mixed and diffuse and varied are traditions growing out of temple worship in the religions of the Far East, as with those of the Middle East. The power of the temple idea to invade the minutest detail of life is demonstrated. Inconclusive though many scholarly studies remain about a philosophy or matrix to make sense of all the data, Nibley believes there are connections and symmetries and correspondences which again point to one conclusion: historically, civilizations—indeed civilization itself—have revolved around the temple. This essay and his preceding one provide an omnibus introduction to the more specialized studies that follow.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
A discussion of Lehi’s avoidance with contact of other humans and suggests that, from what we know today, this is consistent with the behavior of modern Arabs and with known conditions in the desert in Lehi’s day.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Discusses Nephi’s description of his father’s eight years of wandering in the desert versus what we know of the desert today and suggests that this gives us an all but foolproof test for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
Pointed social commentary concerning the state of the natural environment.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Stewardship, Creation, Earth, Environment
Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints presents Hugh Nibley’s reflections on the thoughts of Brigham Young on politics, education, leadership, and the environment. The timeliness of Brigham’s counsel on these topics will quickly become apparent to readers, as will the unique insights that Nibley adds. This volume will amuse, provoke, and challenge and, above all, educate.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Stewardship, Creation, Earth, Environment
An abbreviated version was published in Student Review, 20 December 1989. 3.
Discusses how the Atonement shows us that this world is not all there is.
An expansion of a talk by the same name given 10 November 1988, as part of the Deseret Book/FARMS Nibley lecture series.
Discusses how the Atonement shows us that this world is not all there is.
Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham: Articles from BYU Studies, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Looks at several of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and rumors surrounding them that may or may not be true based on the lack of evidence surrounding them.
The volume “An Approach to the Book of Abraham” contains diverse essays, including his three-year series of lengthy articles from Improvement Era, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.” According to Nibley, “Until now, no one has done much more than play around with the bedizening treasury of the Pearl of Great Price. They would not, we could not make of the Book of Abraham an object of serious study. The time has come to change all that.”
Looks at several of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers and rumors surrounding them that may or may not be true based on the lack of evidence surrounding them.
Uses science to find more of the meaning of the temple.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
Uses science to find more of the meaning of the temple.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 13. 380–404.
Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints presents Hugh Nibley’s reflections on the thoughts of Brigham Young on politics, education, leadership, and the environment. The timeliness of Brigham’s counsel on these topics will quickly become apparent to readers, as will the unique insights that Nibley adds. This volume will amuse, provoke, and challenge and, above all, educate.
Republished in 2005 in a richly illustrated volume with new format and additional material as Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 16. For reviews, see C. Wilfred Griggs, “A Great Fuss about a Scrap of Papyrus,” Ensign, October 1975. 84, and Eric Jay Olson, “A Hint of an Explanation,” Dialogue 9, no. 4 (1974): 74–75.
A translation and commentary on the so-called “Book of Breathings” that turned up among the Joseph Smith Papyri, containing parallels with early Christian materials.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Endowment
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Joseph Smith Papyri, Book of Breathings, Book of the Dead, Facsimiles, Egyptology, Hypocephalus
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Endowment
Follows Eduard Meyer’s Ursprung und Geschichte der Mormonen to compare Mohammad with Joseph Smith.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Joseph Smith > Criticisms, Apologetics > Eduard Meyer
Reprinted as six chapters in The Prophetic Book of Mormon.
A series about the Book of Mormon and its nineteenth-century American critics. David Marks, who heard the story of the book from the Whitmer family, dismissed it as deception that he could not support by purchasing the book. Alexander Campbell, Origen Bacheler, E. D. Hose, and Professor Rafinesque joined him. The critics could not believe in angelic visits, visions, and further revelation from God. They criticized the grammar and content, rebuked the translator as a fraud, a liar, and a money-digging, peep-stone looking cheat. One critic relied upon the words of another without checking to see if there was any truth.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 13. 346–79.
Statements on Brigham Young’s view of education.
“More Brigham Young on Education” (1976)
“More Brigham Young on Education” (1994)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning
Statements on Brigham Young’s view of education.
“More Brigham Young on Education” (1976)
“More Brigham Young on Education” (1994)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning
Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints presents Hugh Nibley’s reflections on the thoughts of Brigham Young on politics, education, leadership, and the environment. The timeliness of Brigham’s counsel on these topics will quickly become apparent to readers, as will the unique insights that Nibley adds. This volume will amuse, provoke, and challenge and, above all, educate.
Statements on Brigham Young’s view of education.
“More Brigham Young on Education” (1976)
“More Brigham Young on Education” (1976)
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.
Some brief references to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
Some brief references to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
Also printed in the United States under the same title in Concilium: Theology in the Age of Renewal 30 (1968): 170–73.
A summary statement of the content and purpose of the Book of Mormon prepared for Concilium, a journal devoted to an examination of the Christian scriptures. Explains it as an ancient record, a companion to the Bible with revealed Christianity before Christ and 40-day literature from the appearance of Christ among the Nephites.
“Chapter 13: The Mormon View of the Book of Mormon” (1989)
“The Book of Mormon: A Minimal Statement” (2004)
Journal of the Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture Volume 19 Issue 1 (2010)
Also in Concilium: Theology in the Age of Renewal 30 (1968): 170-73, and in other foreign- language editions of this Catholic journal in French, 151-53; Portuguese, 144-47; German, 855-56. Reprinted as “The Book of Mormon: A Minimal Statement,” in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless, 149-53. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center, 1978 Reprinted in CWHN 8:259-64. A summary statement of the content and purpose of the Book of Mormon prepared for Concilium, a journal devoted to an examination of the Christian scriptures. Explains it as an ancient record, a companion to the Bible with revealed Christianity before Christ and 40-day literature from the appearance of Christ among the Nephites.
The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days. The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.
“The Mormon View of the Book of Mormon” (1967)
“The Book of Mormon: A Minimal Statement” (2004)
Journal of the Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture Volume 19 Issue 1 (2010)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
From the outset of his career, Dr. Hugh Nibley has been centrally concerned with primitive Christianity, especially the shadowy era between the New Testament proper and the emergence and the triumph of the Catholic Church and Holy Roman Empire. That is the era treated in the nine essays collected in this volume. The essays cover such subjects as early accounts of Jesus’ childhood, the Savior’s forty-day ministry after his resurrection, baptism for the dead in ancient times, the passing of the primitive church, and the early Christian prayer circle. Each essay examines the close connection between the practices and the doctrines of the early Church and the Church of the latter days. Each essay has been reedited, and all the original sources have been rechecked.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Discusses recent discoveries that cast new light on the identity of the unknown prophet Zenos and are producing information “that no man dreamed of” concerning the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Unpublished.
Discussion about Hugh Nibley, then some Nibley remarks on mystery and its relativity.
A highly satirical examination of the early criticisms of Joseph Smith.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Joseph Smith Papyri, Book of Breathings, Book of the Dead, Facsimiles, Egyptology, Hypocephalus
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ordinances
Suggests that early mythology writers not only were aware of the parallels between religious stories and myths but often used wove parallels together to create their faith-promoting myths.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Old Testament Topics > Scripture Study
Suggests that early mythology writers not only were aware of the parallels between religious stories and myths but often used wove parallels together to create their faith-promoting myths.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Old Testament Topics > Scripture Study
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
The long summary at the end of this chapter tells what it is about. It is a general picture of Nephite culture, which turns out to be a very different sort of thing from what is commonly imagined. The Nephites were a small party of migrants laden with a very heavy and complete cultural baggage. Theirs was a mixed culture. In America they continued their nomadic ways and lived always close to the wilderness, while at the same time building cities and cultivating the soil. Along with much local migration attending their colonization of the new lands, these people were involved in a major population drift towards the north. Their society was organized along hierarchical lines, expressed in every phase of their social activity.
The volume “An Approach to the Book of Abraham” contains diverse essays, including his three-year series of lengthy articles from Improvement Era, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.” According to Nibley, “Until now, no one has done much more than play around with the bedizening treasury of the Pearl of Great Price. They would not, we could not make of the Book of Abraham an object of serious study. The time has come to change all that.”
Discusses Abraham’s dealings with men as a missionary.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon.
Vividly displays internal and external evidences to test whether the Book of Mormon is or is not a forgery, using the standard scholarly criteria for detecting forged writings. Very insightful comments on methodology for studying the Book of Mormon, evaluating evidence, using newly discovered documents, metal plates, literary criticism, poetry, lower criticism, and history. Also comments on animals, weights and measures, and the use of the Bible in the Book of Mormon.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days. The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
Reprinted in CWHN 8:54-126. Vividly displays internal and external evidences to test whether the Book of Mormon is or is not a forgery, using the standard scholarly criteria for detecting forged writings. Very insightful comments on methodology for studying the Book of Mormon, evaluating evidence, using newly discovered documents, metal plates, literary criticism, poetry, lower criticism, and history. Also comments on animals, weights and measures, and the use of the Bible in the Book of Mormon.
A series of quotations by various writers on six general topics: “The Old Testament Today,” “The New Testament Today,” “The Rediscovery of the Church,” “The New Concept of Scripture,” “Revelation: No Longer a Naughty Word,” and “New Orthodoxy and the Trend to Literalism.” Introduces themes taken up more systematically in other essays.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Israel’s language, religion, and culture were heavily influenced by Israel’s neighbors. Many early Christian practices were performed even before Christ.
Hugh Nibley presents interesting new scholarship about the relationship between Israelis and other Middle Eastern people in Biblical times.
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
Israel’s language, religion, and culture were heavily influenced by Israel’s neighbors. Many early Christian practices were performed even before Christ.
A continuation of Hugh Nibley’s presentation of interesting new scholarship about the relationship between Israelis and other Middle Eastern people in Biblical times.
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
Reprinted in The Ancient State, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 10. 303–10.
Adds some notes to Mr. Warren Blake’s study of the life and works of Joseph Justs Scaliger to correct some common misconceptions.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
Adds some notes to Mr. Warren Blake’s study of the life and works of Joseph Justs Scaliger to correct some common misconceptions.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
This booklet is a compilation of essays on the book of Abraham published in the Improvement Era. It contains three broad sections. First, Hugh Nibley reviews the controversy that broke out in 1912 when a Protestant minister in Salt Lake City solicited the opinions of the leading Egyptologists of the day concerning the viability of Joseph Smith’s translation of the book of Abraham. The second seciton refers to the Egyptian milieu of Abraham’s time and shows how the text of the book of Abraham and the first facsimile have plausible ties. Third, Nibley discusses legends about Abraham from early Jewish and Christian apocrypha that can be compared to the book of Abraham.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Joseph Smith Papyri, Book of Breathings, Book of the Dead, Facsimiles, Egyptology, Hypocephalus
A review of Avraham Gileadi’s The Apocalyptic Book of Isaiah, A New Translation and Interpretative Key (Provo, UT: Hebraeus Press, 1982).
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Isaiah
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Reviews and Forewords of Others’ Works > Avraham Gileadi
Dead Sea Scroll evidence witnesses that the text of the Bible has not been so much altered as mutilated by the removal of material from the original
Typed transcript
The essays in this volume, including four on today’s world, were selected by a panel of Hugh Nibley’s colleagues. They are singular in their penetration, their originality, and their vitality. Reaching from the apocalyptic visions of original “treasures in heaven” down to the climax of history, they are more than mind-stretching. The delight of Nibley’s brilliant and sometimes biting prose style imparts a sense of the agelessness of what he calls the “three-act play” of human existence. Written specially for this book, the author’s own “intellectual autobiography,” together with his introductory paragraphs for the various chapters, complete the work of making the book a fitting and permanent record of one of the past outstanding historians. The text available here is from the 2nd edition published in 2004. It is available only in PDF format. ISBN 0-8849-4338-0
New to this edition is Gary Gillum’s “Hugh Nibley: Scholar of the Spirit, Missionary of the Mind”; the bibliography has been dropped.
The essays in this volume, including four on today’s world, were selected by a panel of Hugh Nibley’s colleagues. They are singular in their penetration, their originality, and their vitality. Reaching from the apocalyptic visions of original “treasures in heaven” down to the climax of history, they are more than mind-stretching. The delight of Nibley’s brilliant and sometimes biting prose style imparts a sense of the agelessness of what he calls the “three-act play” of human existence. Written specially for this book, the author’s own “intellectual autobiography,” together with his introductory paragraphs for the various chapters, complete the work of making the book a fitting and permanent record of one of the past outstanding historians
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Criticisms, Apologetics
Original version of this book.
The essays in this volume, including four on today’s world, were selected by a panel of Hugh Nibley’s colleagues. They are singular in their penetration, their originality, and their vitality. Reaching from the apocalyptic visions of original “treasures in heaven” down to the climax of history, they are more than mind-stretching. The delight of Nibley’s brilliant and sometimes biting prose style imparts a sense of the agelessness of what he calls the “three-act play” of human existence. Written specially for this book, the author’s own “intellectual autobiography,” together with his introductory paragraphs for the various chapters, complete the work of making the book a fitting and permanent record of one of the past outstanding historians
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Criticisms, Apologetics
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Later retitled “Hugh Nibley: The Faithful Scholar.” Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 17. 23–45.
Questions and answers with Hugh Nibley about his role in scholarship and his studies.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 17. 46–50. This section of the journal, “Spotlight,” is designed to give attention to BYU faculty members and students who have a noteworthy record of publicaiton. We hope their work will inspire us to aim for higher standards of excellence than are necessary to get a degree or a good class grade. And we want their work to be more widley read, so that it may leaven the University.
Spotlights Hugh Nibley as a scholar and published writer.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Spotlights Hugh Nibley as a scholar and published writer.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Commenting on the reception of Fawn Brodie’s biography of Joseph Smith, Thomas G. Alexander claims that “perhaps no book in recent years has evinced more comment.” He then contrasted “the scholarly Marvin Hill’s” two reviews of Brodie’s biography of Joseph Smith (Dialogue 7, no. 4 [1972]: 72–85; Church History 43, no. 1 [March 1974]: 78–96) with “the rather outrageous Hugh Nibley’s No Ma’am That’s Not History. . .’” See Thomas G. Alexander, “The Place of Joseph Smith in the Development of American Religion: A Historiographical Inquiry,” Journal of Mormon History 5 (1978): 3–17, at 10, no. 9. The bibliographer-historian Dale L. Morgan, who provided Fawn Brodie with considerable assistance with both the contents and style of her biography of Joseph Smith, described Nibley’s pamphlet as “something of a slapstick performance, and the irony of it is, Nibley . . . is much more intoxicated with his own language than you, the ‘glib English major’ are.” See Morgan’s letter to Fawn Brodie, dated 9 June 1946, in Dale Morgan on Early Mormonism: Correspondence & A New History, ed. John P. Walker (Salt Lake City: Signature Press, 1986), 125. Tertius Chandler, a dilettantish polymath and friend of Morgan, included a polemic against Nibley’s pamphlet in Chandler’s Half-Encyclopedia ([Dedham, MA]: privately printed, 1956), 662–79. (The entry is entitled “The Controversy over Joseph Smith” and is dated 14 July 1952; it was extended to include other LDS responses to Brodie’s biography of Joseph Smith in “The Controversy over Joseph Smith—Part II,” dated 1 September 1952, 675–79). BYU Special Collections has a primitive typescript version of Chandler’s “The Controversy over Joseph Smith,” dated 1 September 1952, 22 pp.
This is a short, witty reply to Fawn M. Brodie’s No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, 2nd ed., rev. and enlarged (New York: Knopf, 1945; 1971). Nibley’s response to Brodie signaled to the Saints that there was still room for a nonnaturalistic account of Joseph Smith’s prophetic claims and revelations. Cultural Mormons who celebrated a new enlightenment with the appearance of Brodie’s treatment of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon were often troubled by what they considered Nibley’s flippant response to Brodie. Opposition to his views has also been a common feature of the secular, revisionist element in the so-called New Mormon History, which has tended to see in Brodie’s account of Joseph Smith the beginning or basic outline of an acceptable naturalistic account of Mormon things.
Reprinted from an earlier edition by the same title.
This is a short, witty reply to Fawn M. Brodie’s No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, 2nd ed., rev. and enlarged (New York: Knopf, 1945; 1971). Nibley’s response to Brodie signaled to the Saints that there was still room for a nonnaturalistic account of Joseph Smith’s prophetic claims and revelations. Cultural Mormons who celebrated a new enlightenment with the appearance of Brodie’s treatment of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon were often troubled by what they considered Nibley’s flippant response to Brodie. Opposition to his views has also been a common feature of the secular, revisionist element in the so-called New Mormon History, which has tended to see in Brodie’s account of Joseph Smith the beginning or basic outline of an acceptable naturalistic account of Mormon things.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 17. 125–41.
Addressed to “Dear Brother Burgon,” dated 29 July 1960, with a cover letter, addressed to “Dear Brother . . .,” 1 pp., dated 3 August 1960.
“Nobody to Blame” (1960)
“Nobody to Blame” (2008)
In this letter to a BYU graduate student, Hugh Nibley advocates the program of the school of the prophets as a way to meet the challenges of academia. He explores four obvious ways of meeting the challenges of the learned world: ignoring them, running away from them, agreeing with them, or meeting the opposition on their own grounds.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Addressed to “Dear Brother Burgon,” dated 29 July 1960, with a cover letter, addressed to “Dear Brother . . .,” 1 pp., dated 3 August 1960.
Reprinted in Expressions of Faith: Testimonies of Latter-day Saint Scholars.
Lays out answers to criticisms about Joseph Smith.
“Not to Worry” (1996)
“Not to Worry” (2008)
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 17. 177–95.
Lays out answers to criticisms about Joseph Smith.
“Not to Worry” (1994)
“Not to Worry” (2008)
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Lays out answers to criticisms about Joseph Smith.
“Not to Worry” (1994)
“Not to Worry” (1996)
“Nibley’s remarks might be compared to the more extensive, though still limited, review of reviews of Brodie’s book on Jefferson by Louis Midgley, “The Brodie Connection: Thomas Jefferson and Joseph Smith,” BYU Studies 20, no. 1 (1979): 59–67, and also by Jerry Knudson, “Jefferson the Father of Slave Children? One View of the Book Reviewers,” Journalism History 3, no. 2 (1976): 56–58, who examined a somewhat larger sample of the reviews of Brodie’s book than did Midgley, though with similar results. Knudson concluded that professional historians had been highly critical of her scholarship.
Brodie responded (Journalism History 3, no. 2 [Summer 1977]: 59–60) to Knudson by citing, as examples of historians who had written favorable comments on her book, the advertising blurbs that were provided by her historian friends for W. W. Norton, her publisher. The conclusions found in the Midgley and Knudson essays can be checked against and updated from the more than seventy separate reviews of her Jefferson book, most of which have been assembled in the Brodie Papers in Special Collections at the Marriott Library, University of Utah.“
Brief comments by Nibley on two reviews of Fawn Brodie’s Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History (New York: Norton, 1974). He calls attention to similarities between features of his 1946 review of Brodie’s No Man Knows My History and criticisms of her Jefferson by David H. Donald in Commentary 58, no. 1 (July 1974): 96–98, and Gary Wills in the New York Review of Books 21 (18 April 1974): 26–27.
“Nibley’s remarks might be compared to the more extensive, though still limited, review of reviews of Brodie’s book on Jefferson by Louis Midgley, “The Brodie Connection: Thomas Jefferson and Joseph Smith,” BYU Studies 20, no. 1 (1979): 59–67, and also by Jerry Knudson, “Jefferson the Father of Slave Children? One View of the Book Reviewers,” Journalism History 3, no. 2 (1976): 56–58, who examined a somewhat larger sample of the reviews of Brodie’s book than did Midgley, though with similar results. Knudson concluded that professional historians had been highly critical of her scholarship.
Brodie responded (Journalism History 3, no. 2 [Summer 1977]: 59–60) to Knudson by citing, as examples of historians who had written favorable comments on her book, the advertising blurbs that were provided by her historian friends for W. W. Norton, her publisher. The conclusions found in the Midgley and Knudson essays can be checked against and updated from the more than seventy separate reviews of her Jefferson book, most of which have been assembled in the Brodie Papers in Special Collections at the Marriott Library, University of Utah.“
Brief comments by Nibley on two reviews of Fawn Brodie’s Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History (New York: Norton, 1974). He calls attention to similarities between features of his 1946 review of Brodie’s No Man Knows My History and criticisms of her Jefferson by David H. Donald in Commentary 58, no. 1 (July 1974): 96–98, and Gary Wills in the New York Review of Books 21 (18 April 1974): 26–27.
Reprinted in a revised and expanded format, with updated references as Of All Things! Classic Quotations from Hugh Nibley, 2nd ed., Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1993.
Reprinted from Of All Things! A Nibley Quote Book.
Reprinted in Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life, 2002. 55.
Poem written for his grandmother when he was 16.
In December 1832, the Lord instructed the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” Few members of the Church have followed that admonition as faithfully as has Hugh Nibley, emeritus professor of ancient history at Brigham Young University. As a young man he memorized vast portions of Shakespeare and studied Old English, Latin, Greek and other languages. As a student at Berkeley, in he began reading the southwest corner of the ninth level of the library and worked his way down to the northeast corner of the first level, studying every significant book that caught his eye. And throughout his life, he has related everything he has learned to the greatest knowledge of all-the word of the Lord, as revealed in the scriptures and in the temple. Not content with that, however, Dr. Nibley has dedicated himself to being a teacher, to sharing with others the knowledge he has gleaned through his vast studies. He has lectured and published widely, producing more than three hundred papers and books on a wide variety of subjects.
Old Testament Topics > Old Testament: Overviews and Manuals
Old Testament Topics > Symposia and Collections of Essays
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
“In the writer’s opinion, this lesson presents the most convincing evidence yet brought forth forthe authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Very likely the reader will be far from sharing this view, since the force of the evidence is cumulative and is based on extensive comparative studies which cannot be fully presented here. Still the evidence
is so good, and can be so thoroughly tested, that we present it here for the benefit of the reader who wishes to pursue the subject further.“
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
A comparison of the allegory of the olive tree with Hymn 10 of the Thanksgiving Hymns from Qumran.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Jacob
Hugh Nibley discusses Reverend F. S. Spaulding’s handling of the booklet Joseph Smith as a Translator, concluding that Spaulding was partial in his method of consulting the opinions of the great Egyptologists of 1912 concerning the book of Abraham. An examination of their comments reveals inadequacy and inconsistency This paper anticipates the first section of the series A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.
“On the Pearl of Great Price,” 34 pp.
Originally titled “Endowment History,” 1992.
A discussion on how the endowment answers many of life’s most important questions.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Endowment
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
A discussion on how the endowment answers many of life’s most important questions.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Joseph Smith Papyri, Book of Breathings, Book of the Dead, Facsimiles, Egyptology, Hypocephalus
Later printed in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present.
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
A response to each of the essays in Tinkling Cymbals (privately printed, 1978), which was a collection of essays honoring Nibley.
Presentation to the American Historical Association.
A talk given in 1971 in the Last Lecture series. Social commentary touching on themes that became increasingly common in Nibley’s various addresses and writings.
The positive response generated by publication of Nibley’s “Bird Island“ (Dialogue X, No. 4) encouraged us to offer additional popular Nibley samizdat. Nibliophiles will be delighted to learn that events have overtaken us in this plan, and a volume of classic Nibley essays now has been published by BYU’s Religious Studies Center.* This collection, which begins with a new “intellectual autobiography” and ends with a comprehensive bibliography, includes such popular essays as “Educating theSaints,” “Beyond Politics” and “Subduing the Earth,”—as well as “Zeal Without Knowledge,” the Nibley classic reprinted here with the permission of the Religious Studies Center.
Social commentary touching on themes that became increasingly common in Nibley’s various addresses and writings.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A description of stories of ancestors from various countries.
A description of stories of ancestors from various countries.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Looks at ancient architecture and suggests that ancient Jaredite architecture may still exist, but we have yet to identify them.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of conquest during the time the Book of Mormon was written and how the Book of Mormon fits in with that culture.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of the book of Ether and how it matches other societies of its day.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of early texts that suggests that the weight of early Christian doctrine wasn’t on the cross but on the work of Christ as a teacher, marking the way of eternal progress for the living and the dead.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
The epistolary form of this series of articles, is the style in which the writer most commonly expounds his views. Although “Professor F.” to whom these letters are addressed is a purely fictitious anthropologist in an eastern university, he is typical of many a real correspondent, and the letters themselves are no less typical. If “F.” seems unduly meek and teachable, that is because with the limited space at our disposal it would be folly to engage in long and needless controversies.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The purpose of the somewhat labored pages that follow is to lead up to better things by giving the reader some idea of what we are dealing with, of the scope and nature of the writings that are now being read with wonder and amazement by students of religion, and of the strange doctrine and baffling problems they present.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
A discussion of the Book of Enoch as extracts of “The Writings of Moses.”
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Studies the Dead Sea Scrolls related to wording found in the New Testament previously thought to be peculiar to that book alone.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
A discussion of the Christian Apocrypha as compared with the Jewish Apocrypha.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Studies the Logia and compares it with other early religious writings.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
The flood of newly discovered Jewish and Christian documents that are changing the complexion of religious studies in our time has been matched by equally significant, if less spectacular, developments in an area of no less interest to Latter-day Saints— that of the religious practices and beliefs of the Egyptians. Recent challenges that question the authenticity of many statements in one of the standard works of the Church, the Pearl of Great Price, have reopened an old discussion at a time when fresh discoveries and interpretations are putting an entirely new face on the whole problem. Brother Hugh Nibley, who for many years has been gathering data relevant to the study of the Facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, presents in this fascinating series some of the materials that must be considered in the reappraisal of certain Egyptological aspects of the Pearl of Great Price for which the time is now ripe. The reader is warned to be prepared for surprises. Although Dr. Nibley pulls no punches, he is still animated by a healthy respect for all qualified Egyptologists, including his own revered instructors, in the rudiments of the mysteries of hieroglyphics, and promises to proceed with such caution and discretion that even they will approve of his methods, however much they may disagree with his conclusions
A warning that by bringing up “the ghosts of the dead,” serious scholars will need to be prepared to learn that previous thinking was fallible.
The flood of newly discovered Jewish and Christian documents that are changing the complexion of religious studies in our time has been matched by equally significant, if less spectacular, developments in an area of no less interest to Latter-day Saints— that of the religious practices and beliefs of the Egyptians. Recent challenges that question the authenticity of many statements in one of the standard works of the Church, the Pearl of Great Price, have reopened an old discussion at a time when fresh discoveries and interpretations are putting an entirely new face on the whole problem. Brother Hugh Nibley, who for many years has been gathering data relevant to the study of the Facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, presents in this fascinating series some of the materials that must be considered in the reappraisal of certain Egyptological aspects of the Pearl of Great Price for which the time is now ripe. The reader is warned to be prepared for surprises. Although Dr. Nibley pulls no punches, he is still animated by a healthy respect for all qualified Egyptologists, including his own revered instructors, in the rudiments of the mysteries of hieroglyphics, and promises to proceed with such caution and discretion that even they will approve of his methods, however much they may disagree with his conclusions
Suggests that in the modern day, the ever enlarging problems require scholars to bring to the discussion whatever might help solve it, no matter what that may be or how much time it may take.
The flood of newly discovered Jewish and Christian documents that are changing the complexion of religious studies in our time has been matched by equally significant, if less spectacular, developments in an area of no less interest to Latter-day Saints— that of the religious practices and beliefs of the Egyptians. Recent challenges that question the authenticity of many statements in one of the standard works of the Church, the Pearl of Great Price, have reopened an old discussion at a time when fresh discoveries and interpretations are putting an entirely new face on the whole problem. Brother Hugh Nibley, who for many years has been gathering data relevant to the study of the Facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, presents in this fascinating series some of the materials that must be considered in the reappraisal of certain Egyptological aspects of the Pearl of Great Price for which the time is now ripe. The reader is warned to be prepared for surprises. Although Dr. Nibley pulls no punches, he is still animated by a healthy respect for all qualified Egyptologists, including his own revered instructors, in the rudiments of the mysteries of hieroglyphics, and promises to proceed with such caution and discretion that even they will approve of his methods, however much they may disagree with his conclusions
Brings up a claim from experts that Joseph Smith incorrectly translated the Book of Abraham and shows how their claims are inaccurate.
The flood of newly discovered Jewish and Christian documents that are changing the complexion of religious studies in our time has been matched by equally significant, if less spectacular, developments in an area of no less interest to Latter-day Saints— that of the religious practices and beliefs of the Egyptians. Recent challenges that question the authenticity of many statements in one of the standard works of the Church, the Pearl of Great Price, have reopened an old discussion at a time when fresh discoveries and interpretations are putting an entirely new face on the whole problem. Brother Hugh Nibley, who for many years has been gathering data relevant to the study of the Facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, presents in this fascinating series some of the materials that must be considered in the reappraisal of certain Egyptological aspects of the Pearl of Great Price for which the time is now ripe. The reader is warned to be prepared for surprises. Although Dr. Nibley pulls no punches, he is still animated by a healthy respect for all qualified Egyptologists, including his own revered instructors, in the rudiments of the mysteries of hieroglyphics, and promises to proceed with such caution and discretion that even they will approve of his methods, however much they may disagree with his conclusions
Looks at a proposition that the original document of the Pearl of Great Price is available for us to investigate and shows the inaccuracies of this claim.
This exciting and penetrating comparison of the Joseph Smith book of Enoch, with four known variant manuscripts of that ancient work, provides yet another evidence of the Prophet’s inspiration and the scope of his vision in the great work of the Restoration.
This exciting and penetrating comparison of the Joseph Smith book of Enoch, with four known variant manuscripts of that ancient work, provides yet another evidence of the Prophet’s inspiration and the scope of his vision in the great work of the Restoration.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A comparison between the sacrifice of Isaac and of Sarah to show the ritual and importance of the act.
Draws the conclusion that Lehi took the shortest and safest route through the desert during his journeys in the Book of Mormon.
This follows the idea that Enoch had great cosmological visions.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of the story of how Sarah ended up at the royal palace
The deliberate wickedness of the people at Enoch’s time created a moral turbulence that was reflected in chaotic nature, such as earthquakes.
In this installment, Brother Nibley first concludes his discussion of the veil, then uses scriptural sources from the book of Moses and nonscriptural accounts by apochryphal writers of texts not available to Joseph Smith to give us an intriguing image of Enoch’s holy city.
A discussion of the translation of the Dead Sea Scroll book of Enoch.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of new discoveries that answer questions critics of the Book of Mormon had been using to disprove its authenticity.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
“Demonstrates not only that
our interpretation of Ezekial 37:15ff is
a possible one—for there are many
possibilities—but that it is also the
one most likely intended by the
Prophet Ezekiel. “
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of claims that Joseph Smith’s first vision was a fabrication due to the time lapse between when it was written and when it was published.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Tests the story of Lehi against various markers certain Egyptologists use to test the authenticity of other Egyptian stories.
This talks about the teaching of the Lord after his resurrection.
This talks about the teaching of the Lord after his resurrection.
This talks about the teaching of the Lord after his resurrection.
With the October 1975 issue, the Ensign began a series on the book of Enoch authored by Hugh Nibley. As Part 1 recounts, early Christian writers knew and respected the book of Enoch, but biblical scholars neglected it in scorn after the excitement of the Reformation was over. However, James Bruce, exploring the sources of the Nile in 1773, brought back three copies. Part 2 describes the critical response—or lack of it—to these documents and then turns to examining the four versions of the book of Enoch against which Joseph Smith’s writing must be judged.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Discusses just how well-equipped Dr. Spalding’s illustrious jury really were, individually and collectively, to make a pronouncement on the Book of Abraham.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Continues the discussion from the previous installment.
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Discusses the history of keeping secrets within religions and within scriptures.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Continues the discussion from the previous installment.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Discusses forgery throughout religious history and how we might test whether or not Joseph Smith forged the Book of Mormon.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Looks at various summaries of Joseph Smith’s vision and how the deleted portions of these summaries make them lose all authenticity and truth.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A look at what the sticks of Judah and Joseph were or what they referred to.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
This talked about how the dead received baptism.
This talked about how the dead received baptism.
This talked about how the dead received baptism.
This talked about how the dead received baptism.
This talked about how the dead received baptism.
This section of the examination of Enoch compared Joseph Smith’s book of Enoch step-by-step with four main classes of documents, commonly designated as the following: I Enoch (the Ethiopic texts, beginning with the three brought to England by Bruce in 1773), II Enoch (also called the Secrets of Enoch in Old Slavonic), III Enoch (Enoch texts in Greek), and scattered Hebrew and Aramaic Enoch fragments. Since these are to serve as checks on the reliability of the Prophet Joseph, the qualifications of each should be briefly considered.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
An explanation that experts are usually specialists in only one field and that as such, their studies may sometimes miss some of the more obvious points from looking too closely. It then looks at how this relates to Egyptologists’ opinions of Joseph Smith as a translator.
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
A discussion of original Christian writings versus ones that replaced those when they were lost and what students of such literature might learn from looking at both.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Looks at how quickly people changed Christianity after the apostles’ deaths, especially in regards to the secret teaching God had given to the apostles while they were alive.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The conclusion to the three part article about the secrecy in the primitive church and how that influenced it during its time and after it was lost.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Looks at the various dreams of prophets and how they related to the prophets’ lives at the time they had them.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of Christ’s second mission, when he rose from the dead.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Discusses the distinction that Lehi dwelt in a tent as showing him of a different class as those who dwelt in sturdier houses.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Gives a historical parallel to the Big Wind to show that it such a thing was possible.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A discussion of the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph as scepters.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Looks at circumstancial evidence attending the production of the Book of Mormon and how it suggests that the Book of Mormon is true.
Discusses how Christian Enoch’s writings are.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A look at Theodore Deveria’s introduction to Egyptology and Hebrew and his studies on the Book of the Dead.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study into the deseret, or honeybee.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Discusses the language of the Scrolls, specifically how it is not the language the Jews of the time should have been speaking and writing.
Suggests that what is written on earth is written in heaven and discusses how that comes into play with writing spiritual matters that the Lord has commanded be written.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A discussion on the reopening of the Joseph Smith vs. the Scholars due to the finding of the original papyrus from which Fascimile No. 1 in the Book of Abraham was taken.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A discussion on whether parts of Fascimile No. 1 should have a hand or part of a wing from a bird to provide commentary on previous scholars’ opinions on the piece.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
States that Lehi’s family did not run into any important contacts throughout their eight years of wandering the desert because they didn’t light fires. It discusses this being a common practice even today so as to not attract the attention of prowling raiding parties.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Studies the Jaredite practice of “drawing off” followers to an army to builds its forces and bides its time to show that this was a normal practice at the time.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Suggests that the author of the Book of Mormon merely wanted people to believe in it and studies what the author might have gained from that.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of the book of Enoch as a recording of sacred matters.
Continued in “Part 6. Facsimile No. 1: A Unique Document (continued).”
Presents considerable evidence to suggest that “Egyptian hieroglyphic is not a naive picture-writing, but a special code governed by strict rules, without a knowledge of which it cannot be read.”
“In the previous installment, Dr. Nibley presented considerable evidence to suggest that “Egyptian hieroglyphic is not a naive picture-writing, but a special code governed by strict rules, without a knowledge of which it cannot be read.” Turning to a discussion of the three facsimiles of the Book of Abraham, Dr. Nibley says that these facsimiles are “strictly ritual,” and that they are directly related to the theme of the Book of Abraham—“the transmission of priesthood and authority. . . .”
“
A study of Egyptian art and how it relates to the art found in Facsimile No. 1.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Discusses Middle Eastern traditions of naming a place you have discovered after you and how that relates to the names of places within the Book of Mormon.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A study of early desert poems.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Looks at ancient thrones and suggests that they all go back to the old Asiatic pattern.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Addresses the idea that the Book of Mormon may include as many or more Egyptianisms as Hebraisms and suggests that the translation of the Book of Mormon had to have been done by revelation in order for people to believe in its verity.
Suggests parallels to Moses 1, which lie far beyond the reach of coincidence or daydreaming. The number of details and the order in which they occur make it perfectly clear that we are dealing with specific works of great antiquity which come from a common source. To show what they mean, they compare Moses’s, Abraham’s, and Adam’s confrontations with Satan.
Because of widespread interest in the relationship of the Book of Abraham and the recently discovered Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri (see Era, January and February 1968), and in an effort to keep readers up-to-date with Dr. Nibley’s penetrating and incisive analysis of this relationship, this series’ monthly space will be enlarged and the series will be treated as a special supplement for Era readers. Through enlarged sections of Dr. Nibley’s research, readers will also be better able to see the flow of discussion and understand the author’s findings. Beginning with this issue, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price” will be found at the end of the magazine, until the series’ anticipated completion sometime in 1970.
A study of the authenticity of the Book of Abraham and a discussion of where one might find more information on Abraham.
Because of widespread interest in the relationship of the Book of Abraham and the recently discovered Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri (see Era, January and February 1968), and in an effort to keep readers up-to-date with Dr. Nibley’s penetrating and incisive analysis of this relationship, this series’ monthly space will be enlarged and the series will be treated as a special supplement for Era readers. Through enlarged sections of Dr. Nibley’s research, readers will also be better able to see the flow of discussion and understand the author’s findings. Beginning with this issue, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price” will be found at the end of the magazine, until the series’ anticipated completion sometime in 1970.
A study of a tradition that came about during Abraham’s time where they would sacrifice their children to the Devils and worship images and how that relates to Abraham’s story and Fascimile No. 1.
Because of widespread interest in the relationship of the Book of Abraham and the recently discovered Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri (see Era, January and February 1968), and in an effort to keep readers up-to-date with Dr. Nibley’s penetrating and incisive analysis of this relationship, this series’ monthly space will be enlarged and the series will be treated as a special supplement for Era readers. Through enlarged sections of Dr. Nibley’s research, readers will also be better able to see the flow of discussion and understand the author’s findings. Beginning with this issue, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price” will be found at the end of the magazine, until the series’ anticipated completion sometime in 1970.
Deals with Ur of the Chaldees and where that takes place.
Because of widespread interest in the relationship of the Book of Abraham and the recently discovered Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri (see Era, January and February 1968), and in an effort to keep readers up-to-date with Dr. Nibley’s penetrating and incisive analysis of this relationship, this series’ monthly space will be enlarged and the series will be treated as a special supplement for Era readers. Through enlarged sections of Dr. Nibley’s research, readers will also be better able to see the flow of discussion and understand the author’s findings. Beginning with this issue, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price” will be found at the end of the magazine, until the series’ anticipated completion sometime in 1970.
A look at Egyptian culture and gods for better understanding of Fascimile No. 1.
Because of widespread interest in the relationship of the Book of Abraham and the recently discovered Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri (see Era, January and February 1968), and in an effort to keep readers up-to-date with Dr. Nibley’s penetrating and incisive analysis of this relationship, this series’ monthly space will be enlarged and the series will be treated as a special supplement for Era readers. Through enlarged sections of Dr. Nibley’s research, readers will also be better able to see the flow of discussion and understand the author’s findings. Beginning with this issue, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price” will be found at the end of the magazine, until the series’ anticipated completion sometime in 1970.
Continuing his imaginary discussion between two students and a museum curator, in order to help readers better understand the complex issues of the case, the author has just established “that this lion-couch business” takes place on “great ritual occasions” as described in the Book of Abraham; such an occasion was “the supreme moment of the Sed-festival”
The purpose of these articles is to (1) call attention to some of the long-ignored aspects of the Joseph Smith account of Enoch in the book of Moses and in the Inspired Version of Genesis and (2) provide at the same time some of the evidence that establishes the authenticity of that remarkable text. Contemporary learning offered few checks to the imagination of Joseph Smith; the enthusiasm of his followers presented none.
The purpose of these articles is to (1) call attention to some of the long-ignored aspects of the Joseph Smith account of Enoch in the book of Moses and in the Inspired Version of Genesis and (2) provide at the same time some of the evidence that establishes the authenticity of that remarkable text. Contemporary learning offered few checks to the imagination of Joseph Smith; the enthusiasm of his followers presented none.
The purpose of these articles is to (1) call attention to some of the long-ignored aspects of the Joseph Smith account of Enoch in the book of Moses and in the Inspired Version of Genesis and (2) provide at the same time some of the evidence that establishes the authenticity of that remarkable text. Contemporary learning offered few checks to the imagination of Joseph Smith; the enthusiasm of his followers presented none.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
This intends to show that the book of the Dead fragments, the Breathing Papyrus, and the three facsimiles contain the elements of a single story, which happens to be the story of Abraham as told in the Book of Abraham and the early Jewish legends.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Questions and answers about Facsimile No. 1.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
Questions and answers about Facsimile No. 1.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A discussion of Abraham’s spiritual experiences and how the locations of the experiences provide more insight into them.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A discussion of Abraham’s spiritual experiences and how the locations of the experiences provide more insight into them.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
States that the actions of Lehi’s sons when they go back for the brass plates are typical of people from that time and even from today in the Middle East.
Addresses the dangers of oversimplifying the scriptures and attempts to look at the Book of Mormon without such oversimplification.
Addresses the dangers of oversimplifying the scriptures and attempts to look at the Book of Mormon without such oversimplification.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A comparison of the stories of Heracles and Abraham to show them both as legends in the category of Victims of Procrustes.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A continuation of the comparison of the stories of Heracles and Abraham as legends in the category of Victims of Procrustes.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A continuation of the comparison of the stories of Heracles and Abraham as legends in the category of Victims of Procrustes.
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970.
A discussion about the history of using metal plates for more important records.
Nibley sets out forty arguments for the apostasy as he examines the expectation of early Christian writers of the fading of the Church. Hans J. Hillerbrand wrote a letter protesting Nibley’s thesis because, among other reasons, of the possibility that, if widely accepted, Nibley’s view would preclude one such as Hillerbrand from continuing to teach what is traditionally known as “Church history.” See Hillerbrand, “The Passing of the Church: Two Comments on a Strange Theme,” Church History 30, no. 3 (December 1961): 481–82; and a response to Hillerbrand by Robert M. Grant, “The Passing of the Church: Comments on Two Comments on a Strange Theme,” Church History 30, no. 3 (December 1961): 482–83.
“The Passing of the Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme” (1975)
“The Passing of the Primitive Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme” (1987)
Reprinted from Church History 30, no. 2 (1961): 131–54; and included in Mormonism and Early Christianity, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 4. 168–208. William A. Clebsch, in his “History and Salvation: An Essay in Distinctions,” published in a collection of essays entitled The Study of Religion in Colleges and Universities, edited by Paul Ramsey and John F. Wilson (Princeton University Press, 1970): 40–72, commented on Nibley’s arguments for the apostasy in “The Passing of the Church” as follows: “During the early 1960’s there arose in the pages of Church History a brief but in retrospect fascinating argument, which I will trace briefly. The argument not only revolved around the question of the continuity of the Christian church but also involved a more fundamental question about the very survival of the church through its early history. On the basis of his study of patristic writings, Hugh Nibley scored all church historians since Eusebius for describing rather than questioning the survival of the church through the early centuries. That Nibley took a Mormon’s viewpoint on the nascent Christian movement does not make any easier the defense of its identity and continuity against his attack.”
Nibley presents forty arguments for the apostasy in an examination of the expectation of early Christian writers of the fading of the Church. Professor Hans J. Hillerbrand wrote a letter protesting Nibley’s thesis because, among other reasons, of the possibility that, if widely accepted, it would logically preclude his continuing to teach what he understood to be “Church history.” See Hillerbrand, “The Passing of the Church: Two Comments on a Strange Theme,” Church History 30, no. 3 (December 1961):481–2; and a response to Hillerbrand by Robert M. Grant, “The Passing of the Church: Comments on Two Comments on a Strange Theme,” Church History 30, no. 3 (December 1961):482–3.
“The Passing of the Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme” (1961)
“The Passing of the Primitive Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme” (1987)
“The Passing of the Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme” (1961)
“The Passing of the Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme” (1975)
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
75 pp. plus an additional 7 lettered pages and a 14-page bibliography of sources cited, ca. 1963.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
Reprinted in Old Testament and Related Studies, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 1. 87–114.
An address given at the BYU Women’s Conference, 1 February 1980.
Old Testament Topics > Marriage
Old Testament Topics > Women in the Old Testament
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Adam, Eve
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Patriarchy, Matriarchy
Reprinted from Blueprints for Living: Perspectives for Latter-day Saint Women.
An address given at the BYU Women’s Conference, 1 February 1980.
Old Testament Topics > Marriage
Old Testament Topics > Women in the Old Testament
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Adam, Eve
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Patriarchy, Matriarchy
A response to a letter by C. Sumter Logan of the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Ogden.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > New Testament > Characters > Paul
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Characters > Moroni
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
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 > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
This essay concerns the debate over the Joseph Smith Papyri; the bulk of the issue contains materials on this debate.
Edited and reformatted by Gary P. Gillum, 6 May 2004.
Addresses the idea of work and when it should be done versus when time should be spent developing talents instead.
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
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
A comparison between the Israelites many exoduses and the pioneers of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Later published through FARMS, Brigham Young University.
The views of Aristophanes are set forth on corruption in the commercial world of the time. This is then linked to certain themes in the Platonic dialogues (Phaedrus, Gorgius, Sophist, Meno, Apology) in which language can be found in which Socrates quarrels with the Sophists over such matters.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Language > Rhetoric, Media, Advertising
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Language > Sophic , Mantic, Revelation, Reason
“At the end of the work, Nibley writes in long hand: This is unfortunately not the end—I have over one hundred pages that go on
like this. Authorities and sources for all quotations and other exact assertions will be freely revealed on request.“
An overview of the Republic following stream of conscious.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
An investigation into the peculiar social organization of Jerusalem and the social and political struggles that racked the city just before its fall.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
A study of Laban as an authentic man and what happened to the Jews at Jerusalem.
See “Leaders to Managers: Fatal Shift.”
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
An introduction to the 1964 edition naming the impacts of the manual up to that point.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
An excellent description of what the priesthood is.
“Reformatted by
Gary Gillum 16 May 2006.“
Seems to be a combination of Nibley’s G-2 reports or the outline for a lecture or book. Thirty separate points are outlined.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Suggests that any investigation of the Book of Mormon will bring up more problems, not solutions, meaning our prejudices may show answers as solutions, but we don’t always understand things correctly.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Continues the discussion from “Problem, Not Solutions.”
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science
Includes pictures of the Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri and letter of sale given to the Church by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art on 27 November 1967.
Written on 27 November 1967. Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Some 10 pages of this item consist of questions and answers.
A discussion of Hugh Nibley’s experience visiting the Hopi and the truths he noticed they maintained as he watched their way of life.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Stewardship, Creation, Earth, Environment
Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints presents Hugh Nibley’s reflections on the thoughts of Brigham Young on politics, education, leadership, and the environment. The timeliness of Brigham’s counsel on these topics will quickly become apparent to readers, as will the unique insights that Nibley adds. This volume will amuse, provoke, and challenge and, above all, educate.
A discussion of Hugh Nibley’s experience visiting the Hopi and the truths he noticed they maintained as he watched their way of life.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Stewardship, Creation, Earth, Environment
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
In this document, we test certain proper names in the Book of Mormon in the light of actual names from Lehi’s world, unknown in the time of Joseph Smith. Not only do the names agree, but the variations follow the correct rules and the names are found in correct statistical proportions, the Egyptian and Hebrew types being of almost equal frequency, along with a sprinkling of Hittite, Arabic, and Greek names. To reduce speculation to a minimum, the lesson is concerned only with highly distinctive and characteristic names, and to clearly stated and universally admitted rules. Even so, the reader must judge for himself. In case of doubt he is encouraged to correspond with recognized experts in the languages concerned. The combination of the names Laman and Lemuel, the absence of Baal names, the predominance of names ending in -iah such facts as those need no trained philologist to point them out; they can be demonstrated most objectively, and they are powerful evidence in behalf of the Book of Mormon.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Reprinted in Seventh East Press.
This material is not the same as that included in Since Cumorah under the same title. This appeared in the Seventh East Press, 27 March 1982. 6–8, 16–17, and was published in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8. 435–69.
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8. 435–69.
A talk given at the BYU Alumni House on 23 September 1981, originally a manuscript of 17 pp., d.s.
The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days. The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days. The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
A comparison of Latter-day Saint pioneers with ancient members and followers of Christ.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
A comparison of Latter-day Saint pioneers with ancient members and followers of Christ.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
A discussion of members as Christians by the definition of believing in Christ and a discussion of how the idea of Christianity as one who subscribes to the creeds of Christiandom came to be.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
A discussion of members as Christians by the definition of believing in Christ and a discussion of how the idea of Christianity as one who subscribes to the creeds of Christiandom came to be.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discusses the weaknesses of judging prophets based on our experience of peaceful living and of the “quiet” life.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Discusses the weaknesses of judging prophets based on our experience of peaceful living and of the “quiet” life.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Suggests that joy is the main message prophets bring to mankind.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Suggests that joy is the main message prophets bring to mankind.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Suggests that the end of the primitive church came about due to the ceasing of prophetic revelations.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Suggests that the end of the primitive church came about due to the ceasing of prophetic revelations.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
A discussion of what martyrdom is and how Joseph Smith’s relates to those found throughout history.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
A discussion of what martyrdom is and how Joseph Smith’s relates to those found throughout history.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Looks at the idea of miracles within the Church and compares them with those found in the world.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Looks at the idea of miracles within the Church and compares them with those found in the world.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discusses Mysticism, the definition most scholars give it, and how that relates to prophets.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Discusses Mysticism, the definition most scholars give it, and how that relates to prophets.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discusses the degree to which a spiritual message can or must be implemented in a physical manner.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Suggests that the Church is the only non-speculative church in a world of speculative churches, which enhances its claim of being the primitive church.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Suggests that the Church is the only non-speculative church in a world of speculative churches, which enhances its claim of being the primitive church.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discusses the claim that a prophet is just another preacher and explains that this is false.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Discusses the claim that a prophet is just another preacher and explains that this is false.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Talks about Hebrews 6: 4, 6. Suggests that it is possible for men to be gifted with everything only to later lose everything; then, it is not possible for them to regain those blessings by their own works.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Talks about Hebrews 6: 4, 6. Suggests that it is possible for men to be gifted with everything only to later lose everything; then, it is not possible for them to regain those blessings by their own works.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Suggests that religion is not practical for this life but is essential for the next.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Suggests that religion is not practical for this life but is essential for the next.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discusses what a prophet is not to show what a prophet is.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Discusses what a prophet is not to show what a prophet is.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Addresses the need for scriptures and revelation and suggests that the two are not controversial but complementary.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Addresses the need for scriptures and revelation and suggests that the two are not controversial but complementary.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discusses a scientific religion that matches exactly with human experience and suggests that this is not actually a religion but a reduced, meaningless attempt.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Discusses a scientific religion that matches exactly with human experience and suggests that this is not actually a religion but a reduced, meaningless attempt.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discusses man’s tendency to only believe in God’s word where it matches man’s understanding and how this ties in with the Plan of Life.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Discusses man’s tendency to only believe in God’s word where it matches man’s understanding and how this ties in with the Plan of Life.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discusses the idea that members consistently find themselves in the company of ancient saints and removed from behaviors and acts of contemporary Christians, especially when it comes to the search for God.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Discusses the idea that members consistently find themselves in the company of ancient saints and removed from behaviors and acts of contemporary Christians, especially when it comes to the search for God.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Considers the second of two twin pillars of conventional Christianity: tradition, specifically traditions within the Church and how the Church breaks other Christian traditions.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
A discussion of what a prophet is and a suggestion that a prophet’s reward isn’t acceptance in this life.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
A discussion of what a prophet is and a suggestion that a prophet’s reward isn’t acceptance in this life.
The volume “An Approach to the Book of Abraham” contains diverse essays, including his three-year series of lengthy articles from Improvement Era, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.” According to Nibley, “Until now, no one has done much more than play around with the bedizening treasury of the Pearl of Great Price. They would not, we could not make of the Book of Abraham an object of serious study. The time has come to change all that.”
Suggests that scholars are only knowledgeable in a small field and, as such, should not be held to be the expert to everything.
Hugh Nibley answers a series of questions about what became of church authority and doctrine in the centuries following the ministry of Jesus Christ. He compares scriptural prediction with historical fulfillment to answer questions like “What became of general authority in the church?” and “Would God allow his church to be destroyed?”
Reprinted in LDS Views on Early Christianity and Apocrypha: Articles from BYU Studies, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
A compendium of passages from the New Testament, from the early fathers of the church and from historians of Christian antiquity on the question of the apostasy. The issues raised in this handout were eventually dealt with systematically in the series that appeared in the Improvement Era between January and December 1955 called “The Way of the Church,” and also in the essay entitled “The Passing of the Church,” Church History 30, no. 2 (June 1961): 131–54; reprinted in When the Lights Went Out (1970), 1–32; and in “The Passing of the Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme,” BYU Studies 16, no. 1 (1975): 135–64; “The Passing of the Primitive Church,” in Mormonism and Early Christianity, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 4. 209–322; and “The Passing of the Primitive Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme,” in When the Lights Went Out (2001), 1–47.
Reprinted as “The Haunted Wilderness,” in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless (1978).
Reprinted from Qumran and the Companions of the Cave.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Alma’s church in the wilderness was a typical “church of anticipation”. In many things it presents striking parallels to the “church of anticipation” described in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Both had gone forth into the wilderness in order to live the Law in its fullness, being dissatisfied with the official religion of the time, which both regarded as being little better than apostasy. Both were persecuted by the authorities of the state and the official religion. Both were strictly organized along the same lines and engaged in the same type of religious activities. In both the Old World and the New these churches in the wilderness were but isolated expressions of a common tradition of great antiquity. In the Book of Mormon Alma’s church is clearly traced back to this ancient tradition and practice, yet until the recent discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls no one was aware of its existence. We can now read the Book of Mormon in a totally new context, and in that new context much that has hitherto been strange and perplexing becomes perfectly clear.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Cf. “Unrolling the Scrolls: Some Forgotten Witnesses,” in Old Testament and Related Studies, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 1. 115–70.
Hugh Nibley draws parallels between language and traditions found in the Apocrypha to the culture of the people in the Book of Mormon. In the second half of his lecture, Hugh Nibley compares the linguistics and culture of the Book of Mormon to that found in the Apocrypha. The imagery and practices found in the Book of Mormon are compared with certain phrases and material concerns found in Jewish and Christian apocryphal writings.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
Hugh Nibley draws parallels between language and traditions found in the Apocrypha to the culture of the people in the Book of Mormon. In the second half of his lecture, Hugh Nibley compares the linguistics and culture of the Book of Mormon to that found in the Apocrypha. The imagery and practices found in the Book of Mormon are compared with certain phrases and material concerns found in Jewish and Christian apocryphal writings.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
Later published in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present.
In the second half of his lecture, Hugh Nibley compares the linguistics and culture of the Book of Mormon to that found in the Apocrypha.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 13. 278–97.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
Later published in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints.
An exhortation to turn the hearts of the men toward peace rather than toward war.
Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints presents Hugh Nibley’s reflections on the thoughts of Brigham Young on politics, education, leadership, and the environment. The timeliness of Brigham’s counsel on these topics will quickly become apparent to readers, as will the unique insights that Nibley adds. This volume will amuse, provoke, and challenge and, above all, educate.
An exhortation to turn the hearts of the men toward peace rather than toward war.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
Reprinted as “Bar-Kochba and Book of Mormon Backgrounds,” in The Prophetic Book of Mormon.
Points out that Yadin’s discoveries seem to show, among other things, that the presumably feminine name Alma was also used by Jews as a masculine name, just as it was in the Book of Mormon. Draws a number of parallels between the Bar Kochba artifacts and the Lehi colony. Compares materials in the Book of Mormon about Lehi, Captain Moroni, and the name Alma with Palestinian warfare and practices from the first century A.D.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Jewish History > Bar Kochba
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
A critique of Jakeman’s claim to have found and interpreted a stone depicting Lehi’s dream of the Tree of Life. This can be compared with Jakeman’s response to Nibley’s treatment of amateur archaeology, which was circulated in the form of a review of Nibley’s “An Approach to the Book of Mormon,” in UAS Newsletter 40 (30 March 1957): 1–11. [This was the newsletter of the University Archaeology Society at BYU.] Jakeman’s criticisms of Nibley’s remarks about archaeology seem to have led to Nibley’s review of Jakeman’s claims made about a stone presumably depicting Lehi’s dream of the Tree of Life, which are called into question in this review.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discussion of rhetoric having the impression of knowledge with no actual knowledge. This is contrasted with revelation, which provides true knowledge.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Language > Rhetoric, Media, Advertising
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Language > Sophic , Mantic, Revelation, Reason
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Discussion of rhetoric having the impression of knowledge with no actual knowledge. This is contrasted with revelation, which provides true knowledge.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
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
Copy in HBLL SC box 27 folder 4 through box 29 folder 1. Nibley’s dissertation was completed and approved by December 1938. The library at the University of California at Berkeley catalogued the dissertation in early 1939.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ritual Patterns, Great Year-Rites, Universal Gospel Culture
Discusses the nature of satire.
Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present.
This lecture was originally accompanied by slides. It was circulated in two different editions in 1986 and 1987 and was available in a much expanded version, including illustrations, in 1988.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Sacred Vestments
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
This lecture was originally accompanied by slides. It was circulated in two different editions in 1986 and 1987 and was available in a much expanded version, including illustrations, in 1988.
Old Testament Topics > Temple and Tabernacle
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Sacred Vestments
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
The essays in this volume, including four on today’s world, were selected by a panel of Hugh Nibley’s colleagues. They are singular in their penetration, their originality, and their vitality. Reaching from the apocalyptic visions of original “treasures in heaven” down to the climax of history, they are more than mind-stretching. The delight of Nibley’s brilliant and sometimes biting prose style imparts a sense of the agelessness of what he calls the “three-act play” of human existence. Written specially for this book, the author’s own “intellectual autobiography,” together with his introductory paragraphs for the various chapters, complete the work of making the book a fitting and permanent record of one of the past outstanding historians
When I was in high school, everybody was being very smart and emancipated, and we always cheered the news that some scholar had discovered the original story of Samson or the Flood or the Garden of Eden in some ancient nonbiblical writing or tradition. It never occurred to anybody that these parallels might confirm rather than confound the scripture. For us the explanation was always perfectly obvious: the Bible was just a clumsy compilation of old borrowed superstitions. As comparative studies broke into the open field, parallels began piling up until they positively became an embarrassment. Everywhere one looked, there were literary and mythological parallels. Trying to laugh them off as “parallelomania” left altogether too much unexplained. In the 1930s, English scholars started spreading out an overall pattern that would fit almost all ancient religions. Finally, men like Graves and Santillana confront us with huge agglomerations of somehow connected matter that sticks together in one loose, gooey mass, compacted of countless resemblances that are hard to explain but equally hard to deny. Where is this taking us? Will the sheer weight and charge of the stuff finally cause it to collapse on itself in a black hole, leaving us none the wiser? We could forego the obligation of explaining it and content ourselves with contemplating and admiring the awesome phenomenon for its own sake were it not for one thing: Joseph Smith spoils everything. A century of bound periodicals in the stacks will tell the enquiring student when scholars first became aware of the various elements that make up the superpattern, but Joseph Smith knew about them all, and before the search ever began, he showed how they are interrelated. In the documents he has left us, you will find the central position of the Coronation, the tension between matriarchy and patriarchy, the arcane discipline for transmitting holy books through the ages, the pattern of cycles and dispensations, the nature of the mysteries, the great tradition of the Rekhabites or sectaries of the desert, the fertility rites and sacrifices of the New Year with the humiliation of the kind and the role of substitute, and so forth. Where did he get the stuff? It would have been convenient for some mysterious rabbi to drop in on the penniless young farmer when he needs some high-class research, but George Foote Moore informs us that “so far as evidence goes, apocalyptic things of that sort were without countenance from the exponents of what we may call normal Judaism.” Take, for example, the tradition that the sacrifice of Isaac merely followed the scenario of an earlier sacrifice of Abraham himself. Nobody has heard of that today until you tell them about it, when, of course, they shrug their shoulders and tell you that they knew about it all along. Which prompts me to recommend a simple rule for the ingenuous investigator: always ask the expert to tell you the story first. I have never found anyone who could tell me the Joseph Smith Abraham story, and the apocrypha records which report it have all been published since his day. Today the story of Abraham casts a new light on the story of Isaac. Here is some of it.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
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.
A study of the story of how Sarah ended up at the royal palace
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
A history of schools and how they’ve affected prophets over the years.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
A history of schools and how they’ve affected prophets over the years.
The original talk, later republished in other documents.
Ties science fiction and gospel ideas.
“Science Fiction and the Gospel” (1985)
“Science Fiction and the Gospel” (1992)
Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 12. 491–531.
The published version of an address given on 13 February 1968 and previously circulated as a typescript.
“Science Fiction and the Gospel” (1969)
“Science Fiction and the Gospel” (1992)
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
Ties science fiction and gospel ideas.
“Science Fiction and the Gospel” (1985)
“Science Fiction and the Gospel” (1969)
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8. 470–97. Reprinted in Social and Political Studies about the Book of Mormon: Articles from BYU Studies. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Hugh Nibley provides insights from Latter-day Saint scripture about the last days. In the Little Apocalypse of Matthew 24 and Joseph Smith—Matthew, Jesus prophesies of the events that will precede the end of the world and emphasizes that his Second Coming will be a complete surprise. People are not supposed to prepare for that day; rather, they should live every day as if the Lord were coming on that day. The only preparation is to avoid taking advantage of others, oppressing the poor, and living in luxury. The difference between the righteous and the wicked is that the righteous are the ones who are repenting. Strictly speaking, there are no “good guys”; everyone needs to repent. Numerous stories in the Book of Mormon illustrate distinctions between righteous and wicked behavior. These scripture stories were intended for our day so that we may learn how to properly prepare for the last days.
The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days. The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.
Hugh Nibley provides insights from Latter-day Saint scripture about the last days. In the Little Apocalypse of Matthew 24 and Joseph Smith—Matthew, Jesus prophesies of the events that will precede the end of the world and emphasizes that his Second Coming will be a complete surprise. People are not supposed to prepare for that day; rather, they should live every day as if the Lord were coming on that day. The only preparation is to avoid taking advantage of others, oppressing the poor, and living in luxury. The difference between the righteous and the wicked is that the righteous are the ones who are repenting. Strictly speaking, there are no “good guys”; everyone needs to repent. Numerous stories in the Book of Mormon illustrate distinctions between righteous and wicked behavior. These scripture stories were intended for our day so that we may learn how to properly prepare for the last days.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Eschatology, Last Days
The original title was Hugh Nibley—Secrets of the Scriptures—The Creation.
A pre-eminent scholar of ancient languages, Hugh Nibley presents radically different teachings about the nature of God and the universe found in ancient Christian and Jewish documents.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Reprinted from Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless (1978), xix–xxvii. When sent a copy of this item, Fawn M. Brodie indicated that she “found the mini-autobiography fascinating in every way. This man surely had a touch of genius, and a great linguistic talent. What a pity that he was emotionally trapped by his allegiance to Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. The final paragraph of the ‘Self-Portrait’ suggests to me that there must be grave deterioration in Nibley at the moment. But it may be that he is not really much changed from what he has been all through the years. What a pity that we never sat down and talked to each other.” Letter from Fawn M. Brodie to Everett Cooley, dated 23 August 1978, Brodie Papers, Box 4, Folder 6B, Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah.
“Few people knew more about the history of human conflict than Professor Hugh Nibley. But on June 6, 1944, at Utah Beach, he learned more about war than he had gleaned from all the books he’d read combined. General Maxwell Taylor assigned Sergeant Nibley to educate the officers of the 101st Airborne about warfare. But it was the professor himself that received an education while fighting as a member of the most legendary unit of the United States Army.
Most war memoirs come either from the bird’s-eye view of the general or from the visceral but limited scope of the common soldier. Because of Nibley’s unique situation, this book blends both perspectives. From the narrow view of a sergeant in a foxhole to the broader perspective of an intelligence specialist, his experience offers an intimate, realistic and articulate view of World War II.“
An important book about Alex Nibley’s father’s wartime memoirs as well as the larger context of war and its meaning.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Biographies, Reviews of Biographies, Biographical Essays, Biographical Remarks
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
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 > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
Two slightly different versions of this have been preserved and circulated.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Language > Satire
The Improvement Era was a magazine published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A discussion of shining stones throughout different religious stories, including several in the Book of Mormon.
As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah was subject to the same abridging as the Book of Mormon prophets
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah was subject to the same abridging as the Book of Mormon prophets
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Dead Sea Scrolls
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah was subject to the same abridging as the Book of Mormon prophets
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah was subject to the same abridging as the Book of Mormon prophets
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah was subject to the same abridging as the Book of Mormon prophets
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah was subject to the same abridging as the Book of Mormon prophets
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah was subject to the same abridging as the Book of Mormon prophets
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
As evidenced by the Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah was subject to the same abridging as the Book of Mormon prophets
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
These materials were reprinted in Since Cumorah (1967/1970), with two large additions and a deletion; and reprinted again, with corrections and a collation of materials with those published in the book, as Since Cumorah, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 7. The changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon.
Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Dead Sea Scrolls
Alexander T. Stecker reviewed “Since Cumorah” in BYU Studies 8, no. 4 (1968): 465–68. Robert Mesle provided a critical RLDS reaction to it (Courage 2, no. 1 [September 1971]: 331–32). For a sympathetic commentary on the last seventy pages of Since Cumorah, the portion of the book that did not appear in the original series in Improvement Era; see Louis Midgley, “The Secular Relevance of the Gospel,“ Dialogue 4 no. 4 (1969): 76–85. A complaint was registered against Nibley’s position by Duane Stanfield. See the exchange of letters between Stanfield and Midgley, “Letters to the Editor,” Dialogue 5, no. 2 (1970): 5–7.
At the time he published this review, Mesle was a student at the Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa, where he now teaches religion and philosophy. Mesle granted that Nibley appeared to be a “very competent scholar in the field of ancient documents and their languages” but observed that Nibley is not “at all objective or critical in the sphere of his own religion.” The reason for this observation is that Nibley takes the Book of Mormon seriously as an historically authentic ancient document. Mesle, who claims that in order to be properly objective and sufficiently critical, one must hold that the Book of Mormon and the gospel are fraudulent and spurious rather than authentic and genuine, claimed that Nibley’s work is “trite and naive”; it is “both confident scholarship and the tritest of religious defenses,” though he neglected to indicate what in Since Cumorah was either hackneyed or unsophisticated.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
This is a revised and corrected edition of the book published under the same title by Deseret Book in 1967, with many changes, taken from a series in Improvement Era that appeared in 1964–66.
A continuation of “Since Cumorah: New Voices From the Dust.”
A discussion on whether Lehi and his family brought traces of Persian culture to the Americas because of Zoroaster’s influence on Jewish thought.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
The Juvenile Instructor was a magazine for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It began publication in 1866 as a private publication, but by the late 1860s served as the de facto publication of the LDS Church’s Deseret Sunday School Union organization. It was an official periodical of the LDS Church from 1901 to 1929, after which the church replaced it with The Instructor.
Caption says: Drawn by Hugh Nibley, Age 10, Portland, Oregon.
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ritual Patterns, Great Year-Rites, Universal Gospel Culture
Baer was an eminent Egyptologist and former teacher of Hugh Nibley, then teaching at the University of Chicago. From 1962 to 1975 letters were exchanged between the two friends. This copyrighted correspondence is part of the University of Chicago’s Klaus Baer Archives.
Nibley provides a listing of various reasons why one should give careful consideration to the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He deals with Joseph Smith’s version of the book of Enoch, with the Book of Abraham, various compelling elements of the Book of Mormon, and the role of prophetic warnings to the Saints.
The materials were collected after 1965.
A class handout which consists of a medley of quotations from various people, for example, Karl Popper, arranged under headings.
This is a collection of statements by scientists on the following topics: how scientists have become impatient with religion, how science has all the answers, how difficult it is to truly understand the past, the question of whether science is a cause or a pretext, the assertion that science is not based on purely inductive reasoning, and the illusion of already knowing as the greatest enemy to serious research.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
In this lesson we pick out some peculiar items in the Book of Ether to show how they vindicate its claim to go back to the very dawn of history. First, the account of the great dispersion has been remarkably confirmed by independent investigators in many fields. Ether like the Bible tells of the Great Dispersion, but it goes much further than the Bible in describing accompanying phenomena, especially the driving of cattle and the raging of terrible winds. This part of the picture can now be confirmed from many sources. In Ether the reign and exploits of King Lib exactly parallel the doings of the first kings of Egypt (entirely unknown, of course, in the time of Joseph Smith) even in the oddest particulars. The story of Jared’s barges can be matched by the earliest Babylonian descriptions of the ark, point by point as to all peculiar features. There is even ample evidence to attest the lighting of Jared’s ships by shining stones, a tradition which in the present century has been traced back to the oldest versions of the Babylonian Flood Story.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple.
This short autobiography seems to be an introduction to a series in the Improvement Era or elsewhere.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
This short autobiography seems to be an introduction to a series in the Improvement Era or elsewhere.
Hugh Nibley’s sixty-fifth birthday in the Varsity Theater, Brigham Young University, in connection with the 1975 Annual Welch Lecture Series by Klaus Baer and others.
“Hugh Nibley’s Sounding Brass is a meticulous critique of two anti-Mormon writings. Nibley’s book is most useful for the poorly informed who do not have the background to critique sensationalistic or popular works of questionable validity, like those of Ann Eliza Young and Irving Wallace. But it is a pointed and often sarcastic essay that emphasizes in great detail flaws already evident to the knowledgeable reader. The generally uninformed but orthodox Latter-day Saint will find this type of work supportive of his beliefs, but the Mormon who is familiar with critical methodology and with history will prefer a synthesis of the events critiqued. Many scholars find this style of writing to be a sort of intellectual overkill, and it has not been particularly influential among historians.” Thomas G. Alexander, “Toward the New Mormon History: An Examination of the Literature on the Latter-day Saints in the Far West,” an essay in Historians and the American West, ed. Michael P. Malone (Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1983).
This book carries the subtitle “Informal Studies in the Lucrative Art of Telling Stories about Brigham Young and the Mormons” and is a response to Irving Wallace’s The Twenty-Seventh Wife (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1961). A few historians have been annoyed because Nibley pointed out some of the flaws in anti-Mormon literature.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1). Since then, the terms “tinkling cymbals” and “sounding brass” have often been used to signify words of emptiness and confusion describing perfectly most writings critical of the Latter-day Saints. Trained in history and interested in classical rhetoric, Hugh Nibley brings a broad perspective to his study of anti-Mormon writings.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1). Since then, the terms “tinkling cymbals” and “sounding brass” have often been used to signify words of emptiness and confusion describing perfectly most writings critical of the Latter-day Saints. Trained in history and interested in classical rhetoric, Hugh Nibley brings a broad perspective to his study of anti-Mormon writings.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1). Since then, the terms “tinkling cymbals” and “sounding brass” have often been used to signify words of emptiness and confusion describing perfectly most writings critical of the Latter-day Saints. Trained in history and interested in classical rhetoric, Hugh Nibley brings a broad perspective to his study of anti-Mormon writings.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1). Since then, the terms “tinkling cymbals” and “sounding brass” have often been used to signify words of emptiness and confusion describing perfectly most writings critical of the Latter-day Saints. Trained in history and interested in classical rhetoric, Hugh Nibley brings a broad perspective to his study of anti-Mormon writings.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1). Since then, the terms “tinkling cymbals” and “sounding brass” have often been used to signify words of emptiness and confusion describing perfectly most writings critical of the Latter-day Saints. Trained in history and interested in classical rhetoric, Hugh Nibley brings a broad perspective to his study of anti-Mormon writings.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (I Corinthians 13:1). Since then, the terms “tinkling cymbals” and “sounding brass” have often been used to signify words of emptiness and confusion describing perfectly most writings critical of the Latter-day Saints. Trained in history and interested in classical rhetoric, Hugh Nibley brings a broad perspective to his study of anti-Mormon writings.
Reprinted in The Ancient State.
Considers the nature and importance of the sparsiones by looking at three points: (1) what was distributed by sparsio, (2) by whom and on what occasions, and (3) by what particular methods.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
Considers the nature and importance of the sparsiones by looking at three points: (1) what was distributed by sparsio, (2) by whom and on what occasions, and (3) by what particular methods.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Talks about what St. Augustine’s great task was during life.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Talks about what St. Augustine’s great task was during life.
Made available through FARMS, Brigham Young University.
Talks about the miracle a planet exists in space and discusses the even bigger miracle of the “drama” that occurs on it.
Reprinted in New Genesis: A Mormon Reader on Land and Community, ed. Terry Tempest Williams (Salt Lake City: Gibbs-Smith, 1998), 114–29.
A brief discussion on Brigham Young’s warnings that mining would destroy the air in Deseret.
Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints presents Hugh Nibley’s reflections on the thoughts of Brigham Young on politics, education, leadership, and the environment. The timeliness of Brigham’s counsel on these topics will quickly become apparent to readers, as will the unique insights that Nibley adds. This volume will amuse, provoke, and challenge and, above all, educate.
A brief discussion on Brigham Young’s warnings that mining would destroy the air in Deseret.
The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days. The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Ezekiel
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon.
Writing on tally sticks is related to Ezekiel 37 and the meaning of the prophecy that two sticks shall become one. Extensive commentary on the traditional interpretations given to Ezekiel 37.
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Ezekiel
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
A comparison of the histor of Zenos in the Book of Mormon and an unnamed prophet of the Thanksgiving Hymns.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
This lesson is on an unusual theme. The Book of Mormon story of Moroni’s “Title of Liberty” gives valuable insight into certain practices and traditions of the Nephites which they took as a matter of course but which are totally unfamiliar not only to the modern world but to the world of Biblical scholarship as well. Since it is being better recognized every day that the Bible is only a sampling (and a carefully edited one) of but one side of ancient Jewish life, the Book of Mormon must almost unavoidably break away from the familiar things from time to time, and show us facets of Old World life untouched by the Bible. The “Title of Liberty” story is a good example of such a welcome departure from beaten paths, being concerned with certain old Hebrew traditions which were perfectly familiar to the Nephites but are nowhere to be found either in the Bible or in the apocryphal writings. These traditions, strange as they are, can now be checked by new and unfamiliar sources turned up in the Old World, and shown to be perfectly authentic.
Reprinted in An Approach to the Book of Mormon.
Compares the ships of the Jaredites with boats from Mesopotamia and the Gilgamesh Epic, and the sixteen stones of the brother of Jared with shining stones reported in the pseudepigrapha, Jerusalem Talmud, and by Greek historians.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > Ether
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Warfare
Reprinted from A Book of Mormon Treasury: Selections from the Papers of the Improvement Era.
Compares the ships of the Jaredites with boats from Mesopotamia and the Gilgamesh Epic, and the sixteen stones of the brother of Jared with shining stones reported in the pseudepigrapha, Jerusalem Talmud, and by Greek historians.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Reprinted in Enoch the Prophet, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 2. 91–301.
A discussion of the worldview and scenario of the Hopis. Editor’s note: With the October 1975 issue, the Ensign began a series on the book of Enoch authored by Hugh Nibley. As Part 1 recounts, early Christian writers knew and respected the book of Enoch, but biblical scholars neglected it in scorn after the excitement of the Reformation was over. However, James Bruce, exploring the sources of the Nile in 1773, brought back three copies. Part 2 describes the critical response—or lack of it—to these documents and then turns to examining the four versions of the book of Enoch against which Joseph Smith’s writing must be judged.
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Reprinted from a series of articles in the Ensign.
A discussion on the lost book of Enoch and how it would provide an accurate test of authenticity for the Book of Moses.
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
With the October 1975 issue, the Ensign began a series on the book of Enoch, authored by Hugh Nibley.
Part 2 describes the critical response—or lack of it—to copies of the book of Enoch found in Egypt, and then turns to examining the four versions of the book of Enoch against which Joseph Smith’s writing must be judged.
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
Beginning with a mobile defense, the Nephites soon adopted the classic system of fortified cities and strong places, their earth-and-wood defenses resembling those found all over the Old World. Settled areas with farms, towns, and a capital city were separated from each other by considerable stretches of uninhabited country. The greatest military operation described in the Book of Mormon is the long retreat in which the Nephites moved from one place to another in the attempt to make a stand against the overwhelmingly superior hereditary enemy. This great retreat is not a freak in history but has many parallels among the wars and migrations of nations. There is nothing improbable or even unusual in a movement that began in Central America and after many years ended at Cumorah.
The essays in this volume, including four on today’s world, were selected by a panel of Hugh Nibley’s colleagues. They are singular in their penetration, their originality, and their vitality. Reaching from the apocalyptic visions of original “treasures in heaven” down to the climax of history, they are more than mind-stretching. The delight of Nibley’s brilliant and sometimes biting prose style imparts a sense of the agelessness of what he calls the “three-act play” of human existence. Written specially for this book, the author’s own “intellectual autobiography,” together with his introductory paragraphs for the various chapters, complete the work of making the book a fitting and permanent record of one of the past outstanding historians
Ever since the days of the Prophet Joseph, presidents of the Church have appealed to the Saints to be magnanimous and forbearing toward all of God’s creatures. But in the great West, where everything was up for grabs, it was more than human nature could endure to be left out of the great grabbing game, especially when one happened to get there first, as the Mormons often did. One morning, just a week after we had moved into our house on Seventh North, as I was leaving for work, I found a group of shouting, arm-waving boys gathered around the big fir tree in the front yard. They had sticks and stones, and in a state of high excitement were fiercely attacking the lowest branches of the tree, which hung to the ground. Why? I asked. There was a quail in the tree, they said in breathless zeal, a quail! Of course, said I, what is wrong with that? But don’t you see, it is a live quail? A wild one! So they just had to kill it. They were on their way to the old B. Y. High School and were Boy Scouts. Does this story surprise you? What surprised me was when I later went to Chicago and saw squirrels running around the city parks in broad daylight; they would not last a day in Provo. Like Varro’s patrician friends, we have taught our children by precept and example that every living thing exists to be converted into cash, and that whatever would not yield a return should be quickly exterminated to make way for creatures that do. (We have referred to this elsewhere as the Mahan Principle; Moses 5:31.) I have heard influential Latter-day Saints express this philosophy. The earth is our enemy, I was taught does it not bring forth noxious weeds to afflict and torment man? And who cared if his allergies were the result of the Fall, man’s own doing? But one thing worried me: if God were to despise all things beneath Him, as we do, where would that leave us? Inquiring about today, one discovers that many Latter-day Saints feel that the time has come to put an end to the killing.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 4
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Adam, Eve
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Stewardship, Creation, Earth, Environment
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Addresses various peoples’ ideas that one can find certitude without revelation and discusses the idea that where there is no revelation, there is no certitude.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Addresses various peoples’ ideas that one can find certitude without revelation and discusses the idea that where there is no revelation, there is no certitude.
482 pp. Transcripts of 29 lectures.
Hugh Nibley is one of the best-known and most highly revered of Latter-day Saint scholars. For over forty years this near-legendary teacher has enthralled his readers and listeners with his encyclopedic knowledge
473 pp. Transcripts of 27 lectures.
Hugh Nibley is one of the best-known and most highly revered of Latter-day Saint scholars. For over forty years this near-legendary teacher has enthralled his readers and listeners with his encyclopedic knowledge, his wit, and his untiring research in defense of Latter-day Saint beliefs. Now you can join Dr. Nibley in the second of four Honors Book of Mormon classes that he taught at BYU during 1988–90. Part two contains twenty-seven lectures focusing on Mosiah 6 through Alma 41. It is vintage Nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a book that he loves and knows so well.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
473 pp. Transcripts of 27 lectures.
Hugh Nibley is one of the best-known and most highly revered of Latter-day Saint scholars. For over forty years this near-legendary teacher has enthralled his readers and listeners with his encyclopedic knowledge, his wit, and his untiring research in defense of Latter-day Saint beliefs. Now you can join Dr. Nibley in the second of four Honors Book of Mormon classes that he taught at BYU during 1988–90. Part two contains twenty-seven lectures focusing on Mosiah 6 through Alma 41. It is vintage Nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a book that he loves and knows so well.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
360 pp. Transcripts of 29 lectures.
Hugh Nibley is one of the best-known and most highly revered of Latter-day Saint scholars. For over forty years, this near-legendary teacher has enthralled his readers and listeners with his encyclopedic knowledge, his wit, and his untiring research in defense of Latter-day Saint beliefs. Now you can join Dr. Nibley in the third of four Honors Book of Mormon classes that he taught at BYU during 1988–90. Part three contains twenty-nine lectures focusing on Alma 45 through 3 Nephi 20. It is vintage Nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a book that he loves and knows so well.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
360 pp. Transcripts of 29 lectures.
Hugh Nibley is one of the best-known and most highly revered of Latter-day Saint scholars. For over forty years, this near-legendary teacher has enthralled his readers and listeners with his encyclopedic knowledge, his wit, and his untiring research in defense of Latter-day Saint beliefs. Now you can join Dr. Nibley in the third of four Honors Book of Mormon classes that he taught at BYU during 1988–90. Part three contains twenty-nine lectures focusing on Alma 45 through 3 Nephi 20. It is vintage Nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a book that he loves and knows so well.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
287 pp. Transcripts of 27 lectures with 5 lectures by John W. Welch.
Hugh Nibley is one of the best-known and most highly revered of Latter-day Saint scholars. For over forty years this near-legendary teacher has enthralled his readers and listeners with his encyclopedic knowledge, his wit, and his untiring research in defense of Latter-day Saint beliefs. Now you can join Dr. Nibley in the last of four Honors Book of Mormon classes that he taught at BYU during 1988–90. Part four covers 3 Nephi 6 through Moroni 10. It is vintage Nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a book that he loves and knows so well.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
287 pp. Transcripts of 27 lectures with 5 lectures by John W. Welch.
Hugh Nibley is one of the best-known and most highly revered of Latter-day Saint scholars. For over forty years this near-legendary teacher has enthralled his readers and listeners with his encyclopedic knowledge, his wit, and his untiring research in defense of Latter-day Saint beliefs. Now you can join Dr. Nibley in the last of four Honors Book of Mormon classes that he taught at BYU during 1988–90. Part four covers 3 Nephi 6 through Moroni 10. It is vintage Nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a book that he loves and knows so well.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Hugh Nibley is one of the best-known and most highly revered of Latter-day Saint scholars. For over forty years this near-legendary teacher has enthralled his readers and listeners with his encyclopedic knowledge, his wit, and his untiring research in defense of Latter-day Saint beliefs. Now you can join Dr. Nibley in the first of four Honors Book of Mormon classes that he taught at BYU during 1988-90. Part one contains twenty-nine lectures focusing on 1 Nephi through Mosiah 5. It is vintage Nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a book that he loves and knows so well.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Dr. Hugh W. Nibley, professor emeritus of ancient scriptures at Brigham Young University, gave the following twenty-six lectures in an honors class on The Pearl of Great Price. This class was videotaped in the Maesar Building during winter semester 1986 and the text was then transcribed and is included here in this book.
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In “Temple,” the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, “Cosmos,” he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
An encyclopedia of church terminology.
Explains various parts of the temples from temple worship, to the history of temples, to how members worship in the temples.
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 17. 483–500.
Discusses the importance of the temple throughout history and in various civilizations to show its importance in modern day.
“Temples Everywhere” (2005)
“Temples Everywhere” (2008)
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 17. 483–500.
Discusses the importance of the temple throughout history and in various civilizations to show its importance in modern day.
“Temples Everywhere” (1999)
“Temples Everywhere” (2008)
Those of us who saw the recent television documentary American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith may have noticed an interesting defect in the script, namely, that it was Hamlet with Hamlet left out. It was as if one were to produce the life of Shakespeare with charming views of Stratford-upon-Avon, country school, the poaching story, marriage to Anne Hatha-way, showbiz in London, and respectable retirement without bothering to mention that our leading character gave the world the greatest treasury of dramatic art in existence. Or a life of Bach with his niggardly brother-guardian, his early poverty, his odd jobs with local organs and choirs, his acceptance in the courts of the Holy Roman Empire, his nineteen children, and his loving nature without a word about the greatest volume of music ever produced by a mortal.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Discusses the importance of the temple throughout history and in various civilizations to show its importance in modern day.
“Temples Everywhere” (1999)
“Temples Everywhere” (2005)
Reprinted in The Ancient State, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
It is the purpose of this paper to show how the state spent the most impressionable years of its childhood living as an orphan of the storm in tents of vagabonds where it acquired many of the habits and attitudes that still condition its activities.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
It is the purpose of this paper to show how the state spent the most impressionable years of its childhood living as an orphan of the storm in tents of vagabonds where it acquired many of the habits and attitudes that still condition its activities.
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
A comparison of the imagery of the “Plan“ of Salvation as found in the Book of Mormon and the Bible.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
“Since Cumorah: New Voices from the Dust” looks at the changing attitudes of biblical scholars toward basic questions about scripture allow room for claims made by the Book of Mormon. Discusses external evidences, the primitive church, Lehi, Zenos, the olive tree, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
A comparison of the imagery of the “Plan“ of Salvation as found in the Book of Mormon and the Bible.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon
Portions of this essay are reprinted as a supplement to the essay entitled “The Book of Mormon: True or False?” in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8, no. 29. 232–42.
In 1977 two full-length biographies of Joseph Smith appeared, both more of the same with a little more added. They all continue to miss the point: why is Joseph Smith worth writing about? Only, apparently, because the Mormons are still going strong. He was once thought interesting as a picturesque, even fantastic, frontier character, but now that it has become the fashion to explain him away as a perfectly ordinary guy, even that has been given up. But do ordinary guys do what Joseph Smith did ? It is as if the biographers of Shakespeare were to go on year after year digging up all the details of his rather ordinary life, omitting only that, incidentally, he was credited with writing some remarkable plays. The documents which Joseph Smith has placed in our hands are utterly unique; if you doubt it, please furnish an example to match the books of Moses and Abraham, any book of the Book of Mormon, or for that matter, Joseph Smith’s own story. No one since Eduard Meyer has pointed out how closely Joseph’s productions match those of the prophets of Israel; no one but he and E. A. W. Budge have had the knowledge to detect familiar overtones from ancient apocryphal writings in Joseph Smith’s revelations and his autobiography. From the first deriding of the Book of Mormon before 1830 to the latest attacks on the Book of Abraham, the approach has always been the same: “Considering who Smith was and the methods he used, it is hardly worth the trouble to examine the writings which he put forth as holy scriptures and ancient histories.” And so his work remains unread by his critics, and the greatest of all literary anomalies remains not only unexplained but unexamined. But why should his critics not see in Joseph Smith only what they choose to see, since the Mormons themselves do the same?
An example of what some scholars may believe about Joseph Smith and how anyone can manipulate stories into whatever fits their purpose.
The Egyptian delegates were visiting Utah on occasion of the Ramses II exhibit at BYU during 1985 and 1986. The dignitaries were His Excellency Ismail Abd El-Moeti; Consul General of the Arab Republic of Egypt; Dr. Gamal El-Din Mohktar, 1st Undersecretary of State, Former Chairman and Member of Executive Board of Directors of Egyptian Antiquities Organization; Dr. Ibrahim E.-Nawawy, Director General of Egyptian Museums, Egyptian Antiquities Organization; Dr. G. A. Gaballa, Vice Dean, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University, Member of the Executive Board of Directors of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization; General Fouad Alaam, Director of Tourism Police; and Mrs. Diane Smith Kadry, wife of Dr. Ahmed Kadry, the First Undersecretary of State and Chairman of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization.
This address was delivered during the Ramses II exhibit at BYU to a number of dignitaries from Egypt. cf. with “Perennial Egypt.” 19 pp., s.s., n.d., possibly given in connection with the Ramses II exhibit at BYU in 1985 and 1986.
“Reprinted as part three of “Lehi in the Desert”; “The World of the Jaredites”; “There Were Jaredites.” The description of the Jaredite boats seem to resemble the boat of Ut-Napitshtim, who was the Sumerian counterpart of Noah. Old Jewish and even older Indian sources record the use of shining stones that protect the owner beneath the water. These have been traced back to Babylonian tales of the deluge. Since the Jaredite record reports that their boats were patterned after Noah’s ark, ancient myths that surely have their foundation in real events help to provide greater understanding of the book of Ether. The book of Ether meets all the criteria of epic traditions of heroic societies. The remains of heroic societies are difficult to identify.
This wide-ranging series discusses the “epic milieu” of the second millennium B.C. and places the Jaredites in their historical context alongside the Babylonians, Egyptians, early Greeks, and others. It makes a comparison between the book of Ether and ancient writings of Babylon, Egypt, Sumer, and others.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
The description of the Jaredite boats seem to resemble the boat of Ut-Napitshtim, who was the Sumerian counterpart of Noah. Old Jewish and even older Indian sources record the use of shining stones that protect the owner beneath the water. These have been traced back to Babylonian tales of the deluge. Since the Jaredite record reports that their boats were patterned after Noah’s ark, ancient myths that surely have their foundation in real events help to provide greater understanding of the book of Ether. The book of Ether meets all the criteria of epic traditions of heroic societies. The remains of heroic societies are difficult to identify.
This wide-ranging series discusses the “epic milieu” of the second millennium B.C. and places the Jaredites in their historical context alongside the Babylonians, Egyptians, early Greeks, and others. It makes a comparison between the book of Ether and ancient writings of Babylon, Egypt, Sumer, and others.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
An explanation of the three degress of righteousness using Old Testament stories, specifically Adamic stories to show them.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Wealth, Law of Consecration
The positive response generated by publication of Nibley’s “Bird Island“ (Dialogue X, No. 4) encouraged us to offer additional popular Nibley samizdat. Nibliophiles will be delighted to learn that events have overtaken us in this plan, and a volume of classic Nibley essays now has been published by BYU’s Religious Studies Center.* This collection, which begins with a new “intellectual autobiography” and ends with a comprehensive bibliography, includes such popular essays as “Educating theSaints,” “Beyond Politics” and “Subduing the Earth,”—as well as “Zeal Without Knowledge,” the Nibley classic reprinted here with the permission of the Religious Studies Center.
An explanation of the three degress of righteousness using Old Testament stories, specifically Adamic stories to show them.
This presentation contains suggestions for interpreting various features found in the Pearl of Great Price facsimiles. Hugh Nibley notes that variations within stereotyped images, such as a person about to be sacrificed on the lion couch, can have widely divergent interpretations, thus leaving room for Joseph Smith’s interpretation of Abraham on the altar. Facsimile 2 can be compared to apocryphal books about Abraham that describe a cosmic journey with elements resembling certain features in the book of Abraham. The coronation scene in Facsimile 3 also shows authentic elements.
Hugh Nibley notes that variations within stereotyped images, such as a person about to be sacrificed on the lion couch, can have widely divergent interpretations, thus leaving room for Joseph Smith’s interpretation of Abraham on the altar.
This presentation contains suggestions for interpreting various features found in the Pearl of Great Price facsimiles.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
The World and the Prophets (1954)
The World and the Prophets (1962)
The World and the Prophets (1987)
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). Since then, the terms tinkling cymbals and sounding brass have often been used to signify words of emptiness and confusion—describing perfectly most writings critical of the Latter-day Saints.
Trained in history and interested in classical rhetoric, Hugh Nibley brings a broad perspective to his study of anti-Mormon writings. Included in this volume are:“No Ma’am, that’s Not History,” “Censoring the Joseph Smith Story,” “The Myth Makers,” and “Sounding Brass”
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Brigham Young > Criticsms and Apologetics > Ann Eliza Young
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Joseph Smith > Criticisms, Apologetics
After all these years, it comes as a surprise for me to learn that the book of Moses appeared in the same year as the publication of the Book of Mormon, the first chapter being delivered in the very month of its publication. And it is a totally different kind of book, in another style, from another world. It puts to rest the silly arguments about who really wrote the Book of Mormon, for whoever produced the book of Moses would have been even a greater genius. That first chapter is a composition of unsurpassed magnificence. And we have all overlooked it completely. The Joseph Smith controversy is silly for the same reason the ShakeÂspeare controversy is silly. Granted that a simple countryman could not have written the plays that go under the name of Will Shakespeare, who could? If that man is hard to imagine as their author, is it any easier to imagine a courtier, or a London wit, or a doctor of the schools, or, just for laughs, a committee of any of the above as the source of that miraÂculous outpouring? Joseph Smith’s achievement is of a different sort, but even more staggering: he challenged the whole world to fault him in his massive sacred history and an unprecedented corpus of apocalyptic books. He took all the initiative and did all the work, withholding nothÂing and claiming no immunity on religious or any other grounds; he spreads a thousand pages before us and asks us to find something wrong. And after a century and a half with all that material to work on, the learned world comes up with nothing better than the old discredited Solomon Spaulding story it began with. What an astounding tribute to the achievement of the Prophet that after all this time and with all that evidence his enemies can do no better than that! Even more impressive is the positive evidence that is accumulating behind the book of Moses— which includes fragments from books of Adam, Noah, and Enoch; for in our day ancient books that bear those names are being seriously studied for the first time in modern history, and comparison with the Joseph Smith versions is impressing leading scholars in the field. But even without external witnesses, what a masterpiece we have in that first chapter of the book of Moses! Consider the below.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Chapters > Moses 1
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.
As Christianity has been deeschatologized and demythologized in our own day; so in the fourth century it was thoroughly dematerialized, and ever since then anything smacking of “ cosmism“ that is, tending to associate religion with the physical universe in any way has been instantly condemned by Christian and Jewish clergy alike as paganism and blasphemy. Joseph Smith was taken to task for the crude literalism of his religion not only talking with angels like regular people, but giving God the aspect attributed to Him by the primitive prophets of Israel, and, strangest of all, unhesitatingly bringing other worlds and universes into the picture. Well, some of the early Christian and Jewish writers did the same thing; this weakness in them has been explained away as a Gnostic aberration, and yet today there is a marked tendency in all the churches to support the usual bloodless abstractions and stereotyped moral sermons with a touch of apocalyptic realism, which indeed now supplies the main appeal of some of the most sensationally successful evangelists. Over a century ago, J.-P. Migne argued that the medieval legends of the Saints were far less prone to mislead the faithful than those scientifically oriented apocrypha of the Early Church, since the former were the transparent inventions of popular fantasy which could never lead thinking people astray, while the latter by their air of factual reporting and claims to scientific plausibility led the early Christians into all manner of extravagant speculation, drawing the faithful astray in many directions. To appreciate the strength of their own position, Latter-day Saints should not be without some knowledge of both these traditions. Since the “cosmist“ doctrines have been almost completely neglected, here we offer a look at some of them.
“Treasures in the Heavens: Some Early Christian Insights into the Organizing of Worlds” (1974)
“Treasures in the Heavens” (2004)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Reprinted as “Treasures in the Heavens” in Old Testament and Related Studies, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 1, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 171–214.
A complex and rich study of the cosmology of the Christian world, which is compared to other similar sources. — Midgley. As Christianity has been deeschatologized and demythologized in our own day; so in the fourth century it was thoroughly dematerialized, and ever since then, anything smacking of “cosmism” that is, tending to associate religion with the physical universe in any way has been instantly condemned by Christian and Jewish clergy alike as paganism and blasphemy. Joseph Smith was taken to task for the crude literalism of his religion not only talking with angels like regular people but giving God the aspect attributed to Him by the primitive prophets of Israe, and, strangest of all, unhesitatingly bringing other worlds and universes into the picture. Well, some of the early Christian and Jewish writers did the same thing; this weakness in them has been explained away as a Gnostic aberration, and yet today there is a marked tendency in all the churches to support the usual bloodless abstractions and stereotyped moral sermons with a touch of apocalyptic realism, which indeed now supplies the main appeal of some of the most sensationally successful evangelists. Over a century ago, J.-P. Migne argued that the medieval legends of the Saints were far less prone to mislead the faithful than those scientifically oriented apocrypha of the Early Church, since the former were the transparent inventions of popular fantasy that could never lead thinking people astray, while the latter, by their air of factual reporting and claims to scientific plausibility, led the early Christians into all manner of extravagant speculation, drawing the faithful astray in many directions. To appreciate the strength of their own position, Latter-day Saints should not be without some knowledge of both these traditions. Since the “cosmist” doctrines have been almost completely neglected, here we offer a look at some of them.
“Treasures in the Heavens: Some Early Christian Insights into the Organizing of Worlds” (1974)
“Treasures in the Heavens” (1986)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Reprinted as “Treasures in the Heavens” in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless (1978), 49–84; (2004), 53–93; and in Old Testament and Related Studies, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 1:171–214.
A complex and rich study of the cosmology of the Christian world, which is compared to other similar sources. — Midgley
“Treasures in the Heavens” (1986)
“Treasures in the Heavens” (2004)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > Plan of Salvation, Terrible Questions > Death
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
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
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Noah, Ham, Shem, Japheth
Originally part of a Sunday School lesson. Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, CWHN 17:252–58.
One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study- all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.
Reprinted as “Christ among the Ruins,” in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8. 380–434.
Presents information about the names used and the political and the social conditions of Lehi’s Jerusalem based on contemporaneous messages written on pottery found at Lachish.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 3 Nephi
RSC Topics > G — K > Hell
RSC Topics > Q — S > Resurrection
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Forty-Day Ministry
Reprinted in Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life, 2002. 56–58
This series was to have been continued but was actually abandoned. The materials were eventually used in “The Passing of the Church,” Church History 30/2 (June 1961): 131–54; reprinted in When the Lights Went Out (1970): 1–32; in BYU Studies 16/1 (1975): 139–64; in Mormonism and Early Christianity, CWHN 4:209–322; and as “The Passing of the Primitive Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme,” in When the Lights Went Out (2001), 1–47.
A discussion of the three main arguments modern claimants fall back on to save at least the tattered remnants of the true church: (1) the perfectly irrelevant “gates of hell” passage, (2) the “simple fact” that the church has persisted in the world unintermittently for nigh onto two-thousand years, and (3) that God simply would not allow a comoplete dissolution of his church.
This series was to have been continued but was actually abandoned. The materials were eventually used in “The Passing of the Church,” Church History 30/2 (June 1961): 131–54; reprinted in When the Lights Went Out (1970): 1–32; in BYU Studies 16/1 (1975): 139–64; in Mormonism and Early Christianity, CWHN 4:209–322; and as “The Passing of the Primitive Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme,” in When the Lights Went Out (2001), 1–47.
A discussion of what true success is: the heavenly kingdom, the second coming, the judgment, and the resurrection.
This series was to have been continued but was actually abandoned. The materials were eventually used in “The Passing of the Church,” Church History 30/2 (June 1961): 131–54; reprinted in When the Lights Went Out (1970): 1–32; in BYU Studies 16/1 (1975): 139–64; in Mormonism and Early Christianity, CWHN 4:209–322; and as “The Passing of the Primitive Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme,” in When the Lights Went Out (2001), 1–47.
A discussion of the fact that the church is not immune to corruption, nor are its members. It also goes through how the true church had become corrupted in previous dispensations.
This series was to have been continued but was actually abandoned. The materials were eventually used in “The Passing of the Church,” Church History 30/2 (June 1961): 131–54; reprinted in When the Lights Went Out (1970): 1–32; in BYU Studies 16/1 (1975): 139–64; in Mormonism and Early Christianity, CWHN 4:209–322; and as “The Passing of the Primitive Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme,” in When the Lights Went Out (2001), 1–47.
A discussion of the “primitive church” and how one might make certain divisions in church history.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Discussion of better ways to remember the dead.
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1974)
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1979)
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1987)
Also reprinted from Nibley’s The World and the Prophets (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1954), and reprinted in Understanding Death, ed. Brent Barlow (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1979), 189–96.
Discussion of better ways to remember the dead.
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1954)
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1979)
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1987)
Also reprinted from Nibley’s The World and the Prophets (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1954).
Discussion of better ways to remember the dead.
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1954)
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1974)
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1987)
Originally presented as a lecture in “Time Vindicates the Prophets.”
Discussion of better ways to remember the dead.
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1954)
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1974)
“Two Ways to Remember the Dead” (1979)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
The volume “An Approach to the Book of Abraham” contains diverse essays, including his three-year series of lengthy articles from Improvement Era, “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.” According to Nibley, “Until now, no one has done much more than play around with the bedizening treasury of the Pearl of Great Price. They would not, we could not make of the Book of Abraham an object of serious study. The time has come to change all that.”
A study of the authenticity of the Book of Abraham and a discussion of where one might find more information on Abraham.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
“Apocryphal Writings” (1967)
“Unrolling the Scrolls—Some Forgotten Witnesses” (1986)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Language > Records, Writing
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Science > Cosmology, Creation, Treasures in the Heavens
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Ordinances
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Prayer Circles
“Unrolling the Scrolls—Some Forgotten Witnesses” (1967)
“Apocryphal Writings” (1967)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Language > Records, Writing
“Reprinted in The Ancient State.
An examination of the problem of loyalty in the 4th century, with obvious significance for our own time. — Midgley“
Considers three significant aspects of the Roman loyalty program in the period designated.
This was originally printed in Western Political Quarterly 6, no. 4 (1953): 631–57.
Considers three significant aspects of the Roman loyalty program in the period designated.
The mystery of the nature and organization of the Primitive Church has recently been considerably illuminated by the discovery of the so-called Dead Sea Scrolls. There is increasing evidence that these documents were deliberately sealed up to come forth at a later time, thus providing a significant parallel to the Book of Mormon record. The Scrolls have caused considerable dismay and confusion among scholars, since they are full of things generally believed to be uniquely Christian, though they were undoubtedly written by pious Jews before the time of Christ. Some Jewish and Christian investigators have condemned the Scrolls as forgeries and suggest leaving them alone on the grounds that they don’t make sense. Actually they make very good sense, but it is a sense quite contrary to conventional ideas of Judaism and Christianity. The Scrolls echo teachings in many apocryphal writings, both of the Jews and the Christians, while at the same time showing undeniable affinities with the Old and the New Testament teachings.
The very things which made the Scrolls at first so baffling and hard to accept to many scholars are the very things which in the past have been used to discredit the Book of Mormon. Now the Book of Mormon may be read in a wholly new light, which is considered here in lessons 14, 15, 16, and 17.
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 13. 247–66. This essay was originally submitted in 1977 for a special issue of the Ensign as part of the bicentennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence. It was rejected by the editors.
What is the proper form in which to manifest out commitment to the “just and holy principles” the Lord suffered to be established? Hugh Nibley, the most distinguished scholar of the restored Church, has written an interesting essay dealing with that question.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
This essay was originally submitted in 1977 for a special issue of the Ensign as part of the bicentennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence. It was rejected by the editors.
What is the proper form in which to manifest out commitment to the “just and holy principles” the Lord suffered to be established? Hugh Nibley, the most distinguished scholar of the restored Church, has written an interesting essay dealing with that question.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Government, Politics
The positive response generated by publication of Nibley’s “Bird Island“ (Dialogue X, No. 4) encouraged us to offer additional popular Nibley samizdat. Nibliophiles will be delighted to learn that events have overtaken us in this plan, and a volume of classic Nibley essays now has been published by BYU’s Religious Studies Center.* This collection, which begins with a new “intellectual autobiography” and ends with a comprehensive bibliography, includes such popular essays as “Educating theSaints,” “Beyond Politics” and “Subduing the Earth,”—as well as “Zeal Without Knowledge,” the Nibley classic reprinted here with the permission of the Religious Studies Center.
A study of utopias and attempted utopias throughout time and where they failed or succeeded to give an idea of how the ultimate utopia, Zion, will be.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Wealth, Law of Consecration
Reprinted from a lecture of the same title.
A study of utopias and attempted utopias throughout time and where they failed or succeeded to give an idea of how the ultimate utopia, Zion, will be.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
A study of the rhetoric of the second Sophistic movement and its influence on politics and culture generally, with obvious significance for our own time because of remarkable parallel developments in the current world of business.
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices—social, political, and even economic—have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors. The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures. It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
A study of the rhetoric of the second Sophistic movement and its influence on politics and culture generally, with obvious significance for our own time because of remarkable parallel developments in the current world of business.
Verse-by-verse elucidation on D&C 109.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Modern Temples
Originally presented at the FARMS Symposium on Warfare, 24 March 1989.
Compares the descriptions of warfare in the Book of Mormon with the writings and axioms of Karl von Clausewitz’s military treatise, Vom Kriege, that served the military as a bible for 150 years and was published in 1833. Descriptions of Book of Mormon warfare match von Clausewitz’s principles very well. Again the internal evidence of the Book of Mormon establishes its accuracy in describing technical subjects unknown to Joseph Smith.
Descriptions of Book of Mormon warfare match von Clausewitz’s principles very well. Again the internal evidence of the Book of Mormon establishes its accuracy in describing technical subjects unknown to Joseph Smith.
Compares the descriptions of warfare in the Book of Mormon with the writings and axioms of Karl von Clausewitz’s military treatise, Vom Kriege, that served the military as a bible for 150 years and was published in 1833.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Brigham Young
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > War, Peace
This series was to have been continued but was actually abandoned. The materials were eventually used in “The Passing of the Church,” Church History 30, no. 2 (June 1961): 131–54; reprinted in When the Lights Went Out (1970): 1–32; in BYU Studies 16, no. 1 (1975): 139–64; in Mormonism and Early Christianity, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 4. 209–322; and as “The Passing of the Primitive Church: Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme,” in When the Lights Went Out (2001), 1–47.
From the outset of his career, Dr. Hugh Nibley has been centrally concerned with primitive Christianity, especially the shadowy era between the New Testament proper and the emergence and the triumph of the Catholic Church and Holy Roman Empire. That is the era treated in the nine essays collected in this volume.
The essays cover such subjects as early accounts of Jesus’ childhood, the Savior’s forty-day ministry after his resurrection, baptism for the dead in ancient times, the passing of the primitive church, and the early Christian prayer circle.
A discussion on the question: “Was the church Jesus founded expected to remain upon the earth for a limited time only, or was the ‘apostolic church’ destined ‘to remain firm and steadfast until the end of the world’?”
A series of articles in three sections printed in 12 parts running from January 1955 through December 1955.
A discussion of the three main arguments modern claimants fall back on to save at least the tattered remnants of the true church: (1) the perfectly irrelevant “gates of hell” passage, (2) the “simple fact” that the church has persisted in the world unintermittently for nigh onto two-thousand years, and (3) that God simply would not allow a comoplete dissolution of his church.
A series of articles in three sections printed in 12 parts running from January 1955 through December 1955.
A discussion of eschatology and how it relates to and influences religion.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
An exploration of crime in the Book of Mormon.
In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
A discussion of people throughout the Book of Mormon who appeal to “intellectuals” and how that is traced back to the “Jews of Jerusalem.”
A discussion about what Zion is and how it is related to everyone caring for one another.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Wealth, Law of Consecration
An expansion on the talk of the same title.
A discussion about what Zion is and how it is related to everyone caring for one another.
These comments by Nibley are excerpted from a FARMS videocassette entitled “The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Era Dawns.”
It contains material recorded in connection with a National Interfaith Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls, 20 November 1992 in the Kresge Auditorium of Stanford University.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Mahaway, Mahujah, Mahijah
Sixth of the series “Mixed Voices” on Book of Mormon criticism
This article responds to the assertion that the Book of Mormon is a product of the religious and political milieu of the American frontier.
Sixth of the series “Mixed Voices†on Book of Mormon criticism
This article responds to the assertion that the Book of Mormon is a product of the religious and political milieu of the American frontier.
Reprinted from the article by the same name.
This article responds to the assertion that the Book of Mormon is a product of the religious and political milieu of the American frontier.
Chapter 7. One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
Reprinted from “What Is a Temple?” (1963 and 1968). Also reprinted in Mormonism and Early Christianity, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 4. 355–70. This essay was first written in 1958 for the dedication of the London Temple. Those Church Fathers, especially of the fourth century, who proclaim the victory of Christianity over its rivals constantly speak of the Church as the competitor and supplanter of the Synagogue, and modern authorities are agreed that in ritual and liturgy the Christian Church grew up “in the shadow of the Synagogue.” This is a most significant fact. While the Temple stood, the Jews had both its ancient ordinances and the practices of the Synagogue, but they were not the same. The Temple was unique, and when it was destroyed, the Synagogue of the Jews did not take over its peculiarly sacred functions—they were in no wise authorized to do so.
This article makes clear that the sacred purposes of the Temple were understood and its ordinances practiced in dispensations before the great falling away which brought about the disappearance of these important truths.
“The Idea of the Temple in History” in Millennial Star (1958)
What Is a Temple? The Idea of the Temple in History (1963)
What Is a Temple? The Idea of the Temple in History (1968)
Mormonism and Early Christianity (1987)
RSC Topics > T — Z > Temples
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples
This essay was first written in 1958 for the dedication of the London Temple. Those Church Fathers, especially of the fourth century, who proclaim the victory of Christianity over its rivals constantly speak of the Church as the competitor and supplanter of the Synagogue, and modern authorities are agreed that in ritual and liturgy the Christian Church grew up “in the shadow of the Synagogue.” This is a most significant fact. While the Temple stood, the Jews had both its ancient ordinances and the practices of the Synagogue, but they were not the same. The Temple was unique, and when it was destroyed, the Synagogue of the Jews did not take over its peculiarly sacred functions—they were in no wise authorized to do so.
This article makes clear that the sacred purposes of the Temple were understood and its ordinances practiced in dispensations before the great falling away which brought about the disappearance of these important truths.
This essay was first written in 1958 for the dedication of the London Temple. Those Church Fathers, especially of the fourth century, who proclaim the victory of Christianity over its rivals constantly speak of the Church as the competitor and supplanter of the Synagogue, and modern authorities are agreed that in ritual and liturgy the Christian Church grew up “in the shadow of the Synagogue.” This is a most significant fact. While the Temple stood, the Jews had both its ancient ordinances and the practices of the Synagogue, but they were not the same. The Temple was unique, and when it was destroyed, the Synagogue of the Jews did not take over its peculiarly sacred functions—they were in no wise authorized to do so.
This article makes clear that the sacred purposes of the Temple were understood and its ordinances practiced in dispensations before the great falling away which brought about the disappearance of these important truths.
“The Idea of the Temple in History” in Millennial Star (1958)
What Is a Temple? The Idea of the Temple in History (1968)
“The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives” in The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives (1984)
Mormonism and Early Christianity (1987)
This essay was first written in 1958 for the dedication of the London Temple. Those Church Fathers, especially of the fourth century, who proclaim the victory of Christianity over its rivals constantly speak of the Church as the competitor and supplanter of the Synagogue, and modern authorities are agreed that in ritual and liturgy the Christian Church grew up “in the shadow of the Synagogue.” This is a most significant fact. While the Temple stood, the Jews had both its ancient ordinances and the practices of the Synagogue, but they were not the same. The Temple was unique, and when it was destroyed, the Synagogue of the Jews did not take over its peculiarly sacred functions—they were in no wise authorized to do so.
This article makes clear that the sacred purposes of the Temple were understood and its ordinances practiced in dispensations before the great falling away which brought about the disappearance of these important truths.
“The Idea of the Temple in History” in Millennial Star (1958)
What Is a Temple? The Idea of the Temple in History (1963)
“The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives” in The Temple in Antiquity: Ancient Records and Modern Perspectives (1984)
Mormonism and Early Christianity (1987)
One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.
This talk, originally given in 1973, was circulated prior to publication as “Waiting for Zion,” 34 pp., d.s., typed transcript. A passionate treatment of one of Nibley’s favorite themes. — Midgley
A discussion of what Zion is and how it applies to modern day.
Chapter 2. The positive response generated by publication of Nibley’s “Bird Island“ (Dialogue X, No. 4) encouraged us to offer additional popular Nibley samizdat. Nibliophiles will be delighted to learn that events have overtaken us in this plan, and a volume of classic Nibley essays now has been published by BYU’s Religious Studies Center.* This collection, which begins with a new “intellectual autobiography” and ends with a comprehensive bibliography, includes such popular essays as “Educating theSaints,” “Beyond Politics” and “Subduing the Earth,”—as well as “Zeal Without Knowledge,” the Nibley classic reprinted here with the permission of the Religious Studies Center.
A discussion of what Zion is and how it applies to modern day.
Reprinted in Studies of the Books of Moses and Abraham: Articles from BYU Studies. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
A history of “The Book of Breathings” as well as a description of what it is.
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
A discussion of how prophets are essential to a True Church.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
A discussion of how prophets are essential to a True Church.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
A home evening lesson.
This essay was published as part of the section in Ensign called “I Have a Question.”
Questions about the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, answered for guidance, not as official statements of Church policy.
In the “I Have a Question” series in the Ensign.
Questions about the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, answered for guidance, not as official statements of Church policy.
Reprinted from the “I Have a Question” series in the Ensign.
Questions about the facsimiles in the Book of Abraham, answered for guidance, not as official statements of Church policy.
“The Passing of the Primitive Church (Forty Variations on an Unpopular Theme)” [reprinted from Church History 30, no. 2 (June 1961): 131–54]. “The Forty-day Mission of Christ: The Forgotten Heritage” [reprinted from Vigiliae Christianae 20 no. 1 (1966): 1–24]. “Christian Envy of the Temple” [reprinted from Jewish Quarterly Review 50, nos. 2–3 (October 1959; January 1960): 97–123; 229–40].
Three of Nibley’s important essays on the fate of the primitive Christian church and its institutions and beliefs previously available only in academic journals in 1959-60, 1961, and 1966 are reprinted and indexed for the Mormon audience.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Forty-Day Ministry
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
These essays were originally published together in the 1970 Deseret Book publication by the same title and are all included in Mormonism and Early Christianity, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 4. 10–44, 168–208, 391–434.
Three of Nibley’s important essays on the fate of the primitive Christian church and its institutions and beliefs previously available only in academic journals in 1959-60, 1961, and 1966 are reprinted and indexed for the Mormon audience.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Forty-Day Ministry
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
Reprinted in Eloquent Witness, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 17. 228–37.
Commentary on different aspects of the Word of Wisdom and how people should go about keeping it.
“The Word of Wisdom: A Commentary on D&C 89”
“The Word of Wisdom: A Commentary on Doctrine and Covenants 89” (2008)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Word of Wisdom
Hugh Nibley places the Word of Wisdom in perspective: it is not given to the Saints by eternal covenant because it involves a strictly temporal matter. In other words, living the Word of Wisdom is not an issue in the world to come. The significant point is the word wisdom; the Word of Wisdom is a wise code to guide our consumption.
“The Word of Wisdom: A Commentary on D&C 89” (1979)
“The Word of Wisdom: A Commentary on Doctrine and Covenants 89” (2008)
Reprinted from The Word of Wisdom: A Commentary on D&C 89, a 6 pp. typed transcript.
Commentary on different aspects of the Word of Wisdom and how people should go about keeping it.
A condensed version of this talk was published under the same title in BYU Today, November 1982, 8–12. The full text was reprinted in Approaching Zion, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 9. 202–51.
An address about whether we must work for all we have or whether it is a gift from God. In the address, he posits that we must work but that we haven’t earned anything; it is a gift from God.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Wealth, Law of Consecration
The full text of a talk under the same title.
An address about whether we must work for all we have or whether it is a gift from God. In the address, he posits that we must work but that we haven’t earned anything; it is a gift from God.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Zion, Babylon > Wealth, Law of Consecration
The original publication of the series of talks.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
“Time Vindicates the Prophets” (1954)
The World and the Prophets (1962)
The World and the Prophets (1987)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
“The Doctors’ Dilemma” and “The Return of the Prophets?” were added in this edition, though they were not part of the original series of radio addresses and have a somewhat different style.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
“Time Vindicates the Prophets” (1954)
The World and the Prophets (1954)
The World and the Prophets (1987)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
This is a republication of a corrected version of what were originally a series of talks given over KSL under the title “Time Vindicates the Prophets” and then published under that title in pamphlet form as well as in book form, as The World and the Prophets, both in 1954. A second expanded edition of the book was published in 1962. This edition includes a new foreword by R. Douglas Phillips.
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
“Time Vindicates the Prophets” (1954)
The World and the Prophets (1987)
The World and the Prophets (1962)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > Plan of Salvation, Terrible Questions > Stage Without a Play
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Prophets
Reprinted as the second half of Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1952); and reprinted in Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites. These articles were written in the form of expository letters to a fictitious “Professor F.”
A detailed reconstruction of the epic milieu and ancient historical setting in the third millennium B.C. in Mesopotamia and Asia relative to details about the Jaredites: their ships, shining stones, government, wars, society, and worldview.
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1952)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites (1980)
Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites. An unedited reprinting of the original version (1987)
Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites (1988)
This talk was later called, “How Will It Be when None More Saith ‘I Saw’?”
30 pamphlets, weekly radio addresses from 7 March to 17 October.
This short article was originally published in the journal Concilium: An International Review of Theology and as such is addressed to a non-LDS audience. Nibley begins by giving a brief historical and theological background to the Book of Mormon. He then makes the point that the Book of Mormon includes topics that leave it open to scholars in many different disciplines to study and to put on trial. Finally, he comments on the remarkable coherence with which the prophetic editors were able to compile the Book of Mormon.
It took place during a History Honors Banquet in the Wilkenson Center, Brigham Young University.
Questions and answers about the importance of writing and publishing.
Original manuscript available in mimeographed form, 22 pp., frequently reproduced. Reprinted in Dialogue 11, no. 2 (1978): 101–12, as well as in Nibley on the Timely and Timeless (1978), 261–77; (2004), 281–99; and in Approaching Zion, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 9. 63–84. This lecture is one of Nibley’s most famous.
Under temporary license from the Academics Committee, we have presumed to touch upon the sensitive theme, “If ‘The Glory of God Is Intelligence’ might there not be some possible connection between intelligence and spirituality?”
“Zeal without Knowledge” (1978)
“3: Zeal Without Knowledge” (1989)
“Zeal without Knowledge” (2004)
Reprinted in Approaching Zion, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 9. 63–84. This lecture is one of Nibley’s most famous.
Touches upon the sensitive theme, “If ‘The Glory of God Is Intelligence’ might there not be some possible connection between intelligence and spirituality?”
“Zeal without Knowledge” (1975)
“3: Zeal Without Knowledge” (1989)
“Zeal without Knowledge” (2004)
Chapter 3. The positive response generated by publication of Nibley’s “Bird Island“ (DialogueX, No. 4) encouraged us to offer additional popular Nibley samizdat. Nibliophiles will be delighted to learn that events have overtaken us in this plan, and a volume of classic Nibley essays now has been published by BYU’s Religious Studies Center.* This collection, which begins with a new “intellectual autobiography” and ends with a comprehensive bibliography, includes such popular essays as “Educating theSaints,” “Beyond Politics” and “Subduing the Earth,”—as well as “Zeal Without Knowledge,” the Nibley classic reprinted here with the permission of the Religious Studies Center.
Talks about the limitations of the human mind and how those limitations prove our true values in this life.
“Zeal without Knowledge” (1975)
“Zeal without Knowledge” (1978)
“Zeal without Knowledge” (2004)
Reprinted in Approaching Zion, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, vol. 9. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 63–84.
“This talk was given on request as part of the celebration of Academic Emphasis Week. Once a year, for a whole week, our students are free
to turn their minds to things of an intellectual nature without shame or embarrassment. After this cerebral saturnalia, the young people mostly return to their normal patterns: concealing the neglect of hard scholarship by the claim to spirituality and strict standards of dress and grooming. Yet from time to time a student will confess to wayward twinges of
thought and find himself wondering, “If ‘The Glory of God Is Intelligence’ (our school motto) might there not be some possible connection between intelligence and spirituality?” Under temporary license from
the Academics Committee, we have presumed to touch upon this sensitive theme.
“
“Zeal without Knowledge” (1975)
“Zeal without Knowledge” (1978)
“3: Zeal Without Knowledge” (1989)
A short epitaph for Hugh Nibley written by his son.
Preston Nibley narrates accomplishments of Joseph’s life and proves that he was a man of sincerity who never wearied of the task of spreading the gospel.
A historical account of the vision the Three Witnesses received on the Peter Whitmer farm during the latter part of June 1829. Includes the testimonies of Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris.
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.
The Hebrew scriptures contain dozens of passages where an inquiry to deity is requested in order to reveal the unknown, or to sanction a proper course of action. Linguistic and narrative similarities in biblical passages involving divine inquiry have been observed by scholars. These divine inquiry incidents are categorized by scholars as a subset of Israelite divination within the larger framework of ancient Near Eastern mantic institutions. Variable narrative elements in these instances include such things as the setting, identity of the requester, identity of the intermediary, reason for the inquiry, and type of oracle employed. Linguistic elements, namely verb choice, correspond to narrative elements in different passages. When these elements are analyzed, prominent patterns of ancient Israelite divine inquiry emerge. The purpose of this paper is to identify dominant patterns of divine inquiry found in the Bible and to show how the Book of Mormon employs the same patterns in varied circumstances, and that these patterns fit all the parameters of typical ancient Israelite consultations of deity. In addition, an understanding of the prophetic inquiry type clarifies and contextualizes certain Book of Mormon passages.
An exapanded version of remarks that were given at the funeral service of Hugh Nibley.
Remarks about near-death experiences and life after death, as well as Hugh Nibley’s calling in this life to be a great religious scholar.
Review of Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon (1990), by Jerald and Sandra Tanner
An Incan man, twin sisters from Finland, a seven-year-old girl, and others are converted to Christ through the Book of Mormon. The rich spirit of the Book of Mormon warms the hearts of those who read it.
Investigators received a Book of Mormon donated by a family in their area and soon after were baptized.
Review of Matthew S. Brown, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Stephen D. Ricks, and John S. Thompson, eds., Ancient Temple Worship: Proceedings of the Expound Symposium 14 May 2011 (Orem and Salt Lake City, UT: The Interpreter Foundation/Eborn Books, 2014). 293pp., $24.95 (hardcover)
Abstract: This well-produced, noteworthy volume adds to the growing number of resources available to help make more meaningful the complex and historically rich experience of the temple.
The life and character of Beowulf, the great hero of the epic age, parallels that of Nephi. Both were mighty in their deeds, both enjoyed great powers of strength and endurance, and both possessed various “manly skills” The Book of Mormon is “a work laden with promise for the literary analyst” More than a century has elapsed since the Book of Mormon has come forth and “literary scholarship” has all but ignored the literary aspects of this sacred text.
All around the globe, major universities hold in their keeping science, technology, the arts, and cultures in their halls of learning and in their research establishments.
Discourse by Elder John Nicholson, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, June 26, 1881. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discourse by Elder John Nicholson, delivered in the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, Sunday Afternoon, February 6, 1881. Reported By: John Irvine.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.
Writes concerning the need for a true prophet. The Book of Mormon was given by the power of God to clarify misunderstood passages in the Bible. Isaiah foretold of Martin Harris’s visit to Professor Anthon. The Book of Mormon is the story of the ancient American inhabitants, whose descendants are receiving the truth in vast numbers.
A work about Joseph Smith that devotes considerable space to the Book of Mormon. Tells about Joseph Smith’s encounter with Moroni and the translation of the plates. Quotes separate testimonies of the Three Witnesses. Discusses the important role of the American Indians.
Writes concerning the Native Americans, their lands, and Book of Mormon prophecies.
Abstract: In 1834, Oliver Cowdery began publishing a history of the Church in installments in the pages of the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate. The first installment talks of the religious excitement and events that ultimately led to Joseph Smith’s First Vision at age 14. However, in the subsequent installment published two months later, Oliver claims that he made a mistake, correcting Joseph’s age from 14 to 17 and failing to make any direct mention of the First Vision. Oliver instead tells the story of Moroni’s visit, thus making it appear that the religious excitement led to Moroni’s visit.
This curious account has been misunderstood by some to be evidence that the “first” vision that Joseph claimed was actually that of the angel Moroni and that Joseph invented the story of the First Vision of the Father and Son at a later time. However, Joseph wrote an account of his First Vision in 1832 in which he stated that he saw the Lord, and there is substantial evidence that Oliver had this document in his possession at the time that he wrote his history of the Church. This essay demonstrates the correlations between Joseph Smith’s 1832 First Vision account, Oliver’s 1834/1835 account, and Joseph’s 1835 journal entry on the same subject. It is clear that not only did Oliver have Joseph’s history in his possession but that he used Joseph’s 1832 account as a basis for his own account. This essay also shows that Oliver knew of the First Vision and attempted to obliquely refer to the event several times in his second installment before continuing with his narrative of Moroni’s visit.
.
Abstract: The ability to quickly and easily access literature critical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been made significantly easier through the advent of the Internet. One of the primary sites that dominates search engine results is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that “anyone can edit.” Wikipedia contains a large number of articles related to Mormonism that are edited by believers, critics, and neutral parties. The reliability of information regarding the Church and its history is subject to the biases of the editors who choose to modify those articles. Even if a wiki article is thoroughly sourced, editors sometimes employ source material in a manner that supports their bias. This essay explores the dynamics behind the creation of Wikipedia articles about the Church, the role that believers and critics play in that process, and the reliability of the information produced in the resulting wiki articles.The fact that this [Wikipedia] article has been stable for months suggests that other Mormons have found the evidence unassailable. ((Comment posted by Wikipedia editor “John Foxe,” responding to an LDS editor on the “Three Witnesses” Wikipedia talk page, 27 January 2009.)).
Abstract: This essay seeks to examine the Book of Mormon translation method from the perspective of a regular, nonscholarly, believing member in the twenty-first century, by taking into account both what is learned in Church and what can be learned from historical records that are now easily available. What do we know? What should we know? How can a believing Latter-day Saint reconcile apparently conflicting accounts of the translation process? An examination of the historical sources is used to provide us with a fuller and more complete understanding of the complexity that exists in the early events of the Restoration. These accounts come from both believing and nonbelieving sources, and some skepticism ought to be employed in choosing to accept some of the interpretations offered by some of these sources as fact. However, an examination of these sources provides a larger picture, and the answers to these questions provide an enlightening look into Church history and the evolution of the translation story. This essay focuses primarily on the methods and instruments used in the translation process and how a faithful Latter-day Saint might view these as further evidence of truthfulness of the restored Gospel. .
What does the Book of Enoch say or not say about the temple, and to which Book of Enoch do I refer? Is it the text called 1 Enoch, or the one known as 2 Enoch, or the so-called 3 Enoch? And all of them discuss or, better, visualize the temple. I restrict myself here to 1 Enoch.
Identifying the poetic forms in the Book of Mormon enables readers to appreciate its beautiful literary style and gain a better understanding of its message. The form-critical analysis of psalms, first outlined by Hermann Gunkel in 1926, demonstrates sharp similarities between Nephi’s psalm and similar psalms in the Old Testament. Nephi’s psalm plainly follows the format and substance of the individual lament as described by Gunkel and elaborated by numerous subsequent scholars. As in other instances of Hebrew poetic forms in the Book of Mormon, understanding and appreciating the psalm, more particularly the personal lament, can offer new insights into 2 Nephi 4:16–35 and make its message of hope and trust more powerful and personal.
A family that is studying the Book of Mormon together describes the children’s reactions and the knowledge they received from reading it.
This article is a recital of Oliver Cowdery’s testimony of the Book of Mormon before a court in Michigan.
A series of four lectures. Makes connections and correspondences between the land of promise and God, Zion, gentiles, and descendants of Joseph. Also points out differences between the LDS view of the Second Coming and those of the world in general.
BYU’s unique, spiritually infused education gave my father (and all of us) the chance, the space, and the fuel to grow as disciples of Christ and children of God serving in this world.
We each must develop and carry out our own personal game plan to serve with enthusiasm alongside the full-time missionaries.
What messages are we sending? How are they being received? When people see us coming, do they gravitate to us or do they scatter in a great escape? I invite each of us to be a powerful influence for good.
Elder Nielsen reminds us that we can take courage in the thought that we have been sent here by Heavenly Father at this decisive time in history in order to fulfill His purposes.
There is no greater call than teaching “all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
The Savior’s healing power is not just His ability to heal our bodies but, perhaps even more important, His ability to heal our hearts.
Brent H. Nielson shares a personal story about how to include, love, and wait for others who have lost their faith.
It is so easy to worry only about yourself—your new job, your promotions, your advanced degrees, and even your fears. You will find that it is easy to place yourself, and at times your fears, as your treasure. If you do that, your heart will fail you.
Abstract: The prominence of circles and circular motion has been one present in scientific discussion of the structure of the universe from Aristotle to Einstein. Development through Ptolemy, Copernicus and Kepler created elliptical variations, but in essence, the scientific community has been unable to break free of a certain degree of circular motion that ultimately seems fundamental to the very nature of the universe. Just as the circle featured prominently in Aristotle’s cosmology, it remains an integral aspect of reality, though perhaps it is more difficult to pick out in its present forms as planetary ellipses and curved space-time. In this paper I analyze the intellectual tradition surrounding the circle as a reflection of God’s eternal nature as discussed in Doctrine and Covenants 3:2. Essentially, I argue that the traditional Mormon conception of “one eternal round” is evidence of the eternal and divine nature of circles, which, the tradition indicates, is an inescapable feature of physical reality, and indicative of God and his purposes.
Contains synopses of each chapter in the Book of Mormon, 32 hypothetical maps to illustrate where events took place, and listings of geographical references. This work is reviewed in S.514.
RSC Topics > L — P > New Testament
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
If we are not afraid, our life experiments can be tools to learn truth and to make changes. The pioneer chemist Marie Curie believed that “nothing in life is to be feared—it is only to be understood.”
RSC Topics > Q — S > Resurrection
A tract attempting to prove the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon through a discussion of the marred servant (Isaiah 52:13-15).
Examines prophecies in the Book of Mormon and relates them to historical events of the twentieth century. Prophecies are classified as follows: (1) the vision of Nephi—1 Nephi 3:210-216 (RLDS scriptures); (2) the prophecy of Nephi—2 Nephi 11:116-117; (3) the word of Christ relative to gentile disobedience—3 Nephi 9:64-71, and the return of the Jews —3 Nephi 9:85-101; (4) warning to Gentile America—Ether 1:29-35.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
For an audience unfamiliar with the Book of Mormon, Njeim explains its contents, purpose, and effect upon the world. The Book of Mormon restores lost truths from the Bible, witnesses of Christ and eternal life, and is the authority brought by God to quell “spiritual anarchy”
A commentary on the book of Revelation written by a minister of the RLDS church. In spite of the title, the Book of Mormon is scarcely utilized.
Discusses the character of the Three Witnesses, saying that their apostasy from the early Church was “a blessing in tragic guise” since it validated their testimony of the Book of Mormon that they were able to leave the Church but not deny their eyewitness experience.
We will have trials, but let’s accept them as part of this earthly experience. Let’s recognize that our lives are a miracle, a miracle of love and of innumerable blessings.
Ten theology lessons designed to give evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon. Bible passages foretold the Book of Mormon. Tells about the translation and publication of the manuscript, provides the testimonies of the witnesses, explains the objections to the Book of Mormon, Indian traditions, and similarities between the Biblical and Book of Mormon passages.
Compares modern-day missionaries to the stripling warriors of Helaman.
Speaks of the prophecy in the Book of Mormon that the Lamanites, or the American Indians, shall rejoice of the Book of Mormon and its message. Gives several examples of American Indians that have read the Book of Mormon and were baptized because of their faith in its truthfulness.
Biblical criticism and the Creation accounts
Old Testament Topics > Creation
Norman’s study of Athanasian soteriology was written as a dissertation for Duke University in 1980 and was previously available only through University Microfilms International or private photocopies. In this study, Norman examines St. Athanasius’s views of deification, or the doctrine that “God became man in order that man might become God.” Many scholars have dismissed this doctrine as a euphemism for humanity’s im mortality and fleshly incorruptibility in the resurrection. Norman argues, however, that Athanasius’s idea of deification was that individuals could become like God in every way.
Joseph Smith taught that the first principle of revealed religion is to know for a certainty the character of God, and his reaffirmation of Deity as the loving, personal Father of the scriptures stands in conspicuous contrast to the confusion and obscurity of traditional and modern theologies. Just as the orthodox doctrine of an incomprehensible God who creates ex nihilo is clearly odds with the prophetic proclamation in both the Old and New Testaments, by the same measure the Latter-day Saint conception of divine creation in terms of the organization of eternal man provides a remarkable commentary on Joseph Smith’s claim to be a prophet of the Living God and on his work in the restitution of all things.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Christian History, Apostasy, Early Christianity
Book review.
The Lord told Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, “Look unto me in every thought” (D&C 6:36). In the ordinance of the sacrament we covenant each week to “always remember him,” that we “may always have his Spirit” to be with us (D&C 20:77). The Book of Mormon testifies that “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all thing that are upon the face of it” (Alma 30:44). Thus, God has given all things as a type or representation of Christ to help us remember Him (see 2 Nephi 11:4; Helaman 8:24). The key to understanding the things of God is to see Christ in them, including His creations.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Review of Angular Chronology: The Precolumbian Dating of Ancient America (1994), by Michael M. Hobby, June M. Hobby, and Troy J. Smith.
Agrees with archaeologist Michael D. Coe that there are no direct archaeological evidences of the Book of Mormon. Proposes that the Olmec civilization corresponds to the Jaredite nation and that the present San Lorenzo is located at the site of the Jaredite city Lib.
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Old Testament Topics > Adam and Eve [see also Fall]
A letter written by a Chippewa Indian from the RLDS church. Legends from that tribe corroborate aspects of the Book of Mormon, including references to what may be the Three Nephites.
Access this article at BYU ScholarsArchive.
Review of Boyd Petersen’s Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life.
In Temple and Cosmos, Brother Nibley explains the relationship of the House of the Lord to the cosmos. In Temple, the first part of the volume, he focuses on the nature, meaning, and history of the temple, discussing such topics as sacred vestments, the circle and the square, and the symbolism of the temple and its ordinances. In the second part, Cosmos, he discusses the cosmic context of the temple-the expanding gospel, apocryphal writings, religion and history, the genesis of the written word, cultural diversity in the universal church, and the terrible questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? and Where are we going?
Don Norton’s experiences with Hugh NIbley.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing
Review of Working toward Zion: Principles of the United Order for the Modern World (1996), by James W. Lucas and Warner P. Woodworth.
Both Norton and Taylor review the volume Book of Mormon Reference Companion, edited by Dennis L. Largey and published by Deseret Book.
The Book of Mormon presents a tale of the plight and flight of a family from biblical Jerusalem, stitched together through a variety of narrators. As the title page claims, this book contains the record of the Nephite people, descendants of Lehi, who was commanded by God to leave Jerusalem in order to save his family from destruction. From that command, the text becomes one of movement and escape, so that the Nephite race can avoid destruction. As this story is one about avoiding annihilation, it necessarily becomes one of reproduction: How do the Nephites reproduce the people of God to spread the word of God?
Review of In the Footsteps of Lehi: New Evidence for Lehi’s Journey across Arabia to Bountiful (1994), by Warren P. Aston and Michaela Knoth Aston.
Review of Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon (1985), by David Persuitte.
Review of Is the Mormon My Brother? (1997), by James R. White
Review of Letters to a Mormon Elder (1990), by James R. White
Review of Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon (1990), by Jerald and Sandra Tanner.
Review of Mormonism (1995), by Kurt Van Gorden.
Review of Hank Hanegraaff. The Mormon Mirage: Seeing Through the Illusion of Mainstream Mormonism.
Review of Book of Mormon Authorship: A Closer Look (1983), by Vernal Holley.
A historical study of the the translation and compiling the Book of Mormon and its contents there of.
Review of A Reader's Book of Mormon Digest: Condensed from the Book of Mormon: A New Witness for Christ. A Monthly Reading Program and Study Guide of the Doctrines of the Book of Mormon (1997), by Robert H. Moss
Review of Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism (1992), by Robert N. Hullinger.
Review of Faithful History: Essays on Writing Mormon History (1992), edited by George D. Smith
Review of Dale Morgan On Early Mormonism: Correspondence and a New History (1986), edited by John Philip Walker.
Gary Novak explains the problems caused by looking at religious history through naturalistic assumptions. He uses the naturalistic writings of Dale Morgan and Fawn Brodie to show that such assumptions exclude God from the writing of history, transforming the meaning of faith and eroding collective religious memory.He looks at biases created when Marvin Hill and Leonard Arrington adopt naturalistic assumptions into their writing.
Review of God the Mother and Other Theological Essays (1997), by Janice Allred
Throughout the uncertainties of life, only Christ and His love are constant. There is no more perfect example of love than the Atonement itself. Its power and promises are the “hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast.”
A chart that synchronizes historical events (from A.D. 1 to A.D. 421) of the Book of Mormon with contemporary events of the biblical and secular world.
Reprint from The National Magazine
Review of Douglas J. Davies. An Introduction to Mormonism.
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have unlimited access to wisdom, truth, and blessings from our scriptures, our ordinances, and our covenants. Perhaps we should add a daily dose of wonder to our spiritual practices.
Discusses theory of translation and applies it to the Book of Mormon. Argues that the Japanese translation of the book, although it is claimed to be colloquial, is too literal and hard to read. Considers the translation not sufficiently aware of Hebrew idioms or of the Jewish and Egyptian cultures from which the Book of Mormon originated.
Loving our neighbor requires getting close to our neighbor and giving of ourselves. In Spanish, the term for “love of neighbor” is amor al prójimo, or “love of the one who is in proximity.”
A former member of the Baptist Church bears testimony that after he borrowed and read the Book of Mormon, the Spirit testified its truthfulness. He wants his testimony to stand until Christ comes again.
A look at biblical examples of how man averted war
Polemical pamphlet by a career Mormon critic, pointing out perceived contradictions between the Book of Mormon and LDS doctrines. The subjects deal largely with the nature of God.
A critic writes against Mormonism. The Reorganized Mormons are one and the same as the Utah Mormons—their origins were the same and remained so until 1848. A history of Joseph Smith and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is presented. Provides a reprint of the Anthon transcript and compares it with Egyptian hieroglyphs to proclaim the book a “bald hoax” Joseph Smith was the author of the Book of Mormon, and Mormons, which ever sect they belong to, are not Christians.
A critic finds that Joseph Smith worked with Sidney Rigdon to revise Christian religion to suit their own claims that the Bible was imperfect. For this reason they claimed to have found gold plates and “translated” them and then “translated” the Bible when neither knew a word of Hebrew or Greek. No further revelation was needed for the truth has already been revealed.
Evangelical extolling of the Bible. Has a section entitled, “Why We Should Not Believe That Any Other Book Is from God,” with some attention given to the three other Mormon standard works, which contain teachings that “are contrary to those of the real word”
Our testimonies let us trust that we are part of a very important pattern in building the kingdom of God, even if we can’t see it in its entirety. Every skill, talent, and ability we have, whether inborn or developed in callings or other areas of our lives, helps us be more serviceable in the kingdom.
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > L — P > Plan of Salvation
Old Testament Scriptures > Genesis
Shows how the four Book of Mormon abridgers—Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, and Moroni—saw our day and directed their writings accordingly.
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
This article relates the important role of the Book of Mormon as a witness not only for Christ but also for the Bible. The Book of Mormon’s value in helping to understand the book of Isaiah is unlimited.
Presenters at this symposium included Robert L. Millet, Robert J. Matthews, Monte S. Nyman, S. Kent Brown, Joseph Fielding McConkie, and numerous others. The subjects covered include prayer, the doctrine of translation, the gathering at the temple, service, and more. Papers are based on the book of 3 Nephi and Christ’s visit to America.
The Eighth Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU Chapters 9 through 30 of 3 Nephi are perhaps the most choice part of the entire Book of Mormon because this section chronicles the transcendent visit of the Risen Lord to the Nephite Saints, His profound teachings, and His amazing, compassionate ministry. His recorded actions and utterance during this period offer remarkable scope for a reverent and knowledgeable review such as that done by sixteen scholars in this book. The 3 Nephi text, like that of the entire Book of Mormon, is shown to be “remarkably efficient” and to give “extraordinary unity and coherence to . . . its message.” ISBN 0-8849-4913-3
The Sixth Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU Nineteen papers on a variety of topics related to the largest book in the Book of Mormon, Alma, make up this volume. These topics include the relevance of the book of Alma to our modern situation, classic discourses of Alma the Younger, the doctrinal and spiritual understanding afforded by Alma’s counsel to his son Corianton, and an enlightening look at the anti-Christ Korihor. The missionary experiences of the sons of Mosiah and Captain Moroni are also discussed. The conclusions drawn in these papers reflect the authors’ testimony of what Alma himself knew to be true: that God’s word has—and always will have—“a great tendency to lead the people to do that which [is] just.” ISBN 0-8849-4841-2
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Presenters included Dean L. Larsen, Rex C. Reeve Jr., Robert J. Matthews, Robert L. Millet, and others. The topics include the “New Meaning of ‘Restoration,’ ” anti-Christs, faith and freedom, and others, all based on the book of Alma.
The Second Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU In a variety of themes and approaches, the symposium papers reproduced in this volume explore the first book in the Book of Mormon—First Nephi. The value of the Book of Mormon, historical background of the plates, and the title page are all discussed. How the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, how its biblical allusions and its affirmations of God’s dealings with man establish the truth of the Bible; and how textual evidences further verify the authenticity of the Book of Mormon are demonstrated. ISBN 0-8849-4647-9
The Ninth Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU As the final installment in the book of Mormon Symposium series, this volume examines the last four books of the Nephite record: 4 Nephi, Mormon, Ether, and Moroni. Perhaps more than any other part in the Book of Mormon, this section powerfully portrays the cycle through which the ancient inhabitants of America passed many times—the cycle that took them from righteousness to wickedness, from Zion to destruction. Twenty-five contributors here explore the details of this tragic cycle—as it occurred in both the Nephite and the Jaredite civilizations—and also discuss many related doctrinal and historical issues. Realizing the Book of Mormon’s relevance to our day, the writers further take the opportunity to point out the many modern applications. ISBN 0-8849-4974-5
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
The Seventh Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU “All things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.” This was the Lord’s glorious promise to Nephi, son of Helaman. The general wickedness that prevailed in much of Nephite society during Nephi’s day was in stark contrast to his exemplary faithfulness. Why was this so? How did the people’s decline come about so rapidly? What specific messages do the book of Helaman and the early chapters of 3 Nephi contain for our day? Seventeen symposium papers collected in this volume address these and other issues related to events and conditions among the Nephites and the Lamanites during the eighty or so years prior to the Savior’s appearance on the American continent. Contributors not only discuss great doctrinal teachings of stalwarts like Nephi, Samuel the Lamanite, and Mormon but also provide detailed analyses of how and why the Nephites moved from a condition of righteousness to one of wickedness during this critical period in their history. ISBN 0-8849-4864-1
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
Presenters included Russell M. Nelson, Robert Millet, Robert J. Matthews, Thomas W. Mackay, Monte S. Nyman, and others. The topics include sanctification, secret covenant teachings of men, the dangers of a class society, and many others found in the books of Helaman and 3 Nephi.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
The Fourth Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU The remarks of this volume are centered on the small plates of Nephi—Jacob through the Words of Mormon. The greatness of Lehi’s son Jacob is brought out, with special reference to his remarkable grasp of the doctrine of the Atonement, his powerful preaching about Christ, and his affirmations as to the central role of Christ in all gospel dispensations. Enos, Amaleki, and the anti-Christ Sherem are other topics discussed. Clarification is given on the structure of the Book of Mormon in terms of the large and the small plates of Nephi, the plates of Mormon (the abridgment), and the Words of Mormon. Latter-day Saint scholars who have experience the spiritual power of the Book of Mormon share here their insights on specific themes. ISBN 0-8849-4734-3
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Words of Mormon
The Fifth Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU King Benjamin’s monumental address on service and the Savior; the powerful testimony and the martyrdom of the prophet Abinadi; the moving conversion stories of both Alma the Elder and Alma the Younger; the deliverance of Nephites from Lamanite bondage—this is the historically and doctrinally rich material of which this volume’s papers draw their themes. Other questions and issues are explored: What specific, vital lessons about following living prophets, making and keeping covenants, and developing Christlike qualities can parents draw from the book of Mosiah to teach to their children, and how can they effectively teach them those lessons? What political and social insights, as well as warnings, are implied by the similarities between the Nephite system of judges and the constitutional system of the United States? Other topics include an in-depth look at the priesthood calling and practices, the process of spiritual rebirth, and lessons on bondage. ISBN 0-8849-4816-1
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
A group of speeches given at an annual Book of Mormon symposium at Brigham Young University. Subjects include King Benjamin, Noah, the Atonement, government, the natural man, Abinadi, priesthood, church discipline in Mosiah, and more.
The Third Annual Book of Mormon Symposium at BYU In this volume, twenty-two scholars comment knowledgeably on a variety of themes evoked by the prophetic words of Isaiah, Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob as given in 2 Nephi. Contributors discuss doctrines of Christ such as repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Fall, the Atonement, hope, endurance, the name of Jesus Christ as revealed to the Nephites, and the Nephite diligence in teaching and transmitting the gospel. Comments on the early Nephite period deepen our appreciation for Nephi’s spiritual strength. Although many perspectives are offered here, its underlying purpose is to illumine, clarify, and reinforce the gospel of Jesus Christ. ISBN 0-8849-4699-1
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
Compilation of Book of Mormon symposium addresses delivered at Brigham Young University. Subjects include free agency, the promised land, the fall of man, the Lamanite mark, God’s covenants with the house of Israel, the Atonement, the brass plates, the law of witnesses, and more.
Comments on the twenty doctrines enumerated in Doctrine and Covenants 20:17-36, and shows that the Book of Mormon enlightens every one. Examples include: existence of God, the commandment to love God, the creation of male and female in God’s image, the Fall and the Atonement; the crucifixion, death, and resurrection, justification and grace, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > Q — S > Restoration of the Gospel
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
Old Testament Topics > Covenant [see also Ephraim, Israel, Jews, Joseph]
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
Old Testament Topics > Translated Beings
Illuminates certain features of the Book of Mormon to encourage the reading of the book. The Book of Mormon is intended to be an ensign to the nations, Joseph Smith was the “choice seer” designated to bring it forth. Comments on how the Book of Mormon relates to the remnant of Ephraim, the gentiles, the Lamanites, the Jews, and the lost tribes. Includes a study of the allegory of the olive tree, and the building of two Zions, one in New Jerusalem, one in Jerusalem. [L.D. & D.M.]
RSC Topics > L — P > Lifelong Learning
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
“As the final installment in the book of Mormon Symposium series, this volume examines the last four books of the Nephite record : 4 Nephi, Mormon, Ether, and Moroni. Perhaps more than any other part in the Book of Mormon, this section powerfully portrays the cycle through which the ancient inhabitants of America passed many times-the cycle that took them from righteousness to wickedness, from Zion to destruction. Twenty-five contributors here explore the details of this tragic cycle-as it occurred in both the Nephite and the Jaredite civilizations-and also discuss many related doctrinal and historical issues. Realizing the Book of Mormon’s relevance to our day, the writers further take the opportunity to point out the many modern applications.” [Publisher]
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Asserts that the golden plates were never made available for public view for two reasons: (1) the Lord did not want the plates—with their impressive monetary value—to be used for personal or commercial gain, and (2) to test the faith of those who receive the record.
A dictionary will tell you that history is a systematic written account of a man or a nation. Monte Nyman suggests that we are able to understand more of what the Book of Mormon has to say if we consider it to be a spiritual history. The book contains a light touch of history, but the majority of the pages contain sacred preaching, great revelation, or prophecy. Readers of the Book of Mormon should read it to see how its teachings can be applied in their lives.
Gleaning from the expertise of an eminent array of Latter-day Saint scholars, a Brigham Young University symposium entitled “Isaiah and the Prophets” has brought to light a diversity of thought-provoking ideas relative to the Old Testament. This book contains ten of the addresses given at that symposium. Isaiah and the Prophets is rich in its outpouring of details. The book probes concepts that are pertinent to understanding the Old Testament as the Lord’s prophetic word and the gospel in its fullness. ISBN 0-8849-4522-7
Old Testament Topics > Prophets and Prophecy
Old Testament Topics > Symposia and Collections of Essays
Old Testament Topics > Restoration and Joseph Smith
Old Testament Scriptures > 1 & 2 Kings/1 & 2 Chronicles
Old Testament Topics > History
Ten prominent Church scholars presented at the symposium on the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Their in-depth study of the Joseph Smith Translation and related scriptures clarifies the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and show how Joseph Smith restored many plain and precious truths to that holy book. This volume brings together those addresses, illuminating this inspired translation as perhaps no other book had done.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Moses Topics > Joseph Smith Translation (JST) > History
Old Testament Topics > Symposia and Collections of Essays
RSC Topics > G — K > Judgment
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
Old Testament Scriptures > Twelve Minor Prophets
A three-pronged discussion of Joseph Smith’s statement that the Book of Mormon (1) is the most correct book, (2) is the keystone of the LDS religion, and (3) enables a person to get close to God by abiding by its precepts. Subthemes deal with the translation of the book, a warning to the inhabitants of the promised land, how the book contains a fulness of the Gospel, how the book is scripture, what it has to say about the ministering of angels, how the book testifies of the Bible, and how the world is to be judged by the book.
Many critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that there cannot be any scripture added to the Bible, thus making the Book of Mormon blasphemous. However, many scriptures refer to other books of scriptures, including the Book of Mormon and other records that are not currently available to the world. Monte S. Nyman discusses here the plausibility of receiving modern revelation and scripture from God. He also suggests that by studying the Book of Mormon and other scriptures in conjunction with the Bible, Latter-day Saints can better prepare for the day when lost records are restored.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sin
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
RSC Topics > Q — S > Restoration of the Gospel
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
Shows how God is the same yesterday, today, and forever through his personal appearances, the manner of his manifestations, and the fact that he is no respecter of persons.
RSC Topics > G — K > Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > G — K > Judgment
RSC Topics > G — K > Justice
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
RSC Topics > Q — S > Resurrection
Consists of teaching suggestions for Book of Mormon classes, along with teacher responses to questionnaires. Also contains an elaborate teaching guide with statements of purpose, outlines, and questions. Includes handouts for students.
RSC Topics > G — K > Hell
RSC Topics > L — P > Plan of Salvation
RSC Topics > Q — S > Resurrection
RSC Topics > Q — S > Spirit World
“This treatise is an attempt to show how utterly false are the suppositions that the Church has its own Bible or that the Church fails to accept the Christian world’s Bible. It will further endeavor to show that the Church not only accepts the Bible but is much concerned that modern Christianity maintains its faith in this sacred volume of scripture” Author uses the Book of Mormon as a basis for examining Old Testament authorship, Bible history, text, and interpretation.
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
